2015 - Day 14

Woke up a little later than usual this morning after a very full day yesterday, enjoying the chance to sleep in until 8am. Took my time getting ready to hit the road, knowing that I wasn't going all that far today, though much of what I road today had low speed limits. Not feeling very hungry this morning I started off with a light breakfast, just some yogurt and an orange. I've never really been a fan of yogurt but it hit the spot today.

I left Ukiah on highway 101, then headed west on highway 20 once I reached that junction. Highway 20 was an absolute delight to ride today, traffic westbound was super light and I spent most of the ride with no one ahead or behind me. I've been feeling like my riding skills were a little rusty after the long winter, and though I've piled up some miles on the trip, it hasn't been roads like today. There were a ton of corners on 20 from Willits to Fort Bragg, finally getting to wear down the edges of my tires.

Once I got to Fort Bragg I took the first street that took me right to the coast, getting my first look at the Pacific Ocean in many years. If I'm not mistaken, the last time I saw the Pacific was somewhere in the early 90's on a family vacation. There's just something neat about being at the ocean, the relentless waves coming in has a calming effect it seems. The air was cool but the sun made it feel nice and warm, a welcome change from the cold and snowy/rainy conditions at this time yesterday.

From Fort Bragg I continued north on highway 1, riding along the coast for a little while before heading inland again to 101. It was another awesome ride over the coastal mountains, just corner after corner again. The traffic was light, but steady, so one has to beware of oncoming traffic as well as some steep drops into ravines. I didn't have much time to gaze at the trees as all my focus was on the road, dancing through corners on my big hog. A small, light crotch rocket would be a blast on a road like that.

A late lunch in Fortuna and some gas for the bike and I was off again. I took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway through some fantastic groves of redwoods, man those are some massive trees. There's no way to photograph a tree hundreds of feet tall, or to acurately see how enormous the trunks are. One feels very puny riding through a forest like that, the road like a tunnel through the trees. It was noticably cooler on that stretch of road, the trees totally sheltering the forest floor. It's not something I'll forget anytime soon.

After the scenic drive through the redwoods I was back on 101 for a few miles before calling it a day in Crescent City. After a call home I got to talking with another rider from Virginia, he'd ridden down to Key West and then all the way over to the Pacific Coast. He'd recently lost his wife, and decided to just get out and ride. I'm sorry for his loss, and don't understand how one would feel in that situation, but I do know that getting out and riding is probably the best therapy in the world.

First look at the Pacific Ocean in years, spectacular

Paid $3 to drive through a tree, worth it. 315 feet tall, 21 foot diameter, and it said the maximum age was 2400 years. It's hard to fathom a tree being that old!

Like I said, hard to capture the trunk size in a picture, they're massive

View of the harbor from my room, so peaceful

Tonight this is home, and the lady at the front desk made it feel like I was at home. Nothing nicer than friendly people with a sense of humor when on the road, as we all seem to enjoy positive human contact