2 Lefts

The last few days have offered incredible riding and scenery. Our route has taken us nearly exclusively on Highway 1. Through this area its two lanes wind and dip, curve and drop, ascend and pitch as we follow a craggy and beautiful coastline. The bushes and trees and brush tend now more to the golden than rich greens - fine with us if it means less rainfall. We've played hopscotch with a group of four riders that we first met at the top of a climb in Oregon. It's been fun to compare notes when we run into each other at the only grocery store in the small, tourist towns that dot the route. Yesterday we took an inland detour into cow country. Sprawling dairy farms spread over hills the color of straw and we pushed up and over repeated climbs back to the water. These roads were very twisty and curvy too. In the late afternoon the shadows began to grow and we rode along Tomales Bay. The bay is a narrow inlet of roughly fifteen miles with quaint houses and cottages tucked into ti...

Yesterday was the longest day of riding since we gained our third member in Centralia, Washington. The day took us up and down the Californian coast. The climbs were never long but some were very steep. We gave our granny gears a good workout along with our legs. We passed bay after beautiful bay. The water was turquoise in places and the large sandy beaches mostly deserted. We saw a whale offshore at a break in a park. Later we stopped in the town of Elk to visit their general store. Mike and I enjoyed ice creams, Mike Sr raised the stakes by getting a Monster energy drink. It's like coffee on steroids. He liked it. After 60 miles we reached our destination: Manchester beach. There is a chain of campgrounds called KOA ("Kampgrounds of America"). They are typically overpriced and a little gimmicky, we have thus far avoided staying at one. However, the nearby state campground was closed and the KOA had special rates for cyclists so we swung in. And we were glad we did. F...

Saturday morning we had a fine stroke of luck. As we continued down the jaw-dropping Avenue of the Giants there were a ton of port-a-potties and a work crew setting up event tents. The next morning there was going to be a marathon through the redwoods with a full road closure. Thankfully we got to enjoy this scenic alternate instead of travel along the busier and noiser 101 highway. For the beauty of the massive trees we had to make a trade though - it was very chilly in the shade of the groves. But it was beautiful and worth it. There is a peace and a serenity among the redwoods. Traffic was light and the only sounds were the quiet thrum of our tires over the asphalt, the squawk of a few birds, and the crisp crackle of branches yielding to squirrels racing over them. First stop of the day was in tiny Myers Flat where Rach and I enjoyed 2nd breakfast milkshakes. We had a blog post queued up to post so we took turns standing on top of a brick wall and playing radio tower by holding my...

A herd of elk greeted us as we climbed out of our tents yesterday morning. They were grazing in the campground and slowly moved off as we ate breakfast. It was misty and grey and was to stay that way all day. This stretch of coast is home to the redwoods, giant trees that can live for thousands of years and grow to be hundreds of feet tall. We took our first break at the Beach Comber cafe in Trinidad after we saw two cyclists pull in there. If cyclists are frequenting an eatery it must be good. The cyclists gave us some tips on local bike shops and a secret bike path around the bay in Eureka, a city about 16 miles down the road. Mike Sr ordered coffee and a sandwich, Mike Jr had a bagel with tarrupin sauce (not made from terrapins, apparently), and I enjoyed a cup of tea and a ginormous apple muffin. Suitably fueled we continued along the coast to Arcata. We had intended to reach Arcata a little earlier in the week but a public holiday interfered and made us wait for our tent in Cresce...

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 - ...

As we packed up our gear yesterday morning, rain clouds drizzled on us a little but soon gave up and moved away to bother someone else. It had rained overnight so our tents were wet and refused to slide easily into their stuff sacks. Everyone also had wet shoes. Such is life. Our first stop of the day was a town called Bandon. I had hoped to visit their bike shop to get a new rear tire and Mike wanted to find some wifi in order to post the most recent blog entry. The bike shop was closed and wifi at the local coffee shop refused to allow our laptop to connect. However, Mike Sr had a cup of coffee and chatted to a lady who ended up offering us a crab quiche. Mike Sr. declined, on account of the group being two-thirds vegetarian. He then discovered that the spokes on his rear wheel were loose so both Mikes set about tightening them up. That done, we cycled 100 metres (meters for the Americans) down the road to search for new wifi sources. We found an open network at Tony's Crab Shack...