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.
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