DAY 1 - GRANTS PASS TO CRESCENT CITY

November 3, 2014

Day One of Sarah and Cristina's costal cycle adventure began with three hours of freezing cold, restless sleep and a lumpy, heavy breakfast in the Grants Pass Best Western. After swiping as many oatmeal, peanut butter and jam packets, bananas and apples that could fit in and under our cycle gear, we set off along the Redwood Highway 199.

Giddy and fresh

I was going off of sheer hope that this road would be appropriate for two amateur cycle tourists after having watched and rewatched a time-lapse youtube video of the road. This day's ride was the biggest at 84 miles and it was a glorious, smooth and gently rolling ride with many dead animals and the odd loaded apple tree along the way.
We stopped for lunch at a deli with a large selection of meats and hefty portions. Sarah had the first of her almost daily bacon cheeseburger.

Leaving Oregon

Crossing the border into California proved more scenic, but also more winding and hilly (luckily a lot of downhills). In the distance a flash of yellow caught my eye and piqued my curiosity. I eventually up to Judi, cycle tourer extraordinaire from New York. Judi was the first and only cyclist we saw on the road that day and she was heading where we were and she happily joined our two woman caravan.
The sun was setting faster than we could cycle (one of the downfalls of doing a cycle tour in November). Once we entered the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park any and all of the violet dusk light was blocked out completely by the giant redwoods. With visibility near zero and still an hour away from our destination we pulled out our lights and cycled in a convoy to remain as visible as possible to the odd truck that would pass us on the winding, dark roads. Tensions were high, appetites were mounting.
We finally arrived out to the highway and let out yelps of excitement, discussing what we would be inhaling upon arrival to our Warm Showers lodging. We finally found our rest spot for that evening (along with our fellow roommates) and head off down the hill to the grocery store buying what I thought would be an excessive amount of food. Little did I realize how hungry we all were (there wasn't that much food left in the end).
Big thanks to the people at Saint Paul's Church in Crescent City for letting us use your facilities and hosting countless cyclists.

Safety first