Cross Country Cycling Extravaganza: July 2007

Day 1 (7/2): 29.5 miles, Davis to Lake Berryessa
Day 2: 49 miles, Berryessa to Jim Town, CA
Day 3: 45.6 miles, to Indian Creek Campground (in Redwoods near Boonville)
Day 4: 44 miles, to Mackerricher Beach State Park just past Fort Bragg
Day 5: REST DAY!!!
Day 6: 55 miles, to Richardson Grove State Park
Day 7: 63 miles, to Fortuna RV camp
Day 8: 43 miles, to Clam Beach County Park
Day 9: 63 miles, to Crescent City (Orman Guest Ranch and Stables)
Day 10: 33 miles, to Brooking, Oregon Harris Beach State Park (WE REACHED OREGON!!!)
Day 11: 50 miles, to Humbug Mt. State Park
Day 12: 70 miles, to 8 miles north of North Bend
Day 13: 35 miles, to Honeyman State Park (near Florence)
Day 14: REST Day!!!
Day 15: 60 miles, to Junction City
Day 16: 15 miles, to Eugene Whitaker Hostel
Day 17: 55 miles, to Delta CAmpground USFS, 4 miles past Blue River
Day 18: 55 miles, to Indian Creek Campground, 6 miles before Sisters
Day 19: 81 miles!, to Ochoco Divide Campground
Day 20: 56 miles, to Dayville Presbyterean Church
Day 21: 53 miles, to Dixie Pass Campground
Day 22: 60 miles, to Oregon Trails RV Park in Baker City, OR
Day 23: REST DAY!!!, sadly, last day Rachel is with us.
Day 24: 84 miles, to Brownlee Dam, ID (WE REACHED IDAHO!!!)
Day 25: 78 miles, to New Meadows
Day 26: 64 miles, to Whitebird Swiftwater RV park
Day 27: 69 miles, to Lowell
Day 28: 68 miles, to Powell Campground
Day 29: 60 miles, to Missoula, Montana (WE REACHED MONTANA!!!)
DAY 30: REST DAY!!!

Derek's log of trip so far...

Hi y'all,

So, as you can see in the blog, I started blogging with an excruciatingly detailed account of each day of the trip. By the time we arrived in Eugene, I realized this ended up taking a lot of time, which we don't have much of, given that we end up biking 5-10 hours of each day, and we spend our whole rest days doing errands like re-stocking our bulk foods (we are the only cyclists I know carrying as much food as we do, but it's damn tasty), eating out, taking showers, reading, and blah, blah, blah....

What I will update you on is a list of each day's mileage, destination points, and camping situation. I will later try to add pictures but this dang thing adds them more slowly than I can handle (I'm still a fast-paced L.A. guy I guess).

Home sweet home in Missoula

Since our last update, Derek and I have blasted through Idaho in 5 days and made our way to Missoula, MT. From Baker City, OR, we had an 84 mile day to the Idaho state line. This brought us into and through the infamous Hell's Canyon, through which the Snake River runs. Notably, it is also the deepest gorge in North America (The Grand Canyon is actually the third...the second deepest is also located in Idaho). During our trek through the mostly barren landscape, the afternoon sun brought the temperature up to 108 degrees, not exactly ideal cycling weather. We rested in the afternoon to beat the heat, and then got in the last 11 miles or so as the sun dropped below the hills. The next morning, we awoke to find ourselves in Idaho, but within spitting distance of Oregon. We climbed out of the gorge before lunch, and despite, the big gain in elevation, we still managed to make a 78 mile day to New Meadows, Idaho. It was pretty horribly hot during the afternoon, even though we were no longer in the canyon. By the last 15 miles or so, a thunderstorm had developed, complete with lighting, thunder, and LOTS of rain....so by the time we got to New Meadows, we were soaked and freezing cold. Four more days of biking followed (each of which got progressively cooler as we headed Northeast, and out of the desert), taking us along the Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark trails, through the Nez Perce Reservation, and up and over Lolo pass and into the long-awaited big sky country...so, alas, here we are.
Thanks to Renee and her family, Missoula has been an ideal rest spot. Laundry, showers, and damn good home cookin'! Thank you!
Tomorrow (August 1st), we will begin to head Southeast, hopefully getting into Wyoming @ Yellowstone on the 5th. The next day, Grand Tetons/Jackson area, and we'll probably take a rest day on the 7th, at which time Dena will be meeting up with us to join us for however much of the journey her schedule allows. :)
Sarah