Pacific NW Riding and Running

So I've been meaning to post something more specific to the training we did during our trip South. We took our road bikes and running shoes and managed to find some great places to do both. California is my new favourite riding spot! The roads are amazing, the County bike maps are unreal and the views don't hurt the situation either. We did 3 good rides in Cali starting with a great ride near Redding just across the border from Oregon. After being absolutely poured on for two days driving down we were spoiled with nice spring weather for the 90+ km ride.



After visiting San Fran we hung out in Sonoma County just north of the City and did a couple of rides that I still dream about! The hills go forever and roads are deserted. Most of the ones you ride are the width of an alley and you see maybe a couple of cars an hour! The landscape changes so much from the interior to the coastline and you get amazing ridge top views once you've completed the sustained hour long climb with grades pushing 20% at times. I've never spent so much time out of my seat!



As we went North along the coast the wind picked up and it was quite cool so we opted for an epic trail run in the Redwood National Park. In my optimism of pace/mile we ended up doing a 3 hr 14 mile (22 k) trail run on some hiking trails with wicked switch backs and bridge crossings. The trees (some 3-4m in diameter) were creaking in the strong winds though we were protected down low. It was a challenge with only one water bottle and a couple of bars but we finished strong and it only took Tess 3 days of walking funny to recover!!

(Yes, Tess is down at the base of the tree!!)

Next up was the Oregon coast. It was super windy so we didn't get any riding in. We opted to head inland and did a short recovery ride in the praries near Eugene before heading to the East slopes to find some great riding. Another beautiful 85k ride through the state park and down into a neat little town was great last ride for the spring trip.

I think I could definitely make a habit of heading down to Cali for some spring riding! We'll see about next year!