Distance traveled: 34.70 miles
Total distance:1785.69 miles
Average speed: 9.7 miles/hr
Time on bike: 3 hrs and 33 min
We got a late start today and LOVED IT! We slept in until 7 and didn't actually get out of our sleeping bags/tent until around 8:30. Joe went back to sleep for a bit and I was reading, what a great morning treat. Neither of us felt motivated to have a long day so we decided to only bike the 30 miles to the next campsite!
Today we began cycling through the Avenue of the Giants. Our phrase of the day was "damn, that's a big ass tree"... It was said quite often! I know I have said it before, but the Redwood forests are literally amazing and pictures can't even capture their beauty! We were moving snail pace all day because we were just admiring all of the trees. Living on the East coast I don't see too many old growth forests, especially not ones with 200 year old trees!
Since we have been traveling through the Redwood forests the past few days I'd like to give you a bit of cool information about them... your ecology lesson for the day! I'd like to dedicate this paragraph to Dr. Sarro, my ecology teacher and research mentor because I do have to admit I have tapped into a lot of the info I learned in that class during my trip!
Redwood is of course the common name for the Sequoia tree (Sequoia sempervirens) which is not the same tree as the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). They do look the same, but the Redwood is found on the West coast and is commonly known for being the "tallest" while the giant sequoia is found in the Sierra Nevada Range to the East and is commonly known for having the "largest diameter". The coastal Redwoods cannot live without moist, heavy loam and water for its roots, and cannot live well without a summertime mantle of fog, which provides shade (obviously why it is found on the West coast). The wood is so durable that some of the fallen trees that we saw have been there for over a century with little to no decay! The tree is also really resistant to disease, fire, and insects. Redwoods produce resin which makes them more fire resistant and a low-priority target for insects. The only enemy of the Redwood is of course the lumber industry. Only 4% of the natural Redwood forests still exists today and are now protected by national and state parks. They really are magnificent trees!
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive.
Total distance:1785.69 miles
Average speed: 9.7 miles/hr
Time on bike: 3 hrs and 33 min
We got a late start today and LOVED IT! We slept in until 7 and didn't actually get out of our sleeping bags/tent until around 8:30. Joe went back to sleep for a bit and I was reading, what a great morning treat. Neither of us felt motivated to have a long day so we decided to only bike the 30 miles to the next campsite!
Today we began cycling through the Avenue of the Giants. Our phrase of the day was "damn, that's a big ass tree"... It was said quite often! I know I have said it before, but the Redwood forests are literally amazing and pictures can't even capture their beauty! We were moving snail pace all day because we were just admiring all of the trees. Living on the East coast I don't see too many old growth forests, especially not ones with 200 year old trees!
Since we have been traveling through the Redwood forests the past few days I'd like to give you a bit of cool information about them... your ecology lesson for the day! I'd like to dedicate this paragraph to Dr. Sarro, my ecology teacher and research mentor because I do have to admit I have tapped into a lot of the info I learned in that class during my trip!
Redwood is of course the common name for the Sequoia tree (Sequoia sempervirens) which is not the same tree as the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). They do look the same, but the Redwood is found on the West coast and is commonly known for being the "tallest" while the giant sequoia is found in the Sierra Nevada Range to the East and is commonly known for having the "largest diameter". The coastal Redwoods cannot live without moist, heavy loam and water for its roots, and cannot live well without a summertime mantle of fog, which provides shade (obviously why it is found on the West coast). The wood is so durable that some of the fallen trees that we saw have been there for over a century with little to no decay! The tree is also really resistant to disease, fire, and insects. Redwoods produce resin which makes them more fire resistant and a low-priority target for insects. The only enemy of the Redwood is of course the lumber industry. Only 4% of the natural Redwood forests still exists today and are now protected by national and state parks. They really are magnificent trees!
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive.