Thanks for the input Andrew! What a place to grow up! I've been up along the Usal Road to camp once before and I remember it being pretty rugged.. Don't mind a little extra dirt. I am curious just how wet it will be up thataways, and if itll be so muddy as to be problematic. Hard to say I guess, April is apparently the tail end of the rainy season. I always think of california as such a dry place I kind of forget that this whole route is basically riding through a rain forest. On Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 5:22:42 PM UTC-5 Andrew Letton wrote:
> Hi Stephen, > Looks like a great ride! > I grew up in the Lost Coast area (Whale Gulch), so your first route goes > right through my home turf. > One thing that I find suspicious is that RWGPS seems to show some paved > road between Four Corners and Dutchman's Flat, and I don't believe that's > true. The Usal Road is pretty remote and depending on the time of year, not > well maintained. I believe the county only maintains it during summer > months, so in winter it is sometimes unpassable in a car. That shouldn't > stop a bicycle, but you may find areas pretty rutted. YMMV! I've ridden it > only once, in summer, and my problem was not bringing enough water, so plan > accordingly. It's only about 26 miles, but as you can see from RWGPS, it's > a pretty intense 26 miles! Don't let that scare you off, just be prepared. > You will be rewarded by some spectacular country. You can probably fill > water bottles at the Whale Gulch School, just before you get to Four > Corners. After Four Corners, you'll be heading off into truly unpopulated > areas and are unlikely to find much water. (Filter what you do find!) Oh, > and if it is dust season (June-Sep), you may want to have a bandana around > your neck, ready to pull up over your mouth/nose for when cars (very > occasionally) pass. Ah, I just saw that you're thinking of April, so dust > will not likely be an issue, but rain may be; you'll be riding through one > of the wettest regions in the whole state! ;-) > https://www.eldoradoweather.com/calprecip-full-size.html > Have a great ride, and I look forward to your ride report... > cheers, > Andrew, from Whale Gulch; now in Sydney > > [image: Inline image] > (Image from Google Street View at Four Corners) > > > > > On Monday, February 12, 2024 at 07:39:01 AM GMT+11, Stephen < > cavell....@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hey All, > > This week I've been fantasizing about a tour route from Eureka to SF that > follows the PCH but avoids riding on it as much as possible (within > reason). So I've been playing around in rwgps and Gaia Gps maps to make > some route drafts, trying to stay close to the coast but choosing alternate > roads and dirt roads as much as possible to avoid traffic. > > For the beginning of the route I used part of a Lost Coast tour route that > ends and begins in Eureka. As for the end, I've done a fair bit of riding > in Marin and have familiarity with the roads and trails up to Sir Francis > Drake Road. Will probably make two different route endings, one for east > bay and one for SF. (the route draft I have now is for eastbay) > > I was wondering if anyone on the list had experience in the other areas up > the coast, or has done a similar ride, or been on any of the roads I've > routed or had recommendations? Sometimes you see a road on a map and in > reality its private access or washed away. Would appreciate any thoughts or > feedback or anybody who wants to nerd out on maps and routemaking. > > Playing with the idea of riding this on my appaloosa in April. > > ROUTES: > https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45561107 > https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45561484 > > Let me know if theres trouble accessing those. > > Thanks! > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b85ef52c-9455-42b7-9303-d53ffdb8067dn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b85ef52c-9455-42b7-9303-d53ffdb8067dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a2d7946f-4bc9-4a15-9fd2-0c9341318555n%40googlegroups.com.
