New Tire for the Second Leg

I'm willing to say I've now crossed the halfway point on my road to Los Angeles. The hardest times appear to all be ahead of me though. This morning I awoke in my cozy sleeping bag atop my soft bed (that way my host didn't have to do the sheets). I ate the last of the delicious cake from last night for some morning energy and ad a nice chat with my host about political and environmental issues while she dyed a stained white sweater into a pure black one (there has to be some kind of metaphorical significance going there), while waiting for the temperature to rise a little above the frigid 37 degrees it was when I first checked. It was still chill when I set out, especially in the shade and the wind, but it wasn't unbearable. At my host's urging, I rode along the scenic drive right by the ocean. It was a gorgeous view and I'm glad I did it, but the road itself was definitely unpleasant, turning from paved to gravel at times, often a bumpy mess, winding, narrow, sometimes single lane, all that fun. But it made for an interesting ride.

I then followed the highway for a time, before getting onto a side road recommended for cyclists that meandered through farmland. I had the feeling often today as I rode past miles of pasture, barns, cattle, that I would have no idea I was so close to the ocean were it not for the occasional tsunami evacuation route sign. I soon worked my way into Arcata and wandered around in great aggravation until finally arriving at the bike shop. ...Only to find out they were useless and had no 26" tires, so I had to wander through town some more to reach another bike shop. But thankfully, they had a wide selection of 26" tires and I got a decent one to fit my needs at a reasonable price, even letting them put it on for cheap too. I picked up some more lubricant while I was there as well.

I biked around the Arcata Bay, rode through the mess of a bike route through Eureka, biked through yet more farmland on and off the highway, until I eventually reached Fortuna in the early afternoon, going into the grocery store so I could get more bars and devour a cinnamon roll. It was a fairly uninspired day with easy, mostly flat going, nothing to either write home or complain about. I'll probably yearning for a day like this in just a couple days...

I'm going to admit, my first impression of my hosts wasn't quite positive. I'm sleeping out in the shed on a pad in my sleeping bag, which isn't as posh as last night, but is more than good by me. But when I came into the house, passing the waves of flies in the kitchen, seeing the state of the bathroom, one of the tub handles broken, needing to plunge the toilet before I could use it, a slug in the sink... I was a little quick to judge, with images of the first people I rented from in Seattle in my head. But my hosts tonight are really great people, who for whatever they lack in means, they have ten times in generosity. They're kind hearted, outdoorsy folks with seven kids and dreams of getting out of here and moving to Colorado. They cooked me some really delicious veggie burgers on the charcoal grill that I paid them to pick up on their store run alongside the hotdogs for themselves, and we chatted about life and adventures while trying to keep warm in the chilling air. The time spent gradually drifting east across the property to stay in the sun rapidly falling behind the tall redwoods was particularly amusing. I'm really glad I came here, and I feel bad for my initial internal reaction. I've met fewer kinder people than these.

Tomorrow I'll be for real camping. It'll be a big day, but not nearly so big as the day to follow. 5000+ feet of elevation change from their to Fort Bragg. Hopefully I'll have data to post tomorrow, but I rather doubt it.