Day 5

Day 5: Orick - Eureka
Time: 3:18:03
Distance: 66.3km
Average Speed: 20.1km/h

As soon as it was bright enough I set out for Eureka where I had arranged to meet Dan and Dale that I had met at Gold Beach. Google maps estimated 5 hours cycling time so I gave myself that much to make sure that I arrived on time. 

This section of the cycle had the most busy roads and the last 30km were almost never on the coast. When I arrived in Eureka a woman with lots of bike maps in her hand told me there was a better route that I could have taken for the last hour along the coast. Since I arrived without breaking my legs or worse I had no regrets.

I had a coffee and sandwich in downtown Eureka before going to Target where I was going to meet the guys. On the drive to Napa we drove through a section of redwood forest called "The Avenue of the Giants" and stopped for a look around. Tonight I stayed in the house of Dale and his wife Lynn. I will always be grateful for them welcoming a tired, slightly sunburnt Irish stranger into their home. 

I'll spend the weekend at the bottlerock festival headlined by the Foo Fighters and exploring Napa city before my flight home Monday.

Some quick thoughts ​on the trip while they are fresh in the mind;

I definitely tried to cover too many miles in too few days. With the constant hills keeping a high average speed was always going to be difficult so I probably should have planned shorter cycles. 

The road conditions got worse once I left Brookings and entered California. Oregon roads were better surfaced with wider shoulders. Brookings would have been a good finish point. This PDF is a great resource for people planning the Oregon section of the trip: 

The 101 has several cars, RVs and logging trucks. In other words, it's a dangerous route that I would not recommend to a first time bike tourer. Anyone used to riding on busy highways or cities would probably be fine and will enjoy the views, road surface, climbing and descents.