The second place I stopped in Weaverville was a bakery near the southern
edge of town. I ordered a plain croissant and a double expresso -- my
preferred standard breakfast when in San Francisco or Paris. Even though 
it was only Weaverville, and already two in the afternoon, both were 
excellent and I knew I would be well-stocked with clean slow-burning
energy for whatever route option lay ahead. I sat outside, preferring 
the 100-degree heat to the dry air-conditioned air inside. As I sat
and sipped and tore, I pulled out the map to have a look at my options. 

The map showed two routes of similar length. From talking with Darryl, 
I knew that Hwy 3 would offer a pair of fairly challenging climbs along 
its 30-mile length from Weaverville to Hayfork. Darryl had read 
about these climbs in one of Bodfish's books. I knew that if Bodfish wrote
about this route, it would be beautiful. I knew if he described the 
climbs as difficult, they would be. Hwy 3 seemed to have
very little traffic, an excellent surface, and would certainly offer 
terrific forested scenery as it ran along next to first Weaver 
Creek, then Reading Creek, then Deerlick Springs, then finally 
Summit Creek after cresting 3,654-foot Hayfork Summit. All this was 
difficult to argue against. 

The other route looked intriguing, though. It would start with six
or seven miles on Hwy 299 that climbed over 2,897-foot Oregon Mountain
Summit. Then from Junction City at 1,460 feet it would turn southeast 
along Dutch Creek Rd. before continuing south and west on Big Creek
Rd, which was also given as Forest Service Road 33N47. This appeared 
to be the more remote and therefore obviously the more appealing option. 

Maybe it was the heat that dissuaded me. Maybe it was the previous 
day's travel on A25, when 35 miles had taken us six hours to ride. 
From the Forest Service number, I was pretty sure there would be at 
least some dirt. And from the twisting route and the way the road passed 
between a pair of 6,000-foot peaks, I knew there would be 
climbing as well. But I think what really determined me not to try it 
was what Darryl might call the Forest Service dis-information
factor. 

I've ridden enough Forest Service Roads to be wary of areas that
have seen much logging. I have spent nights without food 
on routes that looked simple enough on National Forest Service 
maps, but which in reality turn into crazily intersecting mazes 
of hundreds of unmarked roads. There wasn't enough cushion in my
schedule to allow for such a diversion. I didn't even have a Six
Rivers Forest Service map, and while there was a ranger station in
Weaverville somewhere I didn't know where. 

I folded my map reluctantly, crushed and ate the last few buttery
crumbs, went inside to fill up my Camelbak again and then started
south on good old Hwy 3. 

About 25 miles later, Big Creek Road runs into Hwy 3 from the left. 
I looked to the right to see what the road was like. It appeared to 
be an absolutely ideal cycling route, a narrow but paved road winding
along next to a beautiful river. 

My fears of confusing roads are almost certainly unfounded, as this 
route does appear on the large-scale AAA map of Northern California. 
I hope someone will ride it and give us a full report soon.