This weekend turned out to be a monumental success. The heat was something I thought was going to ruin it all, but thankfully the route avoided most of the heat by staying at elevation on Friday and sprinting to the coast on Saturday.
First day I headed out of Red Bluff to the East and did some fun backroads heading toward Burney Falls and the Lava tubes.
Cassel California:
Off of Highway 89
Day 2, was a sprint to the coast from Weed. Stewarts Springs, Scott Mountain Summit, Cecilville-Callahan, Forks of Salmon, 96, Bald Hills, 101 and some Mattole Rd. I took zero pictures of the morning except for the infamous sign at the Salmon River Road & 96 Junction:
After lunch I split from my group and decided to take my inappropriate touring bike out of the Black Sand Beach and grab a shot of Steamboat Rock. It was painful, but so worth it.
An overlook on Mattole Rd, about 5 miles from Ferndale:
Black sand beach, 20 brutal miles from Ferndale, Steamboat rock in the background. The road was absolutely brutal, it took me almost an hour one way, but I was on the totally wrong bike for a graveled, pot holed mess like Mattole Rd. Still, bucket list partially checked off:
On the way home from Fortuna I did Leggett, Branscomb, and then a sprint up 175 to the Lake County Line and back:
It turned out to be one of my best multi-day rides, especially with extremely low expectations given the insane heat forecasted.