It’s hard to comprehend what exactly this means. I’m sitting at the top of Leggett, the gnarliest climb on my route. I hit it at mile 95 and little did I know, there was still many more miles (and climbs) to go. Today was a beast but somehow I managed. When I hit that hill, I was down to one water bottle and no food. My hopes of restocking at the two towns prior didn’t happen and I was stuck with very little daylight left so I hauled it to the coast.

Check out nine more photos below!

I started in Eureka, CA this morning and I’ll keep my thoughts on that city to myself. But as I left, I found myself with bridge envy. I got stuck on all the 101 bridges, which weren’t as nice as these.

I made my way through towns littered with suburban infill around industrial smoke stacks. Part of me thought about quitting around the 60 mile mark but I couldn’t bring myself to camp in an area like this so I cranked on.

I finally hit the Avenue of the Giants and all the tiny infill towns along the way had more than enough character.

The Redwoods are really something else. I’m amazed at how overwhelming it is to ride though these giants. I kept thinking one would fall over with all their creaking.

This was all around 11am on a Sunday and man, the streets were dead! My plan worked out wonderfully. I really wanted some solitude today.

Along the way, there were little scrawlings of encouragement. And what awaited me at the end of today’s ride was a beast. Leggett is “the” hill on the Cali coast. A lungering 1,800′ climb at the coast. I hit it at the 95 mile marker with about 3 hours of daylight left and little or no provisions. Once I got rolling, I was on the move and even though the last little 800′ climb after the descent killed me, I was exhilarated to see this…

If there has been one photo I’ve taken that sums up touring on the Pacific coast, it’s this one. The sun was setting and my bike is sated.

Even as I set up this photo, I was cramping like I’ve never cramped before.

But how can you not sit there and soak in the last rays from the day? Today fucking ruled. I went from the edges of scummy civilization to trees that will out live our time on Earth and finally to the glistening water of the pacific. My ride totalled over 120 miles and well over 6,000′ elevation today. Check out the route below.

So what did I learn today?

-Pack water. Stop for water. Always have water.
-Have back up snacks. I went through mine in no time today and was too stubborn to stop.
-No matter what people tell you on the road, you can do whatever the fuck you want. Two people today told me I wouldn’t make it up Leggett without a triple and that I wouldn’t make it to Westport in time.
-Eat as much as you want when you’re done and don’t forget the salty foods!

Tomorrow I head south for Bodega Bay, my final stop before hitting SF!