11 October 2009

California! is different from Oregon. More small farms visible from highways and people like to drive on the right side of their lane. We have been on the coast, in the middle of the Redwoods at Elk Prairie State Park (elk and a small prairie clearing), back on the coast past lagoons, and now we are at Humboldt something Park back in the beautiful Redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants. We have been on and off the freeway and up and down some of the biggest hills of the trip (1300' was our highest so far I think).

The freeway is loud and the vehicles large, but the shoulders are generally wide and the roads newly paved. "Shovel Ready" - it's nice cycling through a recession.

The miles go by fast on the freeway, but it's way nicer when we can get off of it. Yesterday we found a long section of bike path along an old railway corridor that met up with small country roads through pretty farms, between a county park not far from Trinidad and Arcata. Our guidebook had recommended that we take the freeway for this stretch, but a few times we looked over to our right and saw what looked like a bike path, so Brydone got directions and off we were on the alternate route, which turned out to be part of the old Pacific Coast Bike Route (a forgotten part apparently).

The Oregon Coast Bike Route was clearly signed, with a marker at every significant turn, but in California it appears that many of the old Pacific Coast Bike Route signs have been removed or roads have changed since the signs were posted decades ago. It's strange to me that no map of the old route seems to exist.

We often encounter the same people every few days. Many going from Vancouver to San Diego, but many on shorter or longer trips too. This is a popular route! I'm surprised that each day we come across at least five or so and often way more people with similar travel plans to ours. I think an even mix of Canadians, Americans, and Europeans. Everyone has been great and I look forward to seeing who will arrive at the campsite each night. Must be very busy in the summer as this is probably near the end of the touring season in this area.

My knee is feeling about 80% better. I switched out of the cycling shoes and have mostly been wearing sandals. I suspect that my knee didn't like being locked into the same (probably slightly off) position all the time. I'm going to get some better insoles and adjust the cleats and try them again in a few days.

Just before the campground this afternoon, we passed a signing saying 224 miles to San Fransisco. Not that far from warm, sunny beaches! Weather looks kinda bad for the next few days, but it's just supposed to be wet and not much colder than it has been.

It gets dark so early now. It's only 8 pm, but I'm ready for bed.

Love and miss all you at home,

Rill