The weather on Monday morning was rather nice. It was chilly, overcast, but no fog. We were all a bit concerned with the fog bank we could see off the coast last night but it didn’t roll in. We had a smallish breakfast in our little B&B and rolled out. Terry sags in the morning.
We rolled along Hwy 1 (Coastal Highway). It was rather busy the first 10 miles or so, but the traffic lightened up after Hwy 128 split off Hwy 1.
The scenery along the highway was just incredible. The clouds burned off by 11 so we were in bright (but cool) sunshine for the remainder of the day.
We had lunch at Manchester State Park. Traffic on Hwy 1 turned a bit heavy again after lunch. This route is just incredible, but somewhat difficult on bicycles due to the traffic and narrow roads. Fortunately, there are many bicycles who use this route and so motorists seem to be used to dealing with bikes on the roads. Dave sagged in the afternoon.
We turned off Hwy 1 for the last 15 miles and rode up the ridge and away from the coast. There was very little traffic, but the road is somewhat hilly. We rode up and down the ridge until the final descent into Gualala.
The day was rather easy and unremarkable save the glorious scenery along the coast. It was another rather short day and we rolled into Gualala in the middle of the afternoon. We had nice meal in one of the restaurants. The town seemed to be somewhat similar to Mendocino, albeit smaller; there were the grizzly ol’ locals and then tourist trade and tourists.
Day totals:
- Start: Mendocino
- End: Gualala
- Distance: 53 miles
- Climbs: Up and down the ridges on the coastal highway
- Total gain: 2975 ft.