Los Altos to Almaden to Big Basin

We woke up in the recreation room of Foothills Congregational Church ready for another early start. We rode a chilly 20 miles before arriving at the Almaden Country School in San Jose at 8:30am. Upon arrival, we were greeted by some of the seventh graders who were so enthusiastic and welcoming. They gave a great tour of the school by means of a scavenger hunt introducing us to where each of us would be volunteering our time for the next few hours. They had even created some amazing signs all over the room we were given to put our stuff, change, etc. Almaden is a K-8 school so we spread ourselves out in order to visit and interact with as many of them as possible through games, interactive lessons, slide shows and working in the garden.


The students were so enthusiastic and it was great to see all the familiar faces. We were lucky enough to arrive on the perfect day at Almaden- the day of their Thanksgiving feast! The decorations were amazing and we ate delicious food after a song from our own Travis, Jacob, and Kyla.


After we ate plenty of delicious food- enough to power us for the next big push up the Santa Cruz mountains, we waved goodbye to many kids as we pedaled onward and attempted to make it up the big hill before sunset. We made great timing and everyone finished strong. We made it to Big Basin Redwoods State Park campground and learned that the bus had broken down. After a generous ranger let us stay in the lodge an extra hour, let us use the phone, and then gave us wood, we made our way to a raging campfire started by a few of us still dressed in spandex. Nicole was able to call her cousin and Emily and Nick arrived with food and warmth for 15 hungry, cold cyclists. After the bus made it up the hill, it gave out again, but Morgan and Sara were grabbed any warm clothes or sleeping bags from anyone's bag and sent it to the campground with a kind stranger and Sara. Some of us were then already asleep on a tarp with all the amazing layers Emily and Nick brought, others were just telling more stories by the fire and enjoying each others' company. Tents were assembled, layers were dolled out, some sleeping bags were shared, almost no sleeping pads were around, and we did the best with what we had, in a very sustainable fashion. It was an amazing night, regardless, and we are thankful for all the help we had along the way.


We were able to spend time in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which is the first State Park in California, founded in 1900. Redwood trees are unique in that only 5% or less of the Redwood forests in California still exist today due to excessive logging. Much of this logging happened after the San Francisco fires to rebuild the city. Species like the marbled murrelet bird depend on old growth forests for nesting sites. The decrease in redwood forests has led this species of bird to be labeled as a threatened species.

This bike trip has given the riders a great opportunity to learn about not only the students' communities who visit us on the island, but also gives us a glimpse of many other unique and diverse communities. The knowledge we gain from these experiences will surely help improve our ability to learn more about the areas our students are coming to us from as well as make us better educators.


Miles rode: 60
Flats: none
Written By: Abigail & Danny