Dirt road = muddy bikes

Left Grant's Pass at 830 am. Breakfast at Elmers was hearty....that was a good thing. We were in search of the Redwood Forest and headed down hwy 199. Soon Mike pulled off to pull on more headgear- it was cold and nippy. For some reason we just cannot find any sun. We pull into the Redwood National and State visitor center....the people were helpful in telling us where to go see the BIG redwoods. Just go back a couple of miles and across a bridge and down a dirt road. Mike says "I don't think this is such a good idea" but I am determined to see the redwoods off the pavement.

Off we go, back a couple of miles, across the bridge and on the dirt road. The dirt road has potholes the size of craters (translated= broken wheels/bodies possible) but we traverse around them slowly. Oh- I forgot- this is a single lane road and we are the only ones on it at this point. We see some huge trees, take pictures and keep going. This 10 mile road eventually ends up in Cresent City. Now we have other cars on the road with us- we let them go around us and then they are coming towards us. When someone tells me that a road is "single lane"- I assumed that meant one way as well. Ok so I was wrong in that assumption.

The road is getting muddy- we slip around a bit and the challenge in on....keep the bike on the road and not in the deep ravine. Mike is ahead of me. I come around a corner and see him stopped. His bike is down and a car is headed at him buts gets stopped. I attempt to stop but the mud is too slick....the bike stops just short of hitting Mike. I think I have it made but then the bike slips and falls down on its side. Now we have a car stopped in the middle of the road, Mike's bike is laid down, mine is on its side. The mud is about 2" deep and we are trying to get the bikes back up. Mike has his up and standing. I need help getting mine up. The car just sits there....and now we have a line of cars backed up behind us as well. Oh- did I mention the DEEP ravine on one side??? OK-bikes are up....we get our wits about us- no damage- everyone is OK. The drops were controlled so no injury to anyone. Mike takes off....I leave some space so I can come up behind him. The ruts are deep and getting through the mud is difficult- we slip all over the place. Now I am scared that I will not control the bike and end up in the ravine....who cares about those damn trees!!! This was not such a great idea....Mike is way ahead and telling cars to slow down. The mud gets much worse- now we have hills to deal with...Mike slips up the hill and waits for me. I have the bike in gear but cannot get going without sliding...finally I make it up the hill. I rest a bit, get my composure and go again. For every hill there is a downside which poses different issues- gravity and mud do not mix well. Traffic is unforgiving and passes us on blind curves- remember it is two way traffic on a single lane road with pullouts. Finally the road appears to dry up a bit, I silently rejoice only to see the mud starts up again.....AT LAST..... the road changes and we are in Cresent City.

We pull into a parking lot and determine that a car wash is badly needed. Our boots and the bikes are muddy. We find a carwash, park the bikes and go have some lunch. The bikes must cool off before washing them. A quick lunch of soup and salad and then a wash job gets things back to normal. Mike is not mad and we are happy with our ability to get out of a bad situation.

We go to the "Trees of Mystery", see Paul Bunyan and his Ox- Blue. We walk through all the trees (just off the pavement)We ride the gondola up to the top of the hillside and see the view. Wow- this was so much easier than the morning's ride through the mud and muck. Like every other day...it starts to rain lightly. We forego the raingear in hopes that it will stop. It does stop a few miles down the road.

Goal for the afternoon- Redding, CA....4pm we take off- first the Coast hwy 101 and then we get on hwy 299. Curvy, twisted and hilly....another challenge for us but on the tail end of the day it makes for a long ride. The road has alot of edges and breaks so it is important to see the road for what it is....broken. It takes us 3 hrs to go 150 miles.....alot of steep switchbacks at low speeds guarantee that we make it to the Holiday Inn. It is a beautiful drive with the Trinity river on one side and rocky hillside on the other. Traffic is light and the pullouts frequent so we can ride our own speed without being pushed.

7pm we pull into the Holiday Inn...hungry and beat. It was the longest 150 miles we have ridden and boy are we ready for some dinner and a bed!! Tomorrow will be better and hopefully it will be warm and WILL NOT rain. Heading east towards Nevada to see the Grand Canyon.