July 12th

Eureka, California

Today my goal is to reach Klamath, California which will complete my ride on this segment of the ride. It was an outstanding day with temperatures in the mid 60’s in the morning and increasing to the mid 790’s by the end of the ride.

My rear tire managed to become flat right in the middle of a three mile ride up hill. I mumbled a few choice words for having to stop on a fairly steep grade, remove the wheel, tire and tube, repair the flat and remount everything. This is the fourth flat on the rear tire since starting my ride in Vancouver BC.

The front wheel is so much easier to remove and repair then the rear wheel. It really isn’t such a big it is simply easier and takes less time to repair.

There was another aspect to this section of ride that was not to easy to deal with. The shoulders of the road would vanish on certain sections of the ride. It is a bit disconcerting to see an 18 wheel logging truck bearing down on you with no shoulders for you to hug to get out of the way. Commercial drivers, for the most part, are very, very good to encounter on the road. They know what they are doing.

On the other hand there is one commercial fleet of trucks that seem to take great delight to get as close to a bicyclist as possible. Chip truck drivers are, in my opinion, the bane to bicycle riders. I shouldn’t divulge my secrets, however when I see an oncoming truck, or RV that is hugging my side of the road I “intentionally wobble towards the centerline of the road” like someone who does not know how to ride a bicycle. The drivers will slow down and wait until they have room to pass.

I suspect they are thinking “this guy should not be allowed to ride on the road” because he doesn’t know what he is doing.” I know what I am saying to myself with a chuckle “the road remains mine!

Marty, my super pit crewman, was waiting for me in Klamath. It took me longer then normal to ride the 63 miles because (1) I had a flat tire! (2) The route was very hilly! (3) I stopped for lunch! Marty was getting ready to disconnect Tork from Wally to hunt for me when I finally arrived 6 hours later. We did not have cell phone connection so there was no way for us to communicate. In any event we did connect and headed for Harris Camp Ground.

One piece of information that I learned today is all of the beaches in Oregon are public land for all to use.

Miles for day: 63

Total Miles: 871

Update Location: Eureka, CA - Map this location

Good Samaritan of the Day: - Thank you!!

A bed of Shamrocks on the forest floor.


A quiet place to sit and enjoy the beauty.


One of the many outstanding views on the Oregon Coast.