Avenue of the Giants

After spending nearly two days riding on the shoulder of a part of 101 that had turned to freeway, I would have taken any alternate route, just for a break from the constant hum of fast-moving traffic, for a break from crossing  freeway on and off ramps. It's legal to ride these things, we have ample shoulders, and there are plenty of other cyclists doing it, but it just doesn't feel good.

With such a mythical sounding name like Avenue of the Giants, I was sort of worried that this scenic route would be just as busy as 101, with tourist. But it wasn't. It was a peaceful winding road, lined by towering redwoods that sometimes opened up to fields with organic farms where you could buy fresh fall produce.

This morning we had 15 or 20 more miles on the road, and now we've stopped for a lunch of salami, sourdough bread, Tillamook cheese, an apple and yogurt.

Yesterday we went 60 miles from Arcata to Burlington campsite in Weott, which is right off the road. We felt small pitching our tent and small sitting at our picnic table. All around us loomed trees that were thousands of years old.

Onward. We have a 2,000 foot climb ahead of us.