Day 23. Patricks Point to Fortuna, CA

A beautiful 55 mile day to Fortuna from Patrick's Point State Park.  We went off route a couple of times and had all kinds of riding surfaces to partake of. 

Saying good bye to our camp friends Sabine and Heinrich.  We had a wonderful evening last night topped off by marauding skunks or raccoons who paid our camp a visit after we went to sleep. They drug things out Angela's pannier, knocked over my bike and tried to drag my handle bar bag with my map into the woods.  I shook the tent wall and shouted at them from inside which seemed to drive them off. It's a good thing we used the bear box last night. It could have been worse. We all laughed in the morning about our midnight visitors. 

Early and one of the few great ocean views on a wonderful but dilapidated shore line road. So many of the roads are literally sliding down into the sea as the soil erodes and shifts. 

 

Caltran was kind enough to cone off a whole lane of 101 for a short stretch today.  An example of construction that really isn't construction but we liked it. 

And here we've moved to a gravel trail on a steep hill.  This won't be the last time we push our bikes today. 

 

Another small ocean side road paralleling the 101 and one of our last ocean views today. 

Now we've moved to an asphalt trail that takes us through McKinleyville on our way towards Eureka. 

And back on the 101 which has a great shoulder to ride on and modest traffic into Eureka   

And this is one of the places all those logging trucks we see every day since Washington State must be going, a lumber mill in Eureka. 

And this is where we decided to be smart and venture off of the AdventureCycling route and take a short cut into Fortuna for our overnight. It was a 6 mile, little traveled road that kept us off of the 101 and probably shaved 5 miles from our travels today. But..,. 

It may have been 5 miles shorter in two dimensions but when you add in a third dimension with a monster steep climb and decent for 3 of those miles, it might not have saved us time. The road was barely one lane and probably close to 15% or more grade.


Finally near the top we have great views from the 700 foot high peak.  On the way down, a very steep decent on a rough road, I stopped to wait for Ang and blindly reached down below my pannier curious to see how hot my brakes rotors were. I now have a little burn on my finger where I touched them. Very hot!!

I always enjoy wheeling our bikes into the hotel lobby where we stick out like a sore thumb.  Chili and salads and a beer at the Eel River Brewery next to the hotel and we're down for the night.