Day 17 Childs Meadow to Quincy. 62.6 miles, 2754' climbing.

The best parts of today's ride started with our first steps out the door in the morning.  The meadow across the road was covered with a layer of fog.

We had breakfast at Childs Meadow Resort.  It was simple and yummy. Scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast.  We quickly hit the road and steadied ourselves for the onslaught of logging trucks.

Having logging trucks fly by on a straight road with a shoulder is disconcerting.  Having them zoom down on you on a narrow, twisty canyon descent with no shoulder is another matter. You don't want to be on the road when they come by.  We learned how to get off the road quickly -- brake hard and dive to the rubble.  We did that more than once and stayed upright every time.  I've ridden a lot of high traffic roads and today was no picnic.  We later learned that local drivers also pull off the road when possible to stay out of the way of the logging trucks.  Despite that, there were some great opportunities to see beautiful country.

We stopped by the reservoir named Almanor Lake.  The reservoir has a capacity of 1,308,000 acre feet (1.613×10⁹ m³) and a maximum depth of about 90 feet. It is formed by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather River, as well as Benner and Last Chance Creeks, Hamilton Branch, and various natural springs.  So says Wikipedia.

Our next stop was Anna's in Greenville for lunch.  

After a half sandwich with potato salad, Kris added a slice of peach pie.  To see the mural across the street from the cafe, see John McManus's blog.  John also features profiles of our fellow riders -- very interesting stuff!

We stopped on the bridge over the Spanish River to photograph the river about 150-200' feet below.  Little did we know the river flowed to our our destination - Quincy.  A float trip would have been easier had the water level been high enough.  

The vista was nice, and a reminder of where the logging trucks were getting their logs.  We later learned that Quincy has a big lumber mill and that's where the trucks were headed.

Tomorrow will feature fewer trucks and wider shoulders but more miles (72) and more climbing (5250').  Destination:  Truckee.  I've been there a few times before; it will be fun to see how it has changed.