So here we go again. This time we are off to the good old U.S of A. This one is going to be a real challenge. We intend to cycle the full length of the Pacific coast from the Canadian border to Mexico. Our route will be a little under 2000 miles and just to make it a little more difficult we intend to camp about 75% of the time, which means we have to carry everything with us and we mean everything.
We have been preparing for this trip for quite a while and over the last couple of years have done several 3 day trips carrying most of our equipment with us and of course we have done some serious cycling in France and Italy earlier this year.
There are several points from which to start the trip and we have chosen San Juan Island which is located right next to Vancouver Island and, other than a land border, is the closest accessible point between the two countries. From there we will cycle around the island before catching a short ferry ride to the mainland at Anacortes in Washington State.
We will then head South and after a short side trip to visit Seattle we will head West to the Pacific Coast, then a turn South and along the coast through Washington, Oregon and into California.
After about a month we hope to arrive in San Francisco where we will take some time out, hire a car, throw the bikes in the back and spend another month exploring Lake Tahoe, Salt Lake City, The National Parks of Utah and Arizona. A rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon is planned followed by trips to Death Valley and Yosemite before heading back to San Francisco, dropping off the car and getting back on the bikes.
Heading South again will take us along the Monterey and Big Sur coast down into Southern California, through Santa Barbara and Malibu, before we then take on the challenge of cycling through Los Angeles! We will then take a stop in Long Beach for Steve to run the marathon before the final push through the beach towns to San Diego and finally the Mexican border.
We have a couple of weeks spare for a bit of a holiday at the end when Steve’s son and his girlfriend are coming out to meet us and a trip to Vegas is on the cards!
Looks like quite a trip and sounds so easy when you type it out. We just feel it might be tougher than we think. Let’s see how it goes!!