Day 46, September 16th 2007 (Eureka, CA to Richardson Grove, CA)

I don't think that I've ever realized how great a bed feels until I woke up this morning. My body was asleep with a numb sensation as I opened my eyes. There was a continental breakfast that was being offered at the front desk and it was my first target as I woke up. As soon as I could get my body out of bed I was down the stairs and staring at a table full of pastries. I think I surprised the guy at the front desk when I piled my little plate about 3 stacks tall. I told him I needed my carbs and sugars and he just nodded his head, probably trying to figure out how I was going to manage to eat it all. I went back to my room and finished the food in a few minutes, took a shower, and laid in bed for a couple more hours. When I opened my eyes it was a little before 10 and I had wanted to see if there was a church service I could get to. I headed out of the room and I only saw a couple of churches on my way out of tow that all held an early church service. I couldn't find a church with a late service, but figured if I made it to the next town then maybe I could catch a service at 11. It was a great sunday to be outside on a ride. I really couldn't complain about the weather that I had received for today or yesterday. It was a great feeling being able to cycle in my jersey and cycling shorts and not having to worry about any extra clothing. It felt like 70 degrees and the sun was shining over the ocean and the mountains. I didn't have hardly any big climbs to start the morning and after about 30 miles I was able to to on to an incredible detour. It was the "Avenue of the Giants," the name of the highway. With huge redwoods over 2,000 years old and stretching over 300 feet tall it made for a magnificent ride. I had been told back in Oregon that i was going to see some redwoods. If this is what they were supposed to look like then there was no way I had seen redwoods back in Oregon. If they were redwoods, then they were babies compared to these because these trees were of a phenomenal stature. Everywhere around me it seemed like giants were peering over me. It was an amzing sight that I was able to witness for 30 straight miles. Weaving around to different towns within the area, it was amazing. I took my time within the site and enjoyed every stop that I could along the way. I felt like I was hardly going anywhere and that everything was still going by too fast. I can't imagine flyiing through that place at 50 mph in a car because there was too much to see. I hated to end my ride through the Avenue of the Giants because it meant that I was now back on the freeway and had to deal with the traffic. I was starting to get used to only seeing a couple of cars every once in awhile and now they were all around me again. I stayed on my little shoulder on the right side and paced myself further ahead. Although I wasn't in the Redwood Forest anymore, the scenery was still amazing. I biked until I reached the next town, Garberville. I saw there was supposed to be a campground there, but I was unable to find it. I ate at a local Subway in town and asked if they knew where any nearby campground was. The guy who I had asked couldn't have been any older than 20 years old and he told me he didn't know. He went on to tell me that he had just hitch hiked his way up here two weeks earlier and so he hardly knew the place. Then he wanted to keep the conversation going so he told me that he was sleeping outside down by the river and that was the only camping he knew about. I didn't think I was going to find out where the campground was so I figured I would head down the road and see what I could find a few more miles south. I felt bad for the kid sleeping outside and all, but if he now has a job and doesn't have to pay for a place he should have some money coming in. I headed further south and was able to find a campground within about 10 miles down the road. It was a hiker/biker site and was 3 dollars. I was really starting to enjoy these little sites for only a few dollars and I was glad thatthey offere them to cyclists passing through. It just doesn't make sense for a cyclist on the road to pay 10 or more dollars, but 5 or less is a fair amount. I laid down my tent and since I was the only cyclist in the campground, I figured I could get some good sleep before putting in some miles tommorrow.
Daily mileage: 80.7 miles
Average Speed: 13.0 mph
Total mileage: 2,869.4 miles