Monday, July 15, 2008 - Redwoods!

After leaving Eureka, (On the 13th) we rode all day, 32 miles of which was through the Avenue of the Giants, famous for its eternal passageways through the Redwood trees. In the morning, I rode with Kristen. She got a flat which I helped her change out just before the Ave., and by ther, Lee had rode up on us and the rest of the day was Kristen, Lee and I riding. Lee and I shared some of our goodies from Arcata while we were out in the middle of the gigantic forest. Kristen took off ahead of us and we all separated for a couple of hours to enjoy our time with the majestic trees.

By the time we got into a town, it was getting dark, and again Lee helped me buy some food. After we ate, Alan rolled into town with a great big smile--he had found a small pool of water dug into a readwood and spent an hour swimming.

It was dark when we left the town to go find the state park where we would camp. We rode down a steep hill for a few miles before we finally figured out the way we needed to go.

We got to the campground and crashed out quick. The weather was nice enough, so Alan and I didn't even bother setting up our tents. We passed around our 'goodies' and all slept soundly.

Yesterday (the 14th) was a great day, too. We all got up early to get a quick start on Legett hill, the largest climb of the entire ride. Before the climb, Lee decided he'd get his beauty sleep... on the shoulder of highway one.

I rode the climb solo, as I thought that Christian, Alan and Lee were ahead of me, but when I stopped in Westport for lunch, they came filing in from behind. After a croissant and a chat with some bike-messengers from Seattle who are also doing a tour, Christian and I knocked out the last 13 miles to our camp just outside of Fort Bragg.

Last night we all got really really messed up. Alan and I were the last men standing, having made a vow to guzzle down the rest of the wine. Alan told more of his stories and was stumbling all over out campground. I awoke in the night to a light rain, stumbled some more around the site, put my electronics in a zip-lock and drank a nalgene full of water, hoping that it would provide relief in the morning.

This morning has actually been quite nice. Christian, Lee, Kristen and I rolled into Ft. Bragg while riding along a pleasant logging road that skirts the coast. What a beautiful morning. Only 3 more 60 mile days to San Fran. How sad. I don't know where I will stay when I get there, but I guess the worst case scenerio is that I'm awake all night, like my original plan when I went into Seattle. Who knows, maybe I'll luck out again and someone will let me crash out on their couch. I also need to figure out how the hell I'm going to get from San Fran to Oceanside. I guess I still have alot of adventure left, afterall... but I feel like the trip is really over when I get to Oceanside.

Sunday, July 14, 2008 - Humboldt County!!!! Wooo!

If everything would have worked out on the Colorado Trail, I would be finishing it today. Instead, today I am climbing the highest and most steep hill of the trip, just south of Legett. Alan, Christian, Lee and I did some 'drafting' this morning, a technique used by group cyclists so that they can work less and ride faster due to less wind resistance on the group.

After a while, Christian and Alan took off ahead up a hill, and Lee and I stuck together for the rest of the day. The air was thick from the Northern California forest fires less than 75 miles east. We had the opportunity to see a herd of beautiful, massive elk that were grazing just off the highway.
When Lee and I got into Arcata, he spotted me 20 bucks to get something to eat and we downed a pitcher of beer and ate some incredible hamburgers. Now somewhat drunk, we wondered around town hunting for Humboldt County's finest. Lee went into a music store and bought a Neil Young album and the store clerk showed us where we could find Arcata's most popular export. After wondering around the city square for a little while, we finally found what we were looking for.

Not long after that, we ran into Katie, Kristen and Chris again. Apparently, Katie and Kristen had once again decided to change their plans. Katie was just going to go back home to Alabama and Kristen decided to tough it out with us boys all the way down to San Diego. Katie is renting a car, driving out to Sacramento, and then from there, she plans on flying back to Alabama.

Excited that Kristen was back in the game, we all rode out of Arcata satisfied.

When Kristen, Lee and I rolled into Eureka, Shannon and Colleen called and said they were getting a hotel because Colleen was feeling sick. Lee wanted a hotel as well, so I decided to join, too. Matt, Alan, and Christian had already made it to the destination of the day 20 miles ahead, so I felt bad.

We stayed at the Heritage Motel in Eureka. Shitty. Eureka is a typical meth town. Colleen and Shannon bought some beer and wine and we ordered pizza and played drinking games. We packed seven of us into the room, but I've never slept more comfortably on a hotel floor.

We didn't wake up until 10:30. We all pitched in for a breakfast of cereal, milk, bagels and cream cheese before we loaded up our bikes. The hotel manager wasn't happy to see the seven of us filing out of the room, but in Eureka, I'm sure the guy had bigger problems to worry about that a bunch of well-to-do college-age kids piling in his hotel room.

We left Eureka after hitting the grocery store. Lee spotted me some more cash since all the banks were closed, it being a Sunday. Then we began another long, hard day on the rolling hills of Northern California.

Friday, July 12 - Climbing, exhaustion, and Sobriety

Christian and I stuck together on the most difficult climb after leaving Crescent City, through the first of the Redwood trees. These trees are majestic. It was rewarding to coast down the hill after the climb. We stopped in Klamath on an indian reservation where we bought $5 sub sandwhiches. The natives were drinking tall-boys at the side of the gas station. We left Klamath for another large climb, and coasted downhill through more majestic Redwoods where we stopped to enjoy them and take some photographs before joining Matt, Alan and Lee at our camp site. Shannon and Colleen pulled into camp at sunset and it was our first night in four nights that we were alcohol-free. Alan told some bear stories, we ate dinner, and toasted with our marshmallows. We were all exhausted from the two harsh climbs and slept soundly, even without any beer ; )

It's morning now, and we have not yet begun to ride. I just decided (on the spot) after some talk with the x-smokers of the group that I will become one myself. I crumpled my 2 remaining cigarettes and tossed the pack in the fire pit and vowed to be finished. I don't have the money to spend on any more smokes.

Cheers

July 11, 2008 - Losing my Debit Card and Crossing the Border

I'm exhausted, so this entry won't last long. Yesterday night, we rode to Harris Beach. Shortly after closing my last journal entry, Lee from Vancouver caught up with me and we rode together the rest of the way into camp, stopping at Arch Rock. We were first to arrive at camp and we pitched our tents before biking into town to pick up our groceries. Matt and Alan arrived and set up camp and then Lee and I went into Brookings and bought beer, wine, s'mores ingredients, chips and salsa, and some hotdogs. When we got back into camp, everyone else (Richard, Chris, Kristen, Katie, Shannon and Colled) had arrived and Kristen broke the news to us that her and Katie decided to rent a car to drive down to San Francisco. From there, they planned to ride down the rest of the way to San Diego. We figured we would be in San Diego around the same dates and would be able to hang out when they got there.

Chris, Richard, Katie and Kristen will all be taking an off day tomorrow, so this is really the last night with the entire group at its peak. We celebrated eachother's company over plenty of beer and wine, singing songs alongside Alan and his mandolin. A perfect but bittersweet ending to this wonderful group of travelers.

This morning, I woke up early and packed quick. I was out of the campground having already said good-bye to the off-dayers by 9:15 and I was on the road. The bike shop in Brookings wasn't open yet, so I took my chances with not buying a new spare tube nor patch kit until I Crescent City. Crossing the border felt good. They were checking to make sure that nobody was bringing in out-of-state fruit over the border.

I was the front-runner pulling into the city and had coffee and a breakfast bagel at this great little cafe. Called some family and relaxed for about an hour. When I was about to leave the cafe, Alan, Matt and Lee came into view from down the road. We went grocery shopping and ate more lunch on the beach. Matt, Alan and Lee went on as Christian led the way to the bike shop, where I realized that I had lost my debit card. I paid with what little cash I had for the tubes, and Christian covered the rest. I found a branch of my bank a few blocks away where I cancelled my card, ordered a new one, and was able to withdraw some cash.

Christian has become an amazing friend. He told me not to be afraid to ask him for more money if I needed it. I invited him later to hike a section of the Colorado Trail with my friend Dan and I in August, and it just might happen.

Anyways, I'm tired. More tomorrow. Goodnight.