Sweaty Days in CA

The dust and sweat from Mt. St. Helena clung to me as I rocketed back down toward Middletown; I knew I'd need a shower that night, so I set myself on the Hiker Biker Site at Clear Lake SP. Once I descended on the backside of Lake County Highway the thermostat went way up, topping out at 101; woof. I could taste the heat emenating of the pavement on my way to the lake. I was hoping that there would be some relief near the lake; there wasn't. The landscape around the lake was some brutal climbing on monster grades and after a summit, my thighs felt like razor blades. Despite a beautiful sunset over the lake, the air was still hot and motionless. I managed to muster up the last of my energy to drop into Clear Lake, where right before the entrance was a liquor store, where I could buy a cold beer, exactly what I needed. I paid my fee and set up my tent to an empty campground, thankfully so, as I slept near naked with an open tent.

Real Lens Flare

I stupidly slept in the next day, letting the cool morning air go to waste. When I did get moving, I found 175 heading toward Ukiah, my next goal. A scenic climb in more heat, accompanied by many motorcyclists (it was the Redwood Run last weekend). Once I dropped over I found a backroad to parallel the 101 and the Russian River, in this valley it was really screaming hot. I hate to endorse a soulless corporate place like Starbucks, but air conditioning, ice cold drinks and wifi were exactly what I needed when I reached Ukiah. From S-Bucks I journeyed to the Ukiah Brewing Co. where I had vegan diner (!) and a microbrew, once again hoping to let the midday heat subside, to no avail.

So many beautiful logging roads on this trip.

From Ukiah, I took a tip from my friend who had just been up this way and found my way onto a paved logging road, accessible only by a whole in the fence, meaning, no cars. It was another silent ride up into the mountains (and actually lower than the highway would take me). After a bit of riding I noticed I had gotten a tad lost and tried to reroute. My best option was a rarely used logging road going up into the hills. Nothing to do but try it. It proved to be a lot of hike and bike over the top of the mountain. The trees would sometimes give way to expansive meadows dropping over stunning views of the mountains. With the sun creeping downward every slope had a different shade and the haze gave the air a tranquil tangibility; it looked as if from a postcard, why I passed on the photo and the camping spot is beyond me. After a while of pushing and coasting on empty logging roads I reached a gate. I tossed the bike over, and on the other side were homes, which made me feel less lost. I found a neat place to camp for the night, and besides some coyotes interrtupting me, I slept well.

Surly in Mendocino.

New cap from North Coast Brewery, no longer will people ask if I'm from Brooklyn!

The following morning I hit Orr Hot Springs first thing -- at capacity. I didn't even realize it was Saturday and that it would be full. There goes my off day; 7 miles downhill now turned into 30 into Mendocino. Not expecting this ride I was dragging along Orr Springs Road until Comptche where a Pepsi was thankfully enough to get me back in the game. One final hill from Comptche and the cool ocean breeze led me into Mendocino with the rest of the day to kill. One camp in Russian Gulch State Park one great camp in Jackson State Forest, one day in Mendocino, two in Fort Bragg (with vegan food!), then a rough ride up Sherwood Fort Bragg road and I find myself at Camp, where I'll be living for the next 55 days.

(Note: Being that I'll have limited internet, time, and riding, I'm going to be going to bi weekly for the rest of June and July and return at full strength in August.)