I think that when this is all done, I’ll wrap up the bike touring with a post of things I’ve learned on the tour.
One thing I learned tonight is that I was seriously unprepared to ride in real darkness. That’s ok- I planned on doing most of my riding during the day. However, the ten minutes it took me to ride into town at 6:30 turned into nearly an hour on the way back.
I sat having pizza, reading my book, enjoying a nice raspberry lambic, and I let it get dark. Not only did I let it get dark, I failed to notice the fine mist that was starting to fall. I only made it a few feet beyond the last street light before my glasses were completely opaque from the glare, shining my bike light more in my eyes than on the road.
I did the smart thing and walked most of the way back, but eventually when the road quality was really good I just took my glasses off and rode slowly, stopping often. I’m glad it wasn’t too cold or much rainier!
Oh, and Arcata is definitely a college town. If it wasn’t for the collection of scruffy colorful youngsters, then this would surely tip you off:
