Sailing Down the Highway

To Gualala, California -- 47.1 miles, 15.8 mph, 2125 ft.

I climbed out of the tent just before 7:00. As is often the case these days, the first thing on my mind was getting to the bathroom. On the way back to the tent, I saw that Don was already up, coffee ready.

It wasn't long before the tortillas, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage and potatoes, were ready to serve thanks to Don. Sure beats oatmeal and peanut butter tortillas! We could see through the trees that it was going to be another beautiful clear day. It was fun to relax around the table and make it a slow exit.

Once on the road, we were treated to beautiful views of the Pacific along rocky shorelines or golden yellow grassy fields. This section of coast line is beautiful and crosses dozens of small streams and inlets to the ocean. The largest ones have tall cement bridges with fleeting views of the ocean (at least from my seat as I concentrate on the white line). For smaller streams the road turns inland, dives down, crosses the stream, then curves back towards the water in a steep ascent of the next cliff -- short but steep.

Don’s white camper passed us by an hour into the ride. They were off to find a campsite in Gualala and then would come back to meet us for lunch. Our agreed upon spot was the Rollerville Cafe south of Manchester. If not for the nonexistent shoulder, this would be almost perfect biking conditions, beautiful sunshine, ocean views, cool weather, and a consistent tailwind.

After filling up at the restaurant, we launched off for the last 17 miles. We were thankfully being paid dividends on the headwind deposits we had made in North Dakota and Montana. Woohoo!  I felt like Lance Armstrong as Kylie and I were able to power up slopes at speeds disproportionate to our effort. On one sudden plunge down to sea level we briefly reached 48 mph!  It was awesome but demanded constant concentration to stay as close to the edge of the payment as possible while avoiding and pot holes, crumbling asphalt, gravel or debris that could either send us off the road or into a passing logging or dump trucks.

Our private campground, the Gualala River Redwood Park was a quarter mile off the highway in a stand of towering redwoods. Despite the tightly packed camp sites, the redwoods definitely made up for it.

One of the best parts of the evening was, a little before 6:00, when Emma and Andrew rolled up. It had been a slow day for them as Emma was still recovering from being ill. It was great to see them and introduce them to Don, Joan, and De Ann. The kids of course, came running. We invited them to have dinner and spend the night, but unfortunately they had their sights set on another camp 20 miles down the road. They would be leaving for Sri Lanka on Tuesday and therefore were anxious to get to San Francisco as early as possible on Sunday, so they could see some sights. We were sad to see them go, but couldn't blame them for wanting to make some more miles. If all goes to plan, we’ll also be in SF on Sunday, just later in the day.

Evening entertainment consisted of a s'mores and a fire that Dex and Kylie were more than happy to attend to. I just wish they were that excited about putting up the tent.

Redwood special -- salami, cheese, wine... and animal cookies!