The Perpetual Motion Circus & Bicycle Tour: Leg 1, Day 2, Sunday, June 8th

Slow riding, but beautiful Hwy 1

With all the fun last night I got off to a late and slow start. The coastal North wind pounded at my face all day. I felt like a cement truck with a giant sail. I had to pedal to go downhill!

Feeling sorry for myself, I bought an AWESOMELY GIANT sandwich in Elk. Also in Elk I met some hippy sea-weed collectors drying their harvest in the sun. They harvest enough sea-weed in one day to last all year! (It looks like they also eat much more sea weed than the average person).

My body is getting used to this touring thing.
I have developed what feels like huge balls of muscle which want to burst out of my back / shoulder blades. Overall, my upper back feels like a big knot.

I picked up some humus, tortillas & veggies at the Mendocino store “Harvest” for the next few meals. Hurray for real food!

Today I traveled ~50 miles and camped at Russian Gulch State Park (just North of Mendocino). At the $3 hike and bike campsite I met a couple with an 8 year old daughter who were walking from San Francisco to Oregon. They planned for 45 days of walking and tried to walk to the coast whenever possible. Due to cliffs & private property, only about 50% of the coast is hikable.

I got a long real well with these three. The father owns his own theater company and the 8 year old (named “smooj”) is training to be a circus aerialist at the SF Circus Center.

The live-in ranger is next to the hike and bike site. His name is Paul and he is quite the character. He loves hike and bikers. He provided us with a roaring fire. He enjoyed my hoop manipulations so much that he gave me 10 gypsie points (er, $10)--thanks Paul!