For some reason, Joe couldn't sleep at all last night. He woke me up at 1am to tell me so and then decided to watch movies all night since there was no sense for him to just sit there wide awake. At least he got to enjoy relaxing in a comfy bed and he utilized the TV while we had one to watch. He also woke me up at 5am to tell me he was going to walk down to breakfast-but that he would go down with me later when I was ready. I of course went back to sleep! Today marked the 7 month mark of the trip. Waking up in a hotel with a continental breakfast- what a great way to get to 'celebrate!' We got to enjoy cinnamon rolls, bagels, bacon, eggs, pancakes, pastries, fruit, yogurt, hot cocoa, juice- pretty much everything! After filling ourselves to the brim, we grabbed a few extra apples and bananas, and a bagel for later. We really took our time getting ready today since we wanted to enjoy the hotel as long as we could- it was just so nice. I took another hot shower and was refreshed and ready for the day. It was a cold, cloudy day again. We continued riding along the 101. After abut 5 miles or so we passed a few more hotels, but it wouldn't have been a very safe ride last night in the dark, but the Holiday Inn was so great so I guess it was ok that we couldn't make it any further. The flatish ride continued and we had a beautiful tailwind to push us right along. It was great- the miles were just flying by. We made it into the city of Eureka and it was pretty big (but not as big as we anticipated)it did have a Target though! We made a quick stop there to check to see if they had any cords that would be compatible, but they didn't. We saw a pretty neat mansion in the 'old historic district' and stopped at the visitor center on the way out of town. The flat ride continued for most of the day- just a few hills here and there. Unfortunately, we never saw the sun. We had a short lunch break in Fortuna around 35 miles in. We just snacked on a couple cinnamon rolls and fruit from the hotel since we were still pretty stuffed from breakfast. There were a few more hills after lunch. We were happy to find ourselves back in the redwoods as we rode along the Avenue of Giants (Scenic Byway) that was much better than riding on the 101. It paralleled the 101 pretty closely which was nice, but there was almost no traffic. It was just an incredible ride. On a bicycle you really feel small as they tower over you- as we were riding along we would look straight up and they just go on forever. They really are giants, its almost unexplainable. We planned to make it to a town called Myers Flats. It was getting dark pretty quick, but it was a prefect ride for night riding since there was virtually no cars. We stopped quick at a campground on the way since I had to pee. It was full of tired cyclists that were staying there because of the hiker biker rate. None of them were too social though- I think everyone was just exhausted and since it was dark, there wasn't anything to do. We thought about staying, but since not much was going on, we decided to continue on. It was probably the neatest night ride I've ever been on (not that I've been on many). It was just SO dark when we were surrounded by the redwoods- even if the sky wasn't totally dark yet. The trees are just so massive that they don't let any light in. As we were riding, our lights would hit the trunks of these ridiculously huge trees; I think the darkness made them seem even more gignormous. At one point we covered both of our lights for a second-all we could say was "Woooa"- it was almost scary how dark it was. Less than 5 miles after the campground, we made it to the town of Myers Flats. There was hardly anything there at all. We stopped to ask what the next town was like and found out they had a high school and a church! So, we decided to continue on. We were reluctant to go on because of how slow the miles felt like they were going in the dark. But with the possibility of having a church to go to, we figured it would be the best plan. For some reason, there was more a bit more traffic during those last 6 miles, but still not anywhere near the amount as on the 101 last night. After what felt like forever, we made it to the next town, Miranda. We saw a sign for a church that was about a half mile up a somewhat steep hill. The church was perfect! There was a nice little grassy area right behind the church and even a security light so that we didn't have to set up and cook in the dark- much better than if we had stayed at the dark campground! It wasn't as fun as the hotel, but it was a premier camping spot that's for sure. We made some mac and cheese and then went to bed by 9:30. We rode 76.43miles today.
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