There
Apologies for any appearance weirdness or typos in this or other posts. I am working with my phone and my usual electronic help are on a well deserved break. California has been awesome! I've enjoyed the transition to more camping as it has allowed me to spend time with other bikers instead of just rolling by, find some riding buddies, and slow down and smell the (which is also key because I smell a lot worse haha).
Tuesday, May 9. I woke up in the hospitality of St. Paul's church and made a pancake breakfast before hopping back in the saddle, which actually didn't feel too bad. I started the day off with a massive climb, but it was a beauty one because I'm in Redwoods territory!!! The descent was also fun, thank you to the mystery white pickup truck who put his 4-ways on and drove safely behind me through the rather thick fog. I had lunch with none other than the Paul Bunion statue (compared his arms to my quads - he's still got several 1000 pounds on me) and entered Redwoods Park for another climb and more giant trees! I visited a walk-thru tree, aka biked through a living tree, and spent my day in awe of the foliage. After counting down the mile markers yesterday and pushing the distance, I spent today festidiousluy ignoring them, and allowing my biggest challenge for the day to be eating a 1/2 pound bar of chocolate fudge (while also biking 128kms). Big thanks to Eli for connecting me with Ben and house's hospitality in Arcata!!!
Wednesday, May 10. I thought my first dose of redwoods wood be the extent of it, but I was wrong!!! Today consisted of some backcountry roads, many of ehich were 'closed' due to landslides - aka a short hike over mud, then a car-free ride! Then, a 40 mile dream ride through the avenue of the giants! It was fantastic. The trees shaded the hot sunshine, and created a magical little world for me and my bike to whizz our way through their shade. I hit the coast again, and that sunshine came out strong and beautiful, bringing me to a campsite in Standish-Hickey after 174kms of joy.
Thursday, May 11. It's raining again... ugh! Packed up and jumped on the bike for the infamous Leggatt climb. It was definitely a big one, but Vancouver's north shore mountains seem to have me pretty well trained to granny my way up most things, even with a fully loaded bike. By the time I was done going up the two hills, through the rain and one way traffic due to landslides (need some help geotechs:p), I was riding with two brothers from the night before. They were speedy, and together the three of us took turns pulling through the rain to the next town. They had their road systems down, but it was a pleasure to join, stare at wheels for a bit, and enjoy drafting. We dried off over a delicious lunch, and then pulled together for a bit of the sunshiney afternoon before they stopped for the night and I kept rolling along magnificent coastline to another campsite in Gualala, more new friends and 167kms closer to San Fran!
Friday, May 12. I woke up to some surprise pouring rain, but the technique of not getting out of bed worked super well to get rid of it. It was clear by 7, and I decided to enjoy the day with a new friend from the bike site. We rolled out and hit that ridiculously gorgeous Cali coastline. Today was less aggressive ocean, and a lot more grassy fields next to the ocean. These fields are no flat pancakes though, each drainage to the ocean (which happens a lot) consists of a dreamy, dreamy descent full of banked turns, and then usually, a punchy I-refuse-to-really-gear-down climb - my favourite!!! We also had one of the coolest experiences I've ever had on a bike as we spooked some deer, and then they ran parallel to us for a good few minutes at full speed as we whooped at them. We stopped for lunch featuring an earl gray cookie, dipped in the ocean with a couple of Brits, and then everyone stopped for the night, and I got started on my next 40 miles to make it 149kms. As I turned in from the coast, the winds hit with a vengeance, and I rode rolling hills with a strong cross or headwind - I've never pedaled so hard to go downhill, but apparently I better get used to this. A reroute from a downed power line later, I got to the campsite and had a great evening of campfire, stories and some donated dinner!
Saturday, May 13. I woke up, meandered out of camp and back onto the roads and was absolutely shocked by the number of cyclists I saw. Cyclists on freaking amazing bikes too... And a few miles later... SAN FRANCISCO and that golden gate bridge! That's now 10 days of riding, 1827.5ish kilometers (1135.6 miles), 13767m elevation (45167 feet), incredible coastlines, magnificent trees, great people, winds in all directioms, and finally time for a rest day (and to get my rear brakes fixed, which have been out of service since just after Portland...). Cheers:)
Golden trails to the Golden Gate
May 9 - 13: Golden trails to the Golden GateApologies for any appearance weirdness or typos in this or other posts. I am working with my phone and my usual electronic help are on a well deserved break. California has been awesome! I've enjoyed the transition to more camping as it has allowed me to spend time with other bikers instead of just rolling by, find some riding buddies, and slow down and smell the (which is also key because I smell a lot worse haha).
Tuesday, May 9. I woke up in the hospitality of St. Paul's church and made a pancake breakfast before hopping back in the saddle, which actually didn't feel too bad. I started the day off with a massive climb, but it was a beauty one because I'm in Redwoods territory!!! The descent was also fun, thank you to the mystery white pickup truck who put his 4-ways on and drove safely behind me through the rather thick fog. I had lunch with none other than the Paul Bunion statue (compared his arms to my quads - he's still got several 1000 pounds on me) and entered Redwoods Park for another climb and more giant trees! I visited a walk-thru tree, aka biked through a living tree, and spent my day in awe of the foliage. After counting down the mile markers yesterday and pushing the distance, I spent today festidiousluy ignoring them, and allowing my biggest challenge for the day to be eating a 1/2 pound bar of chocolate fudge (while also biking 128kms). Big thanks to Eli for connecting me with Ben and house's hospitality in Arcata!!!
Wednesday, May 10. I thought my first dose of redwoods wood be the extent of it, but I was wrong!!! Today consisted of some backcountry roads, many of ehich were 'closed' due to landslides - aka a short hike over mud, then a car-free ride! Then, a 40 mile dream ride through the avenue of the giants! It was fantastic. The trees shaded the hot sunshine, and created a magical little world for me and my bike to whizz our way through their shade. I hit the coast again, and that sunshine came out strong and beautiful, bringing me to a campsite in Standish-Hickey after 174kms of joy.
Thursday, May 11. It's raining again... ugh! Packed up and jumped on the bike for the infamous Leggatt climb. It was definitely a big one, but Vancouver's north shore mountains seem to have me pretty well trained to granny my way up most things, even with a fully loaded bike. By the time I was done going up the two hills, through the rain and one way traffic due to landslides (need some help geotechs:p), I was riding with two brothers from the night before. They were speedy, and together the three of us took turns pulling through the rain to the next town. They had their road systems down, but it was a pleasure to join, stare at wheels for a bit, and enjoy drafting. We dried off over a delicious lunch, and then pulled together for a bit of the sunshiney afternoon before they stopped for the night and I kept rolling along magnificent coastline to another campsite in Gualala, more new friends and 167kms closer to San Fran!
Friday, May 12. I woke up to some surprise pouring rain, but the technique of not getting out of bed worked super well to get rid of it. It was clear by 7, and I decided to enjoy the day with a new friend from the bike site. We rolled out and hit that ridiculously gorgeous Cali coastline. Today was less aggressive ocean, and a lot more grassy fields next to the ocean. These fields are no flat pancakes though, each drainage to the ocean (which happens a lot) consists of a dreamy, dreamy descent full of banked turns, and then usually, a punchy I-refuse-to-really-gear-down climb - my favourite!!! We also had one of the coolest experiences I've ever had on a bike as we spooked some deer, and then they ran parallel to us for a good few minutes at full speed as we whooped at them. We stopped for lunch featuring an earl gray cookie, dipped in the ocean with a couple of Brits, and then everyone stopped for the night, and I got started on my next 40 miles to make it 149kms. As I turned in from the coast, the winds hit with a vengeance, and I rode rolling hills with a strong cross or headwind - I've never pedaled so hard to go downhill, but apparently I better get used to this. A reroute from a downed power line later, I got to the campsite and had a great evening of campfire, stories and some donated dinner!
Saturday, May 13. I woke up, meandered out of camp and back onto the roads and was absolutely shocked by the number of cyclists I saw. Cyclists on freaking amazing bikes too... And a few miles later... SAN FRANCISCO and that golden gate bridge! That's now 10 days of riding, 1827.5ish kilometers (1135.6 miles), 13767m elevation (45167 feet), incredible coastlines, magnificent trees, great people, winds in all directioms, and finally time for a rest day (and to get my rear brakes fixed, which have been out of service since just after Portland...). Cheers:)
Looks like a great trip...
ReplyDeleteKeep smiling
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteThis is Frank who you met in Moss Landing on your bicycle portion.
Wishing you safety and joy on your two part adventure.
Godspeed!