Day 26 July 13, 2001

Golds Beach, OR to Klamath, CA

74.15 Miles
Average Speed 14.20
Time 5:13:15
Departure Time 8:30 am
Arrival 5:30 PM

            Did you get a chance to watch Lance Armstrong cross the finish line after winning the Tour de France either of the last two years? Do you have the mental picture of him on the bike, hands in the air, with a look of exhilaration, exhaustion, and utter contentment? Got it? That was Dan, Rocky, and Andrew as we crossed the state border from Oregon into California. Not that our trip is over - or even close to being so. But there was a certain sense of accomplishment as we made this a 5-state tour and finally entered the beloved home of the Bay Area contingent.

            California welcomed us with open arms and a gi-normous (or was it e-gantic?) mountain which we climbed up into Redwood National Park after passing through Crescent City. Our sanity levels have been tested many times while on the road, and the fact that Rocky listened to a Peter Alsop children's album NONSTOP just prior to the trek has not helped. We have all suffered through countless renditions of "I Am a Pizza", "My Body's Nobody's Body But Mine", and, of course, "No One Knows For Sure." The final exam at the end of this trip will be to recite all 3 verses of that song, something which I'm sure we'll all pass easily. Fortunately, fate had smiled upon Joey the previous evening, and with control of the remote he found Bon Jovi videos on VH1. Peter Alsop had finally been replaced by "I'll Be There For You" and "It's My Life" as the music that played repeatedly in our heads as we pushed up the unforgiving grades of Northern California.