Day Total - 66.0 miles
Trip Total - 505.3 miles
500 miles! Also, solar eclipse!
We began the day on the Avenue of the Giants. It was still cool in the shade of the redwoods, but once we got a bit further north, the trees thinned out and the jackets came off. the road was extremely flat, even slightly downhill, and after about 15 quick miles, we reached the northern terminus of the Avenue of the Giants.
After a brief snack stop, we rejoined 101 for a few miles. On the long freeway straights, we battled a stiff headwind, but at least we had a wide shoulder. A few miles later, in the timber mill town of Scotia, we exited 101 for side roads. After crossing the Eel River into Rio Dell, we turned onto a back road. Though short, the climbs on this road were exceptionally steep. Combined with the extremely poor conditon of the roads, it was slow going through this section.
Soon, however, we came out of the hills into the wide expanse of Humboldt dairy country, or as it should be called, West Wisconsin. With nothing to block the wind across the flat countryside, we were now battling one of the worst headwinds we have faced on the trip. It took a good hour to cross the 8 mile westward stretch before we finally arrived in the town of Ferndale.
From this small town of Victorian buildings, we turned north on Highway 211 toward Fernbridge and the Eel River. With the headwind gone, we made rapid progress, and soon we had made another turn toward Loleta. After the detour that the ACA route takes, we were now back parallel with 101, but we would not join it until the last possible point.
We continued through dairy farms for another 7 miles until we got back on 101 about 5 miles south of Eureka. Because it is the biggest city on the North Coast, traffic was heavy on the approach. It did slow down a bit once we got into town and the freeway ended, however. At that point, the ACA route heads out to the shore of Humboldt Bay, but we stayed on 101 instead. Kevin wanted to stop at Wendy's to satisfy his fast food craving, but when we got there, it turned out to be closed. All was not lost though - we went across the street to Porter Street Barbeque and down delicious tri-tip sandwiches.
From there, we took the scenic route through Eureka back to 101 for the final stretch to Arcata, around 10 miles to the north. The highway was almost completely flat as it went around Arcata Bay, and by about 5:00 we were again off the freeway. After a short tour of Humboldt State University, we again went to meet Dylan and Katie, who we met in Fort Bragg. This time, we would be sleeping on their floor for the night.
After arriving at their apartment, we unloaded the bikes and took a tour of Arcata. At the same time, people around town were preparing to view the solar eclipse that was scheduled to occur that evening - provided, of course, that fog did not block the view. We got back tot he apartment just as the eclipse was at its peak, and with the assistance of a man who was handing out pieces of cardboard with pinholes, we were able to see the ring of fire just as the clouds parted.
Trip Total - 505.3 miles
500 miles! Also, solar eclipse!
We began the day on the Avenue of the Giants. It was still cool in the shade of the redwoods, but once we got a bit further north, the trees thinned out and the jackets came off. the road was extremely flat, even slightly downhill, and after about 15 quick miles, we reached the northern terminus of the Avenue of the Giants.
After a brief snack stop, we rejoined 101 for a few miles. On the long freeway straights, we battled a stiff headwind, but at least we had a wide shoulder. A few miles later, in the timber mill town of Scotia, we exited 101 for side roads. After crossing the Eel River into Rio Dell, we turned onto a back road. Though short, the climbs on this road were exceptionally steep. Combined with the extremely poor conditon of the roads, it was slow going through this section.
Soon, however, we came out of the hills into the wide expanse of Humboldt dairy country, or as it should be called, West Wisconsin. With nothing to block the wind across the flat countryside, we were now battling one of the worst headwinds we have faced on the trip. It took a good hour to cross the 8 mile westward stretch before we finally arrived in the town of Ferndale.
 |
| Trollin' |
We continued through dairy farms for another 7 miles until we got back on 101 about 5 miles south of Eureka. Because it is the biggest city on the North Coast, traffic was heavy on the approach. It did slow down a bit once we got into town and the freeway ended, however. At that point, the ACA route heads out to the shore of Humboldt Bay, but we stayed on 101 instead. Kevin wanted to stop at Wendy's to satisfy his fast food craving, but when we got there, it turned out to be closed. All was not lost though - we went across the street to Porter Street Barbeque and down delicious tri-tip sandwiches.
From there, we took the scenic route through Eureka back to 101 for the final stretch to Arcata, around 10 miles to the north. The highway was almost completely flat as it went around Arcata Bay, and by about 5:00 we were again off the freeway. After a short tour of Humboldt State University, we again went to meet Dylan and Katie, who we met in Fort Bragg. This time, we would be sleeping on their floor for the night.
After arriving at their apartment, we unloaded the bikes and took a tour of Arcata. At the same time, people around town were preparing to view the solar eclipse that was scheduled to occur that evening - provided, of course, that fog did not block the view. We got back tot he apartment just as the eclipse was at its peak, and with the assistance of a man who was handing out pieces of cardboard with pinholes, we were able to see the ring of fire just as the clouds parted.
View Day 13 - Weott, CA-Arcata, CA in a larger map
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