88 miles in a gruelling 9hrs 40 mins (incl. 2 long food stops and a puncture)
Total Distance 1,080 miles
I need a vacation!
Woke up this morning truly exhausted, or so I thought, but in truth it was nothing compared with this evening. Thankfully a tailwind was already blowing, and if the forecast was to believed (a very, very big assumption for this trip) then it was going to be right behind me for the whole day. As I set off, I was 165 miles from San Fran and determined to leave myself less than 90 miles for tomorrow, but given how I was feeling I knew it would be a struggle. And so it proved as the winding, undulating coastal road combined with slow service for brunch meant I'd only done 17 miles by the time I left said cafe at 11.40am, 2hrs 20mins after I'd set out. Easily my slowest start of the whole trip with the only cycling bright spot (among the innumerable scenic ones) being the odometer ticking over to show four figures for the first time - 1000 miles done, only another 4,400ish to go, yikes.
As the road improved I sped up over the next 30 miles but was still struggling both mentally and my fuel levels. So I stopped in Gualala for fajitas and to fix another rear wheel puncture. Solid food still isn't really go down well and this meal was no different but I hoped I had managed enough to get me at least to bulk of the remaining 40 miles to Jenner.
Now, after almost three weeks on the bike I hadn't seen a single other fellow Pacific Coast tourer. Then as I left Gualala, I spotted a couple of fully laden bikes. Chatting to them over the next wind assisted super fast 15 miles it turned out they'd set out a couple of days ahead of me from Seattle and were on their way to San Fran. They also mentioned that, coincidentally, they'd met another Scottish guy a few hundred miles up the road who was heading south, and probably a day ahead. Bit of a coincidence, I thought, but not as much of a coincidence as when I stopped 10 miles later in a tiny grocery shop near Stillwater campsite and said Scottish guy walks into the said store. Small world!
It was after 5pm by then and I still had 15 miles to go if I was to make it to Jenner. I also knew that the last 10 miles consisted of a climb up and along the cliffs that the lady in the store described as 'awful'. As if that wasn't bad enough, the two guys had re caught and passed me telling me to take it easy cause I was looking very tired. So, at the start of the climb at Fort Ross I did the sensible thing - ate half a rice krispie cake, and pressed on. 'Summit fever' had well and truly taken hold :) So, as the shadows lengthened and the air cooled I pedalled very slowly up. And was I pleased I had. Stunning views in the evening sun down the coast (and the several hundred feet cliffs below). A very tentative descent down then took me into the fantastic River's End cabins/restaurant Jenner - definitely the best meal and lodgings of the trip. I had made it.
The final push into San Fran tomorrow, and at least two days much-needed rest. Can't wait.
