On Monday morning we pedaled about twenty miles through flat and sunny farm land to Crescent City, California. We had an important piece of business here. Eons ago in Montana we'd attempted to receive a replacement portion of our tent from the manufacturer. Without going into all the head-scratching detail - that did not work, and now many states later, we were finally supposed to pick up our package at the post office. Rach went to the door. It was locked. But the posted hours are 9-5. We're smack dab in there. But... it was Columbus Day and all post offices are closed!
Oh well. None of us were especially disappointed to stop riding as there was a big climb just ahead. Instead, we modified our plan and took the rest of Monday off and then a rest day yesterday which we had first planned for a town further ahead called Arcata. As I am prone to make, here is a list of our rest day activities in no particular order:
- Ate delicious Mexican food at Raliberto's taco shop
- Took another stab at waterproofing the seams on my/my Dad's leaky tent (and stunk up the motel room with vapors)
- Watched several silly action movies including Speed
- Returned to the post office and picked up the tent which had erroneously been sent to Alaska! before being properly delivered
- Mike Sr. treated everyone to pizza delivered to the room (very decadent)
Filled with Pizza Hut it was time again this morning to carry on. It was only a few miles before we encountered the climb, this one the tallest of this coastal part of the tour: 1,200 feet. We're now in the Redwoods portion of the ride and these forests are astonishing. Rays of light pierce the upper canopy and spotlight thick and gnarly bark while much of the groves remain in shadow. Many of these trees are more than 1000 years old and some are fifteen or even twenty feet in diameter. We've seen lots of impressive natural beauty on this trip but this region ranks near the top.
After descending back down to the water we rode along the Pacific Ocean and waves crashing along sandy beaches strewn with driftwood. Another few miles on the 101 and the route took us on a scenic alternate to another big climb: 750 feet. Find a gear, keep the legs loose, spin consistently, just focus on the road ahead and you'll eventually find the top. Traffic was lighter here and it allowed plenty of room to crane your neck up and marvel at the trees above us. As we were leaving this section we saw a pair of elk right at the side of the road. Awesome!
We finished up at 47 miles of riding to set up at a quiet campground that had more elk roaming around the grounds. Rach and I put up our replacement tent and everything works well with the previous rainfly, poles, and ground cloth. What we didn't know is that it has LED lights sewn into the ceiling. Now we have the party tent. Just a little more than 300 miles to San Francisco remain.
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| Redwoods |
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| Northern California coast |
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| Big! |
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| Bigger! |
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| Two Mikes |
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| Stats |
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| Fuzzy tree |
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| First elk of the trip |
I took Katie and Kellie to see the Muir Woods redwoods north of San Francisco when they were in elementary school. The trip was primarily for an Irish step dancing competition so both Mikes passed. I am so glad that the three of you were able to enjoy California's redwoods on this trip.
ReplyDeleteAs for Columbus Day, Mike, Jr., who is part Italian from Grandma Georgia, forgets the holiday, while Mike, Sr., with not a drop of Italian, considers pizza a fundamental part of a healthy diet.
Glad you enjoyed the pizza. Ride safely.
Cheri
Redwoods look cool. The description of BIG TREE is very accurate. It is just one year older than me.
ReplyDeletePizza delivery to hotel room is very luxurious.
Columbus Day is bogus. Indigenous People’s Day=much better.