So Close We Can Smell the Sourdough...
Total Distance Ridden: 971
Cumulative Elevation: 56,303 ft
Tomorrow's ride profile: click HERE
Day 16-17 Vlog: click HERE
There is a story that I haven't really shared with more than one or two people. After the second day of our trip, we were staying up in Lilliwaup, WA and it was probably around 3 in the morning. I awoke abruptly and had what I can only describe as a panic attack. At this point, our legs were the sorest, my "southern region" was so chafed that it hurt to sit, and the weight of the miles in the coming 2 weeks all of a sudden hit me hard. The anxiety was the worst I had ever felt by far.
The other night at dinner with Kevin and Sylvia, we were talking about our limitations and how we do a fantastic job of limiting ourselves, our kids, and overall, our expectations when it comes to trying to do hard things. I have told my kids before, you never know what you can do until you are put in the position where you don't have a choice except to do it. I have seen that in practice over the first couple weeks of this trip in Katelyn. Happily, now? I don't know if she is being challenged enough!
So here is where we stand: on the day that we roll into San Francisco (where we took a 2 hour plane ride from back in May to Canada), we will surpass 1,030 miles in 18 days. We averaged just over 57 miles/day and, other than the slight rain hiccup coming out of Crescent City, we have completed every planned start/stop on our itinerary. With the exception of the days going through Big Sur, the final two weeks become much less hilly and our daily mileage will be less--closer to an average of 45 miles/day.
Here's a quick recap on yesterday. Deceptively, a LOT of climbing, enough to climb up Mt. Diablo, come back down and then go halfway back up it. The tailwind was still with us except it was much lighter than the day before. The scenery switched to drier pastures that abruptly gave way to cliffs dropping straight to the ocean--we wondered how many cows fell off the edge each year! This leg had us passing through Bodega Bay where we were able to meet up with Bill Hansen. Bill is one of my favorite people; I used to work with him before he retired this year and he happened to be vacationing in Bodega Bay and he gave us a shout knowing that we were passing through. He bought us a milkshake and we were able to catch up and have some laughs about old times with the company. Happy retirement Bill!
With only 15 miles to go, we cruised towards Tomales. Well, we sort of cruised--the only place to get food in town closed at 6:30 and with 6.5 miles to go, we called ahead and ordered food to go and told her we would get there right at 6.30. We should have checked the ride profile! There were two solid climbs between us and Tomales and over the last 2 miles, we pushed uphill like we were in a race! Katelyn surprised me how fast she climbed. Maybe she was just that hungry.
So today: 51 miles to the Golden Gate Bridge where we are meeting Raquel and some of our friends who will ride their bikes with us for the last part of our leg. And then? The push for Southern California begins!
Seems like every time I visited the coast, the marine layer made it look pretty miserable. We have had none of it on this trip--all sunny skies!
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| A rare picture of me and my riding partner. |
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| Again, WHAT is it?? |
 My wife has been telling me this entire trip to wear sunscreen. Again, I should always listen to my wife and avoid this leathery looking skin...       |
Your picture is a little dark, but it looks a bit like delphinium. Great job guys! Wish I could have seen you in SF. Keep it up!!
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