September 23, 2011
Day 39: Prairie Creek Redwoods to Arcata
Route of days 39 and 40. Terrain view looks best.
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At 7 AM it was a mild 60F, but everything was wet in the fog. I got on the road at 9:35 as the sky was clearing. Today was mostly sunny, with patches of fog along the coast.
After about a mile the scenic parkway ends and I continue south on busy US 101.
I stopped for breakfast #2 in Orick. Then the road goes around two huge lagoons, with no view of the open ocean.
I exited onto Patrick's Point road which is closer to the ocean than US 101, with good views and very little traffic.
I stopped for lunch in the little town of Trinidad. Before leaving town I detoured to the Trinidad Head lighthouse which has an excellent view looking south down the coast.
From Trinidad I continued along Scenic Drive, which really is scenic.
Scenic Drive has short a 1-lane gravel section. Another great bike route with no traffic.
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At the end of the Scenic Drive I stopped at Little River state beach for a long walk on the sand and some quick wading in the water just as the fog started to roll in again. It was the last ocean beach of the tour.
Then I turned inland through McKinleyville and continued to the edge of Arcata where I got a room at Motel 6 for $54. I don't know of any campgrounds in the area, and I'm not in the mood to camp in fog again tonight.
Today was an easy day. No huge climbs, and I had a tailwind all day. The fog went away from about 2-5 PM, so I had good weather for the final ocean views of the Cascadia tour.
Distance: 43.9 mi. (70.2 km)
Climbing: 1955 ft. (592 m)
Average Speed: 10.2 mph (16.3 km/h)
Hiking: 1 mi. (1.6 km)
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 1,940 miles (3,122 km)
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