Just off the 101, tons and tons of lumber stretch for a while to the right and tons of logs to the left

Getting started this morning was a struggle.  Dallas and I didn’t roll out until almost 11am, then stopped less than a mile down the road at the grocery store for another 20-30 minutes before we really hit the road.  I think the long days and miles without much rest in between has been wearing on us, and it has been tough to motivate ourselves out and onto our bikes for another long ride.  Personally, I have been dealing with some knee pain and saddle sores, while Dallas has struggled with an ingrown toenail and mental challenges.  Miles have been going by painstakingly slowly lately.

This place is wonderful

Fortunately, it was another beautiful day, and it’s hard not to be happy out in the sunshine.  The traffic and hills were not too bad today, and after lunch we got to experience riding down the Avenue of Giants, through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  We stopped about halfway through our ride in the quaint town of Rio Dell, where we had amazing Mexican food at Tonetta’s.  The Avenue of the Giants took us off the highway and into the forest, where it grew darker and cooler under the super tall redwood trees. 

Riding down the Avenue of the Giants

The Avenue also took us through a small town called Redcrest, where we made one last stop for hydration and a bathroom break.  The lady working at the shop where I bought some lemonade asked in a hoarse voice if I thought it would be a good idea for people who use bicycles for transportation to be required to have registration and insurance.  I’m curious to know what other people think of this, but I like that bicycling is accessible to people of all ages and income levels, and I’m afraid requiring registration and insurance would only be an obstacle to discourage cycling.  I do think that it’s a good idea to teach cycling to kids in schools like they do in other countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark.  Maybe having them pass a course in school so they can earn a license to ride will make cycling more popular as a transportation method.  As for insurance, I all insurance is generally a rip-off.

In the forest it's dark in the daytime

We continued through the forest until Burlington Campground, after having gone just about 50 miles.  Dallas and I had just enough time to pitch our tent before needing our headlamps to see.  Now, under these giant trees, it is really quite dark.  Our campsite is pretty close to the road, but hopefully traffic will be light enough for us to get a good sleep.  I think we’re both so tired that it probably wouldn’t matter anyway.