Our ride today took us through the Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile scenic route that winds through a forest of magnificent redwoods in northern California.

Five of us started the day off right by stopping in the first town for breakfast; I had a couple of great blueberry pancakes and some strips of bacon. Way better than the oatmeal that we usually have.

After a few more mildly stressful miles of riding on the shoulder of the busy freeway, we gladly took the Avenue of the Giants exit. We stopped at a store in the first little town that we came to, since the long breakfast stop meant that the sag wagons would go on without waiting for us. I grabbed a bottle of Henry Weinhard's Root Beer; the Orange Cream Soda has become a favorite rest stop drink in the last week or so, but I've been trying to branch out and try the other flavors.

We stopped in the next little town at another store, but it turned out that nobody really wanted anything. We started to head on down the road, but about a hundred yards later, we came upon the wine tasting room for a local vineyard, so we had to stop for that.

After a bit of wine, we tried to get moving again, but quickly realized that there was a big patch of wild blackberry bushes on the other side of the road, so we had to stop yet again and gorge ourselves on berries.

A few more miles down the Avenue, and we came upon yet another stopping point; Chris and Doug spotted a campsite that they frequented in their childhood, so we made a loop for old times sake. Doug recounted the story of the time that he got stuck inside a hollow in one of the huge tree stumps.

Chris and Doug also recalled a little nature trail leading down to the Eel River (which snakes along the Avenue), so we headed down there to swim for a while. The water was perfect.

The sun continued moving inexorably towards the western horizon (as one might expect), so we had to start rolling again. Of course, we had to make another stop before long, since we found another huge patch of ripe blackberries.

We stopped off at a classy inn in a town called Scotia and had awesome cheesburgers in the downstairs bar. By the time we finished, it was getting a bit chilly outside (we're quite close to the coast) and the sun was about to set. So, we burned it up for the last 15 or 20 miles, and Chris and I had a nice little sprint for the last half mile or so.

I'm sitting and typing this on a laptop in a dorm at the College of the Redwoods, the first internet access that I've had in... a while. Time to run off and do some laundry and take a shower.