Leg 2 (Arcata to Eugene), Day 1, Thursday, June 19th

Not a deer.

After a quick transformation to my second identity (spandex bicycle geek with robot sunglasses), I said goodbye to my circus buddies and away I went! Arcata at my back, Eugene at my front!

I started small with a ~40 mi ride up hwy 101 to Elk Prarie in the Redwoods. As the name would suggest, Elk Prarie is home to roaming herds of wild elk. I didn't know that there was such a thing before today.

At the hike & bike camp ($3!) I met Amos, a hip Seattle-ite biking south with, among other things, an mp3 player with Jason Webley and four juggling balls! Needless to say, we got a long real well.

Also biking South was a German couple struggling to understand the world. They quit their office & engineering jobs in Germany and have been traveling the world via bicycle for OVER A YEAR covering Europe, Australia, and the States. They were riding two identical and awesome steel frames built in Holland. They shared some German music with us then delighted in the US experience with Budwieser, Wonderbread, and Jason Webley.

Sweet ride.