Today was the first day in a while that I didn’t wake up to coastal fog. The day started out continuing on Avenue of the Giants, cycling between the towering redwoods, this time with few cars as it was early in the morning. The rest of the morning I continued south on the Redwood Highway, or US101. It felt weird to just be cycling on the freeway, but in many spots it is unavoidable; it’s the only road. The road was generally wide and quiet, though, so it wasn’t unpleasant. The road followed the Eel River upstream, snaking through the valley with intermittent stands of redwoods.

By midday I finally parted from my journey along 101, having ridden it since Astoria. Almost every chance to take a side road the route takes it, but many places the highway is the only road. I was glad to be off it though; in particular, I will not miss the truck traffic. I peeled off onto the start of Highway 1, which climbed back over the coastal range to get to the coast, where I’ll cycle all the way to the Bay Area. Highway 1 was great: very few cars, very well maintained, and well graded, so the climb up was substantially less challenging than the converted wagon road I rode up yesterday.

Tonight I’m camped back on the coast, this time in Mendocino, right at the top of Highway 1. Tomorrow I will ride south almost continuously on the highway and along the coast. I’m just under 200 miles from San Francisco now, so getting close. I haven’t coursed out a route to my house, but I imagine it’ll add another 50ish miles.