“Fort Bragg [NC] is one of the US’s most combat ready and active military installations.” Ft. Bragg, CA is on the Mendocino Coast in Northern CA. It is not combat ready and is located in a county who’s major cash crop is marijuana. If you ever become President and have to launch a military action, make sure the call goes to Ft. Bragg, NC, not Ft. Bragg, CA.
Now that we have that out of the way, onto an update of the Pacific Coast ride:
Day 7 – Crescent City, CA – A much needed rest day. This place is so dead that I went to the Post Office on Saturday morning to mail some stuff home and the PO was closed.
Day 8 – Crescent City, CA to Eureka, CA – (84 miles) – This started out as a challenging day. After a rest day, 2 miles out of town, we started a 1,200+ foot climb. After descending there was a 900+ foot climb. However, the pain was worth it. We biked into the Redwoods National and State forests. The giant redwood trees are awe inspiring. The weather was cooperating until about the 65 mile mark and the rain started. The last 20-25 miles were miserable. We were soaked!
Day 9 – Eureka, CA to Garberville, CA – (78 miles) – This was a very good and very interesting day. The weather was good for biking throughout the day. The highlight is that we rode about 35 miles through Humboldt Redwood State Park. It is a beautiful ride through the giant redwood trees. There is not much traffic and you can’t help but be inspired by the magnificence. The Humboldt ride now ranks at or near the top of my all time favorite bike rides. Late in the ride we passed through the town of Weott. In 1964 the town was destroyed by a flood that was caused by 33 inches of rain over a 3 day period that also melted a huge snow pack. I’m attaching a picture that may give you an idea of how much water flooded the area. The bridge of which I took the picture was underwater. Notice that the river is hardly flowing in the picture. Yet, most of the redwood trees survived the devastation. No wonder that they are so old and large. They are that hearty.
Day 10 – Garberville, Ca to Ft. Bragg, CA – (70 miles) – Today was one of our more challenging days. We had to climb to about 1,900+ feet, descend, and then do a 600+ foot climb. Thankfully, the weather cooperated. The scenery, while not as dramatic as the previous two days, was magnificent. After our climbs through the forest we went onto Hwy. 1 and after getting out of the hills and forest we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean. There was no fog on the ocean, the water was crystal blue and it felt good to be alive!
Tomorrow we have the most challenging day of the tour in respect to climbing. We will do over 6,000 vertical feet (today was about 5,000 ft.). That being said, I need to get some rest.
When this area flooded, the bridge was under water.