As much as the waves of the Pacific Ocean continued to crash upon the shoreline we stood on, a silence became present that we hadn’t truly been able to hear up until that point during the entire summer. In front of us was nothing - bikability-wise at least, and behind us was the entire continent that we had crossed. It’s a really difficult feeling to describe fully, but accomplished, both in terms of the mileage and the amount of good work in many ways that we had done to prepare for this ride, is a good placeholder. After a day as difficult as this one, with its 8000+ feet of climbing and maddeningly long downgrades, plus a final trudge through some sand dunes, it was especially rewarding to be greeted with this blue vastness.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 97.1 (+2.9 for Pacific Coast/century)

Elevation: +8164’/-9914’

General Direction: Turn left onto CA 299 and remain on this road for 93.9 miles, take Exit 1 and navigate south using local roads to reach the stayover. Optional: Use westbound CA 255 to reach beach access for the Pacific coast.

Points of Interest: Trinity River Valley, Klamath Mountain Range, Trinity National Forest, Mad River, downtown Arcata, Pacific Ocean!!!

Tales of the Trail

In this race against the sun, we found ourselves descending the final 2000’ of elevation needed to reach sea level. To do this, we would need to cut across the remaining width of the Klamath Mountains, which would involve four major climbs along CA 299. A switchback-filled descent within the first ten miles brought us in line with the Trinity River. Beautiful and immense ridge walls picketed with trees picked up from the river on both sides, making for a magical morning. We continued along through a few construction zones and an indecisive road that would go from extremely bumpy to quite smooth every mile or so. Ridges and smaller peaks opened up as we gained elevation from our second climb, and our second rest stop in the midst of this scored us some soft serve and tofu in addition to PB&Js to prepare for the two largest climbs to come.

These climbs, the first to Berry Summit and the second to Lord-Ellis Summit, were eleven and five miles long respectively, as well as the only remaining obstacles between our team and the Pacific coastline. We pushed heartily through these tough ascents, including a half-mile long construction zone with a 7% grade that we had to book it through, and carefully took their enjoyable descents as the outside temperature climbed into the 90s. By the end of the second climb, we were 84 miles in and ready to finish out the day with a truly special stop: the Pacific Ocean, the true end of the ride in one sense.

The green mountains had faded away just as the highway turned south toward the coastal towns tucked in their bases. As we continued our final sprint westward on this suddenly flat terrain, we saw a collection of farm fields, with cows! Finding beach access proved to be a little cumbersome as for the last half mile or so we dismounted and de-shoed to walk ourselves and our bikes across the Ma-le’l Sand Dunes. From the top of the first of these, we could see the ocean for the first time, and the trek across the hot sand full of prickly plants was more than worth it for what came next. Groups arrived to the beach at different points in the afternoon, but the experience was a shared one of sheer joy, celebration, and utter awe. The water was cooling as well as powerful in its own right, with massive cloud embankments taking up the background of an otherwise intense blue sky. We dipped our front tires into the water, a tradition and sign that we had truly and humanly pedaled from coast to coast.

Tonight, we are staying at the Lutheran Church of Arcata, and in true I4K fashion gunned it to the top of one of the most brutal climbs to a stayover we’ve had on this ride. We were graciously offered showers at HealthSport, a local gym, and made ourselves some delicious spaghetti and lentils, which honestly have become a bt of a delicacy at this point given how many donated meals we have received. Riders opted to unwind from this intense day as well as explore the town of Arcata in the evening, and we went to bed ready to make our turn south toward the giant redwood trees, and later, San Francisco.

Cyclist’s Corner: Team Edition

From now until the end of the ride, this segment will be a single open answer or poll-style question that most or all of the team will answer. :)

Today’s Question: Which climb has made you feel the most accomplished?

Nina: Ochoco National Forest

Paul: Hill #3 on the 3 Hill Day, Milton, PA

Sam M: Hill #3 after Paul dusted me

Hanna: Loveland Pass

Patrick: Mt. Eddy Pass (Day 71)

Kathryn: Loveland Pass

Sam R: Mt. Eddy Pass (Day 71)

Emily: John Day

Edward: Second half going into Baker City

Jean: Loveland Pass

Jonathan B: Day 72 eleven and five-miler

Adam: Ochoco Climb