Portland to San Francisco Bike Trip - Day 12
Day 12 Stats - August 30, 2006
- Mendocino to Stillwater Cove
- 72.68 miles, 4400 ft. elevation gain, 726.52 miles total (34,576 elev)
- Ride time 5h 35m, trip time 7h 48m, start time 08:10am
- Average speed 13.0 mph, max 42.9
- Cities visited: Mendocino, Albion, Elk, Gualala, Sea Ranch, Stillwater Cove
- Total flats to date: Aimee:1, Pam:0, Preston:1
Another delightful cycling day along Highway 1.
Woke up to wonderful amber sunlight shining into our room. The restaurant owners had left us an "early departure" goody bag with delicious scones, jam, and a wonderful assortment of fruit, including about a dozen fresh figs (my favorite)!
Weather was sunny and warm, even first thing in the morning. We left early to avoid traffic, but this decision backfired on us as we ended up leaving right during "rush hour". Thus the traffic was a bit heavier than we had grown accustomed to for about 45 minutes, until we were well south of town.
Most of Hwy 1 has no shoulder at all, which isn't too terrible since the traffic is low. However, a vigilant eye and quick reflexes are essential to dart off the road if a big truck appears in the rear view mirror as you are approaching the top of a hill or a blind corner. It's also quite shady at times, making bright clothing and lights/blinkers essential!
Our entire ride today was aided by a moderate wind from the north, but much of the time this was wasted since the coast is quite hilly. The road is usually 100-200 feet above the ocean, but every time there is a beach or a river, the road does a rapid drop down and then back up. After this happened several dozen times, we started to get pretty tired.
We stopped for brief breaks in Albion and Elk, and then ate sandwiches and food from our cooler at a nice state park south of Gualala.
Met a guy with a lot of face jewelry/piercings who was pulling an 80-lb. trailer from Berkeley to Arcata. He was doing a one-way trip and moving for work. A few years ago, he completed a three-year walking trip across the entire country from New York to Oregon! He was super skinny and had really bad teeth, I think he may have been a meth addict.
Met another solo rider (also going northbound, from San Francisco to Seattle via Bend and Portland). He was pulling a trailer and camping along the way as well. He was taking his time and when we found him, he was sprawled out at a scenic spot reading a book and enjoying the sun.
Traffic picked up again considerably as we went through Sea Ranch, a sprawl-like urban neighborhood community just south of Gualala. Luckily this faded away as we approached our destination for the night.
Our hotel today (Stillwater Cove Ranch, $75 per cottage) was extremely remote. It used to be a boarding school for boys, but now is rental cottages and an active farm (with a million dollar view of the ocean). No phones, no TV, no Internet. Just lots of privacy and quiet--and a bunch of sheep and peacocks roaming around. We tried playing with the sheep until we realized just how dangerous farm animals seem when you get close to them. The owners also gave us a tour of their impressive gardens, which featured an amazing breadth of vegetables.
We ate dinner at the only restaurant around (located at the fancy lodge about 5 miles down the street) and then turned in for a very quiet evening in the cottages.