King Ridge!

Finally got to do this fantastic ride yesterday! Oh my, it did not disappoint. This route has it all: deserted roads along meandering streams, redwood groves, steep climbing, ridgetop views to forever, the occasional vineyard, cows, llamas, raccoons and possibly a seal or two, screaming descents sweeping down switchbacks to the ocean, a fast run down a rugged coastline marked by huge rocky sentinels, capped off by a stiff climb up yet another untrafficked road to a hanging valley above the ocean. Incredible!

We started in Occidental with a quick breakfast at Howards, then headed north along Bohemian Highway. The first 20 miles are a perfect warmup -- downhill to the Russian River, then an easy spin downstream. We turned up Austin Creek towards Cazadero and immediately left the world behind. Tiny roads with no cars to speak of, and towering redwoods all around. At Cazadero, the climbing began quickly on King Ridge Road. A few initial rollers to get the blood flowing, and then a painful series of escalating stairsteps with grades up to 18% or so. The reward was topping out on the ridge and taking in the panoramas over the entire Sonoma coast and mountain regions.

A series of rolling hills and more ridges on a perfectly carved one lane road -- consisting of more ups than downs -- brought us to the intersection of Hauser Bridge and Tin Barn roads. We turned left here and plunged a couple of miles down to the South Fork of the Gualala River, where we crossed an improbable old bridge in the middle of nowhere and then began the long climb back up the Seaview Ridge (now referred to by some of the more tired of the crew as the "27 Sisters"). It was near the Fort Ross School when Mark admitted his early attacks on King Ridge were causing "the onset of a nice slow bonk", and asking optimistically "where are all of these bakeries you keep talking about?". Ultimately the Seaview Ridge ends and we enjoyed an absolutely blasting descent down Meyers Grade to Highway 1, where the fun did not end. Several more miles of downhill to the beach at Russian Gulch still awaited us. This is epic scenery, no doubt about it. Lots of smiles were plastered on our faces as we pedaled our way south towards the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner.

There's not much in Jenner, except it is only "town" along the route past Cazadero so we stopped in (at the bizarrely named "Jenner 'C' Store") for an assortment of absolutely horrible foods. David went for the devilled eggs. Matt and I went the Payday candybar route. I think I saw Gavin or Mark noshing a Raisenette, while Steve preferred a canned espresso and a couple of fresh apricots personally transported by bicycle from Occidental. The top culinary prize went to Danielle for the XL sized, pre-packaged Kelloggs Rice Krispie bar.

We would need those empty calories for our last 20 miles that took us down the coast towards Bodega Bay, and then up the steep but gorgeous Coleman Valley Road back to Occidental. Those who had charged early in the day ended up paying for their exuberance. The wise old men of the group had sufficient gas left in the tank to actually enjoy (dare I say, relish?) the climb out of Coleman Valley. There are old cyclists and there are bold cyclists, but there are no old bold cyclists.

Some photos below from this magical day. Ride profile and map here.