djb

PW, that made me smile because 27 summers ago when I did my trip, I went into it thinking "coast " , so probably not too bad, but at times clearly saying to myself, "man , this is as hard as the Pyrenees! " --the previous summer i had biked most of the pyrenees east to west and had lowered the gearing of my bike for that trip, and was glad for that I did.
Back then all we had for gradients on maps were on Michelin maps they had chevrons marked on map for climbs, 1 chevron=A bit steep, 2 for moderate, 3 for real steep. Nice in France but I don't recall them on the US maps I had for the West coast trip.

I just remember thinking, boy this trip has climbing at times!

didn't matter though, very cool route.
hope it works out.

PedalingWalrus

ok. I found a GPX track on ridewithgps for Astoria to Golden Gate Bridge - apparently 810 miles. Sounds like a reasonable distance for what I estimate is 3500 feet average elevation gain on a 60 mile day

Tourist in MSN

Yeah, Pacific Coast, I also expected more of the road to be closer to sea level. That was a surprise.

The Oregon cycle map had some alternative routes that routed you away from the main highway in some places with heavy traffic, some of those alternate back road were up to 12 percent grade. Main highway appeared to have a max grade of 8 percent.

Iceland had a cycling map, along the side of a road on the map there were two colors, yellow was a specific grade and brown was a steeper grade. I do not recall the specific numbers, but those colors were for specific percent gradients. And the color on the side of the road, you could tell which direction was uphill. In many ways that was the best cycling map I ever saw, and it was free. But printed on plain paper, and in rain and damp weather the map only lasts a bit over a week when you are careful. I should have picked up four copies instead of one in Reykjavik when I was there.

djb

What, you didn't have your plug in plastic laminator along with all the food and crap you had loaded?!
I've mentioned this before re gradients somewhere on the west coast trip, but I have a clear memory of serenely honking down a long downhill at 80kph 50mph.
Must have been one of those inland detours, I seem to recall looking down on the ocean from high up with a blanket of fog all over.

staehpj1

Another surprise for me was how remote some of it was. At one point there were even free range cattle on the road.

Chinghis

Heh, those are just the parts that I have skipped ... I've ridden the Washington part from Olympic Peninsula to Aberdeen, and also San Francisco to North San Diego County. Some day I'll finish the pretty sections, I guess.

djb

geez that jogged a memory or two, specifically of riding over cow grates or whatever you call them, for the first time in my life.

mev

Your counterparts in Alberta call them Texas Gates or Passage à Rouleaux. In the US, I typically see the term cattle grates.


Edit: I guess "cattle guard" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid is more common.

https://thegate.boardingarea.com/wha...ational-parks/

Doug64

At least they were not electrified like this one in Alberta.

staehpj1

I have seen many cattle guards, but never any electrified ones.

djb

Cattle guard, thanks mev, haven't heard that term in years.

And interesting Doug, marked as an electric bear guard, must be only a west thing.

pdlamb

Is that a big problem in Alberta, bears crossing bridges?

djb

come on, I can't be the only one thinking that there's a good joke in here somewhere........

Doug64

If memory serves me right, It was on a road going into a campground. The campground was also enclosed in a high electric fence, but it was 8 years ago, and I am getting older



Cattle guards are a common thing in Oregon, especially the eastern half of the state. There are millions of acres of public land that are under "cattle allotments" (rented to the ranchers for grazing). I don't remember seeing any cattle guards on the coast route.

Tourist in MSN

I was totally amazed at the giant trees. If you can fit your schedule so that you can camp at Elk Prairie Campground, they had a hiking trail through some of the trees, it was just amazing.

Unfortunately some of my photos are rotated, I can't figure out how to correct.

First photo was before I got to the campground.



They cut a hole through the trunk of a downed tree so that the hiking trail could go through that hole.









The trees were just amazing.

You are going to have a great time. Remember to bring a cork screw.

Doug64

That is an understatement. I'm not sure if the official Pacific Coast Route takes the Avenue of the Giants Road south of Weott, but its is an awesome ride, and that is also an under statement. Actually, I think we are talking about the same place.

Tourist in MSN

Yes, and using a point and shoot camera to try to capture the scale of something that can't be imagined if you were not there to see it, the photos just do not do it justice.

Tourist in MSN

If your trip is early August, not sure when fire season is.
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/11/10054...ildfire-season

I was there seven years ago, we often did not have cell coverage, maybe it has gotten better?

jamawani 

By August the wildfire risk in southern Oregon and northern California will be extreme.
It has been a record low precipitation in many areas of the West -
esp. since early March when almost no rain has fallen along the coast.
The end of the rainy season has never been this early before.
Be prepared for possible closures - roads & parks - and smoky conditions.

PS - California may run out of electricity by August, too.

PedalingWalrus

Getting more and more excited to choose this route.

yesterday I did a long hike through the White Mountains. A colder front came through at night amd my summer sleeping bag was barely getting the job done.

that got me thinking: should I bring a summer bag or a shoulder season bag on this trip?

mev

It is cooler along the coast, than brief bits where you are inland. The ocean currents keep things cool, but also moderate against large temperature swings.

Using Fort Bragg as a proxy for climate averages: https://weatherspark.com/y/364/Avera...tes-Year-Round and Eureka to cross check: https://weatherspark.com/m/314/8/Ave...-United-States Suggests average highs of 72F (22C) and lows of 52F (11C) with a fairly tight range. I typically plan for extremes reaching about the 90th percentile or ~45F (7C) with what I bring just in case - so depends a bit on what sleeping bags you have. You could also have warmer than average nights, but I wouldn't expect much above 59F (15C) at night.

Expect some cool evenings, some fog and comfortable daytime temperatures. Nights should be cool along the coast, but not extremely cold.

staehpj1

That is a really individual choice. I went in September and was warm and comfy in my Mountain Hardwear Phantom +45, but I sleep warm and use it down into the teens with some clothing to supplement. There were folks in much lower rated bags with all their clothes on that said they froze on colder nights where I was fine 10' away. So it is hard to base that decision on what others use.

Best to look at record lows on weatherspark and decide based on your own experience. I look for comfort at average lows and surviving without injury or illness at record lows. That with all my clothes worn or piled on top of me.

Tourist in MSN

I used a 40 degree down bag in May and June 2014. Also used a microfiber sleeping bag liner, but I mostly use a liner to keep my sleeping bag cleaner, not for extra warmth. And an air mattress.

I had three weather sites on my phone to use for forecasts, Crescent City was the location I used for mid-route. And of all my trips that I have ever done, I can't remember seeing a better forecast for so long a period of time. Not too hot, not too cold, no precip, but I was not there when you will be there.



I tested fate and packed my rain gear in the bottom of a pannier for the last half of my trip, and it stayed in the bottom of my pannier. That is the only trip I have done that, usually my rain gear is strapped on top of a front pannier where it is very handy very quickly.

One of the hiker biker sites I was in, below.



I was there seven years ago, things may have changed but the Oregon State Parks had free showers, California State Parks had coin op showers. I made sure I always had a few days worth of quarters in California.

Doug64

Presently most of the sate parks are open, but the showers in many of them are still closed. Hopefully this will change by August.

djb

so very curious Doug, given how in some states in the US, even last year in the thick of things, so many aspects of daily life was so so cavalier and seemingly not a concern to people.

no showers does make it tricky camping. Last summer when I did a four day trip, I camped twice where the shower situation was open, but they were single person showers where an open door and open general bathroom design allowed for very good ventilation.
I waa comfortable using them. And I'm very very safety minded.