Friday 29 June - Blending in with the locals?

Fortuna - Garberville

53 miles
4 hours and 29 minutes in the saddle
25.9 mph max speed
11.8 mph average speed

We continue to make slow progress along the coast - so much for our intentions of doing a big ride today. Because we no longer have the detailed adventure cycling maps we don't have the information on accommodation options available in the towns along the coast. We thought it would be easy to do the Pacific coast ride without the AC maps because this is a touristy area, but unfortunately many of the towns and villages we pass through are so small there is nowhere to stay.

Our plan for today was to reach Leggett, another 25 miles south from Garberville. During lunch we found out that Leggett has very limited accommodations and that any motel there would like be run by "dope heads", we decided that Garberville would be the best place to stop.

We have cycled along the Avenue of the Giants, 30 miles of amazing Redwood forest. When we left the forest the heat became more noticeable and also some of the hill tops were barren. Since reaching the Oregon coast we have been cycling through forests, even when we have been very close to the ocean.

California is unlike any other state we have visited. Scenery is spectacular and the show of wild flowers along the road provide a burst of colour. What really makes Californian people stand out is their embrace of alternative life styles. In Eureka's local news paper a lawyer specialising in marijuana law advertised in full colour. We have cycled past the very peaceful looking Hare Krishna training centre and we have met a 65 year old, grey haired, dread locked cyclist riding a recumbent across the US. Here anything goes and when we tell people about our trip no one seems to think we are crazy any longer.