And then there was One...

Well it's been two days now on my lonesome since leaving the family at San Francisco airport. Of course I've done this "single traveller" routine many times before on previous trips, but it certainly seemed a bit strange this time to be leaving the family three-quarters of the way around the world... Nice to hear them again since, thanks to the magic of Skype!

So now it's back to more of the "work routine", and week one involves getting myself and the rental car back up to Seattle. Along the way, so far I have visited safety researchers yesterday at Berkeley University on the outskirts of SF, and today had a lovely ride around Davis (near Sacramento and often considered the "bicycling capital" of US) and lunch with an academic colleague from UC Davis. Davis has about 65,000 residents and very well-planned out neighbourhoods with interconnecting pathways and many underpasses or overbridges, making riding a very pleasant experience. Mind you, the temperature was getting into the high 20's by the time I was done, so I wouldn't have wanted to stay out there for the afternoon heat...

 The pleasant way to cross six lanes of Interstate in Davis

 They even have roundabouts on the bike paths!

Back on the road again, and it certainly got hotter as I drove further north and inland. As I approached my evening destination of Redding, the car's display told me that the outside temperature had just tipped 104 deg F - that's 40 deg Celsius for those of you playing at home... Fortunately at the wonderfully-named Thunderbird Lodge where I'm staying they have a pool, so I took advantage of that!

Although Redding at first glance seems like a non-descript junction town (six major roads run through here), it's actually quite a pleasant place nestled on the upper Sacramento river. And with Lake Shasta just up the road and Mt Shasta looming over everyone (still with snow on it) there's a lot to do in the area. Tomorrow I might sample a little bit on my longish journey up to Eugene, Oregon (~500km away).

Dad the bird-stand...

Are you sure this is the car park?