Pacific Coast Tour: A few more thoughts

This was a hard trip:

the climbs
the roads
my eyes
length of tour

But, I rode my ass off.

I did really well with the climbs, finishing, staying in the saddle, etc--it's just that I could handle only 3 big ones of 1000 feet and then I was sapped. In the end, it was the numerous short. steep ones that felt like too much. If doing this tour, consider 30-40 miles along the coast in California a good distance.

The roads: mostly a wide bike lane, but not always. You must be good with traffic right next to you. Even at night I could hear the 101 buzzing from the h/b camp site. There was not a lot of peace and quiet--except on the Avenue of the Giants and a few back roads. Cars and traffic were a persistent element of the tour.

My eyes: they are what they are. I did it. Now I'll get my cataract surgery and have the rest of the summer to wonder what I might have missed had they been perfect.

If doing the Pacific Coast, I recommend a flexible schedule. Sure, you'll have to figure out how to get home and need a departure date--mine having to do with the surgery--but leave a day or two for off the bike, just to regroup, or some seriously short days. You'll want it so that you don't end up like those guys lying on the ground. Start early each day to beat the wind and/or heat. I only had one rain day and it was all day and miserable. The bus could have helped get me down the coast, but only runs Mon-Fri. I arrived at that part of the coast on Friday afternoon. Santa Rosa is not a bad option as it gave me another sense of that area of northern CA; don't let yourself think you are cheating. Though I'll always wonder what I missed by eclipsing those few days. By deciding to jump on Saturday I cut the tour short, but to have continued down without the bus helping, I would have had to add 2 more days, I believe.

How does this tour stack up against my others? The daily amount of climbing--sometimes exceeding 3,000 feet--was unsustainable with my time frame and the number of miles I intended. In Norway in the Telemark Mountains there was elevation, but it wasn't daily and I took a break at a mountain hut before finishing. Even in the Rockies it was slow and gradual. In England there was a lot of short and steep, but it was spread out. The weather was perfect--not to hot and humid and the last 2 days was dry heat--upper 90s, though. Wind was stiff, but mostly in my favorite. Traffic on the 101 was deplorable. At one point a pick up blew smoke at me. Some drivers honked to scar me, laying on the horn. Very few people chatted with me, asked me about my trip. A real lack of curiosity. I only saw one other rider/tourer the entire 11 days; he  was going in the opposite direction. Not a lot of friendliness. Hats  off to the man who gave me a lift after his mountain bike ride. That was very considerate.