Made it to Cali

For some reason I can't get any photos to add to this post, so you will have to use your imagination...

We are now in Arcata, CA taking two much needed rest days at the home of Jen Westenberg and Erik Wilson. We rolled into town on Monday afternoon and immediately took advantage of their superb hospitality to take showers and do laundry and we also spent yesterday repairing gear, mailing more stuff, and making a visit to the department of health for some travel immunizations.

Last weeks riding was both tough and incredibly rewarding. We encountered the "mythic" hills (at least amongst the coast-riding circuit) of So. Oregon and No. California and also, after entering California, found that the character of the road changed somewhat. Unlike Oregon, California has long sections of 101 that are virtually shoulderless and relatively busy. We even took an afternoon off in Cresecent City, CA so that we could ride one of the most infamous hills, just south of Crescent City, on a Sunday morning. By doing so we hoped to avoid the commerical truck traffic that can be so rattling on a shoulderless highway.

On the flip side, we made it to California! The road sign was a comic testament to all of the other groups doing this ride, and was covered in biker graffitti. We also entered the redwoods zone, which provides some truly awe-inspiring riding. One 7 mile section of road just north of our last campsite at Prairie Creek State Park was rimmed by giant redwoods right next to the road. We also took a jet boat ride on the Klamath River - something that we probably wouldn't ever have considered before seemed like the right thing to do. It was a blast and allowed us to get upriver a bit and experience a different zone than we can on the bikes.

From here we leave tomorrow and ride south to the avenue of the giants before climbing up and over the coastal hills to get on highway 1. We expect to be in San Francisco by the middle of next week, though we have talked some about a detour to the Napa Valley to visit a friend we made biking from Portland to his home in Napa.

Thanks so much to everyone for your emails and blogs comments. It makes us smile every time...