Gold Beach, Shipwreck, SeaFog, PCH, Cold, Hot, Redwoods, The Twisties, Williams - Day 32

We got up to a temp of 51F and had breakfast at XXX about a 1/2 mile from the hotel. After breakfast, a few pics of the Patterson Bridge - you can see the similarities, and then a run down the Oregon Coast.

At the start of the trip we passed through the small seaside town of Gold Beach and saw the remnants of a ship that obviously went aground and remains where it grounded for eternity. The weathering actually looks kind of cool as it sits right there at the shoreline.

Riding down the coast is a very interesting ride going through the many seaside and vacation towns each with its own character and architectures. As we ride, you can see the sea fog rolling inland covering the hilltops and the rock appendages along the shore. Sometimes it gives everything kind of an eerie look and you could almost see ghostlike apparitions floating among the fog. You could imagine sea and shore life as it may have looked a century or two ago.

As we continued riding down the coastline, we were continually accompanied by the fog and the temps remained in the 50's.

Eventually we crossed onto California with a greeting at the Agriculture checkpoint and made our way through the Redwood Forest surrounded by trees taller and wider than can be seen anywhere else in the World. The ride remained damp and cool and we didn't know how good we had it. It got so cool that I needed to put my riding liner on and change to my waterproof warm gloved about halfway through the Redwood ride.

That wasn't to last too long as we headed East for Highway 5 that's the major North/South route through the state. Little did we know hat had awaited us and little did we know what we were in store for. We took an exit for Rte 299 that cuts from Rte 101 on the coast to US 5 in the central part of the state. The road cut across a range of mountains that turned out to be an endurance run. 200 miles of the twistiest, turniest, winding roads through the barren forests with temps rising all the way. About 1/2 way through it was time to shed the jacket and the liner and change gloves.

I had to stop for a quick rest as the shoulders, neck and back got quite a workout. Time to apply sunscreen and ride in short sleeves and riding pants. It was a small relief as the sun and heat from the mountains were unforgiving. Before long, the temp had risen to 108.5F. That's an increase of 57.5 degrees in the span of just a few hours.

We made our way to Williams, CA and settled in for the night. We were pretty lucky as there was a good restaurant in town and after a cold beverage and a lasagna dinner, we were ready to hit the hay. Slept like a rock and didn't hear a thing until morning. Well earned and needed good night's rest.