Bye Bye Bink

'Nuff said!  For those of us on the trip, should we have a reunion in 20 years the name "Bink" will bring up clear memories of our stay at the Hideaway Motel.  Yikes - not sure you could pay any of us enough money to endure his company for another evening!  The beds were comfortable, though, and I had a room to myself.

Here's Gail, ready to set out for another day.  Really, folks, it's not that cold..............

A very short ride today - just 25 miles.  We're just getting in position to ride through Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Or at least that was the plan.  Turns out the road through the park is not open yet.  Still too much snow on the road.  The website lists road opening dates for the past 35 years.  Last year was the earliest - May 3rd.  1995 was the latest - Juy 21st.  Patty and Emily are out right now scouting an alternate route for us.

Since it was such a short ride today, we didn't have breakfast until 8am.  And, oh my, Emily outdid herself - lots of wonderful goodies for breakfast including an egg scramble with leftover potatoes and broccoli, french toast, sausages, strawberries, oranges, etc. etc.  We rode through pretty forested terrain again today.

The roads seemed quieter today.  A few logging trucks going the other way, but not bad......  We could start to see some of the logged areas well back from the road.  We passed a lot of pinecones on the ground that had to have been at least a foot in length but I never stopped in time to take a picture.  Not sure exactly what species they are.  At about 10 miles we crossed the Lake Almanor Spillway.  Lake Almanor is a reservoir formed in 1914.  It looks like it is a very busy recreational area in the summer - lots of campgrounds, cottage development, and forestry lands.

Another few miles down the road and we were to get a "beautiful view" of Mt. Lassen.  There it is amongst the clouds, just over Linda's head...............

Speaking of clouds......... although we had a later start today we didn't want to dawdle too long.  Showers were in the forecast for noon-ish again today.  Most of us beat them in but a few of our riders got a little bit damp.

Although we're not going to Susanville I couldn't resist the photo opportunity.  Looks like there is also a Susan River in the area which, sadly, we will not see.

And before we knew it we were turning into Chester.  Seems to be a lovely little town, perhaps a commercial hub for the surrounding communities.  Much more of a bustling place in the summer.  I went to a coffee shop and talked to the local proprietor at length. She was very interested in our journey and also shared some insights into her very contented life here in Chester.  A quick visit to the friendly bikeshop and then back to the Best Western.  After about 4 nights of no-name motels it's nice to be back into relative luxury.  It is interesting to note that today has officially marked the transition from the Sierras to the Cascades.  Trip to date is 1589 km/987 miles and 65,000 feet of climbing.

Stats for the day:
42 km / 26 miles from Greenville CA to Chester CA
1388 feet up
453 feet down
Weather:  very pleasant - about 10C most of the ride.  Very little wind and no rain until after I was in.  Just a brief shower and now it's sunny again.