Dolly's Bike Blog

To my Facebook friends and those reading my WordPress blog directly:

Three weeks ago today, September 14, I started my Pacific Coast ride from the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA, at the Canadian border.  I expect to finish at the Mexican border about October 27th.  So far, I have ridden 937 miles through Washington, Oregon, and into California.

For this epic ride, I chose to raise money for Outrun the Sun (http://outrunthesun.org), an Indianapolis based charity in support of skin cancer education and melanoma research.  Its stated mission:  Outrun the Sun, Inc. is dedicated to building awareness of melanoma and other skin cancers, educating communities about preventive measures that reduce melanoma’s incidence rate and raising funds for melanoma research, leading to effective treatments and a cure.

The ride is dedicated to our good friend Jim, who earlier this year was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma.  He recently celebrated his 63rd birthday, surrounded by family (wife Carol, children Jacob and Susan, and 4 grandchildren).  I am pleased to report that he is in Partial Remission.

I personally paid for this trip, so any monies raised go directly to the charity, not toward tour expenses.  I committed to raising $5,000.  So far, donations total about $2,000 (through Crowdrise and direct donations).

Please consider a donation, however small, via my Crowdrise account (https://www.crowdrise.com/donate/project/dolly-bikes-the-pacific-coast1    If you want to save the charity or yourselves the fees associated with Crowdrise, please feel free to visit the Outrun the Sun site (http://outrunthesun.org) and make a donation (maybe indicating me as the Honoree), or mail a check to Outrun the Sun, 8435 Keystone Crossing, Suite 175, Indianapolis, IN 46240 (put Dolly on note line).

I’d love to make it to $5,000 before I reach the Mexican border!  Many thanks in advance for your support.

Needless to say, when you are trying to accomplish 90+ miles in a day, not a lot of photos.

At our map meeting on Tuesday, Michelle explained why Garberville was listed as our hotel location for the next 2 nights.  The hotel in Scotia at 48 miles had closed and no alternative hotel nearby was found.  So the decision was made to have us stay 2 nights in Garberville, further down the road.  For the cyclists, this meant a decision:  ride 48 miles to Scotia and be shuttled to Garberville, then returned to Scotia this morning to ride the 45 miles to Garberville.  OR, ride all 93 miles to Garberville on Wednesday and have a rest day in Garberville on Thursday.  Since I had not ridden many miles on Tuesday due to bike repair, I decided to try for 93 miles (my longest distance in several years)!!

The first half of the combined ride might be defined by cows… We wandered farm roads out of Arcata, eventually coming around Humboldt Bay and crossing 3 bridges into Eureka.  The route took us past 2 mansions in the historic area and along the harbor, otherwise not much to see in the sections of town we crossed.

Onto US101 for 5 miles, then exiting and a sag stop near the College of the Redwoods – it seemed many were late to classes as traffic was heavy.  For much of the next 25 miles we were following the Eel River, crossing twice on narrow bridges, into Scotia.  We did stop in Ferndale, with many Victorian homes and store fronts, enjoying delicious pie at the Ferndale Pie Company.

We met Michelle and Emily in Scotia and indicated we were going on to Gerberville.  It was about 1 pm.  The town was virtually shut down; the hotel and hardware store closed.  The lumber company was thriving.                                                                                                                                                          Garmin readings: 47.87 miles, 12.3 mph, 1939 ft ascent.

After only 5 1/2 miles on US 101, we exited to the Avenue of the Giants and Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  These trees did not seem as large as the ones in Redwoods National Park from Tuesday, but they were plenty big and the fragrance was delightful.  A few quick stops for photos, but we were focused on the next 45 miles.  I was riding mostly with Barbara, Pat from Vermont, and Donna, and we kept tabs on each other.  I even Facetimed with my grandkids in Indianapolis to show them the grandeur of the trees.

The route through the redwoods was almost 25 miles long, with occasional openings.  We made a quick stop in Myers Flat just as the sag wagon drove up.  Eventually the Avenue of the Giants merged into US101 and we pedaled for 3 miles before exiting toward Redway.  Redway seemed filled with hikers and other wanderers so we did not linger.

And then the more serious climbing began on our very tired legs.  The last 5 miles were a real slog.

Arrived in Garberville about 5:30 pm, with cheers from those who had only ridden the earlier 48 miles into Scotia.                                                                                                                                                               Garmin:  44.89 miles, 11.65 mph, 3497.3 ascent.

Emily fixed a hearty dinner of chili and brownies, I helped with dishes, then collapsed.  I will enjoy a quiet day in Garberville….and stay off the bike!

Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/1215663324