Leaving California

After 50 miles of riding, and a total of 450 miles of riding in California, last night I stopped at Crescent City, the last significant town before I hit Oregon. It's here that I finally encountered an Internet cafe that has let me catch up with my blog (given Verizon's not-so-national digital network).

While I've shed 5-10 lbs of items I didn't need (extra knife, wrench, pipe, non-riding shirts, etc.), I'm going to hit a bike store before I leave to get a few things I need. Hopefully I'll still have a net savings of weight. As I climbed the 1200 ft up through the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, one's mind dwells on every extra pound: I questioned the wisdom of carrying the stove, pots, fuel, and food up and down the mountains. That's probably another 5-10 pounds that I might shed as I cross the mountains (since I usually stop for a cooked dinner, only using the stove twice so far). I'm not ejecting the cooking materials quite yet, though, since once I start camping a little more as I head east, I may want it. Early in my ride I toyed with getting rid of my air mattress, but having camped a few times, I'm definitely hanging on to that. My old bones really like having a soft spot in the tent.