Day 13: San Francisco, 58 mi

We made it safely!!! Took the 4:45 pm Larkspur Ferry instead of riding over Golden Gate Bridge.  Dustin met us at the terminal--loaded our bikes on a bus and made it to his apartment. We have showered and will go out for steak!

Point Arena to Bodega Bay, 63 mi

This is the 3rd time we have biked this route. We did not remember how difficult it is. Many steep inclines--it also was quite warm and a weekend so lots of beach traffic. We made it safely to our motel at about 4:30. We are a good Mexican dinner just at the town's edge. Beautiful ocean views!  We are about 70 miles from San Francisco. We probably will complete the ride tomorrow.

Point Arena, 45 mi

Great weather today. We started with long pants and jackets but ended with shorts and short sleeves. Still a hilly ride. One spot has over 20% grade. We were told today that is the steepest section of road in California.  Every time we have had to walk a portion of that because it also has steep curves. We had brunch in Elk--great cafe "Queenies":

The ocean views are fantastic on this portion of the route.

We are staying at a nice hotel--built in 1865 Wharf Masters Inn. It is a steep climb to the hotel but great view.

Tomorrow's destination is TBD. We have ridden over 500 miles. We expect to reach San Francisco on Monday.

Day 10--Leggett to Fort Bragg, 48 miles

We made it over Leggett hill--not as difficult as last time (5 yrs ago--different bikes & less climbing experience). 

We have now left 101 and will be following highway 1.

We had very poor internet yesterday so the blog was posted in the office of the camp. It was a nice dry cabin and we used the day to dry all our wet clothes and take a rest day since only pedaled 15 miles. But what a rain storm!

Today the weather was great for cycling--cool and dry.  

Tomorrow's destination is Point Arena. We have stayed there twice before and enjoy it. We made reservations since it is a weekend.

Leggett 15.6 mi

Day 8: Eureka to Garberville, 63 mi

Not as many hills today so we were able to travel more miles. We make good choices on the route and had two short excursions off Hwy. 101. The first went through Scotia--a logging mill community.

The next scenic route was through the redwoods--avenue of the Giants. 

For the first time this trip Sharon had to "pee in the bushes". She was careful to watch for oncoming cars--but was caught by a bicyclist we knew!! He was courteous and cycled past.

We are now 23 miles from the base of Leggett Hill. Rain is predicted for tomorrow--we will wait to decide what to do.

Orick to Eureka--45 miles

More hills, of course.  This area always seems windy--especially around Arcata and Eureka. We put on and took off our jackets all day. We took a few routes off highway 101--they were scenic miles but at a price. Very poor road condition and at times we had to push our bikes over sandy gravel sections. We didn't complain at all ??!! We are staying at a hotel my brother has told us is the only safe one in town: Bayshore Best Western. There is a Marie Callendar next door.