Cycling HWY 1 | United States
Highway 1 is the dark line on the map that differentiates the Pacific Ocean from the West Coast of the United States. This iconic roads moves with the contours of the coast, dipping and curving into gullies and mounting cliff edges. The two lane highway runs through expansive farmland, tall Redwood forests, and winding river valleys. Traveling along its path, you can’t help but hum Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”.
We spent 15 days on Highway 1, cycling from Pacific City, Oregon to San Francisco, California. It was our first bike tour and we quickly fell into a routine over those two weeks of travel. Every morning we would wake up with the sun and look at the map to figure out where the closest coffee shop, bakery, or pancake house was. Using the promise of caffeine and carbs as our motivation, we would quickly pack up camp and get on our bikes. Once at the desired breakfast stop, we would charge phones, eat, and chat with locals who had lots of questions about our loaded bikes. We would get back on our bikes to ride another 10 -20 miles before stopping for a picnic lunch next to the scenic coastline. After another 10 miles, we would find a grocery store to buy dinner and then cycle the remaining miles to a state campsite, where we would pitch our tent, explore the area, reveal in a hot shower, and cook a simple dinner under the night sky. We would fall asleep by 9 pm with the quickness and depth that only a hard days work can provide.
Oregon: Days 1 — 5
We spent five days and 250 miles in the great state of Oregon, with its misty morning and long, lonely coast.
Our first day of cycling in Oregon started appropriately with a huge downpour and a 500 ft hill through lush forest. After two hours of cycling, we were soaked. Thankfully, we came out of the woods, literally, into a tiny town and saw a neon sign through the rain for Otis Cafe. We removed our soaked outer layer, draping them over our bikes in a futile attempt to dry them in the Pacific Northwest air, and found a cozy booth inside. We gorged ourselves on coffee, eggs, pancakes, and the best molasses bread in Oregon before getting back on our bikes and heading South into the mist.
We spent our first night in Beverly Beach State Park, pitching our tent in a rain forest surrounded by soft moss and a hint of sea in the air. We watched the sunset over over the water, sitting on sun-bleached logs and recapping the day’s adventures.
We woke early the next day and cycled through fog, taking a quick break on the seawall of Newport Beach to enjoy day-old molasses bread and hot coffee. It was the longest day of the trip, filled with mostly flat terrain and constant views of the sea. We pulled into Honeyman State Park with just enough time to pitch our tent and explore the massive inland sand dunes before the sunset.
The next few days were mostly inland cycling through rolling farmland. I was reminded of the hospitality I grew up with in the South when we stopped for a quick break at a small road side stand, filled with antiques and local homegoods. We chatted with the owners for almost an hour, and they ended the conversation by sending us on our way with a jar of local honey so we could “get to know Oregon”. We turned right towards the coast after a few more hours of cycling and set up camp in Humbug Mountain State Park next to two long-haul truckers who bike tour on their days off. Oregon is filled with interesting people.
Our last day in Oregon was unfortunately full of fog, hiding some of the most beautiful views along that stretch of the coast.
California: Days 6–15
We spent the next ten days riding the remaining 430 miles to San Francisco, trading Oregon’s foggy coast for California’s redwoods.
After taking the required photo with the “Welcome to California” sign, we rode through tall trees and past logging trucks down a huge hill to Mill Creek Campground, where we learned about the devastation humans have caused the great Coastal Redwoods and the one hundred year project plan to try and bring the forest closer to its former state.
We spent the next two days climbing hills, cycling in the shadow of the Redwoods, and occasionally curving back towards the coast or passing miles through long stretches of flat farmland. We stopped in kitchy roadside stands where I told my foreign-born husband about American folklore and spent a peaceful night at Elk Prairie Campground, waking to a beautiful sunrise, but no elk.
After seven days of biking and sleeping in a tent, we stopped for a rest day in Arcata, a college town just north of Eureka. We enjoyed lots of coffee, freshly laundered clothes, and a wander through book stores and vegan cafes remembering what it was like to be a college student.
The next leg of our trip was on Highway 101 and mostly inland. We spent 15 miles cruising through Redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants and taking breaks from the bikes to hike through their shadows. After a particularly hilly, sweaty day, we found out our planned campsite for the night, Standish Hickey, also had an incredible swimming hole, which we took advantage of in the fading evening light.
Day 11 started with the infamous Leggett Hill, a 2,000 ft climb up a road with hairpin turns that weaves through a young Redwood forest. While we did have to take two breaks during the assent, we finally made it to the top. And the descent made the climb worth every minute. We flew down 10 miles of curving, sloping road, dappled sunlight splashing our faces through the forested canopy and the wind deafening any worries we might have about what was around the next curve. The end of the hill eventually led us back to the coast, traveling through farmland with ocean views and ending the day in Russian Gulch State Park.
My favorite campsite of the entire trip was Gualala Regional Park, where we ended Day 12 after 50 miles of curvy coastland. We pitched out tent in a forest of densely packed tree whose trunks grew straight up with the circumference of a quarter and were branchless with a few bright green leaves at the top. The effect was like sleeping in a magic fairytale forest.
We hugged the coast on Day 13, avoiding RVs and stopping often to take in the incredible coastal views. We spent the night at Bodega Bay Dunes state park and shared dinner with two fellow cyclists who were riding from Canada to Chile on a tandum bicycle. They made us a delicious risotto which would have been impressive at home, and seemed impossible on the road over a camping stove.
We rode the last 50 miles with a friend we had met earlier in the trip, who kindly invited us to stay in his cottage tucked in a forest of young redwoods. He showed us the oyster bars along Tomales Bay, pointed out the best bakeries in Point Reyes Station, and gave us the history of Sausalito with our final destination in site. He left us there, and we headed up the Marin Headlands for our final night in a tent. We won the lottery with this final campsite at Kirby Cove, situating our tent on a small cliff at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I watched the sunrise the next morning and reflected on how grateful I was for this trip. During those 15 days, I discovered I had more mental and physical strength than I imagined, that I had a partner who loves adventure and embraces humanity fully, and that together, we value and appreciate all the beauty and wonder the world has to offer.
