Ride the West Sep 09--Day 9 Eureka to Garberville
Goodevening Friends and Family,
We had a great bike ride today, traveling lots of miles through the Avenue of the Giants, a huge state park full of redwoods that are striking and strong.
We departed our hotel at 8 am and were happy to see only clouds above us and no rain. Our cyclists wandered through Eureka for about 3 miles before we got back on Highway 101S for a short time and then wandered through farm country to the first SAG stop in Ferndale, a small town filled with Victorian designed houses and buildings.
I rode part of the way with Larry, Greg, and David, and after getting some on-road maintenance help from Mike Munk and Karen Bauer (my front deraileur--gear changer), I rode with Mike and Karen. Eventually, I put my head down and roared down the last couple of miles into Ferndale at 30 mph with the aid of a nice tailwind. Sure is fun to feel fast for a little bit.
The ride through the Avenue of the Giants is really nirvana for a cyclist. The forest is extremely quiet, the road well paved, and the traffic very light and well-behaved. A couple times I was "feeling it" and then decided that I needed to savor this exquisite opportunity. I even took off my dark goggles since the redwoods create an enormous amount of shade, the entire forest has a low light effect. These giant trees permit us to visit and gaze in amazement at a living life form that makes giant whales seem small and frail. Their resiliency is as amazing as is their size.
One of the amazing things I saw today was a post that denotes the water height in the forest during the flood of 1964. The water rose 34 feet above the base of the trees in an area that would make anyone wonder who a flood could possibly occur here. Despite the relatively shallow root system of the redwood and the incredible amounts of water, few of the trees were damaged or downed. Another wonder by a wonderful Creator.
By the time I arrived at the final SAG stop, I was soaked from a climb over the last 3 or 4 miles. I stretched out my gear to dry and refreshed myself with a handfull of peanuts, a couple bottles of water and some delicious peanut butter crackers. And while I relaxed for a few minutes, Barb showed me some wonderful photos of her 5 grandchildren, including one month old Claudia Julliette. Barb is the official America By Bicycle team Mom and a fantastic person.
The last 26 miles I really felt the effects of riding 9 days in a row. I left the rest stop feeling cold so I put my windbraker on to build up some heat. After about 10 miles, I started climbing again and felt warm and comfortable and my legs finally were ready to kick for a few more miles.
One of the highlights of the leg was a roll down main street in Miranda. Miranda was the hometown of the late Darryl Fariss, Larry's Dad and Nita's husband. I saw Darryl's old high school and took a photo with my back up camera of the sign that looked like it had been there a very long time. As I glided through this small town, I looked left and right and wondered which buildings were there when Darryl roamed these streets. Darryl was a great man and a great friend that I still miss very much.
The next 15 miles were up and down and more work than I probably would have requested. Over the last 5 miles which were mostly up hill, I kept thinking of the great skit I could write that would depict the America By Bicycle planners, pouring over the route plan and figuring out how they can put almost every hotel at the top of a long hill near the end of a ride. Yes, after 75 miles today, I was indulging in a little self pity that manifested itself in warped humor developed on a bicycle.
After arriving at the Best Western Humboldt, I headed for a quick downtown tour via bicycle and searched for a Radio Shack to find a battery charger for my Sony camera. Viola! Success! They had exactly what I needed and as of now I have two charged batteries for the remainder of the trip.
And the beat goes on!
We had a great bike ride today, traveling lots of miles through the Avenue of the Giants, a huge state park full of redwoods that are striking and strong.
We departed our hotel at 8 am and were happy to see only clouds above us and no rain. Our cyclists wandered through Eureka for about 3 miles before we got back on Highway 101S for a short time and then wandered through farm country to the first SAG stop in Ferndale, a small town filled with Victorian designed houses and buildings.
I rode part of the way with Larry, Greg, and David, and after getting some on-road maintenance help from Mike Munk and Karen Bauer (my front deraileur--gear changer), I rode with Mike and Karen. Eventually, I put my head down and roared down the last couple of miles into Ferndale at 30 mph with the aid of a nice tailwind. Sure is fun to feel fast for a little bit.
The ride through the Avenue of the Giants is really nirvana for a cyclist. The forest is extremely quiet, the road well paved, and the traffic very light and well-behaved. A couple times I was "feeling it" and then decided that I needed to savor this exquisite opportunity. I even took off my dark goggles since the redwoods create an enormous amount of shade, the entire forest has a low light effect. These giant trees permit us to visit and gaze in amazement at a living life form that makes giant whales seem small and frail. Their resiliency is as amazing as is their size.
One of the amazing things I saw today was a post that denotes the water height in the forest during the flood of 1964. The water rose 34 feet above the base of the trees in an area that would make anyone wonder who a flood could possibly occur here. Despite the relatively shallow root system of the redwood and the incredible amounts of water, few of the trees were damaged or downed. Another wonder by a wonderful Creator.
By the time I arrived at the final SAG stop, I was soaked from a climb over the last 3 or 4 miles. I stretched out my gear to dry and refreshed myself with a handfull of peanuts, a couple bottles of water and some delicious peanut butter crackers. And while I relaxed for a few minutes, Barb showed me some wonderful photos of her 5 grandchildren, including one month old Claudia Julliette. Barb is the official America By Bicycle team Mom and a fantastic person.
The last 26 miles I really felt the effects of riding 9 days in a row. I left the rest stop feeling cold so I put my windbraker on to build up some heat. After about 10 miles, I started climbing again and felt warm and comfortable and my legs finally were ready to kick for a few more miles.
One of the highlights of the leg was a roll down main street in Miranda. Miranda was the hometown of the late Darryl Fariss, Larry's Dad and Nita's husband. I saw Darryl's old high school and took a photo with my back up camera of the sign that looked like it had been there a very long time. As I glided through this small town, I looked left and right and wondered which buildings were there when Darryl roamed these streets. Darryl was a great man and a great friend that I still miss very much.
The next 15 miles were up and down and more work than I probably would have requested. Over the last 5 miles which were mostly up hill, I kept thinking of the great skit I could write that would depict the America By Bicycle planners, pouring over the route plan and figuring out how they can put almost every hotel at the top of a long hill near the end of a ride. Yes, after 75 miles today, I was indulging in a little self pity that manifested itself in warped humor developed on a bicycle.
After arriving at the Best Western Humboldt, I headed for a quick downtown tour via bicycle and searched for a Radio Shack to find a battery charger for my Sony camera. Viola! Success! They had exactly what I needed and as of now I have two charged batteries for the remainder of the trip.
And the beat goes on!
Labels: America By Bicycle, cross country cycling, cycling
posted by Steve King at 7:53 PM
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