Ride stats: 60 miles, 4,900 feet of vertical.
Map: Click here
Moderate
I'm not a big fan of out-and-back rides, but when it's my first time on a new road, the return trip still seems different and interesting. Comptche-Ukiah Road, starting at Hwy 1 just south of Mendocino, was such a fun ride I won't mind going out and back on it again someday.
The road was in perfect condition today. It must have been paved within the last 6-9 months, as it was perfectly smooth from Hwy 1 all the way to Comptche, through a dense forest of coastal redwood trees. The road climbs quickly from the coast at a 5-7% grade for about a mile, then rises gently to an elevation of 850 feet before heading down into Comptche, about 15 miles in. Here, you can turn right on Flynn Creek Road and head back toward Hwy 128, which would make a nice loop back to the start, but I knew there would be some traffic on 128, so I chose to continue on Comptche-Ukiah Road. I had 4 hours for my ride so I decided to go about 30 miles then turn around.
The perfect pavement ended shortly after climbing up through the tiny hamlet of Comptche. And so did the gentle climbing. In a 2-mile stretch the road climbs 800 vertical feet to 1,250 feet. Most of the climb is on the steep side, averaging 8-10%. A few miles of slight up and down, then steeply down into a beautiful valley and more gentle ups and downs along the river. Fortunately, this steep down section was also newly paved.
Comptche-Ukiah Road becomes Orr Springs Road at about mile 22 from Hwy 1, but there's no chance of missing a turn, because all of the roads off of the main road are dirt. At Comptche the redwoods turn into oaken woodlands and rollings pastures. I turned around just before reaching the very small town of Montgomery, where there is a state park.
I started at first light, about 7:15am, so I didn't expect to see many cars, especially during New Year's week. I saw 4 cars during the trip out and about 6 coming back. The ride was idyllic. No wind, beautiful rolling hills with some wide open spaces and secluded valleys. At this time of year it's cold and damp. The oak trees are laden with gray-green lichen, like some kind of ancient frozen silly string.
On the return trip, the only rough patch was descending down the steep pitch that climbs out of Comptche. Once back onto the perfect pavement heading back to Hwy 1, you can push a big gear for several miles up a very gentle slope. Once you reach the top of the last rise, about 7 miles from the end, it's a fun, fast, and smooth glide down to the finish.
