WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 2016
HUMBOLDT REDWOODS STATE PARK (BURLINGTON) TO EUREKA
1015 - 1830
99.43 km (61.78 miles)
Av. Speed: 17.3 km/h (10.7 mph)
Max. Speed: 57.2 km/h (35.5 mph)
Time On Bike: 5h 44m 19s
The Burlington campsite is beautifully located amongst ancient strands of Coastal Redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants.
Avenue of the Giants is now not only a famous tourist attraction in this part of the world but allows people access to these magnificent forests to explore and learn about and to savour.
Deep shade and serenity are the obvious pay-offs for a touring cyclist along with the fact that much of the 31-mile route is also dead flat.
Having now experienced and learned about both Sequoias and Coastal Redwoods, I understand the difference between them.
They are actually related - cousins if you like - with the Sequoias being the larger of the two in terms of mass but the Redwoods being a significantly taller yet more slender tree.
Sequoias are only to be found in an certain altitude band between approximately 2000 and 7000 feet on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Ranges - the only 75 existent groves on planet Earth are to be found here.
Redwoods also are only to be found along this strip of Pacific coastline between roughly Big Sur and Canada.
These particular sections of northern Californian forest (Humboldt and the Redwood World Heritage National Park a little further north) contain by far the largest density of these trees of anywhere on Earth.
So it is certainly something very special.
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AVENUE OF THE GIANTS |
It is a beautifully located site and for one of the few occasions I shared it with other people - a Swiss-German couple heading south on their maiden bicycle voyage from Seattle and bound for San Francisco.
We enjoyed good company over the campfire (legal this time) and a quiet night in amongst the mighty Redwoods.
Wednesday offered cooler temperatures and much flatter terrain than I've had since leaving San Francisco last week.
There has been some consistently hilly riding and the gradient map finally was indicating some welcome relief.
I bade my Swiss friends farewell, with fair warning of what lay ahead of THEM, heading south.
They certainly had not much distance to cover until they started getting amongst it in that direction.
My own trajectory continued in a generally downward direction, Tuesday's ride being one of the few that did actually provide more descent than the other way around., so I was looking forward to some more.
The first hour continued through AOTG until poking its head out of the Redwoods and onto my favourite 101 just north of Pepperwood.
101 at this point at least adopts a more genial name - "Redwood Highway" and was finally providing a more than respectable shoulder and much wider access than previously.
I banked off at Rio Dell around 1 pm for some re-hydration (another hit of Arizona Iced Tea) and what ended up being a very satisfying lunch at a Mexican joint inside the Old 101 Cafe.
Pushing out of town right on 1.30 had me back on track for an early arrival at my next destination of Eureka with good road and riding conditions.
By 3 pm the gusting cross-breeze had swung right around and was now blowing from behind my right ear, boosting my speed up to in excess of 30 km/h and ably assisted by plentiful drag from all the heavy traffic whistling along to my left.
Eureka was looking good for 4 pm as I sprinted towards town.
Something though I am learning about American cities is that it is one thing to arrive somewhere and quite another to actually get to where you are going.
Such was the case in Eureka.
Hitting town right on 4 pm, I proceeded through the extensive built-up area for a good 4 miles before locating the visitors center on the highway.
I checked in and got some information due to the fact I was planning for a rest day here.
The KOA campground (the only one in town) I learned was some distance to the north and not necessarily within walking distance of anything, which ultimately proved correct.
Despite being listed as 2.4 miles out of town in "the Bible", it is actually 4 and closer to the next city of Arcata than Eureka.
I did eventually find it and somewhat reluctantly paid up the "hiker/biker" fee of $35 for a 2-night stay.
Free wi-fi, hot showers (inclusive) and an on-site laundry were some benefits of the somewhat higher tariff.
I had certainly considered about-facing to Eureka and booking a motel or similar but quite honestly was done for the day.
It was already beyond 5 pm and I still had to track down some supplies for dinner which I was told could be found in Arcata, a mere 2 miles further along the freeway.
So it was, and quite an impressive little town it is with an even more impressive marketplace - I ended up eating 100% gourmet last night and all for less than $20 - so I guess the extra running around was worth it....
Today has been bleak and cold. Not much good for anything really.
I still may motivate myself to go into town a bit later whilst I live in hope of the sun appearing some time in the next couple of hours.
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