No Showers

A brief thunderstorm started our morning at Big Sur. Knowing we had a big day of hill riding and several peaks topping almost 1000 feet in evaluation, we doubled up on our coffee and ate our trusted morning breakfast of oatmeal as a bit of rain came down. Once we were charged up, we set off. The ride was an epic. The scenery was majestic and allowing the day to be more about the ride than counting down the miles.

We had been keeping pace with several other cyclists and knew we'd all be at our next destination; Kirk Creek campground. Poncha and I were the first to arrive. The day was hot and the campground was mostly exposed on the cliff above the ocean. We paid our camping fee, pitched our tent and decided to relax a bit. What one needs to know before I go any further is that we rely mostly on our guide book which maps out hiker/biker camp sites and the amenities. We knew this site did not have showers but did have running water. We also knew based on the hills ahead we needed to stay here and could rough it without a shower. Once two of our cycling buddies arrived they delivered us the unsettling news that there was NO running water! NO water at all. Completely dry!

Once everyone arrived, we all tried to make the best of it. We knew it was four miles uphill if we wanted additional water or the luxury of beer, which was out of the question at this point. However, all our moods changed for the better when one of our cycling buddies arranged a ride to the store with another camper. Our dreams of cold beer came true!

The next morning, we were all anxious to ride to our next destination 44 miles away at San Simeon State Campground. We conquered two steep hills and were looking forward to a much needed shower.  On the way we saw elephant seals bathing in the sunshine. 

The scenery was truly beautiful. However, once we got to the campground we were told there were no showers due to the emergency drought. Poncha, having no shame, decided she could no longer take it and she took a spicket shower. Thankfully, she left her riding clothes on while doing so as she planned to rinse then out anyway. It was quite a sight.

Thankfully, our cycling buddies arrived and we made the best of it by having a pot luck with hot dogs, chips & dip and, of course, beer. Today, we decided to ride into Morro Bay and get a motel so we can shower and do some laundry.

***We thank all of our family and friends for the encouraging comments. They keep us going up the hills, down the hills, over rough terrain, while changing flats and missing showers. Please keep them coming! 

California Camping

Although we didn't spend many nights in Oregon campgrounds, we certainly have noticed the difference between the two states. Oregon's state campgrounds are maintained regularly, they charge a consistent $5 per night per person for hiker/biker sites, free showers, nice and helpful staff. Once you cross over the border, things change. Sometimes just a bit and sometimes a lot. Most California state campgrounds charge anywhere between $5-$7 (not that much of a big deal), they charge for showers, not all campgrounds are regularly maintained and many have a one night limit. The one night limit is due to a transient population that often infiltrates the hiker biker sites.

That became particularly obvious at the Veteran's Memorial campground in Monterey. Let's just say that I would never recommend this campground to anyone. First of all, it's located on a hill in a residential district. There were no signs that indicated we were going in the right direction and that is not a good feeling at the end of the day as you're peddling a loaded bike. Once we arrived, we were met by huge tents that we quickly realized were not brought in by any hikers or bikers unless they were related to the Incredible Hulk. All the campers/residents seemed to know each other. One of our fellow bikers figured out how they were able to set up such a community....they simply move all their belongings from one tent to another to avoid the one day limit. 

Thankfully, we met some others cyclists that made the night somewhat bearable. We all decided to go to bed early so that we could wake and get an early start (aka, get the hell out of there). Then, at 2:30am, two obnoxiously drunken young men decided to set up camp in the hiker/biker area, fairly close to our tent. It took them about an hour to figure out the highly intelligent process of pitching a tent, all the while reminiscing about their drunken night and who they could score some weed from at the campsite. If that wasn't enough, we had the wonderful experience of listening to the most drunkest one, puking his guts out. It was all I could do to stay in the tent and keep my mouth shut. 

Needless to say, we woke early and fled this ugly scene as fast as we could. We were greeted with what lay ahead and some amazing landscape!

  

It wasn't my best ride as I was tired and a bit pissy. However, Susana treated me with a nice cold brew once we reached Pfeiffer State Park in Big Sur.

Our view while enjoying said brew.

Little did we know, this was the last shower for a couple of days! 

Produce and A New Tire!

We pedaled our way away form the fancy KOA and made our way to New Brighton State Beach on Thursday, July 24th. I've officially changed out my short sleeve riding shirts for tank tops as the weather has considerably warmed up. As we rode along we came across the most indelible produce prices we've seen so far. We haven't enjoyed precious avocados since leaving Oregon due to the high prices so when we saw the sign that read '7 Avocados for $1.00' we quickly knew guacamole was in our future.

Poncha is thrilled with the avocado deal!

We also picked up some tasty strawberries.

We made it to Santa Cruz and stopped into ABS Bike Shop where I bought a new back tire due to my excessive flat tires. I've really learned on this adventure, as far as gear goes, that you need to trust your gear and I definitely trust my new bomb proof back tire reinforced with Kevlar! As you can see I'm  THRILLED with my purchase!

While at the bike store we inquired about the best place to get a pint of beer. The gentlemen pointed us in the right direction; West End Tap Room. I enjoyed the most refreshing citrus IPA and highly recommend it to all you beer lovers; Citra IPA from Hermitage Brewing Company. We also took in some great beer art pictures at the tap room.

 

While riding on Highway 1 a vehicle slowly pulled up along side me. Initially, I wasn't sure why they were slowing down. I looked over and there were two friendly smiling faces inquiring about our travels as they recognized Poncha's brilliant orange tutu (which she continues to religiously wear every day). The two women praised our adventures and drove on. They were so supportive that Poncha wished we could have taken a photo with them. To our surprise, Poncha's wish was granted when we crossed paths again right before our camp site at New Brighton.

Poncha's avid fans!

We reached New Brighton State Beach.

Check our our total mileage thus far!

Half Moon Bay X 2

We made it through San Fran. Lucky for us, since it was a week day, there was hardly any people on the Golden Gate Bridge which made for an easy crossing with our fully loaded bikes.  We did manage a few wrong turns, which in San Fran means you are riding up hill after hill; one of those led us to the top of Legion of Honor.

This is how victorious we felt when we made it to the top of a very long hill.

Good fortune was with us as we met gracious people along our 40 mile ride who pointed us in the right direction on several occasions. We left the windy, choppy waters of San Fran and was greeted by calmer waters and sun.

We stopped in Pacifica for a few supplies and a passerby mentioned we would be going through a tunnel right after crossing Devil's Bridge. Given the name of the bridge and tone of the passerby we thought we were in for precarious situation.

Come to find out, it was the most bike friendly tunnel offering plenty of light and a bike lane as wide as the car lane, plus the grade was all downhill for us. These types of discoveries make us very happy these days.

We arrived at Half Moon Bay campground and were met with an incredible sandy beach and a sunny warm day. We liked it so much we decided to stay a second night just because we could.

Our first night we were awoken at 2:30AM by an outstanding lightening and thunder storm however we woke feeling strong!

We ate like royalty; loadeding up on carbs, protein and beer!

We enjoyed time on the beach and watching the sun set.

   

At 2:30AM, on our second night, we woke to the sound of someone or something by our bikes and the food storage container we were using to keep our food safe from critters. We could hear the crumbling of plastic and noises around our bikes. We both felt like we could live with losing our food but really did not want to lose our bikes. We both exited the tent to find my handlebar bag was opened and several items had been removed and were scattered about including the surprise Payday candy bar I secretly bought Poncha earlier in the day (as it's her favorite and I love the look on her face when I present her a unexpected treat after a long day's ride). I then recalled I had forgotten to remove that and a Cliff Bar. Using our iPhone I shined the flashlight towards the bushes and we saw two beady eyes staring back at us; the culprit...a RACCOON! Lesson learned: NEVER, EVER leave food outside the storage container!

I woke tired and in need of my morning coffee due to my mistake of leaving food out and it interrupting my sleep. While I heated water for our coffee and oatmeal breakfast Poncha was checking the air pressure I our tires. She turned to me and asked, "Do you want the good news or bad news?". I say "the bad news" as I know if you following up bad with good news it's a good balance. By the look on face I knew before she even spoke these words..."you're back tire is flat". I let out a few profanities and then gathered myself, turned around my attitude, and changed a tire in record time with a good outlook. Come to find out an earlier flat (yes, I've officially had five flats and Poncha only one) left my tire compromised with a large gash. We rigged a solution and will find a bike store in Santa Cruz tomorrow. By the way, I did ask what the good news was. Poncha replied, "I love you". My heart soared and nothing could get in my way of having a good day. Then she reminded me the other good news was that we were in an ideal place to change a flat; no rain, no busy traffic, no other crappy circumstances. 

We continue to love our adventure. Every day holds new terrain and unknown challenges along with surprises. We landed tonight in a KOA campground, which happens to have a rather fancy bar and restaurant. Currently, we are enjoying none other than an iced cold pint of Brew Free or Die IPA from 21 Amendment Brewery. Score!

Cheers everyone!

Flats, Hills and Boats from Afar

I'm blogging from Marin Headland's International Hostel, enjoying a cup of hot coffee and waiting for the complimentary breakfast that comes with our stay; pancake mix or oatmeal. 

 

We made some killer pancakes yesterday and a kind soul supplied us some outrageously good blueberries to add to our meal. The hostel is located 5 miles outside of San Fran in a quiet and secluded area. We stayed two nights in a dorm with four bunk beds. The first night one of our roomies snored all night long and we, maybe, got two hours of sleep. The second night was much better with three other quieter roomies allowing for a better night's rest for our 40 plus mile riding through San Fran to Half Moon Bay.

It's been a few days since our last post. We departed Santa Rosa on Friday, July 18th...at least we tried. We woke ready to get BB Baker and Bluga back on the road, however I discovered I had a flat tire. Oh, let me back up a bit. The day before we left we were prepping for our departure and I noticed my back tire was flat. We changed it once, twice and a third time within an hour. If you've ever changed a bike tire, once in a day is really enough. Three times can make you a bit cranky, however, Poncha and I powered through the necessary task. When we started to change the back tire a fourth time on our Santa Rosa departure day, we realized our pump (our only pump) was broken! With deep sighs, we gathered ourselves and went into problem solving mode. Needless to say, we did depart Santa Rosa that day after a trip to a gas station, a bike store and REI which had us leave four hours later than expected.

Once we had ourselves a new pump and the tire was fixed we happily rode off with our destination 51 miles away. It felt great to be back on the bikes. Since Santa Rosa was a detour for our coastal route we knew the route but not the terrain. It turned out to hold more hills than expected and we stopped in Novato for an overnight in a motel. We were beat from our day and once we checked in it the motel we stayed put. We did set up an appointment for our first boat viewing in San Rafael and that helped make us eager to pedal the next day.

On Saturday July 19th we set off to San Rafael, our minds curious about the boat we were going to view. Once we arrived at Rubicon Yatchs in SanRafael we were informed we could not see the boat as the broker's assistant had no time for us. Bummed, really bummed, we pedaled away. We held out hope due to setting up another boat viewing in San Fran the next day. On our way out of San Rafael, I had another flat tire! We couldn't believe our reality! This time the changing of the tire was done in record speed with Poncha's assistance. 

Our pedaling took us to Sausalito. It was incredibly gorgeous to see San Fran in the background and all the incredible sailboats catching the wind! 

With Sausalito came the monumental hills and forceful winds and tons of cyclists! I do mean rode cyclists and not the touring type, like us. There were a few hill/wind combinations that had us almost at a complete standstill despite our best efforts to pedal with all our might! We made it to the hostel with more hills and more wind and tired legs. It was the first day I wanted a beer more than Poncha! No beer as there was no store around the hostel. The nearest place to get a beer was back in Sausalito and we couldn't bare to cycle back over those hills!

Sunday morning, after our hearty pancake breakfast, we took BB Baker, Bluga and ourselves across the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

After the bridge crossing we learned our second attempt to view a boat was not going to happen due to another appointment glitch with a boat broker. With such beautiful views of San Fran and smiles on our faces we set out to enjoy our day. We thoroughly enjoyed cycling the city. Our stops included REI (since I managed to purchase the wrong size tubes in Santa Rosa), 21st Amendment Brewery for that long awaited and well deserve IPA along with some deep fried crack or cheese curds as they are called at the brewery!

 

Our "day off" from cycling ended with us riding 30 miles which really wasn't a day off however it was a lovely day. Needless to say our legs were tired again. We ended the day with a much needed magnificent pasta dinner and watching a documentary called Craigslist Joe; which we both recommend.

Off to Half Moon Bay!

Detour

Hola, from Santa Rosa, CA! Susana suggested we ride into Santa Rosa so she could treat me to my favorite beer, Pliney the Elder, at Russian River Brewery. 

I am one lucky girl! It was a 54 mile ride from last night's camp at Still Water Campground. We are lucky enough to have a place to stay with a good friend of mine for the next couple of nights. We'll be heading toward San Francisco after this, via inland instead of the coast so it'll be a bit warm but worth it.

The recap for the last couple of days: On Saturday we left MacKerricher campground and travelled a short 20 miles to our next destination at Van Damme campground. It was a rest day and we decided to stop in Fort Bragg to do laundry. We also stopped in the lovely town of Mendicino and treated ourselves to a cocktail. And we had some lovely views.

The next day, we rode another short 29 miles to Manchester, CA. with some more spectacular scenery along the way.

We were advised by other cyclists to stay at the Manchester KOA instead of the state park since they only charged $10 more and had a pool and hot tub. We were all over that!

On Monday we rode to Still Water campground, which had an amazing cove to relax in.

Today's ride was pretty spectacular as well, with a few climbs before we turned inland.

All in all, some great and challenging rides over the past couple of days. Now we rest and drink beer!

Coastal cool.

After our much needed rest in the sweltering town of Garberville, we woke to cooler temperatures and pedaled BB Baker and Bluga into Mendocino County. We rode a short 23 miles to Standish-Hickey campground. Although the ride was a short 23 miles, it was hilly and had us climbing 1000 feet. To our surprise across the highway was an incredible little market with an amazing outdoor patio serving good beer on tap and food. Naturally we partook and happiness filed us up!

The hiker/biker camp site filled up with cyclists that night and we enjoyed socializing and sharing food, libations and laughter into the night. There was talk about the ominous 2000 foot high Leggett Hill; a climb cyclists have warned us about for the past several weeks. We've heard many a story of how cyclists had to push their bikes up this crazy climb due to the the steep gain in elavation. We got an early start and proceeded with curiosity as we left Highway 101 to Highway 1.

Well, we killed that hill! We rode right up it, never once did we dismount our beastly bikes!

Then...WHOOSH...the downhill! Twelve miles! Yes, you read that right, twelve long steep miles of descent. It got so cold we had to put on jackets and gloves and our teeth were still chattering as we screamed down, down, down. Finally, we made it back to the coast.

At the end of our four hour and twenty-five minute ride we logged 45 miles and were fatigued from the up and down terrain. We rolled into our campsite, tired and hungry. Our reward for such a trying day of cycling was a free pack of hot dogs and ground beef, along with buns, ketchup and mustard. A generous gift from a fellow cyclist. We feasted and felt great!

Poncha puts Burger King's flame broiled burgers to shame!

Greetings from Hotsville

Actually, we're in Garberville but it might as well be called Hotsville. I know we shouldn't be complaining about the heat since Portland peeps and LA peeps are frying, but when you're going uphill with a loaded bike on hot asphalt it feels like you're frying. 

See what I mean! Anyhow, we made a decision to stop here for the night and rest up for our next two days of hills, hills and more hills. We'll talk more about that in our next post if we survive it.

A recap of our last couple of days: after being gouged at the Eureka KOA, we rode a a rather pleasant 30 miles or so to Fortuna, CA. On the way we stopped in Loleta at the cheese factory. They loved the fact that we gorged ourselves on 20 different cheese samples and only managed to purchase two cans of soda. Bikers: 1, Loleta Cheese Factory: 0. 

On Tuesday we rode from Fortuna to Burlington Campground. Susana found some blackberries on the side of the rode so we stopped to score some free fruit.

We also rode through the Ave of the Giants, which I was looking forward to. I didn't really notice how giant they were until I got to our campsite and actually looked up. 

We met a nice gentleman at the hiker biker camp who offered to ride the four miles into town for beer. He also provided us with some great guitar playing throughout the night. Score!