Whole lot of sittin' ... (July 29, 2011)

Lot of miles ... not much else to speak of.

I am now in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Since leaving Tucson last Sunday, I have traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and now South Dakota. Campgrounds, hotels, grocery stores, convenience stores, visitor centers, and (of course) gas stations. I stop along the roadside whenever there is a "point of interest", which typically points out when some military group or rancher did something of importance back in 1840, or 1860, or whenever. I usually take the opportunity of taking a leak at these stops as well.

At this point I am not greatly enamored of this style of traveling ... very few opportunities to stop and talk with locals. I am just another driver instead of a long-distance cyclist. Buy your stuff and move on ... there are many more like you coming down the road.

I am planning to do a short ride here in Southwestern South Dakota ... heading up toward Mount Rushmore tomorrow on a "rails-to-trails" path. Hope this brings some enthusiasm into my psyche ... as of this moment, not so much. Weather is beautiful and the terrain is pleasing (similar to Williams, AZ).

High-point of the trip so far was at Three Rivers Petroglyphs campground, just north of Almagordo, NM. My nephew Rich, and his girlfriend, came up for a very enjoyable chat. Later that evening, feeling a wee bit stuffy in the back of my camper shell, I opened up the tail gate and fell asleep enjoying a wonderful breeze and (seemingly) no bugs.

I now have a large number of small scabs attesting to the fact that there were bugs ... and the intense scratching of the bite-sights hurts so good.

New Means of Travel (July 23, 2011)

So much for my solitary, slow pedal through the U.S. Time to speed things up a little and see more of the country than possible via my bike.

After a very enjoyable stay in Venice, CA, and an even more enjoyable couple of weeks seeing friends and family in Arizona, I am heading out for a new style (to me) adventure. I purchased a camper shell for my pick-up that will allow me to haul my touring bike in relative security and also provide me with a (hopefully) weather tight sleeping enclosure ... kind of a mini-R.V.

I am feeling a little strange embarking on travel in this mode as I feel I am abandoning my much loved bike touring. While the intent is to drive to various locations, then go bike touring, I feel as though I am not staying true to my bike. Oh well, the bike is an inanimate object, so I guess it will mean little to the bike.

I plan on heading out of Tucson tomorrow, and head to Silver City, NM. After a day or two of local Silver City riding, I will then head over to eastern New Mexico and then north through Colorado and Wyoming. When I was four or five years old, our family took a vacation trip to Mount Rushmore (of which I remember little), so I think I will make a stop in South Dakota ... possibly do a multi-day bike tour around the Mount Rushmore/Badlands area. After this, I will then head to Lake Michigan for a multi-week bike tour around the upper Great Lakes area.

Lots of thinking and map reading of late ... action starts tomorrow.

Hope the price of gas takes a serious dive.

At Rest (July 9, 2011)

No more Pacific Coast ride for me ... just too much traffic and too much urban noise and congestion. I have decided to halt this ride in Los Angeles, and forgo the last 130 miles to San Diego.

For the most part, the 500+ miles between San Francisco and L.A. were aesthetically pleasing, and the adjacent vehicular traffic bearable. There were many, many scenic views to be had, as well as some spectacular up-hills and down-hills. The route took me through such wonderful areas as Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, the Monterey/Carmel Peninsula, Big Sur and Morro Bay. There are some very nice campgrounds and some not-so-nice campgrounds.

One very vivid memory is the ride between Santa Cruz and Monterey. The route took me through miles and miles of agriculture ... primarily strawberry fields. The aroma of fresh strawberries is very sweet and enjoyable; the visual of artichoke plants/fields astounding and amusing. One memory that will stay with me for a long time is the sight of the workers picking strawberries ... how a person can work all day, bent over or squatting, is beyond me. Looking at the fresh strawberries in Trader Joe's now has a new meaning for me (that's not to say I won't still buy strawberries).

As happened in my riding prior to San Francisco, I met some great fellow touring cyclist. There was a couple (my age) from The Netherlands who had been riding for the past five months, having started their trek in Florida; a couple (younger than I) on a five-day trek from San Francisco to Morro Bay. Also, much to my surprise and great pleasure, I reconnected with a couple of riders I had camped with prior to San Francisco. Great joy in reconnecting.

I am very thankful for my short stay with Rod Paragas in Santa Barbara. Rod's parents and my parents were best friends when I was a kid in Creston, Iowa (back in the 1950s), prior to my family moving to Arizona. Rod and my older brother, Bob, were best friends. Other than a quick re-union in Havasupai Canyon back in the mid 1970s, I had not spent any time with Rod since childhood. The stay on his boat, in the Santa Barbara Marina, and the low-key conversations, were a true joy.

I arrived in Venice Beach two days ago, and have been enjoying a very relaxed rest ... my brother and my nephew (Bob and Sky) have been vacationing in Bob's friend's house (about a half a block from the beach). Reading, napping and watching the Tour de France have been the primary activities. Wonderful way to finish a 1500+ mile 40 day ride.

My thought on riding the coast is that it is an incredibly beautiful ride, but quite hard ... lots of climbing and (sometimes) very little in the way of bike lanes. I think if I were to do the ride again, I would start in Astoria, Oregon, and finish up the ride in San Luis Obispo, California. While Santa Barbara is beautiful, the ride from S.L.O. to Santa Barbara is difficult and, for the most part, unattractive.

So tomorrow I head back to Arizona and prepare for the second phase of this summer's travels. I am glad I rode the Pacific Coast ... the memories will stay with me for a long time (my mind willing).

Not sure I am ready for the Arizona heat.

Bike Friendly (June 26, 2011)

After taking the Larkspur Ferry across the Bay, I rode through downtown San Francisco to Lindsey and Chris's house ... this on Friday afternoon. I was surprised at how easy the riding is in SF. Fortunately, the route I took did not include any of the famous hills. Very nice bike lanes, and lots of bikes traveling about.

The adjacent photo is of a giant mural painted on the backside of a Safeway.

I had a great time with Lindsey and Chris ... they were gracious enough to give me a tour of the City, and we had some great meals. The architecture, both residential and commercial is captivating. I had a great time.

I do believe there are more single speed bikes in SF than anywhere else ... but I'll stick with my 27 gears.

Culture Shock (June 24, 2011)

Since leaving Crescent City, CA on June 12, the ensuing ride has been fairly rural.

Other than the towns of Arcata/Eureka and Ft. Bragg, there just isn't much in the way of 21st Century reminders (other than cars and logging trucks, of course). Camping has been the rule of the evenings. In the mornings I try to exit my tent prior to my co-campers so that they will not have to watch a 62 year-old stiff guy try to gracefully climb out of a small tent. Not a pretty picture, and not painless either.

Most of the campgrounds offer camping areas specifically for hikers/bikers. Cost is $5.00 each, and is a great way to meet-up with other cyclists (I have yet to meet a hiker other than the guy walking the Oregon Coast). Some of the areas set aside for hikers/bikers are quite nice, and spread out enough so that the tents are not on top of one another. Other campsites are clearly an after thought. It is not uncommon that four to eight cyclist share the sites ... makes for interesting conversations and new friends.

Most of the riding along the California Coast, starting just north of Mendocino and running through Bodega Bay, is difficult, to say the least. Generally, the road runs parallel with the coast, maybe 100' to 200' above sea level ... but at every river crossing, the road swings inland and down to sea level, then back up. This is repeated, seemingly every quarter to half mile (exaggeration on my part, no doubt). The bike lanes are often not to be found, so this area is somewhat stressful.

At one particular climb up from a river crossing near Elk, CA., the road levels out at an elevation well above the usual 200'. Prior to getting to the top of the climb there are two switchbacks. The first switchback takes you back away from the ocean and is followed by a second switchback. The inside curve of this second switchback is almost a vertical wall (again, I exaggerate). Talking with other cyclists, it was pointed out that this is the steepest climb on the entire Pacific Coast ride (Seattle to San Diego). The numbers discussed were 17% for 25'. When I saw what lay ahead when approaching this second switchback, the primary thought passing through my mind was "HOLY SHIT!!!!", followed by a liberal stream of sexual and biblical references.

As an aside, a magic road moment occurred once I reached the level road above that nasty climb ... as I rode past a mini-van with Wisconsin plates, a family (mother, father and three kids) were standing next to the van clapping and cheering me on. I smiled and they smiled ... laughter all around.

Yesterday I rode back into urbanization in Fairfax, CA (just north of San Francisco). As I rode, I was stopped by a red light, and I realized that this was the first traffic control light I had encountered since Ft. Bragg (150+/- miles) ... other than Ft. Bragg, the previous town was Eureka (over 400 miles).

I checked into a hotel last night, which is located adjacent to a massive shopping center. While it is nice to have a comfortable bed to sleep in and a wide variety of stores in which to shop, there is much to be said for the simpler pace of life offered by Northern California.

Culture shock ... judging by the looks I got checking into the hotel (after having camped for the last week or so), that shock apparently works both ways.

Big Tree (June 24, 2011)

Riding through the redwood forests is simply amazing.

I rode for about five or six days through the some of the remaining stands of redwood trees ... trees that are so massive that you tend to feel quite small when amongst these giants. The size (300' to 350' tall with diameters of 10' to 15' at the base) and age (1000s of years) of these trees is quite humbling. One of the parkways, The Avenue of the Giants, is very quiet (traffic-wise), which allows one to ride with only the sound of one's tires meeting the road ... very, very quiet ... similar to a giant cathedral.

Sadly, of the 2,000,000+ acres of redwoods growing in this area in the late 1800s, only about 250,000 acres remain thanks to the lumber industry ... so much for progress.

On one of the scenic drives, Prairie Creek Parkway, there is a sign that points into the forest and states "Big Tree". This evoked laughter amongst my riding companions as we wondered how this one sign, designating one specific tree, made all of the other trees feel.

Big Tree, indeed.

Foodies (June 17, 2011)

One of the best things about touring on a bike is the people you meet along the way.

The last several days I have had the good fortune to have been camping alongside several young and extremely entertaining fellow cyclist. Besides sharing the joys/pains of riding, this group discusses, plans, prepares and eats the most amazing meals I have ever seen at cycling campgrounds. The meals they consume would probably be considered a glorious repast at most peoples' homes. And the laughter ...

The interesting thing about this group of twenty-something-year-old cyclists is that, other than Corrina and Dave (a couple from Saskatchewan, Canada), this is group that met along the road ... and a diverse group they are. In the picture above, left to right are Wilson (a recent college graduate from Fort Collins, CO who taught English in Thailand last year), Diego (21 year-old food connoisseur from Guadalajara, Mexico), Corrina and Dave, Warren (currently a college student at Washington State University who was deployed to Iraq three times during his seven years in the Army), and Kenny (Kenny has traveled extensively through-out North and South America via local buses, trains, cars, bikes, etc ... train travel included hopping freights). A most amazing collection of individuals, and as I say ... the laughter.

So as not to imply that youth prevails out here, I have also met a collection of most interesting "older" guys. I met John in a restaurant across the street from the World Famous Trees of Mystery. We rode together and later camped together at the Elk Prairie campground (north of Orik, CA). John follows the seasons in his Toyota Pick-up (with camper), so has no set "home location". In his younger years he did a stint with the Peace Corp in Chile, lived in India for three years, drove a truck for a living and is a certified Yoga instructor. Met a gentleman from India a couple of nights later in Burlington Campground (near Weott, CA, along the Avenue of the Giants scenic road). This gentleman flew into San Francisco, got on his bike and is riding to a Lions Convention in Seattle. Interesting thing about this guy is that he carries minimum equipment ... no tent ... good luck in Oregon and Washington. Another interesting guy has been at the last few campgrounds as well. Dave is 70 years old, and is very excited about his new "Lady" that he recently met via the internet. Dave has toured for the past 30 years, usually two to three weeks at a go, but has done some cross country treks. In his youth, he hitched-hiked around the world. Very interesting, fit and vibrant fellow.

So the rides and campgrounds have been good over the past few days. Since leaving Crescent City, the daily mileage has been 36 miles to Elk Prairie, 56 miles to Eureka, 58 miles to Burlington, 48 miles to Standish-Hickey Campground (north of Leggett), and 47 miles to Ft. Bragg. Today's ride included an 1000 foot climb ... five miles of climbing starting within a mile of campground ... a real grind (signs indicated 7% slope)that cooked my legs for the remaining miles.

I hope to be in San Francisco next week, then head on down the coast. I am still debating if I intend to stop in Santa Barbara or continue on to San Diego. But that is a decision for another day. Going to take a slow, short day today and try to get the legs some rest.

The sun is shining.