Day 3 - Transition and Recovery
Today's day was all about moving from the inland mountains back to the coast and starting Highway 1. So on paper, we were to go about 70 miles, and add about 7,000 feet. Luckily, the gps was wrong, and the climbing was less (about 5,000). After the beat down on Day 2, the legs were tired. The nine departed from the Benbow Inn, and headed down the 101 in the early morning and through some classic California Redwood groves. 101 is not a backroad, and compared to Day 2's isolation, being back on the hiway took a bit to get used to.
We then took a fun detour and visited the 'drive thru' Redwood Tree for some pictures, and wonderful SAG setup by Rich. The skies began to clear as we headed west with some very 'normal' pitches of 5-9% on fantastic black top. With it being midweek, in October, this section of Highway 1 was ours, and it was wonderful. The descents down to the coast were a highlight in descending.
Our Nine then enjoyed Mihai's lunch along the beach, and rolled along through Fort Bragg and into Mendocino. The MacCallum House was a welcome sight, with cocktails on the lawn and Cyclist Massage hard at work on our sore muscles.
