Crush the coast – Stage 5
Orick, CA to Miranda, CA– 105.1 miles – 3,632ft – 6hrs 30 mins
This is one of the harder days. It begins with lovely breakfast at an amazing diner in Orick, but quickly gives way to 60 or so miles of unforgiving highway riding. No views, no respite, no place to hide. Somewhere along the way you stop and eat lunch in the parking lot of a Target. You click clack your way into their restroom. Maybe pick up some Fritos. Then you do a little more highway riding. You probably get a flat or two. You paceline it literally as hard as you can. And then you jump off the highway and hit the redwood forest, and the last forty miles make it all worthwhile. In fact, you completely forget about the cars buzzing by you and you pull over, take photos of your bike next to a giant tree, and then you roll in to a weird little town, order a crappy pizza, drink some beer, and then walk across the street to your cabin (the only other building in the town) and pass out.
Good times.
