"The Wall"

Tuesday, May 22, 2013 - Day 6

James and I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast packed up our tent and other gear and started on our big day of climbing.  In fact the amount of climbing we had on our schedule for the day was pretty intimidating to me.  We road 2 miles out of the campground and immediately started the first climb:  7 miles, 1700 feet -- a great way to start our 64 miles for the day.  It was a nice steady climb with a few steep switch backs.  In retrospect I probably should have slowed down my pace on that climb given the fact we had 2 more big climbs ahead of us.

Leaving the campground

Climbing

at the top of climb #1

After getting to the top we were rewarded with a really fun and long descent that dropped down into Honeydew, CA and stopped at the general store (immediately to the right after crossing the bridge).  There isn't anything else to Honeydew.  In fact, I don't think they have any other buildings other than the general store. We purchased some food, chocolate milk, and a Coke to get us through the next 2 climbs we had on our agenda for the day.

We saw a cyclist climbing up the mountain and later had a chance to talk with him at the general store in Honeydew, CA.  We decided he was the Rick Beville of Honeydew (its a Lexington, VA reference).  Anyway, he had time to climb up and down that mountain everyday and he seemed to be a strong rider.  Doing that climb every day would definitely do it.  He asked us where we were headed, James told him we were headed to the Lost Coast and he looked at us, our loaded bikes, and said, wow, you are going to do "The Wall?".  We said yes.  I went to the bathroom and ran into another local and he asked me where we were going.  I told him the Lost Coast and his response was the same, "you are going to do "The Wall"?  By this time I'm starting to get a little panicked.  I remember James telling me something about a steep climb but didn't realize it was sandwiched in between 2 major climbs.

So we climb out of Honeydew and head toward the Lost Coast.  The Lost Coast is about a 2 miles stretch of road that is basically undeveloped. The terrain was too rugged for Hwy 101 to be put in and so the Department of Transportation took it inland, east of the Lost Coast.  Unfortunately it was cloudy and drizzling the day we were there but I can image that it is absolutely gorgeous on a sunny day.  The ocean was a grey/green different from the brilliant blue we had been exposed to prior to this.  There were pretty white and yellow wild flowers decorating the side the road.  There was relatively no traffic - I think we saw 5 cars the time we were there.  It is empty coast line and a couple of ranches with cattle on the inland side.

So, to get out of the Lost Coast requires climbing a road that the locals refer to as "The Wall".  It is a one mile climb that has grades of 18-22%.   I later learned that there is a century ride that goes through this area called the "Tour of the Unknown Coast"  California's toughest century.

James and I get closer to "The Wall" and there are a herd of cattle on the right.  I swear they starting moving with us to the end of the lot so they could get a better view.  It was like they were saying to each other "hey, check these two out.  They think they can climb the wall carrying 50# pounds of gear. This ought to be good."  A car came down the wall as we were nearing it.  I was watching it and got butterflies in my stomach wondering if I was going to make it up without having to get off and walk.

approaching "The Wall" - it gets steeper after the right curve

finishing the steep part

Fortunately James put mountain bike gears on my touring bike and I got in my granny and made it just fine.  James made it without any problems -- which is not a surprise.

After climbing the wall we descended about 900 feet and then started the next major climb.  I think it was about 8 miles and the first 3 miles ranged from 15%-17% and then it turned into a nice steady climb which I later learned is referred to by cyclists as the "Endless Hill".  I must say that I agree with the name they have given that climb. It started out as a drizzle and by the time we were 2 miles up the climb it started raining pretty steadily.  The terrain reminded me of the pictures I see of Ireland.  Really lush green grass, rolling hills, bright red barns.  It was beautiful.  It would have been nicer had it not be raining though...I was starting to get soaked and I was worried about having dry clothing for the next day.

still climbing

descending into Ferndale, CA

We finally reached the top and descended into Ferndale, CA.  It was raining, cold, and there was big diesel truck with a trailer on my tail which was a little unnerving given the fact the descent was windy and steep and it was wet.  We finally rolled into Ferndale, CA which is a charming little town.  James wanted to check out the county fairground outside of town.  I told him I was fine with him going but I was getting a hotel room.  I was tired, cold, wet, and just wanted a hot shower and to sleep in a bed.  So we found a cute little Inn and the man who owned it, it turns out used to live in Woodstock, VA which is close to where James and I lived when we were in VA.  He gave us a discount on the room.

We ate the local pizza place.  I ordered a lot of food but couldn't eat it all. The lasagna was good but the pizza wasn't the best pizza -- I prefer less cheese. The restaurant did have some funny decorations though.  There was a laundry mat a couple of blocks from the Inn and so we took the opportunity to wash our clothes.

Ferndale, CA is a charming little town and the rhodendron were in full bloom when we were there.  If I do the trip again it would have been fun to explore a little bit.

We did a total of 64 miles for the day. After looking at the "Untouched Coast Century" map, I think we did all of the major climbs that are in the century and the total vertical is 9400 feet.  I'm guess we did pretty close to that amount.  Our total for the trip is 388 miles.