as small as a world and as large as alone

4:01am July 8, 2013

teotb2013:

Day 15: Harris Beach State Park, Oregon to Elk Prairie Campground, California!

After only 15 days on the road and we’d made it to our third state, California. Memories of rain, heavy winds and the cold were long gone now (after only three days) were quickly being replaced by my adolescent fantasies of the permanent Californian coastal sunshine seemed to be imminent. It was HOT. But then again, we were riding a bit further inland on this stretch.

Most of the day went fairly slowly, with slightly tired legs and what felt like low pressure in our tyres (hand pump not working very well) it was a slog. But if we thought it was a slog, please spare a moment for two men we passed as we climbed an enormous hill in the heat, on skateboards. Yes, that’s right. These guys were walking/skating up a a 1500ft+ hill. As we cycled past them, gasping, we managed to find out they were cycling the length of California! One of the guys mentioned they had a blog ‘Vet Skate Trek’ which I’ve just looked up. These guys are nothing short of heroes. As War Veterans, they are skating 900 miles to raise money for fellow soldiers. They’ve been on an incredible journey and I would highly recommend visiting their Facebook page to see updates. When you’re cycling for hours a day, it’s great to have inspiration like this as it shows that whatever we were doing, there were others doing something far harder. 

Toward the very end of the day, we faced another uphill slog that I thought was going to go on for another 5 miles. I was delighted then, when we reached the summit after only 3 miles, encased by a stunning Redwood forest. Described as one of the most beautiful places on earth by National Geographic, these enormous trees certainly have a mystical nature to them. It was made even more magical by the fact that there were no cars and even more importantly, we were at the top of a 6.5 mile descent.

As we glided through this magical forest, the trees provided a cooling shade from the sun we’d been in all day, the beams of the evening sun striking through the branches. It felt emotional as our wheels quietly whirred as we descended in amongst these enormous trees. This is what cycle touring is all about. This experience alone made up for every unlucky experience we’d had on the trip thus far. 

As we came to the bottom of the road, we entered a huge prairie surround ed by mountains and trees. Pretty great place for a campsite! It was here that we met the legendary cycle tourer from Colorado, Clint, for the first time (more about whom later!)

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