Yesterday was our first rest day. We
had a bicycle skill course in the morning, led by Mike Munk. This
course was quite beneficial, as it reinforced my faith in some of my
skills and showed what could be better. You would think that riding a
bike is simply hopping on and start pedaling, but Mike took us
through several maneuvers to aid in controlled turning, stopping and
agility. It was fun, although it was cold and misty from the fog.
After lunch, Mike Munk, Gary Weinstein
and I went to a par-3 golf course intending to hit some balls on the
driving range, however we decided to play some holes as well. I
needed to get some swing time in, as I haven't picked up a club in
several years. Next weekend, a friend of mine, Randy Wadley, and the
3 of us are going to play the 5-star course in Half Moon Bay, and I
don't want to be duffing my way around it. The practice was well
worthwhile and I played fairly well for not having played in so long.
Mike on the other hand was just getting back to playing after
breaking his leg earlier this summer. On the 7th hole, a
117 yard par-3, he hit out a beautiful shot that tracked straight at
the pin. It landed on the green and with a couple of hops, we heard
the distinctive “clink” as it hit the pin, settling itself in for
the comforts of the hole. That was the first hold-in-one that I have
ever witnessed in person. Gary and I just looked at each other and
cheered. After some high-fives, we made our way to the green to
ensure it really sank in the hole, as we thought it did. Nice going
Mike!
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| Mike and his hole-in-one. |
We went for dinner at a seafood joint
that was positioned by the docks in Crescent City. The docks had been
taken over by a group of sea lions and we managed to walk to about 30
feet from them, without causing the huge creatures from getting too
upset. A couple of other people, recklessly in my opinion, walked
even closer causing the sea lions to start barking their warnings at
them. I wouldn't want to be so close to a 500 pound wild animal that
can move and has big teeth. I had visions of these people getting
bitten. One of the people who got too close is also one of our
cyclists and he was not moving very fast that day. What an idiot!
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| Sea lions taking over the dock |
Today we started out on a longer ride
(84 miles) with a fair amount of climbing (4800 feet). The sun was
out from the get go, but it was still on the cool side. Right out of
the gate, we had a 4.7 mile, category level 2 climb. Joe and I powered up
the climb in order to see if we could get a good strava challenge
score (we did).
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| Crescent City oceanside |
At the top, we happened upon “The
Duchess” who was riding alone. She started out about an hour before
us and left Toronto Mark to load her bags, allowing her to start
early. Joe and I rode a few miles on the downhill side of the climb with her, until Toronto Mark finally caught up at the Paul Bunyan
tourist trap. From there, the 4 of us rode for several miles
together, until Joe and I headed out on our own.
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| Me, standing by Paul Bunyan's shoe. |
Next, Joe and I came across “The Big
Tree” sign along the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway. Now normally,
big trees just don't seem that interesting, but when you come across
a sign that points one out, it's hard to resist. The path to get to
the tree was 1/10 mile long and we walked it, passing by many big
redwoods that anyone would have thought were really big. But at the
end of the trail, we were not to be disappointed: this WAS a big
tree! This tree is still alive, 304 feet high, 21.6 feet in diameter
and estimated to be 1500 years old.
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| That's "A Big Tree" |
After clearing the scenic parkway, Joe
and I came across a side road that we heard had elk sightings as a
possibility. We ventured up the road and found about 20 elk grazing
in the distance. They were the first elk I had seen so far this trip.
I'm still waiting on my whale sightings, but still very hopeful.
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| A group of Elk watching us |
Further down the road, we had a SAG
stop that was off the beaten path a bit. It allowed Leo, Baltimore
Mark, Joe and me to venture down an oceanside road that 2 years ago
had been half washed out to sea. They've repaired it, but it is still
full of uneven pavement and now limited to a single lane for both
directions to share. There were many places to get some good photos
from.
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| View from Luffenholtz Park |
Continuing along the way, we were
directed onto a bike path that took us along several miles of
enjoyable cycling. This path led us over an old railway bridge and
finally onto 3 miles of new gravel roads. The gravel was not a
pleasant experience and kind of separated us. Joe was well up ahead
and Leo and I rode in the middle. Mark was behind us, spanning about
the same distance that Joe was leading.
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| Old railway bridge that we get to cross over |
When we finally arrived back
on highway 101, Joe was long gone as he and Mose were racing to the
hotel. Leo and I powered up and cruised the shoulder into a headwind,
but still making our way at about 20 mph. Mark took his time and came
in later. We arrived in Eureka California and along the way, happened
across a beautiful Victorian Mansion, now used as the Ingomar Club.
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| The Ingomar Club in Eureka |
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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