9/17: no easy days

58mi and 4200ft. We thought the rest of the way to San Francisco would be easy. Nope. The hills might be much smaller, but they are numerous. We are pretty used to the grind, though, and got through it. I was close to breaking at one point, but muscled through it. I think I need to eat more to recover overnight.

The view from the top of our campsite from the night before:

The route wanted to give us a beachfront view. But the bike path had been washed out:

We arrived at Fort Bragg, CA, one of the first towns in a while that had a comma in its population sign. We took a small lunch at Denny's since it was only 11a. We then proceeded with the up and down hills. Nothing that long, but several that were tiring [note how, as the trip wears on, I start talking more about the physicality of it instead of the sights and scenery].

We stopped 2 hours later for second lunch in Elk. I just had a juice and a Push Up:

We dined at a beachside park, where we met a German couple who were bike touring with their baby!

Now I know bike touring is already kind of crazy, but this was a whole new level. Their fancy carbon German bikes and baby carriage:

This is what you could see from the picnic table:

There were houses in Elk with views just as nice. It must get old at some point. But as a tourist, my job is to see it and add the memory to the vessel of my mind. 

After 2nd lunch, we headed on down 1. There was a very handy 10mph tailwind, and I wanted to take full advantage. The German couple were quite fast, and I had to put in some work to stay with them. There were a couple more very short but very hard (10% grade on one) climbs. With the Germans setting pace, I survived. There were a few moments where, much to my relief, a gust of tailwind would push me up a grade just as I was about spend. It was like a huge hand patting me on the back.

There was a fresh pond and some cows right by the sea: 

We got to a terribly provisioned state park. There was no shower and an awful bathroom. The German couple was up for it, but we thought it was roughing it a bit too much. So we backed up half a mile to this KOA site with everything, including the kitchen sink:

 The shower even has a bench and heatlamp! You can bet your bottom dollar I about took a nap in that luxury.

Night temps have been lower, so we've been bundling up carefully overnight. 

I hope the tailwind keeps up tomorrow. 140mi to San Francisco! The excitement in all of us for that arrival is plain in our voices and on our faces.

9/17 pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/105909573807230408134/BikeTour917?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrywZOTsMPStgE