Day 4: Cave Junction to Graberville

IMG_6804We woke up to a cold, brisk Oregon morning in our tents. At 7:00 in the morning it was the earliest we had ever woken up. There is some debate as to whether this is caused by the early morning sun, the cold, or the lack of wifi. We’re pretty sure it’s the wifi. As a group we made a pact: no breakfast until the Pacific Ocean.

After a short ride to the Oregon/California border, we were instantly greeted by an awesome canyon run of twisty hills. Who needs coffee to wake up!

Climbing out of the canyon we rode through beautiful national parks filled with giant redwood trees. These trees were over 10 feet across – riding at 60 mph only a foot away from them was something special. One hour of this passed, when suddenly the forest opened up to a cliff side and we saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was incredible. The cliff road bent left, then right, followed by a steep downhill. Right at the bottom of the hill there was a straightaway right beside the ocean. We rode while 10 foot Pacific waves crashed 100 feet beside us. It was a nice welcome to the West Coast.

We had honored our pact and it was time to get breakfast. We stopped at a nice, small restaurant called the Palms cafe in Orick, CA. The two staff had awesome banter and should have a sitcom together. The Palm Cafe should also be known as the home to he best homemade raspberry pies ever created. We loved the place, the staff, and the pie so much that we found a way to get a whole pie on our bikes & signed a Magento bandana (exclusive swag, tweet at us). We’ll check back in on that bandana in a few months – and the raspberry pie.

With a full stomach we were hungry for only one more thing: twisty roads.

We found them in California on the 299. For the next two hours we enjoyed the best roads and riding that we’ve ever had. Miles and miles of up, down, left, right, 180 degree turns, and what seems like the world’s highest concentration of Bigfoot-themed stores. When you ride such amazing roads for so long you start to get into a “Zen” moment. You stop thinking about what you’re doing and you just do it naturally. I remember saying to Bret: “I haven’t ever been here before, but by the end of the route it felt like I knew every single turn.” There is no way for me to express in words how good riding this road is. If you ride, or enjoy driving, just go there.

Gas, energy drinks, and water were found, then we were off to ride through a road called the Avenue of the Giants. This place is aptly named. The redwood trees here are like skyscrapers. We were even able to take some photos in a 3,000 year old redwood tree.

A few slight navigation errors later and we found our hotel (see map). We got a room 20 minutes before the hotel no longer accepted guests, and sprinted to the closest restaurant which closed in 10 minutes. Sleep deprived and exhausted after a 13 hour day we hit the hay. I was too tired to dream, but if I wasn’t I’d probably dream of highway 299.

April 7, 2016 by Steve | Routes

Four friends. One passion. One goal. #RoadToImagine