Day 13: Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA

38 miles

The delightful weather and spectacular scenery returned today--welcomed by all. There was a significant climb and descent immediately upon leaving Gold Beach The riders collected at the end of the descent to take in the view.

We crossed the Thomas Creek Bridge, the highest bridge in Oregon at 345 feet.

View from Thomas Creek Bridge

One last view being crossing into California.

There is quite a difference in coastal terrain immediately upon crossing the border. Oregon is rugged and hilly hugging the coastline until the very end, whereas the California coastline is agricultural and quite flat from the ocean to a couple of miles inland. Our route took us through the farming community of Smith River.

I had mechanical difficullties with my bike over the course of the day and, soon after Smith River, it became clear that I couldn't make it to Crescent City without great difficulty. I used the SAG wagon for the last 17 miles to deliver me and my bike to the hotel. Our trip leader attended to the bike problems which were two tires out of true caused by the very rough road conditions we've experienced (all work that I had done on the bike before the trip). Translating to how this feels to the rider, the wheels wobble causing friction between the brake pads and rims thereby slowing forward progress and requiring more effort from the rider. I hope these problems are behind me. We have a rest day coming up in Eureka if I need to seek out a bike shop.

Crescent City Lighthouse

There are regular reminders such as roadside sign and hotel notices that often we are passing through tsunami territory.The harbor area of Crescent City experienced a huge amount of damage from the Japan earthquake about 18 months ago.