Illinoistocht

Day 10: Brookings to Orick. 67.1 miles, 4,049 ft. of climbing (108.0 km, 1,234 m)
After Crescent City, the route has a rough climb but the rider is rewarded with the first major redwood groves.   The long stretch through the Redwood National Park (and its associated State Parks) was very pleasant and despite a little chill, I enjoyed several stops to take a break and get some photos of some of the massive trees.   After a break in the big trees and passing through Klamath, the route continued through more redwood forests and parkland.   I had hoped to make it further, but the tough climb out of Crescent City and the late start due to the pit stop at the bike shop resulted in my decision to stop in Orick rather than continue further to a better destination either in Patrick’s Point State Park or one of the nice B&Bs in Trinidad.

Day 11: Orick to Myers Flat. 107.7 miles, 6,468 ft. of climbing (173.3 km, 1,971 m)
Whether it was the compelling scenery spurring me on or my lack of planning, I ended up riding more than I planned this day.   Besides the Carson Mansion, Eureka has a multitude of interesting Victorian buildings.  Later in the day, I was surprised by the attractive Victorian town of Ferndale (which I had thought would be comprised of maybe a chain gas station and a few nondescript houses, not a pleasant small town with historic Victorian era inns and B&Bs—the entire town is actually a California State Historic Landmark).  The route also had its share of rural farm roads, and the farm stand south of Ferndale made for a good refueling stop.  I continued on and entered the redwood-lined Avenue of the Giants, and because it was late in the day, the road was mostly empty.  (The research I did before the ride warned that this was a busy section to consider riding early in the morning before it got clogged with sightseers.  It was empty towards the evening when I rode it.)  I joined up with a rider I’d met at the camp in Brookings and we pedaled on through the majestic groves of redwoods for another hour, often not talking in a state of awed reverence.  

I was surprised by the lack of services in this area, and opted to stay at the Myers Inn B&B.  Another group of cyclists was staying here, with a van support and a father (bucket list bike tour of Pacific Coast) with his son and a couple of family friends along for the tour.  

I had thought about the Lost Coast alternative route, but after a conversation with a bike shop person in the Eureka / Arcata area, I decided to skip it as only 6 or so miles is actually on the coast with the rest in the woods.  Other reasons I opted to skip the loop included having had mechanical issues (the aforementioned spokes as well as cleat troubles on one shoe) and riding the mega-hills with a loaded touring bike.  There are a couple of events that tour only the Lost Coast during the year (one and two day events hosted by local cycling clubs).   So if I want to ride this alternative loop I can return some other time. 
 

Day 12: Myers Flat to Cleone. 85.5 miles, 8,088 ft. of climbing (137.6 km, 2,465m)
This day featured a pleasant roll-out, but then after Leggett, a tough climb up and over the coastal hills to the coast.  The shoulder wasn’t good, there were a lot of logging trucks and RVs to worry about, and once at the coast, a few pickup trucks gave little quarter to this bicyclist (maybe on purpose).  I don’t know—do they not like bicyclists?  Or maybe my relatively clean-cut appearance gave them a fear I was working for the DEA.  (Humboldt and Mendocino county are now notorious for a different crop than lumber.)   There are really no services between Leggett and Rockport as you climb up and over the highest point of the entire route, so plan accordingly. 

It was still going to be foggy, so I opted to stay at the Cleone Garden Inn rather than wake up to a cool, clammy morning.  Nice place with a wonderful hot tub to soak away the soreness and nearby a good Mexican restaurant in the Purple Rose.  There is also a private campground and grocery store nearby as well.
 

Day 13: Cleone to Ft. Ross. 87.8 miles, 5,555 ft. of climbing (141.3 km, 1,693 m)
Lots of seaside riding highlighted this day, which included a coffee break in the quaint town of Mendocino (or Spendocino as some people call it).  Since it would actually be my last night on the tour (I did the Washington – Oregon section in fall of 2009 and the San Francisco – San Diego section earlier in the summer), I opted to splurge and stay at The Timber Cove Inn and treat myself to a few glasses of fine wine and dinner overlooking the ocean.

Day 14: Ft. Ross to San Francisco. 91.6 miles, 5,972 ft. of climbing (147.5 km, 1,820 m)
The road from Ft. Ross to Jenner is a tough stretch where the road is narrow and winding with little and mostly no shoulder.  I benefitted from riding this in the early morning when few cars shared the road with the exception of some state park workers and a few other vehicles.  I rode hard to minimize my time in the stretch, so it had already been a pretty tough morning by the time I made it to Jenner, which is where the Russian River empties into the sea.   I then made a stop in Bodega Bay for “breakfast”.  The schoolhouse from Hitchcock's film, “The Birds”, is actually in the town of Bodega, just off the route several miles to the south.  Once the route made it to the small town of Marshall and Tomales Bay, I was on autopilot to home on roads I know well from weekend rides from San Francisco.  I stopped for lunch in Olema (as I do sometimes when I ride these roads on regular training rides) before continuing on through Marin County into San Francisco.  At the Golden Gate Bridge, I stopped to collect myself and put on some warmer clothes for the windy ride across the bridge.  The wind was blowing a consistent 25 mph, with higher gusts, and at the towers, the wind is even greater—this is not unusual at all on a summer afternoon here.  At least it was after 3:30 pm and the west sidewalk opens for bikes only, and fortunately the cool weather kept the hordes of tourist rental bikes away so it wasn’t too dangerous (despite no shoulders, highways, and other dangers of the road on the Pacific Coast tour, the bridge can be one of the more dangerous spots given the narrow sidewalk and distracted tourists on rental bikes).   With construction coming soon, the “bikes only” west sidewalk may be closed for a while in 2010 and 2011, which will probably mean walking the bike for extensive stretches during tourist season.

Day 15: San Francisco to Watsonville. 104.3 miles, 4,438 ft. of climbing (167.9 km, 1,353 m)
This ride is a nice ride out of San Francisco down the coast with some great scenery.   Surf spots like Mavericks, and two lighthouses that double as hostels are along this segment.  The ride through Santa Cruz was great as it was afternoon and there were a fair amount of UC Santa Cruz students to ride alongside and then later in the day, fitness cyclists out on their road bikes.  I enjoyed this ride so much I simply kept going, and stayed the night in Watsonville.
 

Day 16: Watsonville to Ragged Point. 108.8 miles, 9,081 ft. of climbing (175.1 km, 2,768 m)
The Big Sur day.   I once had a boss from the United Kingdom who worked in the US who said he thought this was the most beautiful place in the world.  I’m not quite as enthusiastic but much of it is pretty amazing.  (Note that I ride a lot on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands, so in one sense, Big Sur is just a more dramatic version of my average ride).   After the seaside flats around Monterey Bay, the route climbs its way out of the edge of the town of Monterey.   Besides great views of the coast, the obvious highlights of Big Sur include the Bixby Bridge, Point Sur, and the many dramatic vistas.  Lodging along this stretch takes the form of 1) camping, 2) decent but somewhat quirky places (Deetjens, Esalen), and 3) extremely expensive spas (Post Ranch, Ventana).   Some of the places to camp cater to families in cabins while others lack nearby groceries (however the campgrounds south of Lucia are pretty amazing sites but plan ahead for food, with Kirk Creek standing out).   I stayed at the reasonably affordable Ragged Point Inn after what was a monster of a day in the saddle.

Day 18: San Luis Obispo to Buellton. 75.9 miles, 3,046 ft. of climbing (122.2 km, 928 m)
A few weeks after riding from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, I drove to San Luis Obispo and left my car in the long-term parking lot at the Amtrak station and resumed my tour.  It seemed to take forever to drive to San Luis Obispo as Hwy 101 was snarled with traffic heading to the 2010 US Open Golf Championship at Pebble Beach.  I didn’t set out on my bike from San Luis Obispo until just after 2pm.  My route southwards followed some of the Adventure Cycling route but I opted to make a diversion and take the “Sideways” tour of the Santa Ynez wine country in Santa Barbara county, and I had a nonrefundable reservation at the Windmill hotel from the movie for that night.  I was worried I wouldn’t make it before dark given my late start, but it was no problem because of a huge tailwind through the flat agricultural Santa Maria Valley.   I missed catching any wine tastings, but given the ease of the ride I managed to fly (by touring standards) and reach Buellton and my hotel a few minutes after 7 pm.   I lucked out in that when I needed to ride faster, the conditions managed to fall into place for me.  
 
There was a long wait at the nearby Hitching Post restaurant, so I ate at the famous Andersen’s pea soup restaurant.  Besides Sideways, the area is better known for its wine region, the Danish themed town of Solvang, and great riding.  It's been a site almost every year of the Tour of California pro cycling race as I recall, and also hosts a big century ride every year.