Got going early despite the late bed-time. I was treated to "Meet the Press" which was on at some weird Pacific time as I had some coffee and got ready to roll.
South of Crescent City are the "Crescent City Hills," which peak at over 1100 feet so I prefer to think of them as mountains. How midwest of me. They did however climb though the Del Norte Redwoods State Park which was stunning in the morning fog. Atop the third and final peak of the "hills" it had cleared up entirely and was warm and sunny, but as soon as I went down the back-side of the the hills, I descended into cold fog again. I stopped at a wayside to use the hot air dryers to warm up and dry my gloves. There a woman volunteered her opinion that I had "amazing thighs." I thanked her and wondered why everyone else always focuses on my amazing calves. I guess I don't always go around in the bike shorts. It's your loss.
Going inland a bit more, I hit the "Trees of Mystery," a roadside attraction which offers tours of the redwoods, a gift shop, and an enormous statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. As I pulled up there were some young children (maybe 8 years old), who were climing on Paul's feet and talking to him. They have some guy (presumably hidden behind the a curtain a la Oz) on a microphone who would talk to the kids. The loudspeaker was somewhere near Mr. Bunyan's mouth though his mouth didn't move. This didn't seem to bother anybody. Anyway, the kids would ask questions like "How old are you?" and "What do you do?" When Paul responded that he was a lumberjack, one of the children echoed back what he must have learned in school about ecology. He told Paul that lumberjacks were cutting down too many trees and how the earth was running out of oxygen as a result. Paul remained silent, instead letting the child's ostensibly embarrassed (but I'm sure inwardly proud)mother quiet her son's insurrection.
Past "Trees of Mystery," there was another short but steep climb, followed by a very long and gorgeous descent through the redwoods. This may have been my favourite moment on the trip thusfar. With little or no effort, I simply coasted at 8-10 mph for about 6 miles of amazing forest. Lovely.
Afterwards, I had to return to the coast, where it remained crappy and cold. To boot, I had to fight a terrible headwind. I toughed it out and those last 30 miles were probably the worst of the trip. So best and worst day.
Got into Eureka late and debated getting a motel, but went to the KOA as I had planned. What a crock that place is. I had to pay $20 for an afterthought of a campsite (the hiker/biker site was the ten feet of grass between the back of the camp office and teh 8ft wood fence that separated the KOA from a lumber mill. I was too tired to look elsewhere though and my heel (or my Achille's tendon, whatever) was killing me. I could barely walk up the stairs to the showers. I went through my options of what I could do or couldn't do if it wasn't marginally better by morning. I slept, and waited to see.
For the day:
Rolling time: 7:00:58
Distance: 81.43 miles
Avg speed: 11.6 mph
27 August 2006
Day seven - Port Orford, OR to Crescent City, CA
Got up early and made coffee with my camp-stove. It has a fancy integrated French press option that works pretty well. Not pefect, but having something hot to drink in the morning makes a world of difference.
Once I hit the coast again and got away from the mountains I was greeted by the familiar cold and foggy weather that's been plaguing me this trip. I did laundry in Gold Beach and warmed up by the heat of Speed-Queen driers for a spell, but it stayed cold and damp all the way through Brookings (the southernmost town on the Oregon coast.) There I stopped at a restaurant for innumerable cups of coffee and a quick bite before heading into California. Just over the state line, it was still cold and misty, but at least there was a nice tailwind to me me along to Crescent City.
I promised myself that if I made it to Crescent City I'd get a motel and the first thing I saw was an Econolodge conveniently next to a supermarket and liquor store. I was golden. I checked in and showered and ran out to the store to get dinner and breakfast. Upon entering the supermarket, I was greeted to Wilson Phillips' "Hold On," which really picked up my spirits (and it may have to be my anthem for the rest of this journey--replacing Stan Bush's "You've Got the Touch", which had replaced Stan Bush's "Dare," which had replaced Stan Bush's "Never Surrender", which had replaced Stan Bush's "Fight to Survive." As a rule, if you need a good 80's "montage/you can do it" song you need look no further than Stan Bush. If you need an early 90's "montage/you can do it" song, I recommend Wilson Phillips. And so does Delilah. I've so very far digressed.
Got back to the motel with my supper of "French" bread, mustard and Jarlsburg cheese along with some Oregon microbrew. I stayed up way too late watching bad movies on the TV, the worst of which (and perhaps the worst I've ever seen) was called "Torque" from 2004. Imagine "The Fast and the Furious" on crotch-rockets with dialogue and acting lifted from professional wrestling, and edited like a music video. Yes. Awful. I also caught "The Hunt for Red October" and some informercials before falling asleep by 2AM. Not the best idea to stay up that late, but I'd been so starved of mindless media that I had to gorge for a while.
For the day:
Rolling time: 6:29:01
Distance: 78.94 miles
Avg speed: 12.17 mph
Once I hit the coast again and got away from the mountains I was greeted by the familiar cold and foggy weather that's been plaguing me this trip. I did laundry in Gold Beach and warmed up by the heat of Speed-Queen driers for a spell, but it stayed cold and damp all the way through Brookings (the southernmost town on the Oregon coast.) There I stopped at a restaurant for innumerable cups of coffee and a quick bite before heading into California. Just over the state line, it was still cold and misty, but at least there was a nice tailwind to me me along to Crescent City.
I promised myself that if I made it to Crescent City I'd get a motel and the first thing I saw was an Econolodge conveniently next to a supermarket and liquor store. I was golden. I checked in and showered and ran out to the store to get dinner and breakfast. Upon entering the supermarket, I was greeted to Wilson Phillips' "Hold On," which really picked up my spirits (and it may have to be my anthem for the rest of this journey--replacing Stan Bush's "You've Got the Touch", which had replaced Stan Bush's "Dare," which had replaced Stan Bush's "Never Surrender", which had replaced Stan Bush's "Fight to Survive." As a rule, if you need a good 80's "montage/you can do it" song you need look no further than Stan Bush. If you need an early 90's "montage/you can do it" song, I recommend Wilson Phillips. And so does Delilah. I've so very far digressed.
Got back to the motel with my supper of "French" bread, mustard and Jarlsburg cheese along with some Oregon microbrew. I stayed up way too late watching bad movies on the TV, the worst of which (and perhaps the worst I've ever seen) was called "Torque" from 2004. Imagine "The Fast and the Furious" on crotch-rockets with dialogue and acting lifted from professional wrestling, and edited like a music video. Yes. Awful. I also caught "The Hunt for Red October" and some informercials before falling asleep by 2AM. Not the best idea to stay up that late, but I'd been so starved of mindless media that I had to gorge for a while.
For the day:
Rolling time: 6:29:01
Distance: 78.94 miles
Avg speed: 12.17 mph
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