Day #76 (7/21/24) – Bike Across America

I woke up to my alarm at 6:15 and got ready to go. I was on the bike by 7:00. It was a cloudy and cool morning with a temperature of 56 degrees. The high temperature for the day was only going to be 63 degrees.

The route today was a gradual climb up to 1,200 feet at the halfway point, then a gradual descent to the ocean.

After a short ride along the marina in Port Angeles, I was climbing.

After biking on the city streets for a couple of miles, I was on the paved trail out of town.

I biked over the New Elwha River Bridge, which was neat, because they built the bike trail under the vehicle road. Also, the view of the New Elwha River was pretty.

Then I was biking on Highway 112 for 10 miles. There was a good shoulder, but also a lot of traffic. Eight miles into this stretch, I went through a very small town called Joyce. There was a small diner (the Blackberry Cafe) in town that was open, and I stopped to eat a second breakfast. It was 8:30.

I was chilled when I came out of the diner, because I had gotten sweaty biking then stopped and the temperature was still in the 50’s. So, I biked the last two miles of the highway pretty hard to warm back up.

Once off the highway, I was back on a paved trail. But that trail turned to gravel and went through some very desolate country. I thought that this was my best chance to encounter a bobcat, bear, or Sasquatch. But, I didn’t see any of them.

That road took me to the start of the Spruce Railroad Trail. This trail was one of the best trails I rode on during this adventure. It was ten miles of paved and smooth asphalt. It runs along the northern shore of Lake Crescent and then climbs up through the rain forest through the old growth forest. Here are some pictures.

As I was climbing the Spruce Railroad Trail, it started to rain. It was just a light rain, and the dense tree canopy kept me mostly dry. I stopped to take my rain jacket out of my pannier and the rain quickly stopped after that.

Then I was on another ODT section that was paved. The pine needles were so thick that you could barely see the asphalt. I wasn’t sure if they would be slippery, but didn’t take any chances and slowed down for the corners.

The last 30 miles of the day was on roads. The first ten of those were on country roads and I didn’t even see another car. The second ten was back on Highway 112 – busy but with a good shoulder. There were three bridges that I had to cross on this stretch that didn’t have a shoulder to ride on. But, my angels gave me a break in the traffic for each one, as they have done for the entire adventure.

The final ten miles were on a different busy highway, but this one didn’t have a good shoulder. Two or three feet, that was all. Not sure how they could make it part of the ODT when it isn’t that safe to ride. But, there weren’t any other options, so I rode it and made it safely. A few close calls, though. I arrived in La Push at 2:00.

I was fortunate to spot Elizabeth in La Push (the town at the Pacific Ocean), because it was very busy and there wasn’t any cell coverage for AT&T.

It took us a few minutes to find a path to the ocean through the driftwood that lined the shore. But I was able to dip my front tire into the Pacific Ocean to complete my coast to coast adventure.

It was a tremendous sense of accomplishment to have biked all the way across the country. I am so happy and blessed to have completed this journey. Here are a few pictures of the Pacific Ocean at La Push.

I will write up some closing thoughts about the entire journey in a couple of days.

But, for today, I biked 79 miles and climbed 2,600 feet.

Elizabeth and I loaded my bike in her rental car and drove three hours to visit with my niece, Melanie. On the way we stopped for lunch/dinner and I ate an impressive amount of food (since I hadn’t been able to find a place for lunch during the ride), including a banana milkshake for dessert.

We’ll be here for a few days to box my bike and get it shipped, and to book our flights home. Looking forward to spending time with Melanie and doing some sightseeing with Elizabeth. And writing the summary blog post.

Thank you all for your support during this adventure!!