Day 19 & 20

Talk about a sea change! Since emerging from the coast redwood/Douglas fir forest yesterday morning and into the bright blue skies and relentless tailwind, I have pedaled through all kinds of terrain, from grasslands to Bishop pine forests and now back to the redwoods. If you have traveled this road before, you know how unique the landscape can be. And then there’s the ocean, deep blue and frothing. Everything is drying out with the wind and it will take about a day or two of 80º+ to make everything change from spring green to May brown. I’m glad I’m seeing this now. 

I’ve also been struck by how rocky the coast is, from up north in Oregon to this far south. No wonder Spain, Russia, and England had problems claiming the west coast! Where do you park your ship? It’s still a raw and ferocious meeting of sea and land. If I took too many photos of where they touch, it’s because that’s where my eyes are drawn when I’m looking ahead and my hands are firmly attached to the handlebars for fear of being blown into the road. 

North of Fort Bragg yesterday, I stopped to talk to a northbound cyclist. A resident of the Czech Republic, Piña and I laughed when I told him I’m only noticing Europeans riding north. Piña, because he started in Costa Rica, was headed to Vancouver. A few years ago he rode from Vancouver to Prudhoe Bay and was now on to new adventures like this one. He said he had stayed in touch with the Serbian woman who was headed to Alaska, and she decided to stay in Seattle instead of continuing to Prudhoe. She told Piña she was afraid of bears! Given her track record, that seems like a totally ridiculous decision, but c’est la vie. 

While all of these stories sound superhuman, today I bumped into a fellow who was northbound, walking the Coastal Trail. Not the PCT mind you, the entire west coast. There’s a trail here and there, but it’s not connected very well. You have to walk on Highway 1 in parts, and he was not the least bit concerned about anything. He didn’t sound exactly like Alexander Supertramp, aka Chris McCandless, but he also didn’t sound like someone I would travel with either. I didn’t talk with him for long. 

Tonight I’m staying at Gualala Point Regional Park campground, a Sonoma County Park that is in better shape than the California State Park campgrounds I’ve stayed in the last four nights. It’s a few miles south of Gualala and north of Sea Ranch. I had lunch today in Point Arenas and did a quick pass-though yesterday of Mendocino. It was slightly disappointing to pass up going to Point Mendocino yesterday and to the Point Arenas Lighthouse today. There are only so many miles a day in these legs and I need to be conservative. I think I’m about half-way to San Diego since today is the end of week three of the six-week trip. 

Enjoy the photos. Today was probably one of the more beautiful sections of the trip.