18.7km out of 1918km so far

Today was a day off. Not so much to rest, but to spend some time in the Redwoods, one of the trip’s highlights. The Avenue of the Giants runs for 50km and yesterday I entered the area as the sun was setting. As the campground is in the mid point of this stretch, I ended up setting my tent in darkness. This morning I was looking forward for the light to come up and reveal my surroundings. I open my tent’s zipper to see dozen of giant sequoia trees around my tent trying to reach the skys.

I took my time in the morning, had some breakfast, visited the nearby information office to check the maps and got ready for a day hike. I had to cycle back north 10km to find one of the trail-heads. Most of the trails followed the river and its surrounding streams. The river’s shoreline looked a lot wider than the water currently flowing and I’m sure it can be a lot more aggressive at times of the year. In fact some of the smaller creek bridges, are removed during the winter months.

The forest dense enough barely allowing any light to penetrate its canopy. I saw several 100 meter tall trees, crashed on top of other ones, or to the ground, shattered like toothpicks under their own weight. The trail was long enough to take me to away from other people and the noise of the nearby highway.

I found a good spot in the forest and had a sandwich, carrots and an avocado for lunch. I spent a few good hours in the trail and headed back to the campsite while it was still bright. I met again the two cyclists/hikers that were by stream with the storm the other day. They were together with another couple that were cycling north to Portland.

Random fact of the day/George’s pointless moaning – While in Portland I ended up buying a (more expensive than I wanted to spend) second stove, as the one I brought with me uses canisters that have been discontinued in North America. All this time I was looking forward to finish my first canister so I can post the stove back in Greece and save on space and weight. Who would have thought though, days after I bought the new one, I would find a full canister on one of campsite’s table, with a note on it reading ‘Free to Take’!

98 km out of 1900km so far

I woke up at the bike shop’s backyard and realized that I had set my tent in a small BMX track. How cool that the guys at Revolution Cycles let us sleep there for nothing. Arcata has been such a welcoming town.

I spent some time at the near by supermarket/cafe to access the internet and buy some supplies, as there aren’t many services further south. Almost everyone was at the same place having their breakfast, talking about their plans. Once again we separated. Most of the people would just cycle to the next town, before they would go through a long section of back roads towards the Lost Coast. My plan for today was to continue on the main road and get into the Humboldt Redwood national park.

Right after Arcata, I went through some back roads to go around the lagoon, through Samoa and then Eureka. The nice flat road and a touch of tail wind was enough to get me going fast.

Eureka seemed like an interesting place. Not as laid back as Arcata, but it definitely had some character, with all these nice buildings. As I started my day relatively late and I had a long distance to cover, I didn’t stop for much. I only stopped to eat some bagels sandwiches I had packed with me earlier. My lunch spot was right by the water at Field Landing.

The majority of the ride was not that interesting, as I had to stick on 101 for the most part of it. At that area, 101 is a freeway, without many points of interest on the way. At least the generous shoulder space, the smooth tarmac and the tailwind, kept me going fast all the way through.

I finally got to the area I was looking forward to. I exited the 101 and joined the old highway, which runs through the forest. There is a good reason it’s called the Avenue of the Giants. The trees are just enormous and cycling under them was mind blowing. It was already 5pm, so the forest was rather dark and cycling through such a remote area by my self with barely any cars on the road, made the whole experience a little spooky, but definitely fun. The plan is to take a day off tomorrow and explore the forest.

On the Avenue, I went through some tiny little towns, with just about a few hundreds residents each. All of them looked rather old and they had managed to maintain their original look. Just 10 kilometers before the campground, there were indications about road work. I risked it and luckily in the end I did manage to push my bike over the other side of the excavator, so I avoided the 5 extra kilometers for the detour.

It just got completely dark as I arrived at the campground. I set my tent and then I had my dinner together with a new group of cyclists. I had already seen a few of them the day before, but we had never talked. It’s very interesting how I left one big group of cyclists this morning, just to meet another one on the same day.