Cycle
Day 26
This morning was mostly spent sitting in my tent, waiting for the rain to pass. Only 41 miles separated us and our campsite at Salt Point State Park, so we weren’t in much of a hurry. Late morning, the rain began to clear, so we set off toward Point Arena.
Point Arena was just eight miles down the road, so we stopped for breakfast in town. We met a group of high schoolers eating there as well who took a train from San Francisco to Portland, and they were biking back home. I was shocked to see their gear since they had barely anything. They said most of them just slept on the ground, so when the rain came today, they got smacked by it. By cutting a ton of weight, they could knock out 80-100 miles a day. Meeting them made me grateful for my comfortable, dry tent.
Leaving Point Arena, we set off for Gualala, which turns out is pronounced with a “w” sound instead of a “g.” I thought it was a pretty area, and the beautiful beach was created by the Gualala River meeting the ocean. There wasn’t much to do besides admire the view and then get biking again.
Before I left for this trip, my mother told me about a town called Sea Ranch that is in California. She visited on a vacation sometime in the 90s, I believe, so she was curious if I would be going through it. Sure enough, that was the next stop on my list, and it was a strange one for sure. Sea Ranch encompasses about 10 miles of private coastline and is filled with homes all based on the same architectural design. It gave me a “culty” vibe because everything looked identical, and every road and inch of land was private property for 10 miles or so.
However, the community has done a good job preserving the surrounding landscape and protecting the natural environment. Some of the community design includes unpainted exteriors, no roof overhangs to allow the wind to pass without creating turbulence, and no streetlights to reduce light pollution. There are also no fences and limits on non-indigenous plants in screened courtyards. Lastly, they use a herd of sheep to manage the grass and reduce the fire threat.
Also within Sea Ranch is a unique chapel. Designed to be a non-denominational sanctuary for prayer, meditation, and spiritual renewal, the chapel is a must-visit to either appreciate the beautiful architecture or find time to meditate. As the sole visitor of the chapel today, I made sure to go inside and reflect on the last month and express my gratitude for the incredible trip I have been on thus far.
My thoughts eventually shifted to the remaining week ahead, also my final week on the trip. My father and I plan to meet our relative at Fort Ross tomorrow, a historic fort 22 miles south of the chapel. This is as much as I planned when we were in Crescent City about a week ago. Time was running short, and while I wanted to visit family, I really wanted to bike through the Big Sur coastline, 270 miles south of the chapel. This time in the chapel allowed me to process what I need to do to make the most of my last week, and I left with fresh ideas on how to utilize the time.
The day was getting late, so I finished the last 15 miles and arrived at Salt Point State Park. I met my father there as he continued ahead of me at Gualala because he wanted to ensure he reached camp before sundown. The campground didn’t seem like it was currently being managed, but we did find another cyclist to chat with. He shared stories of biking all over the United States, spending most of his time in remote areas of the southwest US.
I had brought my dad a sandwich from a grocery store in Gualala, so we had dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow will be a short seven miles to Fort Ross, where we will meet a relative of ours and catch a ride inland to stay with him for a couple of days. It also marks my father’s last night on the road, as he will stay with our relative while I finish the next week of riding.
Stats from today:
- 41 miles biked
- 1,200 vertical feet climbed
- 1 peaceful chapel
- Too many sheep to count
