6/24 Fri

103km 7h23min Eureka to Burlington

朝食後、ちょうど搾乳を終えたAlbertと話す。彼の農場は本当にすてきだ。彼は寡黙だが自分の仕事を愛している。そんな姿がとてもすてきだった。もっと話をしたかったけど、今日はDaoが待つ100km先のキャンプ場まで漕がねばならない。そこへDaoの友人が車で来て、我々と自転車を迎えに来てくれることになっている。おみやげにMarinaが作ったショウガ石けんを買い、アカぺラジオ体操をして先を急ぐ。

Albert has just finished milking the cows. I enjoyed talking with him. He is quiet, but he is in love with his job, and I liked him and his beautiful farm. I wished I could stay longer, but we have to bike 100km ahead where Dao is waiting for us. Dao's friend will come there to pick up us and our bikes. I bought some ginger soap for a gift, did the "Radio exercise", and hurried our way.

ほぼ平らな道。でも疲れがたまっているのか、ところどころにあるのぼりがキツイ。正午に着いたFerndaleという小さなまちはかわいらしく、人もとてもフレンドリーでいいかんじ。

It was pretty much flat, but the hills in between were tough for the tired legs. We arrived in Ferndale at noon, which was a lovely small town with friendly people.

昨日のソーセージを朝焼いて持ってきていたので、パンを買い、ホットドッグを作ってベンチで食べているといろんな人に話しかけられた。チャリダー三人組と遭遇。彼らも同じキャンプ場に泊まるようだ。

I cooked some sausages from the farm this morning, so we bought some bread and made hot dogs. Many people talked to us. We met other cyclists. They were also planning to stay at the same campground.

牛と馬と羊が放牧されているのどかな田舎道を横目に、ひたすらべダルを漕ぎ続ける。おひるの時点で45km。あと55kmか……先は長いぜ。

Cows, cows, horses, and sheep. It's still 45km and we still have 55km left...

16時前についにAvenue of the Giantsに突入！！しかしここからもなかなか長かった…（20km）でもとても気持ちいい道だった。寄り道しすぎてなかなか進まない。

We arrived to the Avenue of the Giants before 4PM. There was still 20km left, but it was such a nice path. So nice that we couldn't easily get through.

「（Avenue of the Giantsは）パンケーキみたいに平らだから！」とDaoが繰り返し言っていたので期待していたのだが、けっこうなアップダウンがあった。「彼は一体どんなパンケーキを食べているのかしら！ワッフルみたいだわ！」とLisa。

"It's flat as a pancake!!" That's what Dao said whenever he mentioned about the Avenue of the Giants. So we were looking forward for it, which turned out to be pretty much hilly. "I wonder what kind of pancake he eats. This is flat as a waffle!!" said Lisa.

最後の数キロ地点から後輪の様子がおかしく、それでもどうにかたどり着く。昼に会った3人組はとっくに着いていてごはんを食べていた。Daoと再会し、Lisaと祝杯をあげ、お互いにここ数日でおこったことを話す。 Daoによると、鹿の話はチャリダーの間ですでに伝説になっていて、Dave（会ったことない）が近づいてきたニワトリに向かって、「もしMayaがいたらキミを食べているだろうね！」と言っていたという。ウケる。

I had trouble with my rear wheel for the last few miles, but I managed to reach the campsite. The guys we met at noon were already about to finish their dinner. We met Dao, cracked a bottle, and shared our stories of the last few days. According to Dao, the venison story is already a "Legend" among the cyclists. He told us that when Dave (whom I've never met) saw a chicken approaching to him, he said "If Maya were here, she'll eat you!" lol

そうだ、後輪を直さないと…と思い、様子を見るとすさまじいことになっていた。よくこれで漕いだなーとみんなに驚かれるほど。ニップル回しを持っていなかったのでとなりの3人組の元へ行くと、なんとその中のひとり、JordanはWheel Builderだという。そしてすべての道具と予備のスポークまで持っていて、いとも鮮やかにスポークを交換し、車輪を正してくれた。そう、なんとスポークが折れていたのである。ありがとうJordan！それにしても私はなんてラッキーなんだろう。この旅で出会ったすべての人、タイミングが少しでもズレていたら出会わなかった。奇跡の出会い。感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。

そして明日はついにサンフランシスコの北、Marinへ。20年ぶり！

I pulled out my bike to fix my rear wheel and it was so terrible. Everyone was surprised that I rode it in this condition. I didn't have a tool to true the wheel, so I went up to the guys to ask for help, and unexpectedly found out that one of them, Jordan was a wheel builder!! He had all the tools, and even extra spokes, and he easily changed the spoke, (yeah, the spoke was actually broken!), and trued my wheel!! Amazing!! Thank you so much, Jordan! You saved my life! I can't believe how lucky I am. Everyone I met was amazing. And I might have never met them if I started a day later, or if I had chosen different routes. Everything and every moment is a miracle. I feel so grateful.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Marin county, which I used to live 20 years ago. I'm so excited!!

Burlington Campground Myers Flat, CA 95554, USA

https://goo.gl/maps/BZ55i2YBrYw

Hiker-Biker $5

Location ★★★★☆

Campsite ★★★★☆

Service ★★☆☆☆ The showers suck up your quaters and never becomes "hot". Bathroom was pretty nasty.