May 2, 1989 to May 25, 1989
Practice Retirement Part 1
San Francisco to Olympic Hot Springs, Washington
Practice Retirement was my longest tour ever, passing through 29 U.S. states plus Alberta.
181 days. 10,051 miles (16,082 km).
The tour was so long that I split it into 3 pages in this digest.
The first segment of the tour was solo, up the Pacific Coast bike route from San Francisco to the Olympic peninsula of Washington.
May 2-25, 1989. About 1200 miles (1920 km).
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Yes, I went the wrong direction. I had a strong headwind every day except 2 stormy days. I was bundled up going into the wind and occasionally saw southbound cyclists wearing far fewer clothes. Overtaking traffic sometimes startled me because I couldn't hear the vehicle over the deafening sound of the headwind.
I had time to spare and regret not taking very many tourist stops along the way. Before the tour I spent 2 days in San Francisco. The first day I pedaled most of the city's 49 mile scenic drive. The second day I pedaled across the Golden Gate bridge and up the Marin headlands.
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I spent a day exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and learned how headlands and beaches on the northwest side are much colder and windier than on the south or southeast side of a cape.
I really appreciated the change when the coastal highway turned inland to the redwoods. I detoured to the drive-thru Chandelier tree and found Avenue of the Giants to be very enchanting. Miles of narrow 2 lane road threading between tree trunks nearly as wide as the road.
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In Oregon I enjoyed the scenery but don't remember very many wow moments. The 3 capes scenic route was probably the best. The bridges didn't make much of an impression on me at the time and I had no troublesome wind on the bridges.
One of the most memorable experiences was at the mouth of the Columbia river in Washington. I heard about a salmon barbeque while listening to FM radio at my campsite. So I lazed around the campsite and pedaled 4 miles to Ilwaco for lunch. It was a fund raiser for the fish police. Salmon went straight from fishing boats to barbeque grills. I was surprised to learn how quickly a 10 pound salmon cooks. $10 for a big slab of salmon, potato salad, corn on the cob, bread and tea. It was my first time to see or eat wild-caught salmon.
In Washington I went around the Olympic Peninsula but the route is mostly inland in dense forest with no ocean views. The weather turned rainy and I was focused on moving down the road. I regret not spending some time on one or two of the wild log-strewn beaches on the Olympic Peninsula. And I regret not taking the easy road to the Hoh rainforest. It didn't seem very appealing since it was already raining nonstop.
In Washington I learned about Olympic hot spring and decided to go there. It's a big detour. The last 2.5 miles is an old road converted to a trail. It was easy to bike then. No washouts. I spent 2 nights there, mostly soaking while the weather was 50F and raining. That started my lifelong interest in soaking at primitive hot springs.
At Olympic hot spring I met some people and rode in their car to suburban Seattle to avoid biking in nonstop rain. I stayed with them for a week, giving me plenty of time to explore Seattle and some outlying areas.
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I look at these pictures now and can hardly believe how thin I was. 162 pounds (74 kg) then, in my late 20's. 182 pounds (83 kg) now, in my late 50's.
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