October 10th

82 miles - a 4,500 ft - and one 7 mile hill to start off the day...  it was a challenging day!  We arrived just in time for dinner - they actually held dinner for us and we ate in our cycling clothes.  Yikes!  What a day!!!!  I was ready to quit at mile 55 - in the middle of the third (and last) horrendous hill of the day, but Sheila and I decided that we could soldier on.  I think that at least half of the group "bumped" today-
We have decided that we won't kill ourselves, but we are going to do our best to do the whole trip without bumping.  We have made it to the halfway mark - 12 days of cycling behind us and 12 days ahead of us.  Crazy!

But really, it is all worth it - we biked through a redwood forest today - magnificent, spectacular, awe-inspiring!  And we were back on the coast line for part of the day - wow!!

Got some stats last night - 31 women and the average age is 63.4 - 2 women in their 40s, 7 in their 50s,
6 over 70 and the rest in their 60s. It is quite inspiring actually - no, it is very inspiring!!

Our chef, Patty, is leaving us today, so Lin sang a song for her (Lin, in her 70s, sings a song that she has composed while cycling once in a while - such a treat) , and Sheila composed a poem in her honour - such an interesting group of women to say the least.

A day of rest today in Eureka, California (oh, did I mention that we have now arrived in California?)
A sad little town (is that just the reflection of the weather - cool and misty??) but I managed to get my laundry done, plus I bought a new bike seat - please Lord, let this make my bike ride less painful??!!

And six of us went out for dinner - we were looking for steak and steak we got!  Such a treat to eat sitting at a table - inside out of the cold - and able to decide what we were going to eat.  Life is good!

Another 80 mile ride tomorrow, but apparently without the hills of yesterday....