DAY 9 - Loleta, California to Garberville, California
The view from our hotel window in Garberville this AM.
The Breakfast of Champions!
Jim, Glenn and their BIKER friends!
They were headed to the Lost Coast today!
We wished them well! Hopefully, they will see this
and let us know how their day was!
There was a chill in the air when the riders took
off....a little later than ususal. Their intentions were good
but slow service at breakfast caused a 9:30 start.
Tomorrow will be a quick breakfast and an earlier start for a longer day!
Oh no.....does this mean we can't go to San Francisco?
Most confusing signs we've seen. Of course, we managed
to head south to Garberville!
Look who we happened upon as we headed to
our scenic tour of the Avenue of the Giants.
They look like a team today!
Most of our journey today was in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park
along a 31.6 miles stretch known as The Avenue of the Giants.
Coastal Redwoods loom high above the route like Giants and cover a 51,000 acre area
which runs parallel with Route 101, our usual path. Some think that it is
the most outstanding display of redwoods in the 500 mile redwood belt.
Another use for a Redwood log!
Laurie "plants" one on this guy!
Interesting little place that used to be a snack bar. It is a 20 sq. ft. room
inside a tree. We HAD to take a peek!
It would be hard for Jim to stand upright in this space!
Is Lynn that short or are these trees that gigantic?
Designed by William Todd (nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln),
the historic bear flag was raised at Sonoma, California in 1846 by American settlers
in revolt against Mexican rule (officially adopted as the state flag of California in 1911).
The once common California grizzly bear (also official State animal) portrays strength,
the star represents sovereignty, the red color signifies courage,
and the white background stands for purity.
Exploring the 1/2 mile nature trail at one of the many great stops
along the Avenue of the Giants.
Enjoying the nature trail on a gorgeous day!
You can get a feel for the size of this fallen tree by
seeing the family playing atop of it!
It is hard to see these markers but they show what events in time
occurred as this tree grew...since the year 1000.
Redwoods seem to be resistent to forest fires. Although we could
see the charred appearance, they continue to grow and thrive.
Just a bench we liked along the nature trail.
As seen on the National Park Service website:
Burl is the knobby growth most commonly seen at base of some coast redwoods, though it can
also be found high in the canopy as well. Burl is a woody material full of unsprouted bud tissue. It
serves as a storage compartment for the genetic code of the parent tree. If the redwood falls or is
damaged, the burl may sprout another redwood tree known as a clone.
Gems from Jim:
Top 10 things we bicyclists hear from locals:
Top 10 things we bicyclists hear from locals:
1. Nice tights
2. That thing got a hemi in it?
3. Your hotel is just up that three mile hill
4. Are those chamois padded, or are you just happy to see me?
5. Different spokes for different folks
6. If you just got a job, you could afford a real car
7. Look Madge, those men at the breakfast bar are still in their pajamas
8. We have a point system for hitting bikers here in Humboldt County
9. Those shoes sure are nice... You a tap dancer?
10. I could do that.
A Glimpse from Glenn
There is a bit of a story about the green bike above. As we were riding through the Avenue of Giants, I saw it and thought it might make a good picture for the blog. I figured that I could say something like "it could be my next bike" or " maybe I can get Lynn interested in this bike." After taking the picture and taking the opportunity to take off the arm and leg warmers, a woman walked up to us. She saw our jerseys and that we were on a ride from Seattle to San Francisco. I explained our purpose and handed her information about the ride, blog and fund raising and childhood cancer awareness mission. She seemed interested. She was there for a reason as well. Apparently, she works for a local publication and was there for a photo shoot for the antique shop we had stopped at. There was an old truck that she wanted to take a picture of for the cover of the publication. She all of a sudden gathered some of the family associated with the shop and then asked Jim and I to be included as they had wanted some tourists included. I do not think that she meant tourists in bicycle garb, but she snapped the pictures anyway. We joked about her having to get us to sign a model release form, but that did not happen. So who knows, maybe in the next month Jim and I will appear on the front page of that newspaper. I never did find out how much they wanted for the bike.
YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA ANSWER
Don Silverstein wins! Congrats Donnie!
This quote is from the John Steinbeck novel Travels With Charley. This work is
about an intimate journey across and in search of America, as told by one
of its most beloved writers, in a deluxe centennial edition
In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people. To reassure himself, he set out on a voyage of rediscovery of the American identity, accompanied by a distinguished French poodle named Charley; and riding in a three-quarter-ton pickup truck named Rocinante.
A map of our travels today through the Avenue of the Giants!
Signs of the day from Glenn
This is a great sign....downhills sure beats uphills!
Another sign that we are in farm country!
Stats for the day:
Jim and Glenn did the entire ride together today!
The riding time was 4:43 minutes covering 58.94 miles.
They expended 4304 calories (thank goodness for that
breakfast of champions!) and climbed 2071 feet.
It was a great day!
Tomorrow is the day that Jim and Glenn have been dreading.
They will climb the infamous Leggett Hill which peaks at around 2000 feet.
This could be the most challenging day of the journey!
Check in tomorrow for a report!
Thanks for following our journey and for your generous contributions to
I Care I Cure. We had an amazing thing happen as we checked out of the
hotel this AM. We gave the general manager a postcard with all of the
info about the ride and ICIC and he very quickly took out his wallet and
handed Laurie two $20 bills!
We were overwhelmed by the generousity of this stranger!
Sure makes this trek worthwhile!
Click here if you wish to donate now!
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