Day 11: Leggett to Fort Bragg

Fifty miles in rain and drizzle, climbing a 2000 foot mountain pass and then descending onto the Mendocino Coast.  Last year, the descent landed me on a sunny bluff overlooking turquoise waters where divers were hunting abalone.  This year, fog, more drizzle, and a headwind.  Route 1 makes repeated descents into ‘pocket coves’ – after each the road immediately climbs steeply over the headland. Today was one of the hardest rides I’ve ever had. 

Yet as challenging as the ride, my mood had shifted.  Contact yesterday with friends helped me remember my connections, my passion, my dreams.  Looking outside, the rains just stopped.  Forecast is sunny for the rest of the week.  Inside too, I think.  Blessings to have such friends.

This is cool:  I took this video heading into Burlington Campground on the Avenue of the Giants.  Quiet, except the whirring bicycle chain.  Listen to the silence: