Photos for Friday, 7/31

Cupertino to New Brighton Beach state park (Capitola, CA)

Friday, 7/31 - 38 miles. We have been on the road just slightly over a month and we have about two more weeks of riding at the most. Today was a short but difficult day. In the morning we had a 12 mile ride to a bike shop in Las Gatos. At the bike shop I bought a new tire which they mounted. They also lubed my chain and did a quick disc brake adjustment. Nice and very helpful shop - Mike's Bikes in Las Gatos, CA. I also bought some inflator cartridges because my pump is now inoperative. I should probably mail the pump home so I can attempt to fix it at home. Surprisingly the bike shop was out of 26 inch mountain bike tubes so they sent me to another bike shop where I was able to buy two tubes. While we were at the bike shop a small thunderstorm blew overhead. I heard a few rumbles of thunder and then the storm blew away without delivering any rain. After lunch we left Los Gatos on a dirt trail which followed a river upstream. One section of the trail was so steep it was impossible to get any wheel traction in the loose dirt. In fact it was hard to get any foot traction pushing the bike. The final part if the trail was paved but it had a very steep and long uphill. We took a rest at the top and I noticed my rear wheel was flat again. It turned out that the tube patch put on yesterday failed so I had to install one of the new tubes. For the first 25 miles today we were predominantly climbing although much of the climbing was gradual. However, later in the day the climbing got steeper. It was not the steepest climbing but it seemed to just go on forever. Eventually we had several spectacular downhills where we lost all the elevation we climbed up all day. We ended up on the coast just south of Santa Cruz. We have the entire hiker/biker campsite to ourselves tonight. Apparently the state park we are at has a serious theft problem. The park ranger warned us about the problem and we had to initial a form acknowledging we were aware of the theft problem. Hal's sister-in-law drove out to meet us at the campground and we all went out for Thai food at a local restaurant - good food! When we were riding inland today it was hot as usual but it immediately cooled off once we reached the coast.  However, it is not as cold as it was when we were further north near San Francisco. We are camped pretty close to the ocean so we can heard the roar of the waves. One nice thing about riding in various towns and on many busy roads in this area were the abundance of bike lanes and signs reminding drivers to share the road with bicycles. Some bike lanes even had detectors buried in the pavement to specifically identify a bicyclist at an intersection to trigger the traffic light. Two long downhill runs this afternoon were on a narrow two lane road with minimal shoulders. However, roadside signs said cyclists were permitted to use the entire lane. Tomorrow we will continue down the coast but we may have to ride one or two short days due to the campground locations.

Photos for Thursday, 7/30

South San Francisco to Cupertino, CA

Thursday, 7/30. We have been on the road about a month now and we have covered over1200 miles. This morning started out with some extremely large hills. We were following a route generated by my GPS unit which routed us on several bike paths. One bike path we were directed to had a gate across it to prevent entry by any motor vehicles. Unfortunately, the access provided for pedestrians and cyclists was so small that it made it impossible to gain access with a bicycle. Needless to say we had to backtrack and take a different route. We saw a large number of bikers and several were very helpful with routing us onto a series of bike paths. One path followed the San Andreas fault and another followed the shoreline of several reservoirs that provide water to San Francisco. A portion of one of the paths had a barb wire fence on both sides of the path. That struck us as a strange design because it would insure that a cyclist would be seriously hurt if they crashed. We ended up taking a break in Woodside where we had to decide to make a huge climb to reach the coast near Half Moon Bay or head inland and reach the coast tomorrow in Santa Cruz. We decided it was too late in the day to start a big climb plus we weren't sure where we could stay near Half Moon Bay. We found a Marriott in Cupertino which was about 18 miles away. We made a reservation their and proceeded to cycle through Stanford and parts of the Silicon Valley. We found hotels quite expensive in this area but we used a Marriott rewards voucher I had earned so we got a room that normally costs $260 to $300 for the cost of a portion of the hotel taxes which was 37 cents. Towards the end of the day I ran over something that gave me an instant flat rear tire. Whatever I hit took a large chunk out of the tire. I put a boot on the inside of the tire as a temporary measure but I will need to get a new tire. After sucessfully patching the hole in the tube it went totally flat again after I pumped it up. It seems there was also a tear where the valve was attached to the tube so the tube can't be used or fixed. I then used one of my spare tubes but it had a hole in it. I couldn't find my second spare tube so I used one of Hal's extra tubes. When I went to use my pump I found that the small cap on the end of the hose was missing. The pump can't be used without that cap. Finally, got the wheel fixed and remounted it. Riding through various towns in Silicon Valley was an interesting experience. Bike lanes were very common as well as frequent signs telling drivers to share the rode with bicycles. It was great to see so many cyclists however their behavior was a little strange. None of them said hi or anything else when they passed us. And, none of the cyclists engaged in the usual safety etiquette typically followed in other regions. For example, numerous cyclists crept up behind me and passed without indicating their presence. I often didn't realize they were passing me until they suddenly appeared next to me and then shot ahead of me. In most places the custom is to yell out passing on the left (or right).

Samuel Taylor state park to South San Francisco, CA

Wednesday, 7/29 - 48 miles. Today we made a transition from riding in mostly lightly populated areas to more urban riding after we entered Marin County north of SF. Several nice marked bike routes steered us through both commercial and residential areas but at a few points we were confused as to where to go. A local biker volunteered to lead us on the route which would take us to the Golden Gate Bridge. After climbing a rather large hill we were able to ride on a bike path that took us into Sausalito where we stopped at a bike shop. When using their bathroom I got a glimpse of my bright yellow bike jersey and realized it was amazingly dirty and stained from sunscreen and just general use - it is about 10 years old and had seen a lot of us and the stains and dirt were permanent. I bought a new jersey in the bike store and put the old one in the trash. It was cold and windy when we rode onto the walkway for the Golden Gate Bridge. Fast moving fog also enveloped the bridge towers. The bridge walkway was mobbed with cyclists and walkers. I didn't know that the bridge was such a big tourist attraction. After crossing the bridge we parted ways with the mother-daughter duo which we have been riding with for the past week. Their trip ended in SF where they were taking the BART train across the bay to the Amtrak station in Emoryville. We continued towards our destination of San Diego. Our route took us through the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. The park was being used extensively and it was quite large. After leaving the park we found that we were only a short distance from the Pacific Ocean. Previously, I had not realized that ocean beaches were actually in the city of SF. We followed the ocean as we rode into Daly City, CA where it was windy, foggy and quite cold. It was another 20 miles to reach the campground in Half Moon Bay where we originally planned to camp. We decided against  doing the additional 20 miles (which would have made for a 60 mile day). Unfortunately, the motels Hal called didn't have rooms available. After much calling we found a motel with rooms but it meant backtracking several miles from Daly City to South San Francisco. We rode back to South San Francisco and checked into the motel which was quite expensive. As soon as we went inland the cold and wind disappeared.

Photos for Wednesday, 7/29

Photos for Tuesday, 7/28

Bodega Bay to Samuel Taylor State Park

Tuesday, 7/28 - 43 miles. We are camping about 30 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite how close we are to San Francisco it is still very rural although there has been a noticeable increase in traffic. The coast highway we are following (CA rt. 1) veered inland again and passed through a lot of farmland. Primarily, we see cattle and horses but few crops growing. Unfortunately, whenever the road goes inland we encounter hills. Plus, it was very hot today. Probably the hottest weather since we were in WA at the beginning of the trip. It has cooled off a little in the campground tonight but it is still relatively warm. On most prior nights it was cold enough to require a long sleeve jacket. I had totally run out of clean clothes so we went a little off of the route and found a laundromat in Olema, CA. The hiker/biker site in the campground was full so they gave us an overflow site which was nice because there wasn't really any room left for more tents in the hiker/biker site. Hal rode back to the hiker/biker site to socialize. I am totally beat from the heat so I will probably go to sleep right after I take a shower. We are very close to the showers but they are closed so we have to walk a distance to another shower location. It appears that some CA parks are closed and some facilities at some parks are closed. I assume it is an effort by the state to save money. There were no stores or restaurants near the park so dinner ended up being a potpourri of various items. I wasn't really very hungry so it worked out fine. Most nights I sleep in my sleeping bag with it fully zipped. However, tonight it is much warmer so this might be the first night I can sleep without zipping up my bag.

Gualala to Bodega Bay, CA

Monday, 7/27 - 47 miles. Easy riding this morning with lots of small rolling hills. The route is still following CA route 1 which hugs the coast. Periodically, the road will jog inland to go around a cove. By the afternoon the rolling hills gave way to much steeper climbs. The corresponding downhills contained a lot of very tight turns so I couldn't pick up much speed due to having to constantly apply my brakes. I probably could have gone faster on the downhills but prudence seems to increase proportionally with age! Some sections of route 1 have significant drops of hundreds of feet just a few feet from the road edge; and, no guard rails. One section of the coastal highway this afternoon cut across an open cattle range and numerous cows were wandering on or near the highway. They seemed oblivious to people and any vehicles on the road. Cattle guards crossed the highway in places in order to restrict the cow's movements to some extent. We are camped tonight at a hiker/biker campsite in a state park in Bodega Bay, CA which is about 65 miles north of San Francisco.

Photos for Monday, 7/27

Manchester to Gualala, CA

Sunday, 7/26 - 21 miles. Semi-rest day. Ended up stopping very early and staying at a motel. Campgrounds and motels are limited in this area so rather than do a long day today we decided to stop early. The terrain still has rolling hills but the hills are getter lower as we get closer to San Francisco. We found that if you are going downhill at a decent speed it propels you a substantial distance up the next hill. We are still cycling through very small towns on the coast but as we get closer to San Francisco the farms seem to be larger and more prosperous looking. You don't see the old rusted equipment and dilapidated structures that were common sites on many farms further north. Our motel has a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The photos below show the motel and the view from the balcony.

Cleone to Manchester, CA

Saturday, 7/22 - 43 mile day. We stopped in Ft. Bragg to do laundry at Lucy's Laudromat. We have been riding on CA route 1 which is right along the coast. It alternates between level riding and small roller coaster hills; and, a few steep hills. It was cold riding today except on the uphills where you get hot from the hard pedaling. There were no restaurants near the campground we are at tonight so dinner comprised several peanut butter and jelly sandwichs and beer. The coastline we are riding near is very picturesque but most of it is undeveloped. Perodically, we pass cows grazing and go through small towns with populations of a few hundred people. Turning in early tonight so I can get into my sleeping bag and warm up!

Photos for Saturday, 7/25

Photos for Friday, 7/24

Leggett to Cleone, CA

Friday, 7/24 - 45 miles which included a 4 mile up hill climb followed by a shorter but steeper climb and a series of short climbs at the end of the day. We started out a few miles in land where it was relatively warm and ended up (after the 2 morning climbs) on the coast where the weather became cold again. It seems that it is always cold along the Pacific coast. We were going to do a short day but there is a dearth of services along this section of the coast so we rode on from where we had expected to camp. We are at a state park campground which had a Mexican restaurant a short walk from the campground. Most of the bikers we stayed with last night are in the hiker/biker site. The site is full, however, so the ranger gave us a regular site at the biker/hiker rate ($5 per person). We keep seeing the same bikers on the road although that will probably end next week because most of them are ending their trips in San Francisco. Tomorrow morning it is about 3 miles on a bike path along the ocean to Fort Brag which is a town of about 7,000 people. It has a Starbucks (☺) and hopefully a laudromat since all our riding clothes need washing.

Redway to Leggett, CA

Wednesday, 7/23 - 26 miles to a state park hiker/biker camping area. We are about 1.5 miles from Leggett where we start a big climb tomorrow. There are actually two climbs tomorrow followed by an area without any services so to avoid a very long day today we did a short day today even though most of today was gradually uphill following the Eel River upstream. The pictures for today include a shot of the Eel River and of our campground tonight. There are quite a few bikers who are heading south staying at the campsite. Apparently, everyone wants to camp just before starting the climbs that begin right after Leggett. Luckily there is a store and restaurant across from the campground entrance so dinner won't be a problem. We got in early today so we could take time to relax. I enjoyed just hanging out but Hal had extra energy so he went hiking in the park.

Photos for Thursday, 7/23

Scotia to Redway, CA

Wednesday, 7/22 - 40 mile day. We had a leisurely start this morning and we stopped early at a motel in Redway, CA. The hilight of the day was cycling on the Avenue of the Giants which is a 31 mile road that traverses a large tract of CA redwood trees that are largely contained in adjacent CA state parkland and federal land. The trees are striking both because of their mammoth diameter trunks and their height. Many are up to 300 feet tall. In places they blocked out most of the sunlight. The trees, based on what we read, only live in a specific part of northern CA and they are not susceptible to any known diseases or pests. Unfortunately, they make very good lumber and a single tree could provide enough lumber for several houses so most of them were cut down for lumber in the past. The temperature is definitely getting warmer as we head south (we are now about 200 miles north of San Francisco). Of course, that may be due to our being inland since yesterday. Shortly, the route will take us back out to coast as we head to San Francisco. Spent most of today riding with the South Korean student we camped with last night. However, he seemed to disappear towards the end of the day. We met a father and son duo today who were from Berkeley. They had headed north from Berkeley and were now on the return trajectory for Berkeley. Redway is like a lot of the small northern CA towns we have cycled in. It has some open stores and some that are out of business. Most of the people in town look like locals with a smattering of tourists. There are a fair number of rough looking characters hanging around. I was tired today so I napped when we first arrived at the motel. Tomorrow will probably be a short day followed by a longer day with some big climbs.

Photos for Wednesday, 7/22