Brian Ohlen

Pacific Coast

Bellingham, WA

Overview
Segment 1 185 mi Vancouver, BC
Segment 2 335 mi Bremerton, WA
Segment 3 522 mi Astoria, OR
Segment 4 710 mi Florence, OR
Segment 5 867 mi Crescent City, CA
Segment 6 1046 mi Garberville, CA
Segment 7 1105 mi Tomales, CA
Segment 8 1223 mi San Francisco, CA
Segment 9 1379 mi Monterey, CA
Segment 10 1490 mi San Luis Obispo, CA
Segment 11 1610 mi Santa Barbara, CA
Segment 12 1743 mi Long Beach, CA
Pre-Ride Prep 0 mi Home
Vancouver, Canada 387 mi Tillamook, OR
Portland, OR 328 mi Crescent City, CA
Crescent City, CA 276 mi Gualala, CA
Gualala, CA 190 mi Santa Cruz, CA
Monterey, CA 322 mi Venice, CA
Venice, CA 147 mi Mexico/US Border
Port Angeles, 148 mi Bellingham, WA
Forks, WA 175 mi Bellingham, WA
Olympic 150 mi Penninsula
Aberdeem, WA 207 mi Newport, OR
Newport, WA 122 mi Bandon, OR
Bandon, OR 178 mi McKinleyville, CA
McKinleyville, CA 152 mi Westport, CA
Westport, CA 261 mi Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA 164 mi Morro Bay, CA
Morro Bay, CA 300 mi Encinitas, CA

Port Angeles, WA to Bellingham, WA Every journey has to start somewhere. Mine started in Port Angeles, WA, and a sunrise ferry to Victoria BC. Our ride North to Swartz Bay was as good as it gets: sunshine, bike paths and mountain views. Definitely somewhere to put on the return list. My brother Matt, friend Eric and I were on a bit of a timeline to catch the Ferry to Tsawwassen and made it just in time. From there a nasty highway led to a perfect gravel path along Muddy Bay: eagles, ducks, and more snowcapped mountains. I kept my eye out for some stealth camping spots, but we thankfully navigated to our gracious Warm Showers hosts in Surrey, BC. Nothing better than a shower, meal, and bed after a long day.

Day 2 followed the ACA Pacific Coast route from Surrey to Bellingham. Lucked out again with no rain, but not quite as scenic as Vancouver Island. The border crossing went smoothly with the small exception of trying to take our bikes through the car lane. That's not how it works apparently. Arrived in Bellingham in the afternoon and took in a few of its finest breweries. Also not a bad way to end the day!

While jumping into an off season tour hasn’t been easy, I feel better about what the next 2 months will bring. Rearranging the weight load on day two made for a much better handling bike. Can’t wait to start swing flies for steelhead trout later next week! Olympic Peninsula bound!

- Images of the Road -

- Pacific Coast Milestones -

Brian Ohlen

Gear List

- My Ride -

- My Favorite Blackburn Gear -

CENTRAL 700 FRONT $99.99 View Lights
OUTPOST FRONT WORLD TOURING RACK $99.99 Buy Now
OUTPOST C02 CUPPED INFLATOR WITH CARTRIDGE $22.99 Buy Now
OUTPOST CARGO CAGE $24.99 View Cages

- Brian's entire bike specs and gear list coming soon! -

Brian Ohlen

FROM: Cody, Wyoming
DOB: 2016-01-01
Married
OCCUPATION: Bicycle Mechanic

What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? Realizing that biking from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Coast would give me the perfect opportunity to fly fish for steelhead. Why not bike-fish my way down the coast?

Have you traveled by bike in the past? Yep. Mostly off road and gravel tours. The best ones lead to a fishing stream or hunting destination.

What is your goal for the route? I'd love to catch a steelhead in each of the three state's I'll travel through. Three fish doesn't sound like much, but those buggers are hard to catch!

What do you hope to get out of this journey? This trip will provide the type of physical and mental challenge that I crave. One that leads towards the discovery of amazing places, people, and coastal streams.