I’m starting this feeling like I don’t have much to say. It felt like I started and then was suddenly done. It isn’t surprising considering today was the shortest ride of the tour yet at only 48 miles.
Woke up early at 5:30 and knew I wasn’t going back to sleep so I bit the bullet and got up and moving. If I’d known today was going to be so short I would have laid around and read my book for a few hours before leaving. Breaking camp only took two hours and that includes breakfast in camp. Not terrible.
Today’s ride started with continuing south along the Avenue of the Giants. Sadly, Caltrans has decided to tear up the existing road and lay down chip seal. They started at the southern terminus and are working their way north. From near perfectly smooth asphalt to absolutely garbage chip seal. It may bed in some as time goes by but right now it’s awful. At one point I was on a descent and came into a fresh section. I nearly dumped the bike because it was so thick. Felt like I’d run into a stretch of deep sand.
After Avenue of the Giants it was mostly either US-101 or an old alignment of it. Grabbed scenic pictures when I could. I was surprised to see a sign showing less than 200 miles to San Francisco!
I got to camp relatively early and got chores done before setting up the tent. Then I went exploring for some kind of connection for everything to update and let the family know I was alive. Thankfully the parks entrance station has WiFi which is what I made heavy use of.
Which mooching some WiFi, Bob, who I met at the Starbucks in Eureka a few days back, rolled in. I was super surprised to see him. It’s kinda funny, last time we met I was in kit and he was in street clothes. Today it was the opposite and both of us weren’t certain about the identity of the other person. He’s staying up the highway a few miles at Richardson Grove. He went to my camp yesterday to visit and he saw my campsite, but I was out on that insane adventure. He rode this way today hoping to run into me and got lucky. I had just finished all my chores and had sat down to start tonight’s updates when he rolled in.
Made a new friend at camp. This little toy moose was sitting on the table when I stopped. I think I may bring him home with me. Besides my pet unicorn needs a pet right? What better pet than a moose?
I made a quick walk across the highway to eat at “The Peg House Grill”. Had a nice Brie Chicken Sandwich. Brie, bacon, apricot jam with a grilled chicken breast and homemade coleslaw. It was all pretty dang good. Enjoyed it with a Humboldt Cherry Cider. Before walking back to camp I stopped at the store next door, “The Peg House“, and grabbed some sweet snacks for later tonight. Need to carb load for the big Leggett climb tomorrow morning.
Looking forward to a night of relaxing and reading before bed. Back to a normal distance day tomorrow, but it starts with the “big climb” out of Leggett. It’s one of the climbs everyone on this tour dreads. I’m guessing about 1,100 feet in four miles. That and the one out of SLO. Depending on how I feel I may stop early at Russian Gulch Campground as I’ve heard from Ray that it’s choice.
31.39 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Sunny-Partly sunny, 48°F-64°F, Feels like 55°F-80°F, Humidity 93%-59%, Wind ESE 2mph-SSW 4mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: 1.3%
Headwind: 52% @ 3.3-3.4mph
Longest Headwind: 54m 44s
Air Speed: 12mph
Temp: 50.2-72°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 1047 ft
Min elevation: 274 ft
Total climbing: 3190 ft
Total descent: -2422 ft
Total time: 06:20:49
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