Day 12: Redwood City

Novack's Adventures | Jody | Jun 7, 2011

We were all waiting for it, and I know our friends at Reforest London were too: The Redwood Forest. We got a brief glimpse of it on our ride early on, then hit the coast for a bit enjoying what was actually a small tailwind as we crusied some flats beach side. The rest of the group really enjoyed it, but for me, it was pain for the most part. Riding a single speed bike, I had to choose a gear small enough to climb the hills, which results in a gear too small to ride flats with a tail wind as I simply had to peddle my legs faster than is comfortable. It resulted in one very sore set of legs at the end of the day. We did hit some hills later on, but the flats early in the day killed my legs more than any climbing had up until this point.

Regardless, we were in the redwood forest and let me tell you, it is hard to put into words. Being surrounded by these beautiful trees is something one has to experience. Driving through definitely doesn’t do it justice either. I have driven this route before, and nothing compares to riding a bike through the forest. It was just difficult because all you wanted to do was look around. Luckily we got off the 101 so we could get to our camp site, and the road was not busy at all. It was however downhill, and for the first time, we wished we were climbing so we could go slower.

We took all kinds of exploration breaks and found ourselves constantly smiling and laughing. It was hard not to be in a great mood when surrounded by such beauty. We were however going to a campsite on Memorial Day Saturday without a reservation, so we needed to keep moving. The best part of biking is that the hike and bike section of state campgrounds always have room, so while the campground was full and cars were turned away, we were welcomed with a warm smile.

Cars = 0 | Bikes = 1

A part of the series: Jody's Bike Trip