Martins Ride Daily Journal: Day 51

Brian's Journal: Day 51 Pinehurst California

Up at 6:00 for 6:30 departure. The terrain is like yesterday, very hilly with winding road and lots of climbs. The road cuts through broad pastures of high yellow grass. We see a black bull next to horses watching us over wooden fences near the road. California is the most "open range" state we've visited. In some sections of our route cows walk up and down the road. Usually there are warning signs, but it is still strange to see cows lumber down the road. Martin attributes these wandering cows to the steepness of the terrain and the expense of California ranch land.

At 8:00 there is a flurry of activity on the road. Summer recess is over. A new batch of high school seniors are driving (dangerously) to school. We drive looking for Burrough Mountain Road. We  don't see it. We turn around finding Burrough Valley Road. Our Adventure Cycling map had mislabeled the road in the legend Jeremy copied last night! We wait at the intersection for ten minutes looking for Martin. We didn’t see him. We retrace our steps back the way we came.

We don't find him there either. We come to the conclusion Martin took the right turn. We turn on Burrough Valley road and hope to see Martin soon. We drive a long way down Burrough Valley Road. I was getting worried. Had we lost Martin? After more than an hour, we spot Martin's bright orange Zion Bike Shop jersey. Martin met a propane driver who gave him the right directions. We were back on track!

It was a gorgeous summer day. The air smelled of flowers. A cool breeze swept through the valley. The road was too narrow for an RV, but Jeremy made it work. We stopped three times at overlooks to take pictures of stunning azure waters below in the Pine Flat Reservoir. Arid California hills sank right to the waterline making the reservoir look like an exotic South Pacific island. We stopped at Doyal’s Tackle Bait-Gas in the sparse downtown of Piedro. Martin is thirty-six miles in. There is a massive wall of pictures of people proudly displaying their catches. Fishing is popular in this part of California. We've seen hundreds of fishermen and women on streams next to National Forests.

The heat is rising and I dump half a cube of ice cubes in Martin’s water bottles. We drove past a pig farm with white power logos on pick-up trucks. The smell was quite pungent and we sped up to get out of the area. Other than a cow being on the road and skittishly trotting away when we ride by, nothing else really happened. We arrive at Pinehurst around 12:30. Martin rode forty miles today! We have a Free Dinner for Cancer at the only place in town, the Pinehurst Lodge and Restaurant we’re we are staying. The lodge is in Sequoia National Park. I can’t wait to see Redwoods tomorrow.