More Pix, Days 9 & 10: Laytonville - Santa Rosa - Santa Cruz

I took this picture of my trusty bike just before we set off for Santa Rosa at 8:30 a.m. of Day 9. Note that the tires are still the yellow ones I bought for the ride. This was their last day on the road. If you read my blog for that day, you know that I had a flat just outside of Ukiah and then almost immediately went to Dave's Bike Shop to get two new tires. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of the crew at the shop, because they were a good bunch of guys. By the way guys, even though I did get that one flat after just 35 miles or so after I left your shop, I made it the rest of the way to Tijuana with zero flats. So the tires were a good choice after all! Two thumbs up!














If you remember, the story of the day was the cold start. Here's another look at the morning conditions. This almost looks like a painting, not a picture.



















If you remember, I arrived in Willits ahead of Jody, who was too cold to ride, and Joe, who stayed behind to give Jody some company. I spotted this little restaurant and decided it was a good place to wait for the other two. As soon as we pulled out of here, two hours after we started our ride 22 miles up the road, Joe got yet another flat. He was able to find a bike shop, however, so he got two new tires and tubes.

We spent the night in Santa Rosa at Richard and Olga's place. For some reason, Olga didn't really like me, from the moment we met. I think it's because I couldn't muster a smile when she greeted us. I guess that had something to do with the fact that I was probably a little tired from the 105-mile(!) ride from Laytonville. And my 10-minute shower bothered her, too, since that led to the soup getting cold. Next time, I guess I'll limit my shower time to 5 minutes. Geez. Screw the hot water on the aching muscles. What was I thinking? Olga ignored me all night and didn't even look me in the eye when she shook my hand to say "Goodbye" in the morning. I guess I won't be spending any more nights at Olga's place. Oh, darn! (8:45 a.m.)

I took this photo at the Petaluma Starbucks where we met my cousin Rivka. (Why didn't I get a picture of the two of us?) 50 points to the first person who correctly guesses who "Ryder" is.

Ten minutes after we crossed into Marin County, Joe's (new!) tires were at it again. Jody took the opportunity to chow down on one of his favorite ride snacks, salted peanuts (2 bags for a buck). Note to Jody: It's not 3:15 p.m. It's not your time to eat!

Here we are at 2:45 p.m., getting closer and closer to Sausalito and the Golden Gate Bridge. If you take a close look at the photo, you'll see that Jody is actually taking a sip from his water bottle. Go figure.

This isn't the greatest picture in the world, but it's still worth including here because it shows the first glimpse I got of San Francisco! At that moment, I thought to myself, "I can't believe I've just ridden my bike from Vancouver all the way to San Francisco! Wow!"















Here I am at 3:30 p.m., riding across the Golden Gate Bridge! Crossing the Golden Gate was without a doubt one of my favorite parts of the ride.

After a pit stop at the Russian Bakery on Geary, we made our way over to the Great Highway. It's now 4:30 p.m. and we still have about 70 miles to go to our destination, Santa Cruz. Why am I smiling? I guess I must be nuts!

At least the weather was nice, as was the view!

More Pix, Days 7 & 8: Brookings - Eurkea - Laytonville

Here's another milestone, as we crossed into California shortly after leaving our night's lodgings, the Blue Coast Inn & Suites ($51.36) in Brookings. (9:35 a.m.)

When I tell Jody to slow down, he doesn't necessarily listen, but at least he's a law-abiding citizen...

When I looked at the menu before ordering a late breakfast (11:00 a.m.), I said to Jody, "I must be back in civilization." Why? Two words: Buckwheat pancakes. I don't think you can get buckwheat pancakes in Japan.

Here's the scene, about two hours post pancakes. It's not looking so good, is it? That explains why I didn't take any more pictures until we arrived at our destination in Eureka.

And here we are, seven hours later, enjoying a lovely dinner, thanks to our gracious host Jeanette! Notice how we three stooges are all wearing the same kind of V-neck. That's what happens when you put all your clothes in the laundry, and by "all your clothes" I mean the same shirt you've been wearing night after night after night... Toothbrush and a credit card, folks. Toothbrush and a credit card.

Thankfully, when we woke up the next day, we were greeted with bright sunshine. This is us, about an hour into the day's ride, at 9:35 a.m.
















As I mentioned in the day's blog, this was Joe's day to get punk'd. Oh, and it's not a cup of tea changing a flat with cars zooming by you at 65-70 mph. Anyway, here's flat number 1, at 11:00.

Flat number 2, at 11:15.

And flat number 3, at 11:40.

Here's a look at one of the more scenic roads we had the pleasure of riding on. (4:45 p.m.)

An hour later and it's getting dark.

At 6:00, I rolled past this sign, signaling the end of another day's work. This happens to be Jody's favorite place in all of California. Make that, the United States. Make that, the world!

Gosh, darn it! I love my knife... And I love you, too, Boomers... Thanks so much for the delicious, inexpensive, and filling meals... NOT!

Jody's attempt at creating his very own Leaning Tower of Peanut Butter Sandwiches...

More Pix, Days 5 & 6: Newport - Coos Bay - Brookings

Here I am in the morning, just before we headed out from our hotel in Newport, Oregon, looking mighty happy in my "raincoat," as we were about to take on another day of rain. That 99-cent plastic job actually kept me fairly dry, but it was so not made for cycling that I ditched it a day or two later and braved the elements without it.

Four hours later, I took out my camera for the first time. Jody and I stopped here to take a look at all the sea lions in the water, just before we past by the Sea Lion Caves, north of Florence, Oregon. You can't see them in the picture, but there were hundreds of sea lions down there. (Nice weather, eh?) It's unfortunate that we didn't have the time to relax and enjoy such natural beauty (not just here, but in many places along our route) for any more than a couple minutes.

I'm only including this picture to show you how dirty I got following in Jody's wake. I already mentioned in the blog how close behind Jody I was riding that day and here's a little proof.

Here's the meal I had at the Kozy Kitchen in North Bend, Oregon. (I asked for no gravy but got it anyway.) We actually planned to walk to the Kozy Kitchen II, which was only about 0.8 miles away from the Motel 6 we were staying at, but because it was still raining, we called a taxi. When the driver exited the hotel parking lot and turned left instead of right, we asked him where he was going. He told us that he was taking us to the other Kozy Kitchen (about 2.6 miles away), which was open 24 hours a day, because No. 2 was closed. In fact, No. 2 was still open, but we could hardly blame the taxi driver for wanting the higher fare...

A bunch of cheerleaders sitting next to us ordered this Kozy Kake, so we decided to go for it, too. As you can see, all three of us were enjoying this calorie bomb at once. Luckily, we only ordered one of these things.

The weather was pretty ugly the next day, so I hardly took any pictures. This is one of the few I did take. I think I'll leave the caption for this photo up to you readers... (Joe's last name is Reinhart.)

My dinner that night, in Brookings, Oregon. (I told you I hardly took any pictures!) The food was really good, but I can't recall the name of the restaurant.















When it came time for dessert, Jody and I both ordered cheesecake. Two nights earlier, we also had cheesecake for dessert (I think it's Jody's favorite), but we were disappointed with the measly portions we were served. That's why we asked the waitress how big the slices were. When she replied, "I'm the one who cuts the cake," we knew we were in for a treat. The picture doesn't really tell the story, but that's a big piece. And it was yummy!

More Pix, Days 3 & 4: Aberdeen - Cannon Beach - Newport

Here's Jody "mounting" his ride. Because he's kind of short (sorry, Home Slice), and because he's not all that flexible (his words!), he had trouble throwing his leg over his rack pack. Thus, Jody developed this funky move for easily getting on his bike. He even through in a left swivel after several days of perfecting things.

Here's another look at what we had to deal with on an almost daily basis: Trucks, trucks, and more trucks.

Then again, we also got to see quite a bit of wildlife during the ride.

Here's Joe ahead of me, crossing the 4.5-mile long Astoria-Megler Bridge that separates Washington from Oregon. You can't tell by the picture, but it was extremely(!) windy at the time. No fun, trust me.

We made it to Oregon! Next up, California!

Jody was actually the last of us four to make it to Oregon. Oooooh, that feels so good, I just have to repeat it: Jody was actually the last of us four to make it to Oregon. OK, OK, that's enough picking on Jody. The truth is, about 20 miles back, he and Tom took the right fork, whereas Joe and I took the left fork. Thus, Joe and I arrived first in Oregon, since we had fewer miles to cover and one less mountain to pass over. Also, Tom made it across the bridge before Jody, because Tom was sent ahead to scout things out and find out if Joe and I had already crossed or not. Simple as that. Of course, none of that changes the fact that Jody was actually the last of us four to make it to Oregon. Moo haa haa!

Here's the house that we stayed at in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Thanks, Sarah!

The beautiful Oregon coastline.

Here's another nice view, north of Tillamook.

More Pix, Days 1 & 2: Vancouver - Lake Crescent - Aberdeen

This is the exact spot where my ride started, just outside the Amtrak station in Vancouver, BC.

Signs played a big role during the ride, so I plan to write a separate post about that. I'll leave this picture here, though. It shows the first sign I saw with the word "Tsawwassen" on it and was therefore a big relief for me, since I had to find my own way from Vancouver to the ferry, and I had to make it there in time to catch the 11:00 ferry. I was pretty sure I was making good headway, but as soon as I saw this sign, I knew I'd make it, so I let out a big "woo hoo!" I guess you could say that was the first of many such exhilarating moments during the ride.

Here's the beautiful view from the ferry, on the way to Swartz Bay. (CAD 13.75 + 2.00 for the bike.)

We hung out in Victoria, BC, for just a little while before we jumped on the ferry to Port Angeles, Washington. Here's a shot of the Parliament buildings.

Here is one of the few pictures I have of all four of us (Jody, me, Joe, and Tom), on the ferry, just as we are departing from Victoria, B.C., on the way to Port Angeles, Washington.

One of my first breakfasts on the road, this one eaten at the Hungry Bear Cafe, a bit past Lake Crescent.

If that "105" had been in kilometers, which is what you see on the signs in Japan, that wouldn't have been too bad. One problem was, this was America, so that's 105 miles to destination #2, Aberdeen, Washington. The other problem: it was already 11:23 a.m.

Here's one of the first views of the Pacific Ocean that I got while we were in Washington.

The truck shown here is heading in the opposite direction, but we also had tons of such trucks zooming right by us in northern Washington, with very little room to spare. This picture simply doesn't do justice to the constant danger that we were facing out there on the road, so I'll ask you to use your imagination. Also, take a closer look at what we had to ride on for hours and hours and hours: chip seal. Not pleasant. Trucks and chip seal: just two of the many reasons why the ride was anything but a cakewalk.

My "bed" for the night in Aberdeen. No complaints on my part, though, since it was free! (Thank you, Stephen.)

 
My dinner at "Billy's" in Aberdeen, a 1/2 pound yak patty melt. This was the night I ate alone.