February 19 Guadalupe River State Park to Blanco

Writing this back at home Sunday night after riding the final 35 miles back to Blanco today. It was a great trip, even with the rain, but glad to be home with Kathy sitting by a fire. Woke early, as usual, this morning and thought about reading in the tent til it got lighter, but decided to take my camp stove and coffee and ride down to the day use area by the river. I had the place to myself and watched the sun come up while having a hot cup of joe. The pic above is of the steep cut bank of the Guadalupe River in the park.

After breaking camp, I got on the road a little after 9:00 a.m. and made the roughly 5 mile gradual climb out of the park. Back on the highway, I headed west about 4 miles to Bergheim and breakfast. Found a small Mexican restaurant in a new strip center just off the highway that was very good and inexpensive. I stayed there a little while finishing yesterdays journal entry.

I got back on the road about 11:00 a.m. and really began to feel the warmth of the sun and enjoying riding on a clear day. There was a slight north wind that I was riding into, but it wasn’t too bad. To help pass the miles I had already covered yesterday, I pulled out my iPod and the speaker my Brother Don had given me on the Oregon trip and listened to Bill Bryson’s reading of his latest book “At Home”. It really helped on the long trudges up the hills.

Pretty soon I was passing through the very small town of Kendalia and turned off the busier FM 3351 onto Old Blanco Road for the last part of the trip. This proved be be one of my favorite cycling roads because of the low traffic volume, nice scenery, and of course the good weather. The last section was nearly all downhill as the road dropped down to cross the Blano River as I entered town. From there it was only a mile or so back to the County Courthouse where I had left the car (which was, thankfully, still there). After putting the bike and gear into the car, I decided to treat myself to a burger, fries and coke at a little cafe on the square. After covering just shy of 200 miles in the last five days in sometimes miserable weather, it felt good to sit and relax.

Until the next adventure.

February 18 Comfort Tx. to Guadalupe River State Park

It was raining when I went to sleep last night and raining when I woke up. The forecast was for it to taper off by late morning so I made coffee in the room and took my time pulling the gear together. About 9 am the rain had slowed down enough that I felt it was OK to venture down to the historic district to find some breakfast.

Comfort is an interesting Texas town. It was settled by German free thinkers and is known for the killing of many men of the town by Confederate soldiers as they attempted to flee to Mexico to avoid the war. I believe I read somewhere that it is one of only a half dozen sites in the country where the flag can be flown at half-mast in perpetuity. Numerous historic buildings from the 1800’s have been preserved, many as B&B’s.

The town was wet and quiet and only one place was open for breakfast, so I had some french toast, scrambled eggs and bacon at the High Cafe (named after High St.) to get me started for the day. Since none of the shops were open when I finished and it was starting to rain harder again, I headed back to the room to finish packing.

Check-out was at 11:00 and I waited til the last minute to hit the road. It wasn’t raining hard when I left, but I still put on every piece of riding rain gear I carry, from rain shoes to rain pants and, of course, the rain cape. Fortunately, after about 5 miles, the rain stopped and I was able to take it off. Good thing too – even though it was in the upper 40’s, I was getting hot.

After shucking the gear the riding got better. Waring was the first town I went through and looked like it had an interesting general store. From Waring, the road I was following got more interesting as it dropped down and then crossed the Guadalupe River. Another one of those spots that would look great in the spring. From there the ride was on quiet farm roads. At one point I was surprised to find the pieces to a Navy fighter plane stored behind a barn – kind of fit in with yesterdays visit to the Pacific theater museum in Fredericksburg.

The next town was Sisterdale and I briefly stopped at the winery to ask directions to the nearest restaurant. Several years ago Kathy and I had toured the winery with my Brother Gene and his wife Tami when they were visiting for Gretchen’s high school graduation. Good place to stop if you have the time.

The nearest restaurant was BBQ (again) so I changed it up by getting a baked potato with chopped beef and a link of sausage. Figured the carbs would be good for the road.

From Sisterdale I got on FM 473 which turned out to be my least favorite segment because the seal coat was pretty rough and there were a lot of steep rolling hills. By this point it looked like the weather was going to improve so I decide to finish the trip as planned by heading to Guadalupe River State Park for the night.

As I rode, I kept an eye out for Sansom Rd, which looked like it would be a good cut-through to FM 3351. The road turned out to be unpaved but in good condition, so I took a chance. By that point I was looking to shave off some miles. Sansom turned out to be in good shape all the way through.

When I reached FM 3351 I picked up something else I was counting on – a tail wind. That made the next 10 miles to Bergheim fly by. I stoped at a gas station and picked up a sub sandwich for dinner later. I figured there would be nothing in the park, and I was right.

The entrance to Guadalupe River S.P. was about 3 miles from the highway turn off – all of it into a headwind. Fortunately it was mostly downhill to the campground and river. Made it to my campsite about 5:30 after covering 47 miles for the day.

February 17 Fredericksburg, Tx. to Comfort, Tx.

I am so glad I made the decision to book a motel room last night, as I am again tonight. The heavy stuff is supposed to come later, but last night the rain and thunder woke me several times as well. Riding in the rain, while not totally comfortable, can be handled with the right gear. Camping in it with little chance to get things dry is another matter. I’m glad to be hunkered down in the Executive Inn in Comfort, Tx. listening to the rain outside rather than on my tent.

After waking early, I packed up most of my gear to be ready to check-out at noon. It was still drizzling and with a relatively short distance to cover to Comfort (about 30 miles) I planned to spend the morning in Fredericksburg. After coffee and breakfast at a local bistro, I walked over to the relatively new National Museum of the Pacific War. I was familiar with the Nimitz museum on Main Street, but until I began cruising the side streets yesterday, I had not realized the scale of work that had been done on this museum. When I paid my admission I asked the docent how long it had been open and he said about 2 years. I did not know.

I’ve been to a lot of museums and I must say that this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The individual exhibits as well as the overall chronological flow of the pacific war through the museum is very well done. I spent a little over an hour there and did not do it justice. The well known battles are documented, but what amazed me were the number of lesser known but equally brutal and heroic battles that my Father’s generation participated in. The museum also did a good job of telling the Japanese history and perspective leading to the war, as well as acknowledging the Japanese internment camps that were created in the US during the war because of fear. Highly recommended and I plan to go back when I have more time.

After getting back to the room, I changed into cycling clothes and got the bags on the bike. I set out without the rain cape because, if anything, it was just a fog or drizzle at that point. After a few miles on the road I realized (again) that if you’re moving 10-20 mph the drizzle adds up and you get wet. After turning onto River Road I stopped and put on the cape, which lasted for the next 10 miles or so.

The low clouds and drizzle were doing a good job of obscuring the scenery, but once again I was traveling on excellent condition country roads that were like my personal bike lane. Very few cars would pass, in either direction, and those that did were very courteous. The miles slipped by and soon I was back to civilization, crossing I-10, and getting close to Comfort.

When I entered town I followed some residential streets to the downtown historic area. I noticed the library and thought that would be a good place to get out of the weather and get my bearing. Two very nice ladies helped me figure out where the motel was and gave me a couple of recommendations for dinner.

The motel was easy to find and is located adjacent to I-10, as you would expect. I also noticed that that the RV park I had thought about staying at was even closer to the interstate. Glad again I chose the motel, for weather and noise reasons.

After showering and relaxing a bit in the room I planned to head into town for dinner. However, by the time I was ready to leave the rain had hit and didn’t look like it was going to let up. Fortunately there was a BBQ place next door (Poncho’s) that had gotten good reviews. I got some BBQ take-out and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and called it good (which they both were).

Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll need to decide whether to to ride to Guadalupe River State Park as originally planned, or head back to the car in Blanco. The fork in the road will be in Kendalia – we’ll see how the weather looks (and I feel) there.

February 16 Fredericksburg Tx. and Vicinity

The above photograph is not the most scenic I’ve ever posted, but it shows why the Fredericksburg area is a favorite for cyclists. Specifically, there are miles and miles of little traveled paved roads winding through the countryside. I was able to get a brief sampling today and plan to come back.

After turning in early last night, I got out of the tent around sunrise. That’s about all I could take between the highway noise and my aching bones and back. It was a grey morning, about 50 degrees, with some showers in the area. I made coffee and began breaking camp slowly. This changed when a few raindrops began falling and my pace picked up. I wasn’t too concerned about which bag everything went in because last night I’d made an executive decision to move to a hotel for tonight. Between the uncertain weather and the fact that Lady Bird Johnson Park is not that appealing to tent campers (at least this one), I thought it was the right decision.

After everything was packed up, I rode the three miles on Hwy. 16 into Fredericksburg intent on a big breakfast. After slowly riding up and down Main Street, I decided to stop at the Chamber of Commerce office (which is about the nicest I’ve ever seen) to check out maps and asked if they had a recommendation for a breakfast place. The lady I spoke to mentioned several, but the one that sounded like it was the best was Sunset Cafe. I remembered passing it on the way into town, so I looped back through some side streets. It was an excellent breakfast with grilled Kielbasa sausage, scrambled eggs, red potatoes and toast.

After breakfast I rode back down Main Street to find the hotel I had made a reservation at (Super 8 for 50 bucks). I wanted to see if I could check-in early so that I could drop most of the bags and do a loop ride in the afternoon a little lighter. It makes a difference – believe me.

The folks at the hotel were very friendly and said that one be ready in about half an hour. I decided to use that time to ride around a bit more looking at the old German architecture.

After getting checked-in and lightening my load considerably, I decided to head back out of town to ride some of the great country roads. To be honest, and since it was a grey overcast day in winter, the scenery was a little stark. The riding was excellent, however, and I’d really like to ride more of the area, preferably in the spring. With the loop and riding around town, I did about 36 miles today.

After cleaning up back at the motel I walked down Main Street to find some German food for dinner. I decided to go to the Fredericksburg Brewery where I did their beer sampler and had the sausage combo. It was good, but not great. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and waiting for the rain – glad that I had a roof over my head.

February 15 Blanco, Tx to Fredericksburg

After receiving word that my retirement “sabbatical” is likely to be coming to a close (because it looks like I’ve landed a job) I decided that the only sensible thing to do was plan a bike trip to get it out of my system for awhile. I started retirement with a bike tour from Astoria, Oregon to San Francisco so it seemed fitting to end it with one too.

On short notice, my first idea was to take the train to Del Rio, Tx and ride a portion of Adventure Cyclings Southern Tier cross country route back to Austin. After checking with Amtrak I found that this was not possible because there are no baggage handlers in Del Rio for checked bags and they wouldn’t let me take the bike on unless it was checked. Your basic Catch-22. I briefly thought about taking the bus but quickly decided that that was too much of a hassle.

That leads me to the current tour. I drove to Blanco, Tx this morning with all my gear, left the car parked by the Courthouse and plan to ride a 200-250 mile loop (weather and legs permitting) through a different part of the Texas Hill Country that I have previously biked. It’s great to have one of the best bike touring areas in the country in your own backyard. It may not have the stunning scenery of the Pacific Coast or the Rockies, but it’s still pretty good.

I’m writing this from the tent camping area in Lady Bird Johnson Park, just outside of Fredericksburg, after covering about 40 miles today of the first leg of the trip. It was a pleasant ride and not too hilly, with the best part following my stop in Luckenbach (for a bottle of water, not a beer). I rode on more side roads as I got closer to Fredericksburg that had very low traffic and good Hill Country Scenery.

Tomorrow I plan to ride into Fredericksburg for a big cycling breakfast and do a day tour without bags. More to come.

September 1 Rico to Mountain Village (Telluride)

After a good nights sleep at the Rico Hotel, woke early to get packed for the last, and likely most challenging, day of the ride. The hotel began serving a complimentary breakfast at 8 am and I didn’t want to miss that. The night before I had eaten at the hotel restaurant, and the reviews weren’t kidding that the food is excellent. The free range chicken I ordered was probably the best I have ever had. Breakfast did not disappoint and included juices, fruit, fresh bread, banana bread, and a tasty breakfast casserole. More fuel for the road.

When I left the hotel a little before 9 it was 49 degrees under blue skies, and this time it looked like the weather would last.

Once again the road was steadily climbing but not too steep. It wasn’t until about 5 miles before Lizard Head Pass when this changed and the road climbed at what I would estimate to be 7 or 8 percent. This lasted for about 3 miles and then leveled off for the last 2 as I rode through the wide and grassy mountain pass. On the way up, I finally saw Lizard Head Mountain. As the books said, it doesn’t look much like a lizard head anymore after part of it gave way to gravity.

After snapping some pictures and eating some energy snacks, I started the downhill run to Mountain Village and Telluride. The descent was very fun there were only a couple of interruptions where I had to climb again. The scenery was incredible and I stopped several times on the way down to take photos. I arrived at Mountain Village, where Kathy and I are spending the night at the Bear Creek Resort, about 1:15. Very nice place and easy access to Telluride by gondola as Kathy and I would find out that evening.

It’s been a relatively short but good ride from Mesa Verde to Telluride. It was a great introduction to riding in the Rockies and would highly recommend it to other riders. RL

August 31 Priest Gulch Campground to Rico

Today started with blue skies at my camp on the Delores River, but by the time I hit the road clouds and rain were setting in. I was about 3 miles into the ride when the first raindrops began to fall. I had my rain cape ready to go and put it on before anything heavier hit. I began mulling over the idea of stopping in Rico, a dozen or so miles down the road, to get a hotel room. As the rain fell harder, that became the new plan A.

The rain was steady but did not have thunderstorm intensity, so it was not too uncomfortable to ride. I could tell I was steadily climbing but since the road was following the Delores River, it was not too steep. Around me the forest was getting thicker with more conifers and the traffic was light. After beginning at about 8,000′ at Priest Gulch, I was a little over 8,800′ when I arrived in Rico at 11:30. So where yesterday was a relatively long day on the road, today would be a short one.

As always, the first thing I looked for was a place to eat – and I found a perfect little cafe along the main strip of town. After a very good hot roast beef sandwich, the next thing was to find a room for the night. I had noticed the Rico Hotel (see picture above) on the way into town and it so happens their number was included on the Adventure Cycling Association map I am using. A quick call to check availability and I was there.

I found out the Rico Hotel was built in the 1920’s to house miners that worked in numerous silver and other mines in the area. The place has a natural feel with old timbers and creaky wooden floors. I like it.

After checking-in, moving my panniers and bike into the room, and cleaning up – I decided to go out in the light rain for a walk about town. I had read that they had a library and so the nerdy thing to do was find it. It was housed in the old county courthouse that was built in the 1890’s and occupied only a couple of rooms of the building. The librarians were very friendly and helped me find what there might be on Rico history. As it turns out there was such a volume – a masters thesis written in the early 70’s by a UT Austin graduate student. Small world. While there it began raining much harder and the library (and the rest of the town) lost electricity from a lightening strike or tree falling (the conjecture of the locals in the library).

Established in 1879, Rico – like a lot of other mining towns – has seen periods of boom and bust. Peak years were probably the late 1800’s when there were over 3,000 residents. Today it’s down to just over 200. I’m not sure how much (if any) mining is going on in the area – but I’m sure it benefits from the close proximity to Telluride (which, after all, began as another mining town but has better ski slopes). My impression is that Rico welcomes tourists but is not “touresty” (sp?).

Tomorrow is the big climb over Lizard Head Pass. I had planned to be about 6 miles further down the road today at a campground, but am glad with the decision to stay in Rico rather than huddled in my small tent waiting out the rain. The plan is still to meet Kathy at the place we have reservations near Telluride by mid afternoon. I did tell her to keep her eye out on her drive for a weary and waterlogged cyclist by the side of the road.

August 30 Mesa Verde NP to Priest Gulch Campground (near Rico)

I am writing this from my campsite on the banks of the Dolores River after covering about 55 miles today – which includes touring around Cortez and Dolores Colorado. That’s about 10 miles further than I planned, but more on that later. First a quick recap of Kathy and my adventures getting to Mesa Verde.

August 26 Austin to Abilene

Left Austin after Kathy got off work and made it to Abilene about 9:30. We stayed at the Hilton Abilene for a Priceline bid of $55 (wahoo!).

One side note – carrying the bike on the roof rack reduces mpg by 3-5 mpg. I had noticed this on other highway trips as well, but it certainly is a convenient and safe way to carry the bike, as long as you avoid low structures….like carports….

August 27 Abilene to Santa Fe

Drove as directly as we could to Santa Fe. We didn’t see much point in making any unnecessary stops until the temperatures became tolerable. We drove through a pretty good thunderstorm as we were getting closer to Santa Fe which accomplished two things – temperatures dropped to near 70 and we saw real rain in who knows how long.

Figuring we wouldn’t want to mess with setting up a camp after driving 500 miles, I had booked us into a funky 50’s motel called the Silver Saddle. It really wasn’t bad (especially for $62 – wahoo) and would recommend it if you’re looking for a cheap place to stay in Santa Fe.

We had dinner at a place we had eaten at a number of years ago (can’t think of the name – it seemed better last time anyway). After dinner we went to the square which included popping in to La Fonda for a drink. We even danced a bit to the covers band than was playing in the hotel bar (how about that Gretchen & Claire!).

August 28 Santa Fe to Mesa Verde NP

On the drive from Santa Fe to Mesa Verde we stopped at a couple of other Anasazi sites, most notably the ruins in Aztec. Fascinating culture and if you’re interested in a good book on the subject, I would recommend “House of Rain” written by Craig Childs. He also wrote another very good book set in the southwest called “The Animal Dialogues”.

We got to MesaVerde in the late afternoon with time to set up our camp and take a short hike just before sundown.

August 29 Mesa Verde N.P.

After a big thunderstorm overnight, we woke early and headed into the park. First we took the tour of Cliff Palace and then went to Spruce Tree House – the most famous sites. A lesser known site that impressed us the most is pictured above but the name (like alot of names) escapes me right now. Incredible park and definitely worth a visit.

We got back to our camp about 2:00 and spent the next hour plus getting my bicycling gear out of the car, breaking down the big tent and other car camping stuff, and setting up my minuscule backpacking tent. Kathy headed out about 3:00 to rendezvous with her book club in Pagosa Springs. The plan is to reunite in Telluride on Thursday.

Back to the Present (August 30th)

As inferred above, this was the first day of my bike ride to Telluride and it was a good one. In fact it was so good it started with about 14 miles of downhill coasting to Cortez, including 4 miles of steep descent from the campground in Mesa Verde to the highway. I would not like to have to ride up to the park. In fact, Mesa Verde is one of the few places I would recommend against cycling because of the distances, grades, traffic, etc. Better to take a tour if you arrive by bike. Just my opinion.

In Cortez I rode down the main drag looking for a real breakfast. I found it in spades at El Grande Cafe. Eggs, sausage, toast, hashbrowns — fuel for the road.

After losing elevation from Mesa Verde to Cortez, I knew I would have to pay for it further up the road. For the most part, the climb from Cortez to Dolores was pretty gradual, but there were a few sections that got my heart rate up.

Since it was still early in the day I took my time in Dolores checking out the town, resting and charging electronics. I found the Dolores Library and had a picnic lunch of the stuff I am packing beside the Dolores River.

Headed out about 1:00 for what I thought would be my campsite in Stoner – about 14 miles up the road. Let’s just say the camp had undergone an apparent change of ownership and was not ready yet. The folks I talked to were very friendly and helpful and mentioned the place I am staying tonight.

The additional 10 miles was really not that difficult, in fact I am amazed that I’ve gained another 1,100 (currently at 8100′) since leaving Dolores.

The high point of the ride to Telluride will be 10,222′ Lizard Pass. Planning to take a leisurely approach to it since I have two days, but we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

May 9 Bodega Bay to San Francisco

Well I made it, but it took covering a little over 80 miles on Monday — Three weeks to the day and 850 miles after leaving Fort Stevens State Park, I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. There was some riding fun left after I crossed it, but more on that later.

I woke up at the usual time, packed up for what I thought could be the last time on the trip, and headed to Bodega Bay for another big breakfast. As I mentioned in my last entry, if I felt good when I got to Samuel P Taylor State Park and it was early enough, I would go for it. That’s what I ended up doing.

After I left Bodega Bay, the route turns inland through some beautiful agricultural and ranching land. At times it looked like the landscape you would see in Italy or France. In fact, one of the small towns I passed through definitely had an old Italian flavor (Valley Ford).

The rolling hills through the area were sometimes quite long and at times I wondered if I’d make it further than the State Park. After going through the town of Tomales, however, the road really flattened out and I began to get the benefit of a tailwind again. The road got back to the water and followed Tomales Bay in short gentle rolls rather than the long and steep conditions earlier. I also started to see some other road bikers in this area which made me think I was getting closer to the suburbs of San Francisco.

I stopped for lunch in a very small community called Marshall and then rolled into Point Reyes Station. It was there that I decided to go for it. After a steep climb to Samuel P Taylor State Park, the route took me on a flat and shaded bike path through the park.

After leaving the park, it wasn’t long until I reached the first urban areas. The map from Adventure Cycling Association were very good in helping me find the bicycle routes through them and they were also pretty well signed. Fairfax was the first community followed by San Anselmo, Kentfield, Larkspur, a huge climb in Corte Madera, descending into Mill Valley, following a bike path through Marin City and then into Sausalito. After three weeks on the road in small towns and rural areas, it was quite a transition in a relatively short time and distance.

I pedaled slowly through Sausalito taking in the toney shops before starting to climb again up to the Golden Gate. It was hidden by the hills until I was almost up to it, so even though I had seen and crossed it by car several times, it still made quite an impression. I’m sure one reason was because I had reached my goal.

After I asked some ladies to take the ceremonial photograph above, I joined the other cyclers crossing the bridge. There were a lot of them and they liked to go fast. I took my time and marveled that it was not windy at all and how beautiful the bridge and surroundings were.

Once I left the bridge the fun (meaning hard work) began again. My brother had provided me with a route to the Glen Park neighborhood (where they live) that tried to avoid the steeper hills, but believe me there was still a lot of climbing to do. After making a couple of wrong turns, I made it to their place about 9 pm where Ken and his wife Kathy and my niece Monika greeted me. I was glad to get off the bike, have a warm meal and a cold beer (not necessarily in that order).

Tuesday May 10 (Epilogue)

It’s the day after finishing the ride and my tired muscles are recuperating. The tour was incredible, I’m glad I did it and would definitely do portions of it again, starting with the Oregon Coast. But as I said previously, I am also glad that it is over and that I will soon be going home to Kathy, Gretchen, Claire and friends in Austin. I’m just not sure about coming back to the 90+ temperatures I’ve been hearing about.

At the start of the trip I had planned to return on the train. I have since decided I’ve had enough traveling for now and will be flying back on Southwest Airlines, who also accept bikes if they’re boxed.

After visiting Sierra Club Headquarters, where Monika works as a volunteer with the association librarian, we stopped by a bike shop in the Mission district to pick up a slightly used box for a Surly Long Haul Trucker. Three days from now it will be jetting east with me, homeward bound.

Adios

May 7-8 Albion to Bodega Bay

Coastal Ranch land near Stewarts Point California

I am writing this update from Bodega Dunes State Beach Sunday evening. I’ve fallen behind in my journal entries primarily because there has been no cell phone coverage in the rugged area I’ve ridden through the last couple of days. In a way it’s hard to believe that so much of the northern California coast has not changed much in decades and a lot of it is still used for ranching (see photo) and agricultural purposes. I guess the cell phone companies don’t see it a priority area and I’ve heard that a lot of the residents like it that way.

Saturday May 7 Albion to Anchor Bay

The day started with the usual packing of the panniers, although this time in the comfort of a nice room, followed by a big breakfast at the Albion Inn Dining Room (included in the tab). After leaving about 9:00, it didn’t take long for the road to drop down to cross the Navarro River, which meant I had a long ascent – this time about a mile in length.

As I mentioned above, the country along the ride was very rural in nature. Dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep ranching you name it. One of the things about cycle touring is you can actually smell your surroundings, and in this area it was frequently one of cow manure.

A cool thing happened during this stretch of the ride when a Bobcat came out on the road, paused to look at a vulture that was also there (not at me) and then vanish quickly in the brush and grasses on the other side of the road. It all happened so quickly there was no chance for a picture.

Highway 1 in this area (and beyond) is tough. I felt every time I reached a certain elevation, it was time again to drop down to cross another drainage, and then I had to climb out of it. There were couple so steep that I had to push the bike for a good distance.

After about 40 miles of following this rough section of Hwy 1, I was ready to stop. There was a private campground in Anchor Bay (which I found out has been in operation since 1925) so I stopped there for the night. In the course of setting up camp I struck up a conversation with a neighbor and found out I was amongst a group of about 8 families that worked together and had been celebrating Mothers Day weekend at this park for seven years. They were great people and insisted that I join them for their potluck dinner which included fried abalone that they had found in the ocean that day. It was great and thought it very nice that they included a lone cycler in their festivities.

The other great wildlife experience of the day was seeing some Humpback Whales migrating north as we were standing around eating, drinking and talking. It was a good end of the evening.

Sunday May 8 Anchor Bay to Bodega Bay

Woke early as usual and left camp a little before 8:00 saying goodbye to some of the friends I’d made just the night before. After a big breakfast in town, I hit the road about 8:30 knowing this would be a long and challenging day if I was to reach Bodega Bay.

The first 30 miles to Fort Ross were incredible with gently rolling hills, beautiful scenery, and my friend the north wind by my side. While yesterday had been mostly overcast, today was another sunny day.

I stopped at Fort Ross, which is an old Russian Fort from the early 19th century, looked at a few exhibits in the visitors center, and then headed on.

The next section of Hwy 1 between Fort Ross and Jenner is quite amazing and also quite scary. There are several sections as you drive (or in my case pedal) by that there is no guardrail and a sheer drop of hundreds of feet. Add to this an incredibly strong north wind, high traffic volume from people returning to the Bay area after the weekend, sections of roadwork…you get the picture. I tried to enjoy as much of the experiencee as I could, but I was also glad to get it behind me. I will say that the adrenaline rush made my pedaling on the uphill sections seem easier than usual.

I stopped for a late lunch in Jenner and debated whether to stop there at a private campground and push on to Bodega Bay. Obviously I decided on the later.

I am now 65 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge having traveled over 700 miles. It has been a wonderful experience and I am so glad I had the opportunity to do this. But I am also ready to get off the road and back home with Kathy, daughters and friends. If I have a north wind, the slopes are modest, and my legs feel as good as they did today – I just might make it to my brothers place tomorrow. If not (and more likely) I’ll finish the trip on Tuesday. More to come.