TUESDAY 10 MAY 2016
STANDISH-HICKEY STATE PARK TO HUMBOLDT REDWOODS STATE PARK (BURLINGTON)
1115 - 1845
75.21 km (46.73 miles)
Av. Speed: 16.8 km/h (10.4 mph)
Max. Speed: 65.7 km/h (40.8 mph)
Time On Bike: 4h 28m 19s
Of all the "hiker/biker" sites I've frequented along the way so far, Standish-Hickey is probably the best of them.
Aside from having the whole thing to myself for the evening and the presence of a few thousand mosquitoes, California State Parks have obviously injected a bit of funding into this one, as evidenced by communal shelter - complete with bicycle repair mount and gadget charging station for all to use.
The amenities also seemed particularly clean, which is a nice change from some places you end up staying.
I had also noticed that it was not nearly as cold overnight.
By departure time this morning, the mild overnight temp was clearly not an anomaly.
The mosquitoes were as busy as they had been when I pulled in at 7.30 last evening and the ambient heat was cranking up nicely.
With the knowledge that today's ride was largely on a downward trajectory, I felt comfortable enough leaving a little later and even took the luxury of calling in over the road at the Peg House Grill for a post-Leggett Hill salmon burger and freshly-squeezed lemonade to get me going for the day.
It was just after midday when I finally started pedaling and after yesterday's epic, it took just a few miles to get into the groove.
Immediately though, the highway conditions were some of the worst I have encountered.
This section of the PCH unfortunately necessitates travelling along the 101, which I have been dodging and avoiding like a rare disease, pretty much from the outset.
Despite being forewarned, the reality is every bit as bad with unreasonable volumes of traffic, at least 40% of which include heavy vehicles of some dimension.
The road is narrow, windy and with many sections absent of shoulder, downright dangerous.
I just decided to pull over and get the fuck out of there when it got too hairy.
The one saving grace for the first 10 miles or so, was that major roadworks just south of Standish-Hickey were holding traffic back via a traffic signal for up to 5 minutes at a time in both directions.
So it became a pattern of 5 minutes or so of nothing - "pedal like crazy and try to get through the gnarly bits as best as possible" - followed by the onslaught as the signal turned green back up the road - "pull over and get the fuck out of there!!"
As expected though, I was making pretty good time in spite of the shitty traffic.
A nice little respite from the maelstrom of 101 was the 271 bypass, which follows the course of the Eel River South Fork for a distance and with the heat of the day steadily worming its way north, tempted me down to its waters for a cooling dip at about 1.30.
I reckon I could jump in again right now just thinking about it....
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EEL RIVER SOUTH FORK |
"The Bible" had set out 5 climbs throughout the day - the first 3 were early and in pretty close succession but it ended up being the 4th a bit later in the day that really got its teeth into me.
By the time I hit said 4th climb, it was just after 3 pm and the day's heat had not been greater.
Without a reading, it was hard to tell exactly but low-30's/90's was probably pretty close.
And as much as I have enjoyed the predominantly calm conditions day-in, day-out, just a puff of breeze would have been much appreciated right at this moment.
With summer approaching at 40°N, the sunlight hours are lengthening daily (until almost 9 pm currently) which also means that at about 3 pm, the sun is directly overhead.
A little less than halfway up this 300 foot pass, I was close to medium rare.
I scoped the areas ahead for a place to stop but with virtually no shade on offer, I was struggling.
There was possibly an option I spotted just to the right so I took it.
It was really no more than a 6-foot shrub about 50 yards off the road, but it proved just enough to fit my frame underneath and chug back an entire 1-litre bottle of warm water in about 90 seconds.
For about 5 minutes, I battled to even catch my breath and actually felt a little jelly-legged for an instant - a condition I have referred to previously as the "colly-wobbles".
In these circumstances, one must allow as much time as in necessary to recover, so this is what I did before resuming.
HIDDEN SPRINGS/BURLINGTON
The final stretch of the day entered the fabled "Avenue of the Giants", which will enjoy more attention in the post to follow.
Just before 5 pm, I finally diverted off the 101 and headed towards my chosen campsite for the evening, "Hidden Springs".
I had pulled in via Garberville just before 4 pm to re-hydrate and by the time I hit Phillipsville at 5 pm, more sustenance was required.
With another village called Miranda approaching before reaching camp, I also needed to stock up for the evening as my food was running low.
Phillipsville's store was clearly limited although I did take the opportunity to jump into a fresh potato salad and Arizona iced tea which I am quickly becoming addicted to.
For a mere 99c, these bad boys are a cyclist's wet-dream as they are not only the most refreshing drink on the planet but in a 700 ml can, more than adequately hydrate in one hit.
Not only have I been scoping them out at every stop, I've occasionally been doubling up.
Green tea with ginseng and honey is my current pick, but with quite a selection in the range, I'm happy to work my way through every last one of them.....
4 miles from Phillipsville, Miranda presented with what was obviously quite a big marketplace and a nice little restaurant serving pizzas, pastas, calzones etc....
My options were to stock up in situ at the market or possibly come back for a sit down meal later once I'd made camp as it was only a "few miles" up the road.
With 20/20 hindsight, it was an extremely prudent decision to stock up in Miranda as not only was Hidden Springs about another 5 miles onwards, it was also closed when I got there.
This necessitated pushing another 5 miles (10 miles in total from Miranda) through to the Burlington Campground within the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
So I then knew I would not be seeing the town of Miranda again on this trip.
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