Day 6: Eureka, Prairie Creek

This has been my longest day yet! When I got to camp the odometer told me 81.68 miles and gave me a high five. I got an early start, leaving camp at 7:30 and working up to Loleta Bakery on a locals recommendation. I talked with am elderly woman about the trip and told her I'm trying to get up to Portland by next weekend to meet my girlfriend to which she replied, "Oh no, you WILL be in Portland by next weekend."

A slice of quiche, danish, and a latte and I was set. Also, thanks Jean for the free oatmeal cookie, I thoroughly enjoyed it tonight. All of their goods were delicious, I highly recommend stopping if you can. Loleta was a great little town except for the guy in the pickup who thought it would be hilarious to accelerate  a Lost-style diesel smoke monster into my face.

I cranked up to Eureka and found a hardware store where I bought some blue Loctite on Jim's recommendation and borrowed some solvent from the store employees (thanks!). I used the Loctite on the rack screws, one of which had almost fallen out while riding rough pavement in the Ave of Giants. After a few quick adjustments ol' Babe was ready to go again. But I was getting a bit hungry and Lost Coast Brewing had a 40 oz taster set and lunch with my name on it. A good meal and I hit the road, in an attempt to cover another 53 miles.

The Arcata marshes were lovely and the town seemed fun, I'll add it to the list of places to explore more in depth. I took the Hammond Trail in McKinleyville which was a great freeway bypass. I hopped on the freeway again and took an accidental turn which put me on Scenic Dr. just south of Trinidad. This was the most beautiful CA coastline I've ever seen! The road continued up to Patrick's Point SP which I swung through briefly. Another park that had stunning vistas and great camping spots!

Finally I had to buckle down and get to Prairie Creek before the sun dropped into the Pacific. This was my first "break UP" of the trip. I had just come down a really long hill after Patty's Pt and was high on the wind and some Gu Roctane (thanks Kat!) When I came out on a lagoon with Roosevelt Elk grazing right next to the highway and the sun casting an orange glow on the whole area, and I couldn't help but shed a few tears at the bliss I was experiencing.

The last stretch to camp was rough on the body, I was getting incredibly hungry and weary. But mercifully the highway was flat and I cranked hard into camp where I devoured some food, the cookie, and Hot Chocolate with whiskey. Overall though I felt good and I'm excited to see how far I can ride on a long day with the wind at my back.