THE AVENUE OF THE GIANTS
Boy! We had a great rest at the Lost Inn, soon to be the Petrolia Guest House.
The bed is very comfortable and Petrolia is very quiet. We slept until 7:30. After breakfast of fruit and granola bars we packed up and had a nice conversation with Phil, our host. By the time we got on the road it was 10:30.
We climbed out of Petrolia and churned our way to Honeydew where we stopped for lunch. There w
e met Richard from Miami and we had a nice talk about cycling and traveling. After lunch we packed up and headed out, but we had to get off our bikes to cross the bridge which was wooden and a bit treacherous. Even walking I got my wheel caught in the crack between two boards. At the end of the bridge was a big, long hill. Don hailed a big pickup pulling a 5th wheel trailer and the very nice couple from Anaheim gav
e us a ride up 7 miles of steep switchbacks. When they dropped us off it was downhill over potholed and patched roads. We had to stop a few times to rest our brake hands. When we got to the Avenue of the Giants we both felt we were almost at the end of the ride, but, surprise, it went on and on for another 18 miles. I was determined to make it to the Rivervood Inn where we could get cold beer and Mexican food , and even when Don tried to tempt me to stop early at the Miranda Gardens, I was determined to plug on for my enchilada. So, we did finally make it to the Riverwood and had our Mexican dinners and now we feel full
and happy, although our knees are a bit creaky.
The scenery along the Mattole River and through the Mattole Valley is just beautiful. We lucked out and had beautiful blue sunny skies all day, in spite of predictions of rain. When we got to Humboldt State Park the trees turned to conifers and then along the Avenue of the Giants there are huge redwoods. As we cycled along through the giant trees we felt like we were in a cathedral with the sun filtering in through
the trees like stained glass windows.
Today we t
raveled 54 miles and rode 47 of them. We are feeling pretty proud that we are doing so well on our trip. Tomorrow our goal is Leggett and then we head back over the hills to Ft. Bragg and the coast.
56.31 miles 4418ft Total Ascent, 11.4 moving average 4:55 moving time 8:25 Total time
Boy! We had a great rest at the Lost Inn, soon to be the Petrolia Guest House.
The bed is very comfortable and Petrolia is very quiet. We slept until 7:30. After breakfast of fruit and granola bars we packed up and had a nice conversation with Phil, our host. By the time we got on the road it was 10:30.
We climbed out of Petrolia and churned our way to Honeydew where we stopped for lunch. There w
e met Richard from Miami and we had a nice talk about cycling and traveling. After lunch we packed up and headed out, but we had to get off our bikes to cross the bridge which was wooden and a bit treacherous. Even walking I got my wheel caught in the crack between two boards. At the end of the bridge was a big, long hill. Don hailed a big pickup pulling a 5th wheel trailer and the very nice couple from Anaheim gav
e us a ride up 7 miles of steep switchbacks. When they dropped us off it was downhill over potholed and patched roads. We had to stop a few times to rest our brake hands. When we got to the Avenue of the Giants we both felt we were almost at the end of the ride, but, surprise, it went on and on for another 18 miles. I was determined to make it to the Rivervood Inn where we could get cold beer and Mexican food , and even when Don tried to tempt me to stop early at the Miranda Gardens, I was determined to plug on for my enchilada. So, we did finally make it to the Riverwood and had our Mexican dinners and now we feel full
and happy, although our knees are a bit creaky.The scenery along the Mattole River and through the Mattole Valley is just beautiful. We lucked out and had beautiful blue sunny skies all day, in spite of predictions of rain. When we got to Humboldt State Park the trees turned to conifers and then along the Avenue of the Giants there are huge redwoods. As we cycled along through the giant trees we felt like we were in a cathedral with the sun filtering in through
the trees like stained glass windows.Today we t
raveled 54 miles and rode 47 of them. We are feeling pretty proud that we are doing so well on our trip. Tomorrow our goal is Leggett and then we head back over the hills to Ft. Bragg and the coast.
56.31 miles 4418ft Total Ascent, 11.4 moving average 4:55 moving time 8:25 Total time
