Big Ride - Update #2

Posted by Nick:

I’m in Fort Bragg (not the military base, that’s apparently on the East Coast. I was confused too.)

Yesterday was the highlight of the ride. We left a campground in the Redwoods yesterday morning and continued on 101 to Highway 1 to the coast. You get on 1 in the town of Leggett, CA. The road here goes straight up. For those who know the course, this was like the big hill in the third day of Columbia Plateau. Exactly the same, only it was four miles up instead of 13. It was sublime. I got in touch with my inner Marco and rode the thing in the drops. 42x17. It was killer.

Then the descent. Look out people, we actually had to use our brakes for the first time on the trip. When barreling into a corner marked “10 MPH” for cars, I thought scrubbing off some velocity was prudent. Awesome. I feel I’m learning to corner better. I almost didn’t notice how the climate was changing from warm and dry to cold and damp as we reached the coastal weather system.

There were two of these climbs with awesome descents, the last one depositing us on the coast. The rollers on the coastal highway never ended it seems. I stopped at the Lost Coast Inn for a cup of coffee with Dave Derrig. We sat on the front porch and watched the ocean for a bit before continuing. On the way into camp I sipped on a lovingly de-carbonated Coke prepared by Carry who was sitting part of the day out due to knee and ankle pain.

We spent the morning eating a massive vegetable-intensive breakfast at Cafe 1 in downtown Fort Bragg. And had drinkable coffee for the first time since leaving home. As much as I make fun of this state, the coffee is getting progressively better.

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