Crescent City is cold in the morning, too. We go for a breakfast and get Ruth one and then she gives us a little tour of the city and its surroundings.
The whole group having breakfast in Crescent City, CA.
Today, we're splitting ways. Kyle is riding with us for a little while, because he wants to take the old 101 highway instead of the new one. The old highway has been out of use for years and is overgrown with plants and trees. The path is still visible, but good parts of asphalt are gone. It would also set us back for about an hour or so.
Last photo before departure. Ruth's front yard. Ruth, Heather, Jonathan, Kyle, Eddie, me.
Crescent City, California. We're ready to go.
Eddie and I are riding to Arcata and that's quite far, so we can't afford losing extra time on the road as even without it we'll be riding to Arcata in the dark. Jonathan and Heather are on a tandem and can't really use such a road.
So we say goodbye to Kyle and then head across the steepest and longest hill ever. Kyle has already warned us that this hill is something cyclists hate on the route down the coast. And really, the hill is so tiring that we have to stop once.
The ride downhill is fun, although there are many cars so it doesn't feel the safest ride ever.
We gather at the bottom of the hill for some food and then continue down on highway 101.
The highway takes us through an indian reservation and that's where we somehow lose Jonathan and Heather. They catch up with us some 20 kilometers down the road. We join another couple on bikes, this time from Denver, and ride another steep hill together.
The ride downhill is amazing. That's the best ride ever. We're in the heart of the Redwoods national park and it seriously feels like Lord Of The Rings. These gigantic trees are everywhere and the road curves and makes its way between them. And the fact you're riding down, without pedaling and just being able to observe the wild nature around you makes it even more enjoyable.
Everyone's mood has changed drastically. On the other side of the hill we were all tired and almost depressed as there was fog and it was very cold, but the Redwoods lifted everyone's spirits because it was such a nice ride with sun shining through the woods that we all feel recharged now.
Riding through Redwoods, California. One of the most magical moments on this tour. We're all happy like little children. Eddie is riding next to me, Heather is taking the photo from the back of the tandem.
We wave goodbye to the couple from Denver who head towards a campsite. Jonathan and Heather head to another campsite in the Redwoods. Eddie and I continue our trip to Arcata.
After an hour or so we get to a quite an uneventful town of Orick. There's a Mexican restaurant that Heather suggested before we split, so we head there. We get a burrito and then a cake across the road and head for Arcata.
The weather has become again foggy and cold. It's quite surreal. You feel like the sun is out there somewhere, but the thick fog doesn't let it in. By now it's already 8 pm and we're riding down the California coast and it just doesn't feel like that time of the day. There is light, but the amount of light we get is really low for that time of the day and the fog makes it even more creepy. It's hard to describe.
Eddie looks around and says : "Man, I'm from Maryland and I've never been to California before, but all I've heard about it was beaches, girls in bikini, beach volley,... and I haven't seen any of it here!!"
We see a few deers along the road then the dark comes and we ride and ride and ride.
Somewhere in Northern California around 8 pm. Believe me, it felt like we're in some horror movie where you ask yourself "What happens next?"
We try riding quite close so we can still chat and the time passes faster like that. Finally, sometime after 11 pm we get to Arcata. Eddie takes off to stay with his host just a few blocks away from where I'm staying and we decide to meet tomorrow for a drink.
I bike down to my host's place. There's a note on the table saying: "Adam, here's some food, a computer, chess, your room, beer, weed,..." with arrows pointing to different things that we either on the table or nearby. The "weed" part makes me smile, as that's what Humboldt County/Arcata is famous for. I help myself to some amazing falafel with green sauce and I play a chess game with Matt. He loses and I kind of feel sorry, but at the same time amazed how good I played. And I haven't played chess ever since I was a kid.
Kate comes in from some samba night and we all chat together until the bedtime.
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