Day 23: Klamath to Eureka - 59 miles

Decided to put in a big day and get back on schedule. Continued through the redwoods and passed my original destination for yesterday and found out that the state parks are actually still open, it's just the national parks that are shut. Which is a shame because the park is next to herds of elk which I saw anyway as I was cycling by. Didn't see much after this as the redwood park center I wanted to check out was closed due to the shutdown and the highway turned into a big 4 lane freeway with not too many views. Once I reached the first big town of Arcata the traffic just got uncomfortable and I was looking forward to getting to the campground.

Day 22: Brookings to Klamath - 49 miles

So the optimism was short lived as I entered California as with the government shutdown I found out that all state parks were closed, which means my camping costs will at least double for the time being. I had been thinking about it for a while and this, and along with the fact that cheap accommodation becomes a real problem in south California means that I'm going to end the trip in San Francisco. Once I had thought about this I felt a bit better as even if I'm paying double for accommodation I'll still be at my budget with the 10 days cut off the end of the trip.

Anyway, entering California was exactly as I had imagined for the last week, not a cloud in the sky and for the first time since Washington, the wind was at my back which made the cycling so much more enjoyable. With these conditions the miles flew by and I stopped in Crescent City and met up with Matt and Jack again for a couple of hours in a Starbucks. After this, I made my way to the biggest climb of the trip so far, a 1200 foot initial climb with 2 more mini peaks to climb after the top. I was a little worried about this as the bus driver yesterday seemed concerned for us attempting it and told us about the fact that there's no shoulder, huge cliff drops, car accidents and landslides. I found it to be not too bad at all and even though the climbing was tough my legs were in really good shape after the rest of the last while. There were plenty of landslides though and breaks in the road everywhere because of this. Entered the redwood national park on this climb which was amazing, had to stop myself from starting up at the size of the trees as I was cycling past. After a fun descent checked out the giant statute of Paul Bunyan and his ox and then rolled into a campsite with WiFi and TV in the small town of Klamath.

Day 21: Coos Bay to Brookings

With the time lost due to the weather I had to get a bus and skip a couple of days cycling. Met Matt and Jack on the bus who were going as far as Gold Beach. The state park where I camped was in a beautiful area with gigantic rocks sticking out from the sea everywhere you look. It also had laundry which was good as I couldn't get as far as the laundromat from my motel in Coos Bay because the storm was so bad. As I went south the weather started to look much better and the sun even came out. With the forecast for the next few days things were looking a lot optimistic for the first time in a while.

Day 19-20: Coos Bay

The storm I was warned about hit and so I had to go to a motel. The ride to Coos Bay was probably the toughest yet even though it was only around 15 miles. Gale force winds coming straight at me with rain and even hail at one stage. The wind also made it too dangerous to cycle over the mile long bridge into North Bend so had to walk that in the rain. The motel was really nice but I could barely leave with up to 70mph winds outside.

Day 17: Honeyman state park to Tugman state park - 30 miles

When I got back to my tent this morning everything was surprisingly pretty dry and the rain had just about stopped. The wind was still so string though and as I was putting away my tent the skinny trees around looked very unstable as they wobbled. Wasn't too much to see although the 101 seemed to be constantly in between the sand dunes which was pretty cool, in some places the sand spoiled onto the road. I was about a half mile past Tugman state park which was only half way to my destination when it started raining so I backtracked to the nearest shelter which was an abandoned petrol station. 2 guys I met the last couple of days, Matt and Jack, had the same idea so we hung out there for a few hours and drank some stove coffee while it rained around us. Once it started to get late I decided to duck into the state park while the guys went south to North Bend.

Day 16: South Beach to Honeyman state park - 51 miles

Nice cycle past scenic cliffs and coast today. With the sun shining there was some amazing views, although it seemed that everywhere I stopped, people were warming me about the storm that was on the way. Their concern for a stranger definitely had me a bit worried and I had started to look at indoor accommodation for when it hit. Apart from the amazing views i also stopped into a cool botanical garden with some cool carnivorous plants. Got to the campground and checked out the sand dunes, pretty amazing and stretch as far as i could see. It's strange seeing pine trees surrounded by sand. By the time I was ready for bed it had started to rain, and to get very windy. My tarp couldn't protect the tent from all sides and it started to leak slightly by about midnight, but the main annoyance was the crazy noise from the storm. So in not my proudest moment I grabbed my sleeping bag and went top the shower building and just slept on the bench in there. Managed to wake up early enough the next morning before people started to come in to shower luckily.

Day 15: Devil's Lake to South Beach - 29 miles

Somehow messed up my back brake last night, thought I knew how to fix it but since they're disc brakes I decided not to risk damaging them even more. Which meant that it was a 20 mile journey to Newport on one brake. Which was OK, the sun was shining and there was some nice scenery so was happy taking my time. Stopped into the shop to be told that they have a room upstairs for touring cyclists to hang out which was really cool, TV, video games, books and a computer. So spent a few hours there in the end. Got to the campsite for the night and was greeted by a host for the hiker biker area who was a legend, gave me an Oregon state bike map and gave me some route advice for the rest of the trip. Also warned me about a huge storm on the way and advised that I get as far south add possible as soon as I can. It was the first time that I was the only cyclist in a state park but it didn't matter as it was the best one I've been to yet. Beautiful scenery and a room to chill out in where I charged all my electronics and took advantage of the free tea and coffee.