Oct
04
2009
by Mr Cubes
Garberville to MacKerricher State Park (67.6 miles)
MacKerricher to Manchester KOA (45.4 miles)
Total Miles: 3,455.6
After a day’s rest in Garberville to recover the legs a bit, I wanted to get some good miles in again. This meant a 70 mile day in intense heat over 2 massive hills. Bring it on.
By 10am it was already really warm and turning into a great day for riding. Along this part of the 101 the shoulder is so wide that I virtually have a whole lane to myself. Which is great as the road is busy with lots of lorries rumbling past at 70mph.
All of a sudden, the highway slimmed down to just one lane and went into Richardson Grove. First thing I noticed was The Legend of Bigfoot store, where eager tourists can buy fictional souvenirs. Not really sure what the point of it was, most of the things I saw on offer were completely unrelated to bigfoot.
Again, I should point out that this is marijuana country and I guess then it all makes a bit more sense. In the village of Richardson Grove was a few more stores and a house made out of a single redwood log. While I was looking at this a hippy came over to ask me if I was interested in joining the bike ride they are having to save the Grove from a planned expansion to the highway. I politely declined. The smell would be horrendous.
After bumping into another aging hippy on a bit of a climb I was ready to leave the 101 in favour of Highway 1 which turns off at the town of Leggett. Highway 1 starts with a long steep 
climb for over 4 miles before a stunning 10 mile descent where I almost lost control a couple of times as I tried to get the racing line. Luckily the road was really quiet allowing me to ride out in the middle of the lane. Another big hill followed, steeper but shorter and then dropped down to the coast again. The last few miles to the campsite were tough going but a nice bit of road to ride along. By the time I got there it was getting late and starting to darken so I quickly made noodles and showered before introducing myself to the other 2 Canadian cyclists at the site, Amber and Steve. As it turned out, I would get to see quite a bit of them over the next week. But then it was time for bed, absolutely knackered.
The next day’s riding was all along the coast and a stunning piece of coast it was too. It started off pretty cold and for the first hour I rode with my woolly hat on, something I had not worn since Northern Alaska.
Treated myself to an expensive omelette in Fort Bragg. A cheap looking diner that had desires to be so much grander. Everything was organic, took ages to cook and included a glass of orange juice at $4.50. An outrage!
As I left I saw the World Famous Skunk Train. Anyone actually heard of it? I have no idea what it was, why it’s called a 
skunk or how it is world famous, but after a couple of toots of it’s horn it disappeared and I returned to riding out to the coast. First town to pass through was Mendocino which someone had told me was famous for something, but I have long since forgotten what it might be. The tiring thing in Northern California is the lack of bridges. Not something I ever thought would trouble me, but instead of the bridges there were now big switchbacks where the road turns inland and drops down to cross the river at sea level before climbing back up to the top of the coast again.
Stopped at a tiny tourist village called Elk in time for lunch and had a European styled one with an Italian sausage ciabatta sandwich, with a complimentary French onion soup. Lush.
Then followed the biggest switchback of them all, dropping from 500ft and then 
climbing back again in just half a mile. Tiring stuff. Was then really flat and fast and out of nowhere appeared the Manchester Kampsite of America. Thought I should check out the prices and they were only charging $9 so signed straight up for that. Some other cyclists were already there and not long after Steve and Amber turned up too. I spent the evening making the most of the free wi-fi on offer and watching an American Football game that I totally do not understand. Still, I’m sure I’ll get used to it.