Since neither of us had ever heard of Tasty Bite, we decided not to leave it to chance that we would find it again down the road. So we made our first stop of the day at the market across the highway from the park and bought the remaining 2 packages.
Once we were on the road again, we faced the toughest climbing day yet. Just past Leggett, we climbed the remainder of one of the highest peaks on our Northern California route. It was fairly gradual with shade and a lot of turns, so it wasn't that bad. The next hill would prove to be not as easy. We were running into the other bike tourists who camped at our campground last night. One older guy was carrying entirely too much gear, including at least a couple 2 liter containers of water. He also did not appear to be in very good shape. We passed him climbing the first big hill and Sam asked if he was doing OK. He said he wasn't doing that great. We also met a group of older bike tourists who get together 1 week every year and tackle a portion of the Pacific Coast tour. One of the wives drives a SAG vehicle and the group stays in hotels along the way. Looked like they were having fun. Pretty cool.
The second hill around what used to be Rockport proved to be tougher. Partly because our legs were already spent. Partly because it was steeper. The few times we saw the sun climbing the first 2 big hills would be the last time we would see it today. The descent down from Leggett is my new #1 favorite descent. After that, the route was full of rollers but every climb back up proved to be extremely tough as our climbing legs were long gone.
We stopped for a snack in a tiny town called Westport. Trail mix, apples, chips and coffee. Three of the bike tourists we camped with showed up. We stopped in Fort Bragg and replenished our groceries. The entire ride today was along the coast, very foggy and damp. Leaving Ft. Bragg, we saw a guy riding his bike northbound loaded with gear including a large size hard case Samsonite luggage strapped to his rear bike rack. We were amazed and impressed. Would have been fun to hear his story.
We camped for the night at Van Damme Beach State Park after a 60 mile ride. Four others from the night before were also camping here. Dinner tonight was those giant blue cheese filled burgers, mac & cheese, and our favorite Safeway cookies. One guy camping next to us was a young Asian student from Seattle. His name was Sammy and he was doing his first tour - riding from Seattle to San Francisco. Sammy didn't have any cycling experience before this tour. He was riding a mountain bike he bought off Craigslist for $75. He didn't have any cycling shorts, so he put a gel padded seat on his bike. He was putting in 70 mile days and a 97 miler as his longest. Proving that you don't need fancy gear or even experience to enjoy bike touring, just determination and a positive attitude.
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