Tour of the Unknown Coast

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Maps: Overview, Complete, Panther Gap Detail, and Lost Coast Detail.

Ron Bobb and I towed the Particleboard Palace up to the campground and the Humboldt County Fairground in picturesque Ferndale, CA so that we could participate in the Tour of the Unknown Coast, a 100-mile loop through big redwoods, up and down some long and steep hills, through hidden valleys and along a remote segment of California coastline between Point Gorda and Cape Mendocino.

We started off just behind the lead bunch who were racing the course. The first ten miles were the easiest as we rolled through fields along Grizzly Bluff Rd. and later on the rollercoaster of Blue Slide Rd. until we got to Rio Dell.

After passing along the quiet main street of Rio Dell we crossed the Eel River on the Murphy Memorial Bridge into Scotia, a company town for Pacific Lumber. The town and the factory were both quiet as we rode by.

Our route took us onto the wide shoulder of US-101 for a few miles until we reached the northern end of Avenue of the Giants. We proceeded south along the Avenue past the Immortal Tree, up to Redcrest, then down alongside the Eel River.

At the old site of Dyerville we crossed under US-101 and headed up into Bull Creek Basin on Mattole Rd. through the magnificent old redwoods of the Rockefeller Grove. The closest analog I can recall is the lower reach of North Escape Rd. through Big Basin Redwoods State Park, but these groves were larger, and the trees seemed larger, too. The feeling was like that of riding through a cathedral.

Eventually Mattole Rd. left the giant redwoods and began a long, somewhat tedious climb to Panther Gap. We paused for a few minutes at the top of the climb before starting the descent to the Mattole River Valley. On the way down, we stopped a few more times to take pictures.

Mattole Rd. descends gradually at first, but toward the bottom of the descent, the road gets steeper. After several switchbacks we suddenly found ourselves at the Honeydew Bridge that crosses the Mattole River.

After crossing the bridge we continued down river over several of what seemed to me to be gratuitous hills. I wondered why the road didn’t follow the river but chose instead to climb high above its banks, sometimes far from the river itself.

At some length we reached our lunch stop at Arthur W Way County Park tucked into a sheltered bend of the river. Ron had broken a spoke on his rear wheel while climbing over one of these gratuitous hills and spent some time with the mechanic installing a spare spoke.

While we were at the lunch stop, Randall Braun and Carrie Rose arrived. We had dined together the prior night at Hotel Ivanhoe in Ferndale with Randall and Carrie, but we were not riding as a group as they were riding at a more relaxed pace than we.

After leaving the lunch stop we continued west on Mattole Rd. over a longer hill and crossed the Mattole River for the last time before riding through Petrolia, the site of the first oil well in California (1861).

West of Petrolia the road climbs another shorter hill past a curious emu before descending to the Lost Coast between Point Gorda and Cape Mendocino.

We had good weather for the day, so the coast was clear but windy. The sea was a cloudy brown near the coast, the beaches were short and of coarse sand, and the hills to the east rose precipitously from the coast and showed evidence of severe erosion. It was clear that these beaches were not like those around Monterey Bay.

After a windy ride north along the coast we reached The Wall. The Wall presents itself as no surprise as it can be seen on approach from a great distance away. I stopped for a few minutes in front of Ocean House to consider the task ahead.

Mattole Rd. abruptly leaves the coast by climbing a 20% grade for the first quarter mile through its first hairpin turn. Usually one must climb this thing into a strong, gusty wind, and today was no exception. As I looked up the road I could see a few cyclists weaving across the full width of the road.

The hardest part for me was neither the steepness of the grade nor its length. But this combined with the gusty wind striking my faired bike broadside made the climb an armful. At 3 mph climbing speed a strong side-gust would be enough to tip me over before I could counter-balance. The fairing that had been helpful when riding into the wind along the coast was now a wind scoop.

Somehow I managed to make it up around the first turn without having to put a foot down or to walk the bike. Unfortunately I had trouble higher up the road where some poorly graded patchwork combined with an inopportune gust of wind forced my foot down. Impossible to restart on the grade I had to carry the bike not more than twenty feet past the steepest bit before restarting. Further up the road a steep gravel patch where I lost rear wheel traction had me making the same maneuver again.

Once I got to the top of The Wall, I descended its equally steep north side down to sea level at Capetown and the crossing of the Bear River. On the way down to Capetown I stopped to photograph the long switchbacks of the Endless Climb over the Bear River Ridge. I would be riding up these a few minutes later.

The Endless Climb did eventually come to an end and was not as difficult as the switchbacks made it look from the other side of the valley. What made this climb, and to some extent the climb up The Wall, more bearable were the incredible views that could be enjoyed if one allowed oneself to look about rather than to focus solely on the road ahead.

The Endless Climb isn’t without its chicane. The climb reaches a false summit where it crosses the Bear River Ridge. The road then descends for a mile or so before climbing again to a higher altitude where a hazy view of Humboldt Valley can be seen before commencing the final descent into Ferndale.

Once back in Ferndale I left the official route so that I could return down the main street on my way back to the Fairgrounds.

Ride Stats:

Distance: 95.8 miles

Climbing: 8010 feet

Calories burned: 4145

Find the full picture gallery: here.

©2006, Bill Bushnell

Please do not publish or distribute for profit without permission.