We made today a quick ride, with some easy descending in the morning, but the brutal heat and ascents still made today difficult. We had some great views of California’s landscapes, the Shasta-Trinity Forest, and Shasta Lake. It was great to stay at a university and have access to dorms and a dining hall, which we all really appreciated! We also got to enjoy our last night with Micah!

Quote of the Day

“I think we should take this building with us

”

— Eli (in reference to the dorms)

RIDE OVERVIEW

Mileage: 62.6 mi

Elevation: 2,851 ft

Points of Interest: Shasta-Trinity Forest, Shasta Lake, Sage Dining Centre

Ride Dedication: Keith Reynolds

Tales of the Trail

We started the morning at 4:45 am, so we could tackle the day earlier, beat the heat, and get to our rest-day location. The ride started with some gradual descending on main roads and through some towns – we had a brief and bumpy gravelly downhill that reminded us all of the roads in West Virginia. We got onto the shoulder of the freeway, where we had some views of the Shasta-Trinity Forest, and we were mostly descending, which made the ride far easier. Our first rest stop was at a gas station, where we ate some snacks and hydrated before getting back on the freeway. We had some more easy descending before rolling into another gas station, and we made our stop quick to beat the heat. The next stretch proved to be more difficult, with some hard ascents in brutal California heat, where temperatures reached up to 105. However, we took on the hills valiantly, with our rest day in sight, and enjoyed some great views of the California landscape. After our final descent, we crossed a bridge over Shasta Lake and made our way to the final rest stop, which was another gas station.

Once we arrived at Simpson University, we had a great lunch in the dining hall, and it brought many of us back to our college days! After lunch, we all went back to our dorms and took some time to rest and relax before heading back to the dining hall for dinner. It was truly great to have our own beds after sleeping on many floors! After dinner, we all enjoyed our last night with Micah, learned about Veronica’s and Jessica’s team, played some basketball, and signed Micah’s jersey before he left us in the morning.