Day 22 - Weott to Leggett - Riding the California Dream - CycleBlaze

October 1, 2022

Day 22 - Weott to Leggett

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Another gorgeous morning. I expected things to be damp since we were camped in the middle of the redwoods, but everything was surprisingly dry and the temperature was moderate.

The previous night, I injured my left foot. I was heading for the showers, wearing flip-flops, and tripped over a tent stake, landing hard with my left foot on another tent stake. Unfortunately my flip-flops had shifted and so my bare foot was impaled. Swearing and bleeding profusely as I fell onto my tent, I landed on my air compressor, so it was buzzing and creating a bunch of noise to add to the excitement. 

Fortunately, we have a retired doctor in the group. He cleaned and dressed the wound and gave me follow up instructions. But it was iffy as to whether or not I would be able to ride today.

I really wanted to ride. Today would take us through the remainder of the Avenue of the Giants, and I didn’t want to miss it. The wound is on the outer edge of the ball of my foot and I reasoned that even though walking was difficult, I might be able to ride if I kept the pressure toward the inside. 

So I tentatively took a spin around the campground and decided to give it a go. If I had problems, I would call for a sag. So, off I went.

Heading south through the redwoods from the Burlington campground. Had to do a bike lean picture.
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I pedaled slowly and carefully, committed to enjoying as much of the ride as I could. I definitely could not ride standing, so I would have to do all the hills sitting down. 

The ride through the redwoods was just as inspiring as on the previous day. There’s just something about Redwoods that always makes me feel like I am in a sacred space. Again, I took lots of GoPro footage and will add that to this post when I have a chance to process it.

A field of ivy growing up the redwoods.
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At some point, I caught up with Bernice and we rode together the rest of the day. It was nice to have someone with me while riding with an injured foot. Around mile 20 we began climbing up and away from the redwoods.

A gift shop with everything Bigfoot and more.
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I’m not sure what this little guy has to do with Bigfoot, but I wouldn’t want either one of them chasing me.
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We stopped to see the famous one log house — a tiny home carved out of the center of a fallen redwood tree. It really was amazing, and quite cool in the house even though it was very warm outside.

Bernice and I in front of the log house
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The interior of the tiny home.
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A good portion of the ride was along the eel river, which I enjoyed very much. In case you can’t tell from my many pictures of water and reflections, I love water in all its forms — rivers, lakes, ocean.

The water in the river is very low, but still flowing
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A beautiful morning reflection in the Eel river.
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Our destination was the Standish Hickey park. I made the entire ride, though quite slowly, arriving after 3 PM. I was exhausted, and though my foot hurt, I could tell it was getting better. I was glad I had decided to ride, and ready for a good night’s sleep. 

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 950 miles (1,529 km)

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Scott AndersonI’m so sorry about your injury, Amber. Hopefully it heals well and quickly. And with the climb over Leggett Pass ahead of you! Maybe the sag wagon could drop you off at the summit so you can glide down to Westport.
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1 year ago
Rich FrasierYou're tough! Good job continuing on in the face of adversity! I hope it heals quickly.
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1 year ago
Genny FoxI am just catching up on your journal and it is bringing back memories of our ride down this section on the coast. After riding in cool fog for days, going inland through the Avenue was a heat-shock, but we enjoyed the swimming hole at Standish Hickey before we were eaten by mosquitoes there.
I hope your foot heals quickly and doesn't bother you too much on the hill south of Leggett.
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1 year ago
Amber StarfireTo Scott AndersonThanks, Scott. The foot’s improving, so I decided to tackle the climb. I’ll write about it tonight if I have cell service.
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1 year ago
Amber StarfireTo Genny FoxThanks, Genny. Yes, it was quite warm inland. And my foot appears to prefer my cycling shoe (less pain with more compression?), so I think I’ll do okay.
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1 year ago
Amber StarfireTo Rich FrasierThanks, Rich!
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1 year ago
Rachael AndersonSo sorry about your injury, I’m glad you were able to ride!
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1 year ago