Day 10: Crescent City,CA to Fortuna,CA
Miles on the autobon: 103
Weather: High 50's and mostly sunny.
Wind: Out of the N/NW at 15 mph. So, for the most part, the wind was in our favor.
Roads traveled: Highway 101 South
# of flat tires on this trip: 1 for Stephen, 0 for Tom. Stephen ran over a glass bottle today and we said goodbye to our flat-tire-less streak.
Terrain: Killer Hills for the first 60 miles, then we had some nice rolling terrain with the wind at our backs.
Best Meal of the Day: A greasy patty melt for lunch at local cafe in Orick,Ca (pop 470).
Why today is a GREAT DAY: Roger and Rose Rand (my parents) celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary!
The Songlist that gets you through a tough day like today:
"Don't Stop Believin" -Journey
"Higher" -Creed
"Lonesome Day" -Bruce Springsteen
"Let it Rock" -Bon Jovi
T-Rand's Take on the Day.......
I tell you what, for the first 60 miles of today's ride I felt like I was in a 15-round, all-out slugfest. 3 miles outside
of Crescent City,CA is where all the fun began. Stephen and I bicycled from sea level to appr 1300 feet in the span of 5 or 6 miles. Then, after eventually returning to sea level, we had another climb close too 750 ft or so. And in between all of this there were many many "small hills." It was grueling, and it was punishing. The scenery,however, was breathtaking for sure. We traveled the first 25 miles through Redwood National Park. I've never seen trees that big in my entire life. We heard that there's a tree where you that you can drive you car through, but we did not see it. After the N.P., we had some spectacular views of the coast. We were able to experience the infamous, fast-moving fog of northern Cali. That was nice. The difficult thing about today though was managing the temperature of your body. I would sweat like a pig on uphill climbs, but then freeze my tail off on the big downhills. It was uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill. HIt, punch, jab, bodyshot.......go to the corner, spit blood, vaseline, water to the face. You get the picture.
But I lay here tonight being able to tell you the good news, and that's that the good guys came out on top. We tamed the beast today. We conquered the giant.
So, the question at this point is, "Are you sore?" The answer is yes. A resounding YES. My tush, for the better part of today, either felt numb or like it was on fire. And I'm not sure which is worse. But here's the deal, all in all it's awesome feeling because it's all part of the journey. I lay here tonight feeling completely and totally spent....yet somehow all the more ready to get up and get after it again tomorrow.
SHOUT OUTS......
*Nicole, GM of the Holiday Inn Express of Fortuna. We appreciate you, Nicole.
*Dad & Mom, you are truly amazing.....Not just because you have made the effort to be out here (even on your anniversary)
but because you have been incredible parents for me for the last 29 years. Thanks. I love you guys!
4 Comments:
In an interesting bit of sychronicity, "Don't Stop Believin" was the final song on the series finale of The Sopranos last night. I like that you're growing your beard out Tom...It makes you look like the inventor of dynamite and creator of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel.
Slappy
Tijuana, Mexico fact of the day:
The city's motto is "AquĆ Empieza La Patria". For those of you who don't hablo espanol, that means, "Here The Fatherland Begins."
Yet another reason to keep on, keeping on.
Tom, all's I'm sayin' is that you are the spittin' image of your Daddy-O!
-Courtney S.
You inspire me
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