Korina

Just for giggles, I asked Google to plot a route between Arcata and Mad River (at Ruth Lake) on a bicycle. The more interesting route is 76 miles, has 10,500ft of elevation gain, and zero water in remote, rugged land. They rather optimistically said I could do it in 11 hours. Take a look; it's pretty of cool and kind of hilarious.

I know, I should do something productive, like wash the dishes.

DiabloScott

Google estimates my time as the same... so apparently we'd make compatible riding partners.
You do the dishes.

downtube42

76 miles in 11 hours? What are you going to do, take naps along the way?

I kid, I kid. Google doesn't know all the things. Which is a good thing perhaps.

Korina

Google doesn't know all the things yet.

Actually, it looks like it would be quite doable, if I was an experienced bikepacker. I'm just a bored ex-commuter looking for places to explore out my front door, in a place that doesn't have a lot of them.

squirtdad

how is riding the little back roads between 101 and humboldt beach, like where you can see the longhorn cattle? not enough to go far or ???

I drove a few recent with my son on recent visit, and thought they had some potential

this is of interest as I am consider the area for a retirement location

google maps bike option is certainly optimistic on average speed and sometimes produce highly convoluted routes

HelpSingularity 

I lived in Arcata for 6 years in the 80's and 90's (Go Lumberjacks). Miss it a lot. Looking at the route it seems pretty neat and a great excursion through the woods and what were once woods. At one time there were giant redwoods that stood there, now all gone. But what the route does not show is that once past Blue Lake it is all up and down, and mostly up going east. I mean climb city. Probably 11 hours is not unreasonable because that is one big mountain range starting at Blue Lake.
regards
Larry

Barry2 

Google is a work in process
It's still learning

Today Google learnt that you guys are bad mouthing it's trip estimate!
and It knows where you live!

Barry

bikingshearer 

When is it that, when I look at the route, "Dueling Banjos" starts playing in my head?

Korina

Do you mean the Arcata Bottoms, the farm land between town and the ocean? I've ridden it many times; it's beautiful, with few cars, but I don't think the roads have been repaved the entire time I've been here, so it's pretty chunky. As for retiring, you might want to hold off on that; HSU is now Cal Poly Humboldt and looking to double their student body (and faculty, and staff). Meanwhile we're in a deep housing crisis, with not nearly enough stock to house the people already here, much less the climate refugees already trickling in. You might look into Life Plan Humboldt, if you have the moolah.

Actually, we have natural prairies once you get past the coastal zone. The route does show the climbing; the panel on the left, at the bottom, shows an elevation profile with 10,500 ft, of climbing. Yikes. I googled one of the trails on the route, which led me to this interesting site. I'm (very slowly) reading a paper about the trails in that area; how the native people made most of them, and the European settlers expanded some to create overland routes to the Trinity gold fields; I'm still in the 1850's.

stardognine

I imagine you've done Crescent City, up on the coast by the Oregon border? I went through there, several years ago now, and was amazed at all the sea lions. 😲 And there's nothing separating you, like a fence, so don't piss them off, lol. 😁

When I left, going South, I followed a trail a good ways. I found a fallen tree, blocking the path, and had to clear a way through. My bike didn't have a reverse gear, so I couldn't just back up, and leave the way I came. 🙄😁😉

Korina

@stardognine, I haven't done Crescent City; that's a good 70 miles north. And yes, my rule of thumb is "don't piss off anything bigger than you or that has pointier teeth". It has served me well.

stardognine

Aha, so it's right in line, mileage-wise, and should take a little UNDER 11 hours. 😁

Korina

Hah! 7 hrs 35 min according to Google, but they didn't account for the headwind. It chose an interesting route, keeping me off Highway 101 as much as it could, including Hammond Truck Rd., which I've wanted to ride for quite a while, but it's a logging road on Green Diamond Resources property. I added Old State Highway; not sure why Google didn't; Street View from 2007 shows pavement, so it's fine, right?

stardognine

I forgot about that headwind. Particularly brutal, along the coast there, going South to North. I learned to "rail against the wind" there, which is just like cussin', but none can hear it, not even the cusser. 🤐😁