Day 3: Saturday June 21, 2014

Because our ride was so intense yesterday Dave and I were exhausted and slept late and after breakfast we didn't get out of Santa Rosa until 10:30. We travelled north on Hwy 101 however, after a few miles on the road the traffic stopped. They were doing roadway repairs, so only one lane was open for several miles. We crept along for over a half hour before the second lane was opened on the highway. We took off at the Sonoma Lake exit and headed west toward the coast passing through the Dry Creek Appellation with acres of vineyards filling the landscape. We cruised up to the look out overseeing Sonoma Lake. The views were fantastic and the lake was inviting on this warm day.

Dry Creek Appellation

 

Sonoma Lake

 

The Look Out walk way

After leaving the Look Out we continued on the road to the coast. The temperature was 88 degrees and the road is full of twisties, hills and valleys; did I mention there was a bicycle race happening on this road? Yes we had to dodge those dang bicyclists, but we eventually made it past them all and took a break in the cool of the forest.

 

I just thought these were cool

I promised Laura that I would remind Dave to drink his water

After leaving the forest we arrived at the coast with temperatures ranging between 59 and 62 degrees and clear skies. Perfect! We turned north on Hwy 1 and soaked in the scenery and fresh ocean air. We came into the town of Gualala and could smell BBQ filling the air so we found this outdoor vendor at this small farmers market grilling up ribs. Dave and I shared a rack of ribs as we sat on the curb and savored those yummy baby-backs.

Does this really need a caption?

The small farmers market

 

After a belly full we got back on the highway and enjoyed the road and the sights and smells. At one of the vista points we pulled over to take pictures at we met some Harly riders from Tennesee. They shipped their bikes to Reno and then flew to Reno to pick up their bikes and begin their road trip. They are headed into Washington then down to Yellowstone and eventually back to Tennesee.

 

Our friends from Tenessee

The California coast

 

We followed Hwy 1 as far as it would go and it eventually merged with the 101 which took us to the Avenue of the Giants, the California Redwoods. Once making it out of the redwoods we stopped in Fortuna to visit with Doug and Sue and Gus! Always being such gracious hosts they treated us to dinner and they were so sorry that they couldn't accommodate us this trip as they are doing some remodeling on their house. Nevertheless, our visit was special although brief. We left them at 9:30pm and headed to Eureka where we are bedding down for the night. Another long day, but we plan on getting an earlier start tomorrow. We travelled 268 miles today.

 

Giant Redwood

 

 

 

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Day 2: Friday June 20, 2014

We woke this morning to a bright sunny day in Paso Robles. In fact it was warming up pretty quickly. We left Tobin James at 9:15 and we all headed over for breakfast at the golf course.

Road to the golf course in Paso Robles

Following breakfast we said good-bye to our lovely wife's (who headed north to Lincoln) and Dave and I travelled south on the 101 to 46 west towards Cambria and eventually highway 1 north. It was 87 degrees in Paso at 11am when we pulled out of the gas station. Within 30 minutes we were along the coast and stopping to put on our cold weather jackets and gloves as the temp dropped to 58 degrees!

Ready to leave the golf course

Driving away

The traffic was horrible on Highway 1 today and motor homes that wouldn't use the pullouts really backed up the traffic. We eventually made it to Carmel where we got lunch and gas. The temperature today was really wonky we must haves changed jackets and gloves 4 times because of the varying climate changes along the coast and inland.

One of our jacket change stops

Along Hwy 1 somewhere

We continued up Hwy 1 past Monterey and Santa Cruz where the winds were really blowing and the kite surfers and wind surfers were competing for space on the ocean. I had never seen so many wind and kite surfers at one spot, it was so congested it looked as though they would entangle their kites. I wish I could have taken some pictures but there was no place to pull over because of the crowds! We eventually made it up past Half Moon Bay and Pacifica into San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We were really surprised that we made it thru The City was smoothly as we did, the traffic was not bad. Although we made it into SF around 7pm.

The City from across the Golden Gate Bridge

 

I think Dave was texting Laura where we were

After we crossed the bridge we were going to find a hotel for the evening. We stopped at several places and all the rooms at Best Western, Residence Inn, even Econo Lodge type of locations were $270-$340 a night!! I couldn't and wouldn't pay that unless I was with Myrna and the room was at Heritage House in Mendocino! The reason for the price gouging---NASCAR is in town (must be Sears Point) Anyway, we decided to have dinner at an Organic non-GMO South American style restaurant in Novato. The food was very good and while waiting allowed me to make some calls to find a hotel for the evening. I did find a room at a Best Western in Santa Rosa! So we are in Santa Rosa tonight. Today was a long day, we started riding at 11am and checked into the hotel at 9:30pm, that is a long time on the road for only 327 miles.

 

 

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The Ride Begins

June 19, 2014 the Ride Begins, Myrna and I left Lincoln around 9:30am and headed south on the 5 to Paso Robles we will be meeting up with Dave and Laura who were coming up from San Diego by way of Abilene. As many of you know the 5 is down right boring with not much to see. We stopped in Ingram Creek for lunch (wouldn't recommend it) since our best friends are Ingram's we thought we would give it a try. We cruised on down the highway until Hwy 41 and cut over to Paso Robles. We left home with 70 degree temps and hit highs of 97 degrees. The heat can really wipe you out. We arrived at Tobin James winery at 3:00pm where we will be spending the night. We checked into our room got out of our hot sweaty clothes and put on some shorts then made it into the tasting room. The staff are always so fun and accommodating. We ordered food from an Italian restaurant and had a great evening playing shuffle board and catching up with Dave and Laura. Total miles today: 312

Getting ready to go

Ingram Creek Restaurant

 

The nothingness of Interstate 5

Arriving at Tobin James

Outside our room at Tobin James

Myrna and Laura

 

 

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Getting ready for another ride

In a few weeks Dave and I will be meeting up at Tobin James for another ride! We are riding our way to Wisconsin for the Wing Ding. Looking so forward to it.

My bike with its Bushtec trailer

Wednesday July 18, 2012

We woke early with anticipation. For today we were going to be home! We left Klamath Falls at 0730. We were informed by a highway sign before arriving in Klamath Falls yesterday, that highway 97 south was closed in California and to find an alternate route. So we headed west on highway 66 towards Ashland Oregon. The route took us on a windy mountain road, I enjoyed the ride but Myrna would have preferred a less twisty road. We arrived in Ashland then merged on interstate 5 south. After taking the 60 mile detour we were on our way back to California. Unfortunately, the battery went dead on the camera and we were not able to get photos of the Welcome Home sign at the California stateline. Nor any pictures of Mt. Shasta. After we passed Mt. Shasta there really wasn't too much to take pictures of anyway! The temperature was a cool 52 degrees in the mountains and eventually warmed up to 87 as we got into the Sacramento valley. Not too bad for July! We got home around 3:00 and Caleb and Winston were there to greet us (Courtney was at work). It was so nice to be home and I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment!

The people we met traveling across this beautiful America were all so nice. Whether we were in a store, a restaurant, gas station or parking lot, the Americans, Canadians and Norwegians we encountered were all friendly. I guess being on the road or being in a small town brings the best out of people!

We rode 390 miles today for a grand total of miles ridden for me at 10,038. Myrna's ride total was 4,683 miles! I am so proud of her making this cross country ride with me.

I will do another post later with more statistics about the trip! Thank you all for following along on the ride, for those that were praying for safety THANK YOU and to those who left comments, I appreciated reading them and your encouraging words!

Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.