THE MENDOCINO TOUR Mendocino and Lake Counties Four to six days, 250-420 miles This is one of the shortest tours we offer–in days as well as miles– which makes it a nice companion piece for the longer Wine Country Tour, just to the south..should you wish to combine them into a two-week trip. Details for linking the two tours are included in the information packet. Adding them together reqires no additional days, and the links can be done by bike. This tour has two distinct parts to it: the greener, forested region near the coast, and the drier, more open country around Clear Lake. I chose Lake Mendocino near Ukiah as the starting and ending point of this loop because it’s easily accessible from the main highway (101). If you were to combine it with the other tour, that would change. The tour begins with an almost complete circumnavigation of Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake in California. An optional loop in the hills around Cobb Mountain follows, and then it’s up and over Hopland Grade, out of Lake County and west into Mendocino County. You ride north through the apple orchards of Anderson Valley and the redwood forests along the Navarro River. A maze of forest roads leads out to the coast near the picturesque seaside village of Mendocino. If ever a village could be called picturesque, this is it. Backdrop for numerous films and television shows, this quaint artists’ colony perches in well-preserved Victorian splendor on bluffs overlooking its tiny harbor (above). It is indeed a classic, picture-postcard setting. And in spite of the steady influx of tourists that has earned it the nickname “Spendocino,” it still retains all the finer aesthetic charms that made it such an attraction in the first place. After touring Mendocino, we’re off over the mountains back to Ukiah via the towns of Fort Bragg and Willits and an assortment of remote and rather hilly backroads. As a special treat, the run from Fort Bragg to Willits on the final day can also be done on the famous Skunk Train. Warning: this final day includes the longest unpaved section on any tour we offer..nearly four miles. It also includes one stretch on Hwy 20 that can be quite busy. The busy highway can be dodged by doing the train ride, but the four miles of unpaved road are unavoidable, except by hopping in a sag. If all that proves unacceptable, we offer an alternate route on that day that does require some backtracking over the previous day’s route, as well as some very challenging climbing. But it is all paved and all peaceful and beautiful. • Where does it go? Day 1: Lake Mendocino to Clear Lake 70 miles, 3100' up, 2600' down 78 miles, 3500' up, 3000' down After climbing over one mountain pass, the route descends to the northeast shore of Clear Lake. The short route makes a bee-line for the eastern shore of the lake, while the long route wanders around a bit near Blue Lakes and Scotts Valley before tacking back to the east shore. The reunited routes proceed together almost all the way around the lake..first, along the level east shore, through several little resort towns, and then up and down through the scenic hills along the less populated western shore. Overnight in beautiful Clear Lake State Park. Showers. Day 1.1: Optional Cobb Mountain Loop 43 miles, 2500' up and down 65 miles, 4000' up and down This optional day is almost a must, in my opinion. A beautiful loop up into the high, dry pine and fir forests around Cobb Mountain. Long climbs, but also some truly epic downhills. Scenery is superb every mile of the way: very little commercial clutter or congestion. Just a lot of great cycling roads. Day 2: Clear Lake to Hendy Woods 65 miles, 3500' up, 4000' down 74 miles, 4000' up, 4500' down An easy prowl through pear orchard country around Kelseyville leads to the long, double-summit ascent of Hopland Grade, and the wild, curling descent into Mendocino County on the other side. Numerous small and medium-sized climbs (and some frisky downhills) take the route into Anderson Valley, home to more orchands–apples this time–and rolling hills covered in vineyards. The route passes through the charming towns of Hopland and Boonville on its way to an overnight in Hendy Woods State Park, deep in the redwoods on the bank of the Navarro River. Showers. Day 2.1: Optional Manchester-Elk Loop 68 miles, 7000' up and down This optional loop is not for the faint of heart or weak of knee. It’s a brutal challenge, with many long and often steep climbs..first heading west to the coast on infamous Mountainview Road and then returning from the coast on Philo-Greenwood Road. In between, the route runs up the beautiful Mendocino coastline to the charming Victorian village of Elk. This stage is not suitable for moderate riders, but because it returns to the same camp for another night, those not wishing to do the ride can spend the day relaxing on the beach of the Navarro River. Day 3: Hendy Woods to Mendocino 38 miles, 1500' up, 1800' down 60 miles, 3700' up, 4000' down Forested byways along the Navarro, Albion, and Big Rivers lead to the town of Mendocino. The short route is very short, allowing most of the day for exploring the famous seaside village. The long route adds quality miles–some hilly, some flat–for those who would rather ride than window shop. Camp in a state park on the beach. Showers. Day 4: Mendocino to Lake Mendocino 69 miles, 4700' up, 3900' down A unique day in two respects. First, 40 miles of the stage can be done on the historic Skunk Train (from Fort Bragg to Willits), as opposed to riding up and over the mountains on the busy highway. Second, this stage contains a four-mile section of unpaved road. After climbing over the hills to Willits (either by bike or by train), the route winds through inland hills on tiny roads–including the gravel one–on the way back to the tour’s beginning at Lake Mendocino. Day 4 (alternate): Mendocino to Lake Mendocino 54 miles, 5100' up, 4300' down In case you don’t want to brave those four miles of unpaved road, we offer this alternate route back to Lake Mendocino. It does retrace several miles of yesterday’s route (going in the opposite direction), but eventually breaks out into new country: remote and very pretty backwoods backroads. There are a couple of quite substantial climbs and an equal measure of highly entertaining descents. • How hard is it? This is a two-tier tour, with longer and shorter options almost every day, making it a tour that can be done by cyclists of varying abilities and aspirations. Taken alone, it is a very short tour and shouldn’t tax the day-to-day stamina of an average rider. (With the exception, that is, of the Manchester-Elk optional day. That stage is for very fit, hard-nosed riders only.) Taken in conjunction with the Wine Country Tour, it will add up to a challenging two-week tour. • When should you do this tour? While the weather on the coastal parts of this tour is usually very mild, some of the inland portions in Lake County can be scorchingly hot in mid-summer. I would follow the same guidelines in choosing your time for this tour as on the Wine Country Tour, with mid-May to mid-June the best window, and Indian Summer (September to mid-October) as a good second option. Before mid-May, that bothersome 4-mile gravel stretch may be impassible, as there are several water crossings that aren’t maintained by the road crews until that date. • Accommodations All of the campgrounds on this tour are excellent. All of them can be reserved. All have easy access to decent showers. It would take some fairly substantial tinkering with the routes to turn this tour from a camping trip to a motel trip, but it can be done, and the quality of the tour won’t suffer. • Travel..to and from The tour begins and ends near Ukiah, which is just two hours north of the Golden Gate on Hwy 101. This makes it possible to travel to and from the start/finish on ride days. Adventure Velo 7315 Fircrest Avenue Sebastopol, CA 95472 707-823-9807 backroad@sonic.net