a cycling adventure: day twentythree

July 2nd

Stafford RV Park to Richardson Grove State Park

57 miles

Up at 6, started coffee. Mark fixed toasted bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Orange juice. Blue sky, another day of perfect weather.

Hit the road around 9AM, right back onto 101. Right down the road was Avenue of the Giants, turned our lights on and took the exit.

Traffic very low, nothing like what we've heard. Definitely no shoulder, giant Redwoods creeping into narrow road. Amazing. Took a short 2 mile detour down Mattole Rd to check out the Rockefeller Forest, which is the oldest and largest old-growth Redwood forest. More amazingness.

Road winds around the Eel River. Lots of people floating the river and swimming...so jealous. Getting really hot out once you get out of the shade. Could have easily jumped right in and spent the rest of the day by the river.

Stopped at a store in Myer's Flat and got stuff to make sandwiches with our left over rolls. Very good.

Odometer rolled over 1000 miles. Traffic getting heavier. A few assholes in big trucks. Getting extremely angry at this point.

Arrived in Garberville, picked up groceries. Mark and Chip used wifi in an ice cream shop. Found rear tire flat! Changed rear tube while they updated their blog, good to go.

Back onto 101, which is a freeway again. Lots of traffic and more asshole drivers. One guy, in a white Dodge Ram, who almost ran us off the road on the Avenue of the Giants, ended up being on the freeway and did the same thing to us again. Unbelievable.

Pulled into Richardson Grove S.P. around 6PM. Hate getting in this late. Set up camp, showered, Mark made chicken stir fry. Another awesome meal.

The infamous Leggett hill coming up tomorrow, biggest climb of the whole trip. People joke that grave sites of bikers who couldn't make it can be spotted alongside the road. We were all seriously dreading it but excited to get it over with. Feeling confident and very strong.