Garberville, CA

Yesterday was, hands down, our toughest day so far and possibly one of the hardest of the entire trip. We took the 70-mile route through the Lost Coast, passing through a few tiny villages (Capetown, Petrolia, Honeydew), some of which do not even have drinking water. We got our supplies before leaving Ferndale where we spent the night, so that wasn't an issue. The big catch, though, was the hills.

And hills we did climb. We started with a killer-steep 2000 foot peak first thing in the morning. Our legs were feeling the pain as we didn't get to do any warm-up miles or stretching. As soon as we reached the top and went back to sea level along the windy mountain roads, we started climbing a 1000-footer, which, as we later found out, is referred to by the locals as "the Wall". After about four hours of riding upwards we reached Petrolia, our lunch stop. Needless to say, we were feeling pretty spent. Tomas and I actually bought a half-gallon of ice cream and killed it within mnutes.

We rested for a bit, then gathered the courage to finish the route and do the last peak - our highest yet - a 2500 foot tall, 8.5 mile long climb to the top of Cathey's Peak. It was a long, grinding climb with no dips to rest your muscles or stops to catch your breath (we have a rule against getting off your bike between the bottom and top of a hill). After about two hours, we reached the top, and stuffed our faces with beef jerky and chocolate, the last food resources we still carried on us. We were quite relieved to have finished the day, a cumulative 8500 feet climb, with no knee or back injuries, no accidents flying down those cliffs or avoiding the deer crossing the roads in front of us.

Apart from the pain and the pride, yesterday also had to offer some of the prettiest sights we have seen. Up there in the mountains, there is almost no civilization, just lush, rolling hills with grazing lands for cows and goats, and incredible views of the Pacific down below. The roads that seem to be going up into the sky and the hills sinking in the clouds, look like a scene right out of Lord of the Rings, and is impossible to capture in a photograph. We will post the new shots sometime later but you really have to be there to give it any justice.

We're taking it a bit easier today, riding just above 50 miles as our legs are stiff and our hands are blistered. We rode through the Avenue of the Giants, got a second breakfast in a village along the way, and will camp for the night at Standish-Hickey State Park. With only a little above 200 miles till San Francisco, this journey feels fast as hell but we've barely scratched the surface so far.

Leaving you with a quote from a guy we met passing through Eureka a couple of days ago:

"May your tires always be full of air, the wind always at your back, and your helmets totally useless!"