I completed my first bike tour yesterday and it was a success. I started at my place in Seattle, went around the Olympic peninsula, then headed south. I completed 1888.3 miles with 89,134 ft elevation gain in 33 days with 6 rest days. No mechanical issues and only one rainy day in Newport, OR.

Coming off the trip to normal life, I'm a bit on the sad side. I enjoyed the simple life of biking, eating, camping and meeting others. I met a lot of good people on this trip and experienced the kindness of strangers. I remember seeing the coastline multiple times and being in awe of its majesty.

Regarding the Big Sur closure, I did a 2 day inland detour from Santa Cruz to King City to San Luis Obispo. The second day of that was the crux with the climb to Lake Nacimiento in temps up to 113.

My gear was a specialized diverge comp carbon with a front tubus Sara rack and rear ortlieb quick rack. I went with two small gravel panniers in the front and two full panniers in the back and a top tube bag.

I really recommend this trip! I think the last bit through LA was my least favorite. My favorite part was the Oregon coast, specifically the Yachats area.

My ig with daily updates: @alpinecarl Strava: ask me, reddit won't let me add the link