Day Six

Mileage: 69.1 miles
Total: 364.4 miles

Another day just pedaling down the road. After sleeping off and on last night, due to some raccoons trying to get into my gear, followed by a bad dream where Shasta was missing, I was glad it was morning so I could get back on the road. However, the first twenty miles today were rough. The fog was thick and there was a headwind. I decided that after twenty miles of riding I would stop in the town of Gualala and treat myself to second breakfast in a restaurant. And I am glad I did. As I pulled into the restaurant I noticed another bike, and recognized it to be Herman (the German) who I had met several days before. He invited me to join him at his table and we then road together the rest of the day.

Now I would like to say that having company was nice to swap pulls in the headwind. And I'm also not saying I'm proud, but I enjoyed drafting off Herman, who is 62, far more than he drafted off me. During a rare break in the fog today we toured Fort Ross before heading on a beautiful stretch of road that climbed over 500 feet above the ocean, hugging the cliffside. The views were great, but pullouts for stopping and taking photos were few.

I know I promised to talk about pavement types, but I will put that post off for another day to instead talk about wind. Now while biking and touring there are a few types of wind. Here they are:

No wind: What a peaceful day, just spinning along at a comfortable pace.

Headwind: These are the demoralizings ones, forcing you to pedal hard only to get minimal speed. Even worse when they force you to pedal to move on the downhills, or when you feel you are stopped in your tracks trying to head uphill.

Tailwind: Now these are the days you are flying, feeling strong, thinking maybe I am in shape and can tow this load. Chances are its not you, its a tailwind.

Of course there are crossbreezes as well, and those just aren't helping anyone out. As much as I have whined the wind this morning wasn't as bad as it can get, but provided a rough start to the day.

Tomorrow I will be finishing the first leg of my journey as I pedal into San Francisco for Kelly's birthday. I will spend Saturday resting and doing laundry. Then Sunday will be pedaling off with Kelly for the San Francisco to Santa Barbara leg of the journey. Solo biking has had its ups and downs, and I have enjoyed the people I've met and the sites I've seen, but I am excited to have someone to share the next section with.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Day Five

Mileage: 39.5 miles
Total: 295.3 miles

I cannot believe I am already on day five of this trip. I still have a long way to pedal, but it already feels like the trip is flying by. After two long days I decided to make today a shorter day. In part because going further today would only mean a short day tomorrow based on campground locations between here and San Francisco. And let me tell you being off the bike by 2pm was great, but not as great as the hot shower at the campground. Biking makes you a special dirty and I was happy to wash off the road grime.

I could bore you with a narrative of how BEAUTIFUL the ride was today, but instead I will bore you about something else. Road signs. While biking road signs take on a whole new meaning. This post is a bit more pertinent to the earlier days along 101, than it is to highway 1, but I wanted to share now anyway. Examples:

"Passing Lane 1000 ft": This means get ready because in 1000 feet a hill is about to start.

"Lane Ends Merge Left": Praise be! I am almost at the top of that hill.

Mileage signs: By this I mean the signs that tell you how far to the next town. In a car you zip past them, and when you want to see one there isn't one. While biking they seem to be spaced perfectly and give an idea of the distance to the next milestone. Reaching these signs is a treat, showing your progress.

Other fantastic signs are those warning trucks of the steepgrades below. Basically, any sign informing you a long climb has ended is a wondrous one.

Now back to today. Although short, today was listed in the guidebook as strenuous. Including the steepest hill of the entire route. I hope they don't get steeper, because this was steep! For you Santa Barbarans think Old San Marcos. I'm not going to lie I had to push my bike up the steepest switchback. In fact I didn't try riding it because with the road gearing on my bike plus the trailer I was pretty sure my options were to push the bike or try to ride, fall over and then push the bike. It seemed better to skip the falling and just start pushing.

For those of you that are wondering the mexican coke and pizza was my breakfast. The pizza was leftover from Piacis a tasty pizzeria in Fort Bragg. Also, if you enjoyed today's post on road signs, you will also enjoy a future post I have planned on types of pavement!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Day Four

Mileage: 67.6 miles
Total: 255.8 miles

While riding today I was pondering how to describe touring to others. What I came up with or realized, is that if each of you imagines getting up and then at 8:30 or 9:00am instead of going to work you just started pedaling, taking a couple of food and photobreaks, and then kept pedaling until the end of your workday at around 5 or so, well that's touring. Or at least that's my typical day.

Today was another big day, not just in mileage but also because of a big climb. Today was the climb up and over Legett Hill, which at 1950 feet is the highest point of the ride. Today also marked the last day of riding along 101 until central California, as the route switched to highway 1. I was fortunate again today to have the company of Lena and Kaitlin as well as Herman, who is touring here solo twenty years after he and his wife did the ride together.

After how it felt to climb the Crescent City Hills on day one, I was fearing the worst. Either Legett Hill wasn't so bad or I am getting used to riding with the load. However, Legett Hill wasn't the only challenge today. After descending all the way down to sea level, there was another 680 foot hill, and after this descent we were at the coast. It keeps amazing me on this trip, even moving at a biking pace how quickly the scenery and the climate and ecosystem seems to change.

The last part of the day involved lots of rolling hills along the coast. Its going to be a fun next few days seeing how the coast changes as I pedal further south. Sorry there are no photos from today, I took them on my camera and just didn't get the phone out.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Day Three

Mileage: 74.7 miles
Total: 188.2 miles

First off I am bummed because I typed out this post yesterday and the draft got lost after a failed update. Here is what happened on day three.

I started out in Eureka after a good nights rest and the free breakfast at the hotel I was staying at. The ride out of town was a bit hectic due to lots of traffic on 101. However, it quickly mellowed out and the riding became quite enjoyable. Not too far out of town I passed a guy from Colorado who I had briefly ridden with the day before. Our paces differed and I pulled ahead.

One of the high points of the day was getting off 101 onto the Avenue of the Giants scenin byway. The riding was gorgeous and I kept stopping to take pictures of the redwood groves. Which I am kind of wondering what it would take to get the Spike Redwood Grove because every ten yards it seemed there was a grove named for someone else. However, one of the highlights of the road was a produce stand in Pepperwood offering blackberry popsicles. I almost had a second one, also the owners of the stand (Holly and Mel) were really friendly and provided a bathroom and a place to refill water bottles. After another bit of riding I came to the campground I had originally planning on stopping at. There I met Lena and Kaitlin (http://longhaultruckers.tumblr.com) who were also debating carrying on since it was only 2pm. I joined them and we pedaled on another 25 miles to Benbow Lake. In Garberville we also enjoyed pedaling through a drive through coffee shop. Although I rarely drink coffee I couldn't pass up an opportunity to pedal thru. Fortunately the menu also listed smoothies in any flavor, I inquired and any flavor was strawberry, strawberry and banana, or pina colada. Always a sucker for cocunut I went for the pina colada.

And I apologize for all typos and poor grammar. I type these posts out at the end of the day then upload them when I have signal.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Day Two

Mileage: 54.4 miles
Total mileage: 113.5

This morning I had to finally say goodbye to Linda and her twins. Shortly after bidding farewell I had a trip first, and hopefully last. I fell over. Oops. I dropped the chain on my bike and although I got my foot down the weight of the trailer had momentum that I couldn't stop. This occurred before I had even left the campground.

The route today was much less hilly, but involved some rolling hills along the coast. Aside from my falling incident I felt comfortable with the weight for the first time today, and putting the day one nerves and doubts behind me. As I ride I tend to come up with "witty" phrase, that I would have mentioned at the time but fortunately no one else was there. For instance, every time I passed a slow traffic keep right sign I would comment to myself "don't mind if I do!" Like I said, its probably better no one was there.

Today I saw several other groups of folks biking, and in fact I met a woman this morning who has been biking since Alaska! I ended up riding about 15 miles with a guy from Colorado who has been riding since Seattle. After many hours of travel alone its nice to have a conversation, and also nice that when the paces don't match to just pull away. The company was nice today as it overlapped with where the bike touring map took us on some dirt paths. Turns out road tires plus a trailer plus uphill on gravel isn't a winning combination.

Originally, I planned on camping at the KOA campground outside of Eureka, but on passing it I noticed it would be loud and involve crossing 4 lanes of traffic on 101. Instead I pedaled another bit to Eureka where I got a hotel room, and where I am currently enjoying dinner and a beer at the lost coast brewery. Nothing like a day of riding to warrant clam chowder, a portabello mushroom sandwich, fries, and a pint of the alleycat amber. I bet you'll never guess who made it in the clean plate club tonight!

Also I hope you can tell from the photo that I passed a coffee shop called the jitter bean today. Almost jittery Joe's!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Day One

If I said today was 100% fun I would partially be lying. To fully explain this statement, I will also answer Jeramy's question in the comment section about my gross vehicular weight. Although I don't know the weight of my bike or the trailer offhand, I do know that all my gear in the trailer weighs in at around 40 lbs. Which gets back to my orignal statement that today wasn't 100% fun. It turns out towing this much weight can get a bit squirelly. It took me about 5 miles before I was willing to clip in to my pedals. After that I settled in to a nice speed and toured through the farmland north of Crescent City. One stretch of road had been recently repaved with an incredibly wide bike lane. Just north of Crescent City I biked along the coast on Pebble Beach Road (didn't see a golf course though) and snapped some photos of sea stacks to the sound of barking seals.

After leaving Crescent City the road heads UP climbing what are known as the Crescent City Hills. I quickly learned that climbing out of the saddle is not really an option with a trailer. However as I was sucking wind up the hill my friend Linda passed me and pulled out at the next vista point, greeting me with an ice cold coke! After catching my breath (from drinking the coke so quickly!) I continued upward to a high point of 1200 feet.

The ride went through some beautiful redwoods, which I must admit I didn't spend nearly enough time admiring as I was worried about covering all the miles to Elk Creek campground where I was meeting Linda and her kids for a night of camping. At the campground Linda outdid herself once again by making burritos for dinner, of which I ate two!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Oregon border

I have almost completed the non human powered portion of my trip. After a day and a half of driving I have covered the same distance it will take me two plus weeks to pedal. I can also report that although I drove up on the map it is not going to be downhill the entire way back to San Diego.

All in all the drive was uneventful. However, it turns out rental cars were made far more recently than my truck, so the cassete adapter I brought for my noniPhone was not so useful. I didn't even make it an hour out of Santa Barbara this morning before stopping at a best buy and picking up an audio cable.

Tomorrow starts the big ride and I already need to thank several people. First off thanks to my publicist(Jeanni) for the burrito and the ride from San Diego to Santa Barbara. Also, I have to thank the twins (Kyle and Emily) and Barlo for the cookies and pretty pictures. Lastly, thanks to my boss from my park rangering days for the couch to sleep on after I finish typing out this post on my phone.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Packing

Packing for trips like this gives me an idea of what it must be like each December for Santa Claus.  I keep making my lists and checking them twice.  As a friend pointed out the dilemma of doing a trip like this solo, is that if I forget something its all on me, I won't have a traveling companion to have remembered it.

At least one item on the tarp didn't make it in the final bag.

It seems I already have several followers before the trip has really begun, thanks to my publicist (Jeanni). One of my readers (Meg), suggested that I let everyone know the total mileage and total elevation gain/loss of the trip.  I wish I could provide all of this information, however, I cannot.  The total mileage of the California Coast is approx. 1038 miles, 1670 km for those of you who prefer metric.  However, the itinerary I have planned includes some side trips through redwood groves, bringing the total up to around 1049 miles (1688 km).  I may also tack on an extra 40 or so miles if I choose to tour through the Lost Coast.  

I also want to say thanks to everyone who has already written me either offering me a place to stay, or company for a few hours or several days.  Of course, my friends tend to be geographically concentrated and although many of you have offered me places to stay when I bike through San Diego, I think I'll be okay for that date.  

The packed trailer.

  

Why?

Why have I decided to bike the California Coast?  Frankly, I think this is a silly question.  I have recently accepted a big kid job in Florida, and before I move there I want to get in a few last California adventures.  I have always wanted to do a bike tour, so this seems like the perfect time to just pack all my things on a bike and go.  


Why have I decided to create this blog?  Well, I thought that a few people (Hi Meg!) might want to entertain themselves by following my progress.  I will try and post photos and tidbits along the way, partially for you to see what I've done, and partially to create a record for me to look back on.  Also, if you happen to see I will be coming near you and want to pedal a few miles, let me crash, or just meet up then please let me know!


Lastly, you may be wondering why my blog has a ridiculous title like oscarrrramon.  Well, for those of you have haven't been formally introduced please meet Oscar Rrramon, my road bike, and the trusty steed who will hopefully allow me to pedal all the way from the Oregon Border down to Mexico.  Please make sure you roll the 3 Rs in Rrramon!

Oscar Rrramon!