Day 459
Nicola
In the morning Nicola set off first as Tom and I had one more tree to see. We were all heading to Eureka where Nicola had decided to stay for a night. Tom and I were booked in for two nights. The ride was much hillier than we expected. Twenty miles of constant up and down. There was a fair bit of dual carriageway with one lane closed to traffic whilst the road was repaired. This meant no hard shoulder but we simply rode in the closed lane, even better! Nice workmen too!
The last 30 plus miles were on a mix of old highway and tiny roads between farms, virtually traffic free. We rode through Trinidad, which appeared to consist of a petrol station and lots of holiday homes spread out over 10 miles or so. The road was definitely one of the less travelled ones! The views were again awesome. We ate our lunch watching dolphins swim in the bay. After crossing a graffiti painted bridge and 10 miles of cycle path we caught up with Nicola and rode the rest of the way together. Music playing, she led us through a maze of tiny roads that Garmin hadn’t heard off. At night we ate half of the largest pizza I’ve ever seen and drank a bit too much.
This morning we really did say our goodbyes to Nicola. As I write this she is cycling away and Tom and I are about to tackle the remains of that pizza. Cycling with Nicola has been like spending time with a great friend which I guess is spot on. Safe travels Nicola and the gang and hopefully we will meet again.
