Easy Peasy...Breezy!
Total Distance Ridden: 907 miles
Cumulative Elevation: 51,778 feet
No Vlog link today due to slow wifi
I am writing today from the town of Gualala. I have no cell service and the wi fi connection is comparable to the old AOL dial-up modem days. What normally takes 5 minutes to upload is taking over an hour and yet I am determined to get this blog post sent out this morning. As we sit only 110 miles away from crossing into San Francisco, I am amazed at the blessings that have occurred over just the past 24 hours. On the day after Double Donation Wednesday, here's what happened:
First, I woke around 6:00 and had a couple hours of anxiety as I waited to see how Katelyn would feel when she woke up. She was limping pretty badly the night before and I knew that another 59 miles would be a hard task after a wreck. But when she got up, she said it felt better and she would be ok to ride. Blessing #2 followed shortly after. We packed up and went outside only to be met by a really hard blowing breeze--coming straight out of the NNW! Here was the tailwind that we had been waiting for! For those that are not too familiar with our riding, if we have a strong tailwind, we can go UP a 2% grade road around 10mph. When we have strong headwind, we go DOWN a 2% pedaling around 8-10 mph. It is that much of a difference. We passed some cyclists going the other direction and they just looked miserable. Overall, we still took the day slow but that was just because of the amount of coasting we kept doing.
Blessing #3 kept coming and coming and coming. From the moment I woke up, our email inbox receive message after message about donations coming in--the outpouring was beyond our expectations! There were dear people who had donated already who then dropped a second donation, just so their money would be matched. Their were anonymous donors, there were well wishes, and all of these messages kept smiles on our faces the entire day--too bad we were enjoying the tailwinds and really didn't stop to take many pictures of them! We really cannot express how grateful we are for the way our family, friends, coworkers and community rallied together to help up raise the amount of money we have. We began with the goal to raise $5,000 dollars. After the donations are matched, we are looking to be on the doorstep of $20,000 for kids with cancer. Such an awesome thing!
Blessing #4. Remember Port Townsend? We had dinner with our boat friends Steve and Maggie. It seems like light years ago we were up there! Anyway, Maggie had a boat friend named Sylvia who lives in Gualala that she said we absolutely had to meet. They lived right on Highway 1 and they had puppies! We stopped in to say hello and play with the dogs and they offered to meet us at our motel and treat us to dinner. We went to a fancy place right on the waterfront and it was sooo good! We even ordered dessert--you know, to carb load for the next day : ) I particularly enjoy watching Katelyn as she interacts with new people she meets. She doesn't shy away from the conversation and she likes hearing the stories that people tell. After dinner, we walked the 100 yards or so back over to the Gualala Country Inn, where Mike the owner gave us a room for the night as his contribution to what we are doing. Blessing #5.
So 900 miles in, we are happy and blessed in so many ways. As for today, another hilly day--as if that will ever change--and 64 miles into Tomales, the last stop before San Francisco. Today we will pass through Bodega Bay and visit a friend on the way. See you all in Tomales!
I am writing today from the town of Gualala. I have no cell service and the wi fi connection is comparable to the old AOL dial-up modem days. What normally takes 5 minutes to upload is taking over an hour and yet I am determined to get this blog post sent out this morning. As we sit only 110 miles away from crossing into San Francisco, I am amazed at the blessings that have occurred over just the past 24 hours. On the day after Double Donation Wednesday, here's what happened:
First, I woke around 6:00 and had a couple hours of anxiety as I waited to see how Katelyn would feel when she woke up. She was limping pretty badly the night before and I knew that another 59 miles would be a hard task after a wreck. But when she got up, she said it felt better and she would be ok to ride. Blessing #2 followed shortly after. We packed up and went outside only to be met by a really hard blowing breeze--coming straight out of the NNW! Here was the tailwind that we had been waiting for! For those that are not too familiar with our riding, if we have a strong tailwind, we can go UP a 2% grade road around 10mph. When we have strong headwind, we go DOWN a 2% pedaling around 8-10 mph. It is that much of a difference. We passed some cyclists going the other direction and they just looked miserable. Overall, we still took the day slow but that was just because of the amount of coasting we kept doing.
Blessing #3 kept coming and coming and coming. From the moment I woke up, our email inbox receive message after message about donations coming in--the outpouring was beyond our expectations! There were dear people who had donated already who then dropped a second donation, just so their money would be matched. Their were anonymous donors, there were well wishes, and all of these messages kept smiles on our faces the entire day--too bad we were enjoying the tailwinds and really didn't stop to take many pictures of them! We really cannot express how grateful we are for the way our family, friends, coworkers and community rallied together to help up raise the amount of money we have. We began with the goal to raise $5,000 dollars. After the donations are matched, we are looking to be on the doorstep of $20,000 for kids with cancer. Such an awesome thing!
Blessing #4. Remember Port Townsend? We had dinner with our boat friends Steve and Maggie. It seems like light years ago we were up there! Anyway, Maggie had a boat friend named Sylvia who lives in Gualala that she said we absolutely had to meet. They lived right on Highway 1 and they had puppies! We stopped in to say hello and play with the dogs and they offered to meet us at our motel and treat us to dinner. We went to a fancy place right on the waterfront and it was sooo good! We even ordered dessert--you know, to carb load for the next day : ) I particularly enjoy watching Katelyn as she interacts with new people she meets. She doesn't shy away from the conversation and she likes hearing the stories that people tell. After dinner, we walked the 100 yards or so back over to the Gualala Country Inn, where Mike the owner gave us a room for the night as his contribution to what we are doing. Blessing #5.
So 900 miles in, we are happy and blessed in so many ways. As for today, another hilly day--as if that will ever change--and 64 miles into Tomales, the last stop before San Francisco. Today we will pass through Bodega Bay and visit a friend on the way. See you all in Tomales!
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| When not delivering toys, Santa talks to cyclists while they wait for road construction. Fun fact: you know in the Karate Kid sequel when they plant the Bonzai tree on the side of the mountain? We were standing right next to that very cliff as we took this picture. |
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| One of the many climbs of the day. This particular section hit 17% gradient! |
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| One of Katelyn's favorite things on the trip is to try new foods and drinks. The curiosity cola was...interesting. |
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| Why picture? Why can't you look the same as it does in real life? Another "just have to be there" moment. |
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| The water around Mendocino (or $pendocino as the locals call it) is much clearer that the rest of the northern coast and has this awesome azure color that makes it hard to look anywhere but the water. |
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| We just kept riding the tailwind and didn't stop much for photos. At least we got this one. |
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| Making new friends on this trip has been one of our highlights, but these ones were some of the best! Had a FANTASTIC evening with Kevin and Sylvia--thanks for the incredible meal! |
Great Santa Pic!
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