Day 10: Garberville to Ft. Bragg

Today’s Highlights:

We rode 69 miles today and climbed 5240 feet, our hilliest ride so far, rising as high as 1900 feet above sea level.  I don’t remember any flat sections, except for the last few miles into Ft Bragg which was accompanied by a headwind.  It was either uphill or down.  The first 25 miles were very hilly and tiring, and then we hit the big climb of the day – a constant 4-mile climb gaining 1100 feet.  Although that long climb was a challenge, I found that getting into a steady rhythm for the 30-minute aerobic ascent was easier than the many miles of shorter consecutive hills.

The ride down was the highlight of the day.  We dropped 1800 feet in 10 miles in 30 minutes on a very winding road through the forest.  It was thrilling and great fun.  That big descent returned us to the ocean with spectacular views of the shoreline.

We had one more big climb after that, and constant rolling hills in addition.  After several miles along the coast, we went inland a little, passed some farms and through a few small towns.  In a couple places we passed by large eucalyptus trees lining the road and their aroma filled the air.

I did not take many pictures today, because I was either too busy climbing or flying down a curvy road.

I Eat Hills Like You For Breakfast
*note: Sometimes it takes me a day to digest all the wonderful experiences of the day. I have updated yesterdays blog. Now back to today.

Everyday I say, “It can’t be better than yesterday.” but everyday it gets better. What a ride!

Dad and I were the last ones out today because he had a flat and didn’t notice until we were just about to leave. After we fixed it up we headed out fast and up hill, and caught the middle of the pack pretty quickly. Lots of rolling hills and a few bigger climbs before we got to the first SAG. In fact, we did so much climbing before the first SAG that I thought we had done the Big Climb already. Boy was I wrong. I should learn to read a map.

Just after the SAG we started the big climb. Since I hate climbs, I try to get them over with as soon as possible. None of this slow-and-steady nonsense. So I’m going to pat myself on the back because I destroyed that climb. I put it in high gear, lowered my head, told myself this was flat and spun like crazy. I passed people like they were standing still and had time for a nice 10 minute rest at the top while I waited for everyone to catch up.

And then came the down hill. Good thing we were surrounded by tree, thus there was not view, because we had to keep our eyes on the road. Long, fast and winding. Super fun!

It was great to hit the ocean again. It was a perfect day for the views of the great rock formations along the coast. A few lucky people had some very nice houses overlooking the ocean. Jealous.

There were a few more big up-and-downs followed by some rollers at the end, but after the first two huge climbs even the little hills felt big. We’ll sleep well tonight.

Chris

Pictures Of The Day:

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Chris: