October 9
64mi/103km
+2200ft/670m
It was a beautiful sunrise this morning. As we rode through more of Lava Beds National Monument, we stopped at one more cave, the Valentine Cave. This one was longer than the two from yesterday, and smoother. It was formed from a different lava flow than the caves we were in yesterday.
Soon enough we were on dirt roads and returning to the trees. We only saw three vehicles on the dirt roads today. And no cows until we got closer to town late in the afternoon.
At first the riding was smooth, but eventually it turned so sandy. I crashed for the first time, but the positive thing about crashing in the sand is that it doesn’t hurt. It did rattle me a little though, and it felt like endless sand traps for awhile. We both had to do some pushing, and our bodies and our bikes got very very dusty.
There were tons of animal tracks in the sand. Deer, snakes, birds, even bear tracks. Something that looked like a small cat. Also bicycle tracks and footprints. Apparently someone else did some pushing just like us.
Eventually the sand gave way to rocks, as we descended toward McArthur. We got sweeping views of the valley below us and more hazy views of Mount Shasta.
I got chased by multiple dogs as we returned to civilization. I remembered hearing that when a dog starts to chase, it’s best to stop, so that is what I did. It mostly seems to work, as the dogs do seem to get intimidated or at least confused by this. But I did consider my bear spray when they tried to chase me again when I tried to leave. Fortunately, on both occasions, a car approached, which was enough of a distraction for the dogs that I could ride away. But after two separate incidents, my nerves were a little shot!
In the evening we arrived in McArthur. We got burritos from a taco truck before heading to the RV park at the fairgrounds. It was so nice to take a shower- we were both dusty and dirty from head to toe! It’s a bit noisy with traffic and cows around here, but we’ve had worse.