An update - stories are still coming!

Greetings all,

I did actually finish the journey, and I have stories and pictures coming.

Attempting to return to "the real world" after two months on the road has been a bit more difficult than I expected, and thus, I haven't written much lately.

Thank you for reading, and know that more stories are coming.

Day 48 - Big Sur to Plaskett Creek campground

Day 48 - (June 28) Big Sur to Plaskett Creek campground

I woke up fairly late today and made a slow breakfast.  Being completely by myself in such a beautiful place is really great.  I found that many of the blackberries there were just about perfectly ripe, so I had a bowl of half cereal and half blackberries.

Then, since I was looking at a fairly lazy day (less than 30 miles), I decided to do some basic bike maintenance and enjoy the setting.  Unfortunately, in at least one way, I enjoyed it a bit too much, as I managed to sunburn most of my back while I was doing this maintenance.  This was my first bad sunburn of the trip.

While I was getting my stuff together to ride out, who should I see speed by ... first Dick goes by, then about ten minutes later John goes by.  I don't think that either of them saw me, as I was on a road essentially coming from behind them, but it was fun to see them go by.

The ride was great - the hills are challenging, but the scenery is great:

More great coastal scenery

Eventually, we all ended up at the same campground, Plaskett Creek, where we also met these two (whose names I have managed to lose track of)

Another pair of cycle tourists

These guys were planning to head out really early the next day to get some uncrowded time on the road.

We also got a very warm welcome from a big group of people who were also camping there.  They invited up over for food and drinks, and then handed John a cup of Jameson's to pass around - definitely a nice welcome.

I didn't have to cook at all tonight.  Between Dick's pasta and food from the other campers, I was very well appointed.  By the end of the night, I was also pretty sloshed, and wobbled over to my tent for the night.

Distance: 26.45 miles (24.8 according to the other cyclocomputer)
10.2 mph average (9.7)
38.3 mph max

Day 47 - Monterey to Big Sur

This morning I got a chance to talk with the guys some more while getting everything together.  First is Pete and Bachi:

Pete and Bachi

Bachi is 16, and Pete is taking him on tour down the coast for probably the last time.  Pete's set up quite a rig for them to travel in:

Pete's rig for travelling with Bachi

After making breakfast (again with John making comments about how extensive my preparations were), I started to replace the spokes in my rear wheel and just about the time that I took the first one out again because I put it in from the wrong side, Rick came over and asked how I was doing.  I told him, and he asked if he could put them in for me.  I was astounded.  Rick installed the two spokes and said that he just loves working on bikes.  I am definitely going to take some of his advice about how to improve my bike.

I managed to get John, Dick and Rick together for a picture before they headed off to Big Sur:

From left to right: Dick, John and Rick

Definitely an interesting bunch of guys.  Dick is a philosophy professor, John is a journalist who writes for a bicycle touring magazine and Rick is a Civil engineer who builds bridges in order to support his bike building habit.

Once I headed out from the campground, I went to Seaside to get some more spokes made for the rear wheel, since I was just about out, and the spoke problem probably wasn't going to be done.

While I was riding back from Seaside to monterey to get back on route, I was cruising by a cafe, and saw a trike parked out front.  It turns out that it was not one, but three trikes!

Three trikes in the wild

These guys apparently get together fairly frequently to talk shop and ride around.  They were tickled by my set up and my trek, and I was tickled to just see more trike riders out there.

As I rode out of the area, I saw this sign, which definitely proved to be true for me:

That's what I had to look forward to

Riding down the coast, I had one heck of a tailwind.  It must have been at least 15mph.  I took this picture to try to get a visual reference:

That flag usually goes straight up or leans back, not forward

The ride into Big Sur was challenging.  I was riding to Lawrence Dubois' place to crash for the night (thanks to both Irene for putting me in contact with Lawrence, and Lawrence for letting me use his place).  My directions were to go so far past the such-and-so gallery, and it kept seeming like I should have gotten there already, but still hadn't.  Then I finally saw the gallery, and found my stopping place quite easily (great directions guys!).

After I got there, I followed Lawrence's directions on how to go about 1/4 mile away to the top of a hill to get cell phone coverage and let everyone know that I had arrived safely.  On the way down, I got to observe this glorious sunset:

A great sunset at Big Sur

This was a good day.  Neat people met, a strange but neat place to stay, and some challenging bicycling along the way.

Distance: 48.9 miles
10.2 mph average
43.7 mph max

Day 46 - Scotts Valley to Monterey

I woke up luxuriously late (9ish) having thoroughly enjoyed sleeping indoors again.

Irene cooked breakfast - which was quite tasty and another great luxury for me.

After dragging my heels for a while, I rolled out.

I liked the ride down into Santa Cruz.  I passed the "Mystery Spot," Santa Cruz's classic tourist manipulation.

One of the classic tourist joints

I never actually knew where it was before.

I stopped at Home Depot to buy a new crescent wrench so that I can remove the cassette from my rear wheel if necessary.

The greater Monterey area has a bunch of really good bicycle paths:

This was a great trail

As I went down the bicycle path, I went into Fort Ord Dunes state park:

Fort Ord Dunes state park

I took the bicycle path through the park for several miles.  It's quite nice.  Very wide and smooth with rolling hills and great views:

The Fort Ord dunes state park

I exited the trails and Rode into Sand City to go to a sporting goods store where I bought some UA heatgear - great stuff!  

Finally, I got to Monterey and started to head towards veterans memorial park.  I was warned about the hill into the park, but wow - that was a seriously steep hill.

When I got there, I found that the hiker/biker area was pretty full, and full of characters.  The first people that I met were John, Dick and Rick - three old hands at bicycle touring who all oohed and aahed over my bike as I arrived.  I unloaded the bike and when these guys asked how I was doing, I admitted that I wasn't doing as well as I might, as I heard the tink tink of a broken spoke on the back wheel.  Rick asked if he could take a look at my back wheel, and I said absolutely, I'd be glad to get any help that I could.  John then told me that Rick was a frame builder.  Rick found that I had broken not one, but two spokes, and also made comments about how the wheel could be better engineered.  

Then, when I was making dinner (in the dark, as I arrived at dusk), John observed my machinations and said that I'd give his brother Dick a run for his money as a camp cook.  

That night, I also met Pete, who was doing a tour with his dog Bachi.

After eating and cleaning up a bit, I was completely exhausted and just crawled into my tent and went to sleep.

Distance: 54.5 miles
average: 10.4 MPH
Max: 44.1 (error) mph

Just a quick update

More involved posts for each day are coming, but I just wanted to tell everyone that I made it through LA alive, and will be skipping most of Orange County by going to Catalina instead, and catching the ferry back to south of Laguna Beach.

Day 45 - Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz

Day 45 (June 25) - Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz

When I wake up, I decide again that Half Moon Bay State Beach is an excellent place to camp

I started out and made breakfast fairly quickly and was all ready to cruise out of the campground relatively early, but then I allowed my better nature to get the best of me and helped out a few people instead of just getting ready and taking off.

First, there were a pair of Austrian bike tourists - they rolled up and asked the procedures for getting a campsite, so I explained to them about Hiker/Biker sites and asked where they were going and what maps they were using.  When they told me that they were headed down to San Diego and then across to Florida, and that they were operating off of normal roadmaps, I decided that I had to give them one of the photocopies of the maps that I was carrying (now I know why I was carrying two photocopies) - as they would certainly be severely stuck at some point otherwise.  They then asked me about my trip and the bike.  It was a fun forty five minutes.

Then, just as I was about to head out, a mom and her two daughters roll down the bike path next to my campsite, and one of the girls says: "mom, my tires are flat ..." so when mom asks if I can help, I say sure - switch my pump from presta to schrader and pump up her tires.

So I finally roll out later than expected and head out towards Santa Cruz.  I passed by "historic" Pescadero (why does every town need to claim to be historic?)

"Historic" Pescadero: that way

Then I came upon this rather surreal scene: after all, how often do you see a lighthouse in the middle of a field?

Pigeon Point lighthouse - from an interesting perspective

It looked like they were watering the lighthouse.

Coming over a rise, I saw what I first thought were parasailers, but turned out to be kite surfers:

Sails in the sky

Eventually, I make it down to Daveport, where I stopped for a bit to get a cookie, a glass of ice water and then a Red Bull for the final push to Santa Cruz.

When I finally get to Santa Cruz, I really don't recognize the place anymore.  I head over to Saturn cafe to get some grub and see if anyone will come and hang out.  Irene and her sons show up, and we have some time to hang out.  Irene also offered a place to stay, but she didn't think that my bike would fit in her Fit.  After I assured her that it would, she took the boys to one of the neighbors' houses while she came back and picked up me and the bike for a ride back to her place in Scotts Valley.

Irene pointed me in the direction of a shower and made up a bed for me.  Ahhh, real pillows.  That is what I need to figure out better.

A bit later, Liz and Craig show up to gawk at the bike and say hi.  Eventually Craig and I end up going to the web to get a picture of a Morgan Aero.  When Liz and Irene realized that we were both trying to get a picture of a car from the web, they sort of looked at each other, shook their heads and made some dismissive comment about our actions.  Deservedly.

Then they went home and I went off to write blog posts.  Then I crawled into bed and luxuriated on a mattress with pillows and slept deeply for eight or nice hours.


Thank you, Irene, that was very nice and much appreciated.

Back on the Road - Day 44 Berkeley to Half Moon Bay

Day 44 (June 24) Back on the Road - Going From Berkeley to Half Moon Bay
Well, it took me FOREVER to get out of the house, but the bike is re-spoked, tuned up and quiet again.

I managed to get everything done at home, including cleaning the place up a bunch.  I'm sure that Robert won't recognize the place when he checks to make sure that I didn't leave any taps running, etc.

I found that taking Bart from Berkeley to Daly City was the first adventure.  It turns out that the bike is longer than BART elevators are deep, so I got to unpack the bike into the elevator and pick the bike up, rolling it in on its back wheel to get into the elevator.

It is also too big to fit on the train without blocking some of the aisle/door space.  I was very glad that the train was pretty empty.  When I got off in Daly City, I repeated the bike manipulations to get it into the elevator, and then when I got off the elevator, I headed for the bathroom.  I'm really trying to not pass up any opportunity to stop at a bathroom.

Coming out of the bathroom, I had a long conversation with an asian woman who was just fascinated by the bike.  She was thinking in terms of a roof for it and other things that might be added.   She came out of the station to watch me ride off.

I rode out of the station and down to 35, until I got to skyline and followed the roads right next to the water.  Wow!  What a view.

Who knew that there was such a great view in Daly City

And then there were no more houses...

And what a ride.  I think that my map's altitude estimations for the ride from Pacifica south were a bit generous, perhaps to make up for the second hill coming out of Leggett.  The ride was easier than I expected.  I got to Half Moon Bay as the sun was setting, and I got to see an utterly glorious sunset, and then some neat effects after the sun set.

A gorgeous sunset

I love the streak of light coming out from the point

The campground at the beach is very nice.  The area is just gorgeous, and I think that I might make this a fine little weekend trip on the bike.  It's short enough to get here with lots of daylight left (if you don't leave in the fairly late afternoon), it's a good ride and a glorious place to stay (for $7, with the waves crashing and the foghorn blowing (I dunno why though, its as clear as a bell tonight).

Just as I was about to set up to make dinner, a couple of the other campers in the hiker/biker space offered me the remainder of their clam chowder, which I gladly accepted and sopped up with some sourdough bread that I brought.

After we all showered, they came by and we chatted for about an hour.  Very pleasant.
Well, off to bed with me.

Distance 21.38 miles
8.7 mph average
42.8 mph max

An update - back on the road tomorrow

I intended to be back on the road on Friday, then again today, but then I tried the gears and need to adjust stuff. 

It's also proving harder than expected to trim the kit and my dithering is being inordinately frustrating.

I'm beginning to wonder if it's my appreciation for a real pillow that's actually causing me to drag my heels.

Well, tomorrow for sure.  I have all of the clothing and equipment cleaned, food ready, first aid kit replenished, etc.  So I'll get everything ready to go tonight, and leave first thing tomorrow.

Really. I mean it this time.

Getting ready for the southern run

I have spent the last couple of days getting stuff together and dealing with the paperwork that piled up while I was gone.

Monday showed that I didn't even need to be on the road for surreal occurrences to happen.  I went into San Francisco to have lunch with the crew that I'd been working with for most of the last year, and while I was there for lunch, the client contacted the team leader to inform the group that the project would be wrapping up.  Not a bad run for a "two week project" - just under a year, but to have the call come in while I am there (for an hour or two) is just bizarre.  Ah well.  At least I can get my unemployment claim started.

Today I learned how to disassemble and reassemble my rear wheel (I need a slightly bigger crescent wrench), and how to true a wheel (well, nearly true - I've got the wobble under 1mm).

I have also removed the fenders and fairing and swapped out the tires - I'll be running on marathon pluses for the southern portion of the ride.

I will give everything a bit of a shakedown tomorrow to make sure everything works.  I did get silly and installed another cycle computer on the bike - this one is more programmable, and wireless.  It also allows me to program in a starting odometer reading, so I am running the numbers now to program them in and it will be easier to see what my total mileage for the trip is.

Friday I am off on the road again.  Saturday I'll get to Santa Cruz and Sunday I hope to stop just before Big Sur.

I am presently searching for places to land between Malibu and Laguna Beach - any contacts for people in: Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan beach, Hermosa BeachRedondo Beach, Torrence, Carson, Long Beach Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport beach and Laguna Beach would be greatly appreciated.

June 18 6:30PM to ? hanging at Jupiter in DT Berkeley

While I am in Berkeley for a couple of days, I figured that I would Make it a Point to be at a particular place at a particular time, so:

Monday June 18th, I will be at Jupiter on Shattuck in downtown Berkeley from 6:30 or so onward.  I'd love to see people.  So, if you've been reading my blog, you are invited.  Please join me.

Day 43 - Manchester Beach to Stillwater Cove

Day 43 (June 17) Manchester Beach to Stillwater Cove regional park – where I call in a ride

Actually got moving relatively early this morning.  I was loaded and out of the campsite by 10AM.  I wanted to put some serious miles on, so that I can make SF and home by Sunday night.  I figure that means about 70 mile days.

I am finding that the Sonoma coast is much like, but a little less picturesque than the Mendocino coast.  The coastline is still dramatic, but my impressions of the surrounding area is mainly: dry.

Going through Sea Ranch, I am first reminded that I am no longer in the Republic of Rust:

We aren't in Oregon any more...

I also saw this - which has to be one of the neatest looking chapels ever:

The Sea Ranch Chapel

I have been playing tag all day with another cyclist.  He is on a mountain bike with a BOB trailer.  He passes me on uphills, I pass him on downhills. 

The winds today aren’t as strong as they have been for a while.  I stopped in at Bones in Gualala for lunch – pretty good.  I had 2 pints of stout – I probably should have stopped at one, as my riding was a bit slow for a while.  

Riding down the coast, I then went out to Stewart’s point where I got a soda and stretched out some.  While I was there, a group of motorcyclists had slowly gathered and were talking, when up comes a big guy on a big Harley with a Maltese in goggles on the tank.  He's of course named Harley:

Harley on his Harley

I was cruising along through Salt Point state park when I heard the tink tink of another broken spoke on the rear wheel.  That makes three, so I’m packing it in to go get some spokes made and have the wheel trued before I get back on the road.  Here's what it looked like waiting for my dad to come and pick me up:

All packed up...

When I next head out I will be leaving a lot of stuff at home, and should have a smaller and lighter setup.  So there will be a hiatus of a few days while I get parts and learn how to true a wheel.

Distance: 46 miles

Average speed :10 mph
Top speed: 52 mph - I was going 40, when I hit an even steeper downhill section.  Whee!

Day 42 - Fort Bragg to Manchester Beach

Day 42 (June 15)

Fort Bragg to Manchester Beach

I spent most of the morning drinking coffee and updating the blog.

In the Super 8 lobby, I was amused to hear “Hotel California” on the sound system – I wouldn’t think that was quite the image that they want to convey – “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”

Then, when making calls and plans for when I hit the Bay Area, I found out that my favorite massage therapist and all-around great person Ravenlight has metastatic pancreatic cancer, and isn't expected to live long.  She's doing everything that she can to beat it

While getting coffee, I saw Ike + Christa in the lobby, which really surprised me, as I expected them to be 40 miles further down the road.  Ike hadn’t been feeling well the day before and decided to stop in Fort Bragg for the night.

When I finally rode out, I just wanted to put some miles on.

Nice little views just kept popping up the whole day:

A really cool peek-a-boo view

A pretty little cove

I saw a pair of some sort of wild weasel (or other muscarene) just before getting to the bridge over Salmon creek.  A pair of them ran out into the road, saw me, and dashed back to their burrow in the hillside.  These guys were tiny - they had to be less than a pound apiece. 

I also saw a new (to me) brand of WWII era BMW knockoff - (this isn't a Ural or any of the other brands I'm familiar with)

This reminds me that I still want to get a hack (motorcycle with sidecar) 

And another picturesque cove:

I was just arriving in Mendocino (the town) when I heard the tink tink of a broken spoke.  I pulled off to the side of the road and called my father - I told him that I'd broken two spokes, and that if I broke another, I didn't want to ride off - would he be available to give me a ride if that happened.  He said that yes, that would certainly be possible.  So I loaded up again and headed back out on the road.

In Elk, I saw a little pub and decided that stopping for a pint would be good

I had a nice porter and spoke with the Chinese woman tending bar.  She said that she'd been there for about 3 years.  She'd arrived one weekend and basically never left.

About an hour and a half I reached Manchester beach, looked over the state campground, and decided that I'd go to the KOA again.  Hot showers, you know.  Well, it turned out that this KOA had even more amenities, like a kitchen space and a hot tub, both of which I took advantage of.

There were four other cyclists there - three guys heading south quickly, turning centuries, and one guy heading north slowly, going to Seattle and then turning east - all the way to the east coast.  You go Carlos - have a blast along the way.

Music:

Rick James – Street Songs (2^nd ½)

Robert Earl Keen – Walking Distance

Roberta Flack – Softly with these songs

Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

Roomful of Blues – watch you when you go

Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama (CD single)

Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club

Distance 41.8 miles

Max 45 mph

Average ~9 mph

Day 41 - Westport Beach to Fort Bragg

Day 41 (June 14) - Westport Beach to Fort Bragg

I packed up slowly again.  Sharon was right - breakfast and clean-up from breakfast is what really slows down mornings.  I may switch to cereal and yogurt or hot cereal ('cuz I need to heat water for coffee anyway) to speed things up.

At about 11:00, I was starting out of the campground when "BANG" I blew the rear tire.  Another sidewall blowout.  I also managed to break a spoke and my rear fender, probably in the ride from Leggett.  I'd been hearing the tink tink of something hitting a spoke, but couldn't find it.  Now I know why, I wasn't looking closely enough.  I hope that the wheel holds out, 'cuz I can't get more spokes until the bay area (3 - 4 days away).

I am really disappointed with these tires.  I'm going to write both Schwalbe and HP Velotechnic to tell them about my experiences.

When I mounted my trusty marathon spare on the back, having thrown away the old tire and the rear (dead) fender, I decided that when I get home for a day, I'm stealing the Marathon +'s from my Cattrike and mounting them for the southern run.  I'm also going to leave behing the rain gear, some clothing, the front fenders and the fairing (I'll trade the wind resistance for the cooling).

The ride to Fort Bragg showed me what is likely to be the bane of my riding from here south - the steep  downhill into a tight turn, into a steep uphill.  No momentum to carry me up the hill, and it's often 6+ %, which is really too much for me to crank it out right now.  Maybe with a smaller granny gear.  I'll see what I can get when I get back to Berkeley.

There is one advantage to these switchbacks, however, because of the combination of high winds and my low speed up through the switchbacks, I got to see a few raptors going absolutely nutso in the wind.  It looked like they were playing, seeing just what they could do, and some of it was truly amazing to watch.

After crossing the bridge over 10-mile creek, I saw that they had a display about the bridge:

I rode into Fort Bragg, bought butane from an outfitters, dropped my bike off at the shop to have the derailleurs adjusted and went off to do laundry.  After I'd finished the laundry and packed up again, I was starving, so I went to the mexican restaurant next door, had a chile relleno plate and started out to the next campground.  Then I realized that I needed to buy food.  After I bought food, it was after 7PM, the wind was cold, the campground was far, and I decided to chuck it and go to a motel for the night.

I got the most expensive Super 8 room that I'd ever seen (even with maximum discounts for this cold bicyclist), but I decided that warmth, power, wifi to update the Blog and a nice, soft bed were worth it.  I went to the circle K next door, bought a beer and settled in for the night.

Day 40 - Benbow Lake to Westport Beach

Day 40 (June 13) – Benbow Lake to Westport Beach

Woke up about 7, packed up my stuff and rode out of the park by 7:30, so I know that it’s possible for me to pack quickly, I just need to have never really unpacked!

Heading out, I decided that I needed to take a picture of the campsite sign:

I rode out with the intention of buying breakfact in Benbow, but it turned out that the only place that seemed to exist was the Benbow inn:

Not my speed this morning

Which was certainly not where I wanted to be.  So, I rode into Richardson Grove state park and set up my “kitchen” in their day use area.  Using the outside bathroom wall as a windbreak for the stoves and tapping off of the power from the bathroom, I worked to charge everything while making coffee and breakfast.

While I was heating water and pans, group of kids led by two adults came through the picnic area.  When I volunteered that I'd be perfectly happy to answer questions, I suddenly had nearly a dozen excited kids asking question.  I do appreciate the unbridled curiosity of kids of a certain age.  After a while (maybe as long as 1/2 an hour), the adults managed to shuffle the kids off to their "next thing."

Then as I was washing up, a couple rode up on a BMW R1200 to use the bathroom.  We started talking and it turns out that they're from Ontario and had just bought a place in Arizona and then went to tour the western part of both the US and Canada.  Another fun interaction.

Rode out of park and towards Leggett – I saw lots of closed campgrounds:

Are we seeing a pattern yet?

In Leggett proper, I went to stop at THE store to prep for the ride up the monster hill, but it was closed for remodeling – "please visit store 1 mile that way."  About ½ mile that way the road banking was so steep that uphill (at 5mph), I couldn’t get the bike to stay upright.  I toppled over, scraping up a knee and elbow somewhat.  I swore up a blue streak, turned around and paid way too much money for 2 liters of water at the gas station.  While at the gas station, I met 2 other cyclists, Ike and Christa, as they were about to attack the hill as well.  We chatted a bit, and then I rode off to attack the hill.

They passed me on the way up the big hill.  I passed them on the way down.  They passed me on the way up the 2nd hill and I didn't see them again until that evening.

While at Elk Meadows, I talked to a rider who said that he really liked the Leggett hill - it has a constant  slope and he finds it rather meditative.   Now I understand what he means.  I managed to go up the whole thing without stopping for more than 3 seconds, and I only had to do that a few times.  It took 2996 pedal revolutions to get to the top of the 1st hill.  I was doing almost exactly 60 rpm, so that means it took me just shy of an hour to climb 1300'.

Then there’s the next hill – which maps & guides say is 600’, but my GPS said was more like 800’.  Having climbed it and talked about it with several other cyclists, we all agree that the 2nd hill is harder than the first.  It's slope is all over the place and gets as high as 7% - which is just too high for me to be able to do more than about 100 yards at a time.

Riding down the hill through the twisties, I took the lane when my speed was at the posted recommendations.  I still got people who decided that they must GO FASTER.  Saw a work truck pass me and then nearly wipe in the next turn.  Oy.

I finally made it to the coast:

My first full view of the water

ahhhh, blessed cool breezes.  And the view is magnificent:

What an amazing view

I finally made it to Westport Beach, but the primitive campgrounds were way too much for me, went to KOA 2 miles down road, so I could take shower.  Ike an Christa passed me on way there – they decided against the primitive site too.  Also, after the Leggett hill, Christa said that she just wanted a long shower.

When I got there, I discovered that KOA has hiker/biker rates.  I never would have known.  Here it was only $5 - only $2 more than the primitive campground.

While registering, Ike and Christa asked about place to buy dinner – apparently the restaurant is only open Thursday through Saturday.

I told them that I was going to cook pasta, did they want to join me?  They eventually decided to.  We had a nice, if slow to cook, simple pasta & tomato sauce – aseptic tomatoes, oregano, garlic, a pinch of chipotle powder.  Sat & ate, then they washed the dishes – Huzzah!

Music: (Outlasted ipod again)

John Hiatt – Slow turning

John Prine – The missing years

KD Lang – Engenue

King Crimson – Three of a Perfect Pair (this album just washed out for me)

KT Tunstall – Eye to the telescope (need more of her stuff)

Lyle Lovett – Pontiac

Meat Loaf – Bat out of Hell (total cheese, but reminds me of party in grad school where all drunken German post docs were singing along to album)

Neil Young – Freedom

Peter Gabriel – Security

The Android phone crapped out again

Distance – 56 miles (minus about 3% - computer reads a bit high)

Average speed (without stops) – 8.4 mph

Top speed – 43.6 mph (in the twisties!)

Day 39 - Humboldt County fairgrounds to Benbow Lake state park

Day 39 – (June 12) Humboldt County fairgrounds to Benbow Lake state park

Morning is positively San Franciscan – foggy, overcast, chilly and a little drizzly.  No short sleeves this morning.

Did a combination of cooking breakfast and starting to break camp.  I think that I’ve finally figured out the alcohol stoves, and I’ll play with them more tonight.  They seem to be running a summer camp at the fairgrounds.  The counselors remind me of bad high school athletic coaches.  Having listened to it for a while, it turns out that they’re practicing for graduation.  Must be Jr. High.

I end up reorganizing everything *again* to pack up and therefore leave later than I wanted to,  probably 11AM.  I leave and ride through Ferndale, which is certainly cute (downtown at least).  In fact it’s so cute that I’m sure they have some really ugly zoning requirements.

I saw this storefront and loved it:

I know a few guys that would like this place

I also saw that they had a historical note:

Girlie Girls' building's historical note

I was also taken by the architecture of the IOOF Building:

Leaving Ferndale, it’s a pleasant ride through mainly dairy farms.  For some reason, I still tend to look at the cows and go “Moo…” really silly, I know.  I did wonder if this barn was going to fall over if one of the cows leaned on it:

Going, going ...

The ride was pretty much the same, with an occasional highlight, like a mother and foal donkey:

Mama Being Protective

I got to Rio Dell, which made me think Rio del what?  I stopped at the Old 101 café and had a plate of tacos.  Real tacos.  Just meat and onions and cilantro on two small soft corn tortillas.  Delicious. 

Rio Dell also had a remembrance that I really appreciated:

That's a big stump

Going through Scotia was a trip.  Scotia has been the headquarters of the Pacific Lumber Company since the 1869:

Propaganda anyone?

They've put some of their old equipment on display:

Steam engine (railroad)

Steam Engine (mill)

Going by the mill, the yard was just huge - all those ex-trees...

Then I reached the live trees - the Avenue of The Giants (AKA CA 251). 

The ride became (almost?) spiritual.  It felt like the trees were giving me energy. 

Sharon was talking about how camping under the trees made her feel closed in (probably why she lives in the desert).  Well, I feel exactly the opposite.  While I was in the woods, I had more energy and was riding faster.  I felt good.  Really good. 

I actually didn't take any pictures of the forest or trees themselves, as the pictures would so completely fail to convey the impressiveness of the atmosphere.  I did, however photograph several of the memorial plaques:

Then there are a couple of other types of remembrances:

Remembering the flood of 1964

Just remember - nature hits with a vengeance 

And another type:

Thanks to the firefighters

Just for the heck of it - more questionable business names:

Really??

After riding about 20 miles to get there, I rode the entire length of the Avenue of the giants, and then another 11 miles to Benbow.  

By the time I got to Benbow, it was very nearly dark (I really have to get moving earlier), and when I got to the park (which is supposed to have hiker/biker campsites – and I checked online first this time) the camping was still “closed for the season”.  Given my condition, and that they had water and pit toilets, I said “fuck it, I’m exhausted and it’s not safe to ride any longer” and set up my tent.

Then about 3AM there’s a bright light on my tent – “Sheriff’s Department”.  I unzipped the tent, put my hands out first and half emerged from the tent.  The deputies took my info and ran a wants and warrants check on me, and asked what I was doing.  I explained the situation, and they started asking about the ride, what I thought about it, how far I’d gone, etc.  They then said: “Well the park’s officially closed, so we check for any undesirables … since that’s not you, just go back in and get back to sleep.  And be safe.”  I thanked them and crawled back into the tent as they left. 

I’m glad that I’ve been shaving, even if it does mean hauling around an electric shaver.

Stats:

Distance: 66.9 miles

Avg. speed (including stops): 6.5 mph

Max speed: 42.5 mph

Second campsite that effectively isn’t there

Cool cops: 2

Lesson: call the damned campsites regardless of what they say online (season was supposed to start June 1)

Music:

Lenny Kravits – Mama Said

Lyle Lovett – Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

Parliament Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

Paul Okenfold: 2005 remix

Paul Simon: Graceland

Peter Gabriel: So

The Pogues: If I should Fall From Grace with God

REM – Green

Tracy Chapman – New Beginning

And I lasted an hour longer than a fully charged ipod shuffle (playing only when riding)