And into California

This post is from a newsletter I sent out while cycling from Canada to Mexico in 2017

Hello friends,

I’m writing from Arcata, in the northwest corner of California. After cycling 11 days in a row chasing clear skies, I finally got caught out in an unforgiving storm involving horizontal rain, a waterlogged phone (therefore no map) and an alarming stretch on a 4-lane highway. Since then I’ve treated myself to a couple of days off to rest aching muscles and take an exciting tour of all the local phone shops, before heading back out tomorrow.

First things first, the raccoons. Or “thieving little bastards” as another camper put it. Cape Lookout’s beauty hid a terrible secret; it was overrun. All night they terrorised me, sticking their little burglar faces under my tent before finally making off with my food pannier bag. After an hour’s search I found it under some scrub, torn open and cleaned out. I cursed them all the way up the very steep climb out of the campsite, with the first food stop 15 long miles away.

Furry felons aside, Oregon was breathtaking, the road opening out to views over endless sand dunes and stacked rocks and surf rolling in from miles off the coast. I saw sea lions, wild elk, even a golden eagle which screeched past overhead (just like in the movies!) and it all sped by far too quickly. The people I met lived up to the state’s hippy reputation, laid-back and looking for any way to help make my travels easier.

Having pedalled 1,240 miles I’m over halfway there and am now monitoring the dreadful wildfires more closely as I approach San Francisco.

Love, Elishka