An early start today (7.45) as we wanted to maximise our time in the Avenue of the Redwoods. This is something we have all been looking forward to for some days. After breakfast Chris led us along the US101 at a fast speed and the kilometres sped by quickly. We clocked up nearly 40kms before stopping at Ferndale for 45 minutes to drink strong coffee and eat home made cakes. This stop was significant as Ferndale marked the official half-way point from Vancouver to Mexico – it feels like we’ve been riding for ever, but we’re only half way there! Ferndale was a fascinating town with well preserved Victorian buildings and bespoke shops of all kinds. A real gem of a place.
After another 15kms we picked up Tim at Rio Dell. Great news - Tim returned to the saddle to join us partway through the days ride after 3 days off the road. It was great to see him riding again after a frustrating few days for him. In fact he had missed days of very long uphill climbs, dangerous descents, freezing mist and poor visibility. As soon as Tim joined us the sun shone, the terrain was mostly flat and we had stunning views for the rest of the day Tim - how do you do it?
Today was all about the Redwoods. We travelled along the Avenue of the Giants for 50kms and it was absolutely awesome – these great trees live for between 5 and 13 centuries and even after falling they take 100 years to totally decay. Cycling into these Redwood Groves was like entering a hushed cathedral (ok, a quote nicked from a book, but it’s very true). The magnificence of these trees makes it even more appalling that they are being cut down at a rate that threatens extinction by the end of this century! Another highlight of the day was that cycling through the Redwoods we were treated to an airial display by a family of eagles. Awesome!
At 3.00pm we lunched close to one end of the Avenue of the Giants at Miranda. During each day we can experience a wide range of weather and temperatures. Earlier in the day we needed to wear 3 layers of clothes when we were near the coast in temperatures of 50F. When moving only a few miles inland the temperature rose to around 85F and this made it uncomfortable to eat outside in the direct sunlight. Cycling uphill can be very warm and cycling down the other side of the hill we are plunged into the cold. Makes it very difficult to plan what to wear!
After lunch, delayed as our planned restuarant was closed, there was only 20k left to do and we ended our ride day at 5.15pm – a superb days cycling – hope you enjoy the pictures below.
A closely fought contest resulted in Brian being voted TWIT of the day when leaving his helmet behind after a tree team hugging experience.
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| Handover of navigation maps from Tim Chris for leg 3, albeit a day late! |
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| Vancomex team pouch securely fixed to Chris’s bike for all the navigational kit |
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Mail boxes at the US Post Office in Ferndale
– in the US people have to collect their own mail
from the Post Office
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Ferndale, officially the half way point between Vancouver and Mexico – good a place as any to stop for a wee!
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Vancomex is a team again as Tim joins us for today’s ride at Rio Dell
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Eel river views from the Eel river bridge
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Meet Derek and Nathan who we met in the Avenue of the giants
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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| A few shots of our view through the Avenue of the Redwoods |
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Brian marking his spot between two
Redwoods
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| A drive through tree |
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| A Vacomex Redwood tree hug |
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| We think this is a bald eagle but happy to be corrected ! |
