Wednesday, 7/22 - 40 mile day. We had a leisurely start this morning and we stopped early at a motel in Redway, CA. The hilight of the day was cycling on the Avenue of the Giants which is a 31 mile road that traverses a large tract of CA redwood trees that are largely contained in adjacent CA state parkland and federal land. The trees are striking both because of their mammoth diameter trunks and their height. Many are up to 300 feet tall. In places they blocked out most of the sunlight. The trees, based on what we read, only live in a specific part of northern CA and they are not susceptible to any known diseases or pests. Unfortunately, they make very good lumber and a single tree could provide enough lumber for several houses so most of them were cut down for lumber in the past. The temperature is definitely getting warmer as we head south (we are now about 200 miles north of San Francisco). Of course, that may be due to our being inland since yesterday. Shortly, the route will take us back out to coast as we head to San Francisco. Spent most of today riding with the South Korean student we camped with last night. However, he seemed to disappear towards the end of the day. We met a father and son duo today who were from Berkeley. They had headed north from Berkeley and were now on the return trajectory for Berkeley. Redway is like a lot of the small northern CA towns we have cycled in. It has some open stores and some that are out of business. Most of the people in town look like locals with a smattering of tourists. There are a fair number of rough looking characters hanging around. I was tired today so I napped when we first arrived at the motel. Tomorrow will probably be a short day followed by a longer day with some big climbs.
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