Start your trip by boarding a ferry in Seattle for the Olympic Peninsula, and roll your ride back onto terra firma in the very green town of Port Townsend to begin your loop around the Olympic National Park/National Forest, the county’s only true rainforest. Wet or dry, hit a tavern-any tavern-in the lumber town of Forks if you’re interested in seeing what “caulked” (hobnailed) logger’s boots can do to a wood floor (you’ll never feel quite as bad tracking mud into the house again). Then bring the bike back east for a roll around 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, the state’s highest mountain. After cruising the majestic Cascaded Range, you’ll find yourself at beyond-breezy Hood River, the Northwest’s windsurfing Mecca. Your ride along the historic Columbia River Highway will ease you toward Portland while you marvel at the stunning overlooks and waterfalls that make this a great road. Park your bike in Portland’s old-time downtown and check out some of its many eating and drinking places.

    A mere 75 miles from lively Portland lies Cannon Beach—1946 wreck of the schooner Shark— a picturesque, heavy-on-the-crafts beach town favored by Portlanders and others who need an occasional break from life inland. Head south along the state’s pristine coast through an assortment of other picturesque coastal towns before motoring back east over the Coast Ranges. But before you do, you may want to “get your dairy thang on” with a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, possibly the West’s number-one magnet for cheeseheads (and coneheads, what with more than forty flavors of ice cream and fresh-baked waffle cones to be had). If you can resist the urge to lie down and nap away the rest of the day, your final destination will be Eugene, which is Oregon’s thrid-largest city. This university town, with its many miles of bike paths and super-friendly, politically active citizenry, will almost certainly feel anything but “ big city” to you. It’s the ideal place to gas up, rest up and eat up the offerings of this burgh’s many excellent restaurants. If you’re fortunate enough to find yourself in Eugene on a Saturday, check out the aptly named Saturday Market— it’s the country's oldest weekly, open-air crafts festival, with live entertainment and delicious food. It runs April through October.

    You’ll return to the mighty Pacific at the start of this ride to explore some of Oregon’s most beautiful coastal communities. Just north of Florence, check out the Sea Lion Caves, which are packed with scores of the barking, growling pinnipeds. You’ll loop back inland and roll through Roseburg and environs before your break at the lake— Crater Lake, to be sure— the country’s deepest lake at almost 2,000 feet. You’ll have the opportunity to conclude this leg of your trip with a visit to a less-explainable bust no less remarkable “natural” wonder— the Oregon Vortex, where balls roll uphill and brooms stand on end. You’ll have to decide what it all means

    There are different schools of thought as to why California is nicknamed the “Golden State.” Some think it’s the result of the state’s huge Gold Rush of 1849; others attribute the sparkling moniker to the golden-yellow state flower, the California Poppy. But you may well end up thinking it should be so known for its many thousands of miles of straight-up priceless roadways. The most northerly part of this leg of your ride will take you through some incredible country, with the Humboldt Redwoods State Park a definite highlight. You’ll roll thought the stunning, heavily timbered counties of Humboldt and Mendocino, and though such cool places as Boonville, a quirky town where certain of the locals speak an odd dialect known as “Boontling.” This leg of your ride ends in Calistoga, another cool town that’s made its mark with something hot— hot springs, that is. Famous for its spas, mud baths, geysers and, oh yes, fine wine, Calistoga is the perfect place to soak and sip the soreness of a long day’s ride right on out of your body.

    It’s time to reward yourself with a relatively easy day’s ride through the state’s lefty outpost, the San Francisco Bay Area. Your route will take you across the Golden Gate Bridge with its million-dollar view. Consider staying in the City by the Bay for the night (or longer) to check out this small but world-class city’s many compelling attractions— amazing cuisine, culture and nightlife, and some of the guaranteed steepest streets you’ve ever ridden. When you (finally?) head south out of town, roll on down to Woodside and Alice’s Restaurant, a legendary rider pit-stop, for a burger and (especially on the weekends) some world-class people watching. You’ll end this day’s ride in beachy Santa Cruz, with its historic boardwalk and oceanfront amusement park.

    The last leg of your ride takes you inland, away from the major freeways that crisscross heavily populated Orange County and San Diego areas. You’ll travel along the overlooks of Anza-Borrego State Park, California’s largest, as you ride the ridge-line above. This 6,000 foot-high ridge road drops you into Julian, a town famous for its apples, and where it sometimes snows in winter. Civilization, such as it is in these parts, will gradually make itself known as you wind your way toward the Pacific. When you hit Del Mar, try to make some time to take a dip at what has to be one of California’s premier swimming beaches before heading south to the stunning shoreline at San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs. You’ll finish your epic Pacific Coast odyssey on Coronado Island, with a breathtaking view of the San Diego skyline to the east, and the wide, rolling Pacific all around you.