I Care I Cure I Cycle: "Eureka....I Have Found It!"

The Greek word Eureka means "I have found it" (the famed Greek

mathematician Archimedes is said to have exclaimed "Eureka!"

when he finally discovered a method for determining the purity of gold).

This is also the California State Motto and relates to the Gold Rush Days!

Day 8 - Klamath, California to Loleta, California

Most importantly, we are fine and not anywhere near the site of the earthquake.

We are much further north in California right now.

Thank you to all who emailed their concern.

Notice the fog in the background as Jim and Glenn head out

today from Klamath to Loleta.

This sign is so very appropriate for this journey!

The first meeting of the day with the SAG team!

From Klamath, Laurie and Lynn head out to the

Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway

This not-to-be-missed 10 mile alternative to U.S. 101 passes through the

heart of the old-growth redwood forest in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

REALLY BIG TREE!!!

TRIVIA:

Name the famous American author who aptly quoted the following:

"The redwoods once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always...

From them comes silence and awe. The most irrelevant of men, on the presence of redwoods,

goes under a spell of wonder and respect."

Email your answer to us! First one to answer correctly wins a t-shirt!

Gems from Jim:

Following a long, arduous climb up two early morning rises, Glenn and I were rewarded with the treat of a lifetime. Roughly an hour descent through a redwood forest that my words cannot capture. The author's quote, above, does a pretty good job. It was not like a carnival show... as in, 'Hey, there's another really big tree'. It was awe-inspiring. I noticed myself laughing in unbelief. And the silence. It was so quiet in the midst. Like being respectful in a library. Or in a church. How could this be so? Is it really possible that they are so fortified against disease and fire to live as many as 2000 years? Towering as many as 350 feet high? And doing so for 20 million years??? This single event today has been the highlight of my biking journey thus far, and has left a mark which will stay with me always.

Lions, Elks and Bears, Oh My!

Well, maybe just Elks for us!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ELK IN ACTION!

Wild Life!

Not us...some of us are in bed by 9 each night!

Our first sight of the coast today The ocean was rough and we

wondered if that had anything to do with the earthquake south of here.

An almost swamp-like scene as we traveled down 101 toward Arcata

This will surely be the cover photo of our album for this journey!

Rarely do we stray off this route.

Mckinleyville surf

Glimpses from Glenn

The first part of today's ride was magnificent. After enduring the eye opener as Jim refers to a climb that starts the day, we had the chance to ride through a portion of the Redwood National and State Park. How fitting that it was a Sunday morning, for the scenery and sounds could have been used to close the CBS show of the same name. It was completely quiet as we came down a magnificent grove of Redwoods. It was awe inspiring and I think my riding partner enjoyed it as much as some of the sights along the Oregon Coast. Once we finished, we saw an elk lying in a field and further ahead there was a small herd (or whatever the appropriate name is for a group of elk) that forced us to stop and take it all in.

Glenn Continues:

The remainder of the day was a bit of a challenge. The sun rarely broke through so the overcast sky kept the temperatures down and it got a bit cold to ride. Also we had head winds to contend with so that made things a bit more difficult but we both managed through it.

I was much relieved to have an issue taken care of by our great support team. I often start conversations with myself with"Stupid, how could you have done..."In this case I neglected to bring the charger for the battery that enables me to shift gears electronically. I thought, as we embarked on the trip, that considering it usually lasts for two months between charges and we were only going for two weeks that I did not need to bring it. Several days into the ride it dawned on me that I was going to be going a distance of 300 miles more than I ordinarily would in that two month time frame and was concerned that I would end up unable to shift gears. This put Lynn and Laurie to the test and they were able to find a bike shop in Arcata that had a charger and they picked up the battery en route. (They also provided some warm leftovers from their lunch (soup and spring rolls.) So by the time we got to the shop, it was fully charged and now I do not need to worry about shifting gears for the remainder of the journey.

Once I got to the hotel I urged everyone to go on an alternate route to the Lost Coast of California. It was the most hair raising ride that one can imagine. The quality of the road was poor, there were switchbacks too many to count and, at points, there were significant drop offs to both sides. We did get to see some of the ocean but prudently we did not go as far as I thought we could. Laurie, who had done the driving, is now qualified to drive through the Alps anytime her heart might desire, which I presume is never.

(see photos from this adventure later in the blog)

Thanks to this bike shop in Arcata for the use of their charger!

Lynn and Laurie lunch on Vietnamese food in Arcata

and Glenn and Jim enjoyed the leftovers!

A first for Lynn - Mango Bubble Tea!

Just googled it and found that the little bubbles in it

were actually tapioca....might have liked it better before googling :)

A little retail therapy for the SAG team in Arcata!

Anyone familiar with this jewelry designer?

This is the factory and a store!

Pretty things!

Humboldt Bay

You can't tell from these "drive by shootings"

but this is the largest port between Coos Bay, Oregon and

San Francisco, California

We must be getting close!

Eureka, California

The entire city is a state historic landmark, which has hundreds of significant Victorian

homes, including the nationally-recognized Carson Mansion, and the city

is a one of Caliifornia's major commercial fishing ports.

The Carson Mansion circa 1885

William Carson, came to Eureka for gold but found his fortune in redwoods and is quoted as saying about his Mansion: “…if I build it poorly, they would say that I was a damned miser; if I build it expensively, they will say I'm a show off; guess I'll just build it to suit myself.”

Our first California Palm trees!

The Pink Lady stands across the street from the Carson Mansion.

It was built by Carson as a wedding gift for his son.

Samoa Bridge as seen from Eureka

Marina in Eureka

Old fashion horse and carriage fits right in with the Victorian flavor of Eureka

Made it to the hotel at around 4, Glenn at nearly 5, but we went right

out again on this adventure!

Our drive through Ferndale heading to The Lost Coast.

Little did we know at this point what what in store for us!

Why did the Peacock cross the road?

As we ascended up into the remote mountains, we noticed that we were

driving through clouds not fog!

White knuckle driving!

Laurie had no idea what she was getting herself into on this adventure!

This is from Wikipedia....They left out the really important information.

Scary, cliffs, desolate, rugged, LONG ride! Glenn heard about this

drive from a biker that they meet on the road a few days ago.

He had done it on his bicycle.....crazy, crazy man!

The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and development-free area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In addition, the steepness and related geo-technical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for state highway or county road builders to establish routes through the area, leaving it the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast.