The Wild Cat

After constant raving about the scenery from California locals, I was easily convinced to take an alternate route off of the standard 101 to see "The Lost Coast." It turns out all major routes bypass this area entirely due simply to the unstable nature of the geography and sheer steepness. Matole road a.k.a. "The Wild Cat" is the only one that ventures out to Matole Beach on the Lost Coast. Coincidentally, this piece of information was unbeknownst to me--things the locals forgot to mention I guess--as I filled my stomach with a large diner breakfast before jumping on the saddle to ride out the 50 mile detour in one day. The moment Garry and I turned onto Matole straight out of Ferndale, the road went straight up. Not just up. Straight up. Some parts offering a 15-20% grade in steepness. The steepness was further exasperated with ubiquitous potholes in the road, making the descents a little scary. The first 6 miles--the hill known to locals as "The wall"--took roughly 2 hours. It was quickly apparent the ride was going to take two days.

The descent down to the Lost Coast beach was gorgeous. The scenery was well worth it. After becoming relaxed and comfortable in the rolling climbs and softer grades along the coast, the challenge of Lost Coast was a much needed wake up call. We crashed with Hanna, Mike, Matt, Torri and Sara in Petrolia at Cedar, the local bike guys's, house. He made cookies that evening and breakfast the next morning. On the second day, we finished Matole road on a much softer grade that descended into the Avenue of the Giants. Amazing!