date = 2010-10-26
distance = 92.7
We woke up to a chilly foggy morning at Union Landing State Park. Tenting so close to the ocean makes for a wet start to the day. We ate our granola, packed up quickly and got on our way. The sun came out and made for a beautiful ride. A day of riding that probably tops my favorites so far this trip.
California so far has been all about the Redwoods. They've got trees here that are over 2,000 years old. The Avenue of Giants is fun to ride with some of the trees an arm's length from the road. Trees close enough to touch without getting off the bike.
Since coming to California we've also been graced with a lesser celebrated appearance of Eucalyptus trees and ground cover succulents. Anise or fennel lines the side of the highway, sweet and aromatic.
Well, these latter things I'm totally into, if anything because they're such a marked change from our Pacific Northwest landscape. Dry grassy slopes, home to masticating cows with a view of the open ocean. Then into thick groves of Eucalyptus with peeling bark revealing trunks of rusty red, green and white.
This day also took us through Fort Bragg and Mendocino, nice seaside towns. At our lunch spot in Fort Bragg we met another cyclist who had done a tour across America and is finishing off with a leg down the coast.
We rolled into Manchester State Beach and who did we see but Helen already cooking up her dinner. For us a mix of quick-cooking pasta and taco fillings for dinner, finishing off what we'd bought back in the bulk section of the food Co-op in Eureka.
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