Sunday, September 15, 2013

Redwoods to Standish Hickey State Park

After a good night's sleep I woke up before sunset the next morning. I packed my sleeping bag quickly, grabbed my pack out of the bear cache, and hoofed it up to the lookout. I wanted to eat breakfast while I watched the sun rise. I was disappointed to find that none of the valves at the lookout actually provided any water, which meant that I had to walk a couple miles before having a drink that morning. But I did get to enjoy my last hot pocket and as the sun crested the hills.

I took a circuitous route back to the campground and my bicycle, adding about a mile to the return. I stopped to look at "Tall Tree" and "Giant Tree" on my way by; the two trees are aptly named and popular tourist attractions. Although they don't really seem to stand out too much from the other redwoods that surround them, Tall Tree is known as the tallest redwood, at >360 feet tall, and although only 354 feet tall, Giant Tree  is known as the biggest coastal redwood due to its diameter.

Once reunited with my bicycle I was determined to put in some big days on my own. I had 280 miles to go in three and a half days, and I was itching to feel tired. The day went well. I rode South again, passing the campground I stayed at two nights earlier after about 15 miles. I pedaled that same stretch of road three times, in total. Fortunately, it was one of the best stretches of road for cycling on the whole trip, so I didn't mind. Who would get tired of cycling through some of the tallest, most majestic trees in the world?

There was one big climb that day, and I hoped to crest it and then cover another thirty miles or so until I reached a good campsite. As usual, I spent more time in a town along the way than I planned. It was getting close to five o'clock when I approached the bottom of the climb, and I had to admit that it might get dark by the time I reached the next campground. I was just starting to consider setting up camp at the campground at the top of the hill.

Then I saw three cyclists in the distance ahead of me. I was frustrated: I really wanted to pedal by myself just then, but I felt obligated to talk to the riders rather than just pedal past. I caught up to them soon, and was impressed by their cycling know-how. They were moving at a pretty decent pace, two had color coordinated bike outfits that suggested they were sponsored, and all three were comfortable looking around and chatting as they road. The trio seemed to have a similar outlook on their tour to mine: they were doing it not just to see the coast and travel, but also because they enjoyed biking fast. 

One of the guys was wearing a jersey that said British Columbia across the back, and we struck up a conversation easily. I learned that he had started cycling from his backdoor in Vancouver, and had just met the other two guys on the road a couple nights earlier. The other two were from Texas: one a father of a 17 year-old, recently retired, and out doing what he loved to do, and the other fresh out of the college cycle racing scene and now on his first cycle tour. They pedaled at about the same pace I wanted to up the hill, so we all stayed together.

To my surprise, I enjoyed their company as we chatted our way up the climb. By the time we got to the campground and the guys invited me to join them for a beer across the street, I had given up on the idea of trying to reach the next campground. I parked my bike, pulled a relatively clean shirt over my cycling vest, and pulled up a chair with my new cycling team. This decision would redefine the rest of my trip.

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