Sore Legs (June 28, 2013)

Due to my usual lack of attention to detail, I found myself compelled to ride the 67 miles from Pfeiffer-Big Sur Campground to the Village of San Simeon ... possibly the hardest day of climbing (approximately 3500 feet of climbing) and certainly the most miles of any day of this trek.

On a side note, the Hearst Castle is not a member of the Warm Showers network.

Fortunately it was a beautiful day and there was a well appreciated tailwind.  I spent the previous night's sleep tossing and turning worrying about the coming day's ride, but then had a conversation with a guy prior to setting out that made the ride more enjoyable.  This guy, who was camped near the hiker/biker area, commented that he did not think he would be able to do a cross-country ride due to the overall distance.  Of course I responded that you can not think about the total distance, but rather think about the individual days.  This prompted me to rethink the looming 67 miles.  There are few commercial stops in this stretch of road, but upon studying the map I saw where there was a restaurant 25 miles into the ride, then another restaurant/grocery store another 25 miles down (actually up, up and up) the road.  So I just focused on getting lunch at the first stop and a couple of cold beers at the second.  The final 17 miles were a breeze (strong tail wind) with relatively flat terrain.

So today I will ride to Morro Bay (28 miles or so), then on to San Luis Obispo (17 miles) tomorrow morning.  Nice way to finish the ride, especially considering how my legs are feeling.

Now, the inattention to detail I spoke of earlier ... I discovered the other day that Amtrak allows a person to check two pieces of luggage at no extra cost.  I had planned to ship my panniers in a 20x20x20 box, costing somewhere around $50.  Once I became aware of the "checking of two bags at no cost", I knew I needed to get to San Luis Obispo early on Saturday so I could search thrift shops for old pieces of luggage.  In the past I have bought old pieces of luggage from thrift shops for about $5.00 each ... and I will be able to re-use these bags when I fly back to Minneapolis the end of July.

In this case, money ruled over potential body-ache ... and besides, I carry a large quantity of Ibuprofen for just such days.

Christopher Wren (June 27, 2013)

What it's like to be me ...

In my previous post I thought myself to be oh-so-clever in making a reference to Christopher Wren and artichokes.


In my college years (and there were more than the usual number of years in my college career), I took an Architectural History class.  Included in this class was discussion of Sir Christopher Wren, who was the leading architect of the late 17th Century in London.  He designed, amongst many other projects, St. Paul's Cathedral.  During his life time, one of the most coveted items in London was the pineapple.  He was so enamored of this exotic fruit that he incorporated it into many of his projects.

If you stand back far enough, artichokes and pineapples kind of look alike.

Many, many bits and pieces of  knowledge seem to float around in my mind ... and most often when recalling these pieces of information I come oh-so-close to being correct.

Ain't easy being me.

Sun Glasses (June 25, 2013)

Approaching Monterey, I felt the need to don a pair of sun glasses.  What happiness.  Even though I had experienced the discomfort of riding in the light rain, wind and overcast for only the past two and a half days, it seemed a lifetime since seeing the sun (ergo, warmth).

The 52 mile ride from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz was not an easy ride.  Wet and cool, with strong wind out of the south made for a long day.  Today's  50 plus mile ride to Monterey was less difficult as the winds had died down, but the morning was still wet and cool.

Big change in scenery also occurred today.  Agriculture took over ... strawberry fields for as far as the eye could see (kinda).  The sweet aroma of the fields made for an enjoyable ride.  Other crops were also in various stages of growth, including fields of artichokes.  Nasty looking plants, but Christopher Wren would have been pleased to see the symmetrical, edible veggie standing tall.

Also making the day enjoyable was meeting (or more appropriately re-meeting) several touring cyclist from the past several weeks of riding.  Most surprising was meeting up with a young couple I had met up in Oregon, and had not seen since crossing into California.  It all made for a sense of community that has been missing on this trek ... mostly due to my short distance days and my love of  motels.

Just a few more days of riding on this trek.  I can't say I will remember this ride with enthusiasm.  Lesson  learned, don't ride a route a second time (rode this route rwo summers ago).  Weather certainly has played into the lack of enjoyment, but knowing what is out in front of me takes much of the mystery of the unknown out of the ride.  The Pacific Coast is a great ride ... just not a second time. 

I will be catching the train back to Tucson Sunday afternoon in San Luis Obispo.  I see where Tucson is in the midst of record setting heat ... think I may enjoy that heat as I have tired of  temps being in the 50s and 60s.  I doubt the enjoyment will last more than a few hours, but these old bones need some baking.


Plans for July are somewhat unsettled.  Ruth and Henry Jacobson, who are in British Columbia for most of the summer, have very generously offered me the use of their guest house.  I will spend sometime in Tucson and head up to Northern Arizona for some respite from the heat ... as I said, it won't take long for my enjoyment of the heat to dissipate.

The second part of the summer of riding will start July 30, when I meet up with Kim in Minneapolis.  We plan on following various routes across the northern areas of the Midwest and New England, finishing  up in Maine toward the end of September.  New territory; new experiences.  Should  be good.

Due to my lack of enthusiasm, I have not been posting all that much.  I have been getting my "touring excitement" fix following the touring of Patricia Lebensohn and Steve Wilson.  Patricia and Steve are doing some heavy duty touring in South America ... the link to their journal is at http://dosbicicletas.blogspot.com/.  Quite amazing what they are doing ... well out side of my comfort zone.

So, four more days of riding ... Big Sur awaits.

San Francisco (June 23, 2013)

Another week has transpired, and an interesting week it has been.

After leaving Bodega Bay, I rode down to the Samuel Taylor State Park campground; this State Park is a beautiful redwood park with a very nice hiker/biker area.  Because I was early getting to San Francisco, I decided to spend a couple of nights at the campground.

Met groups of riders both nights that had been traveling down the coast, but pretty much following me by a day or two.  Interesting groups ... interesting conversations.

I rode across the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, which turned out to be much more work than I had anticipated.  The first "work" was getting from sea level up to bridge level ... very steep.  The second "work" takes some explaining.

Prior to 3:30 PM, pedestrians and cyclist cross the bridge on the east sidewalk; after 3:30 PM on the west side.  The climb from sea level to bridge level brings one to the west side of the bridge.  I arrived at around 2:30 PM.  To get to the east sidewalk, you go down about 30 steps, under the bridge, then up 30 steps.  Easy to do if you are walking or riding a non-tour-loaded bike ... not so easy for me.

The third "work" was completely unexpected.  About half way across the bridge, I was confronted by about 2,000 protesters marching in the opposite direction I was headed.  These people (apparently a national nursing convention), were protesting the XL Pipeline that will be carrying shale oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico ports.  I am not at all sure how effective a San Francisco protest aimed at Washington D.C. politicians concerning a pipeline in the Midwest will be, but these folks were making a lot of noise and seemed to think their efforts were making a difference.  As for me, it made my journey across the bridge very difficult.

Spent Friday and Saturday enjoying San Francisco ... did quite a bit of biking around the city on Friday, then went to the DeYoung Art Museum Saturday morning and the Giants baseball game in the afternoon with my son Chris (who lives in San Francisco).  Great time.

This morning Chris rode with me, from his place in Noe Valley, out through the Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean.  It was a joy to share the bike ride with him.  He took the photo included in this post on his ride back to his home ... bike racks at the amphitheater in the park.

San Francisco is quite bicycle friendly ... lots of cyclist and lots of amenities for cyclist.

Today's ride to Half Moon Bay was 30 miles of fog and drizzle ... not much fun.  I decided to follow the age-old touring adage (which I made up today) ... "If the weather ain't right, it's a hotel night.

Warm and dry is good. 

Lots of Miles (June 16, 2013)

Many a mile has been covered in the past week.  Lots of hills have been climbed.  Lots of beautiful scenery has been viewed.  .

I arrived in Bodega Bay this afternoon, and decided to reward myself with a nice hotel room ... after all it is Father's Day.  I have had my fill of camping over the past  week while riding through the Redwoods and down the Northern California Coast.  As is to be expected, new short-term friendships were established, and many a cycle touring story told.  Lots of laughter and lots of fun ... but camping is still not something I really enjoy.

Will be getting into San Francisco in a few days, and will be spending some time with my son, Chris.  Looking forward to having a few days off of the bike and being in a city.  It is odd how many small towns there are up in this part of California ... yet so close to a major city.  Traffic today was very heavy due to weekenders returning to the S.F. area.  Lots of RVs and trailers ... not a lot of bike lanes.  Most uncomfortable.

But being in the hotel room is very comfortable ... so I am a happy camper tonight.

Where's the Magic? (June 10, 2013)

Don't know ... the magic seems to be missing from this ride down the Coast 

Yes, there have been and there will be over whelmingly beautiful sites to see.  Yes, there have been and there will be very interesting towns to ride through.  Yes, there have been amusing signs along the way.

I just do not seem to have that sense of adventure that I have experienced over the past summers' rides.

I suspect a lot of this lack of adventure is primarily due to the fact that I rode this same route two summers ago.  Now, instead of looking around corners wondering what is there to be seen/experienced, I come to an area and start thinking that I remember what is in store.  Fortunately for me, my memory is suspect at times so there are still surprises.

I am currently in Fortuna, CA.  Tomorrow I will head back up into redwood country for several days, then head over to the California Coastline.  The next week and several days getting to San Francisco offer up great riding and spectacular vistas.

This afternoon Ruth and Henry Jacobson are driving into Fortuna.  We will have an opportunity to share a meal and conversation before they continue their trip up to Vancouver, B.C. to visit their grand kids (and daughter and son-in-law ... but I think it is really about the grand kids).  Even though I have only been gone from Tucson for a little over two weeks, it will be good to see them.

I should clarify that while the magic of "wonder what is around the corner" is missing, I love the actual physical joy of riding. 

One out of two ain't bad.

Movin' On (June 5, 2013)

Since last posting, I have covered quite a few miles ... about 140 or so.  Some of the riding was hard (climbing) and some of it was joyful (descending).  The one constant was the very powerful afternoon tailwinds.

While the tailwind sounds good, it was almost too windy.  If the case was that it was always a tailwind, that would be good.  However, due to the winding highway, sometimes it is a side wind (which feels like a headwind) and sometimes, for whatever reason, it is an actual headwind.  Crossing some of the bridges have been a real test as the bike lanes disappear and the wind always seems to be from the ocean side when crossing the bridge.  The bridge just north of Coos Bay was especially difficult.  No joy there.

So the days went from Florence to Coos Bay, Coos Bay to Bandon, and Bandon to Gold Beach.  Tomorrow I am heading down to Crescent City, California ... a long day with a quite substantial climb.  After that, into Redwood country.  Looking forward to getting up into those giant trees.

As stunningly beautiful the ride down the Coast has been, today's afternoon ride from Port Orford was just astounding.  I talked with a couple of riders from Montreal, in Port Orford, who are riding the Coast for the first time.  They were commenting how amazing the scenery had been ... I think they stopped to take pictures ever 20' riding between Port Orford and Gold Beach.  I rode this area about 10 years ago and then two years ago, so did not feel compelled to take more pictures of the same views.

So the riding has been great, and I have been in the midst of other touring cyclist.  Best of all, the days have been much warmer ... ergo, more enjoyable.

Taking the Day Off (June 2, 2013)

Sitting in another motel room enjoying the great indoors.  For whatever reason, I have not been able to maintain my early morning commitments to end the day in a campground.  So here I sit, or rather lounge, in a space where the ever present wind cannot touch me and a space in which I can control the temperature.  Costly, but sometimes environmental control is good.

The past two days were days of relatively warm riding, with favorable afternoon winds.  The 52 mile ride from Pacific City to Newport was not overly difficult, but did include a couple of climbs that were notable.  One of the notable climbs is on the Old HWY 101 road, which runs along Slab Creek.  This 10 mile section of Friday's ride may be one of my favorite 10 miles of all time.  After riding HWY 101, the Oregon Bicycle Route takes bike riders on to the Old HWY 101 road.  Very few cars, and a gentle (unrelenting) five mile climb.  Very quiet, calm and beautiful.  At about the five mile marker the climb turns into one of the great winding downhill rides ... very, very enjoyable.  As an extra bonus, at the end of this ten mile section is the Otis Cafe.  The Otis Cafe is a wonderful little cafe that has been serving real home cooked meals since the mid 1930s (I think).  Very cozy and very delicious.

Yesterday's ride from Newport to Florence proved to be 48 miles of multiple short and steep climbs.  Once again I had started the day with the idea of camping, but when I got to Florence I was quite worn out and, because this area is "dune city" and very windy, I opted  to get a room ... glad I did as it rained last night.

Woke up this morning seeing the wet and cold overcast sky .... feeling the tired legs ... sensing the lack of motivation ... and decided to take the day off.

Since leaving Portland a week ago, I have put in about 325 miles.  325 miles of intense weather and climbs ... and incredible beauty.  The physical efforts have caught up to me and have caused somewhat of an unhappy mood to develop.

I am hoping taking the day off will bring back the joy.  .