PDF to SFO or Bust

  It’s hard to believe that our journey has come to an end. Just like most travels it has gone by very quickly, yet when I think back on our first days on the road, with the road crew, it feels like years ago. We’ve seen so much, and traveled so far in that time that my brain just doesn’t know how to categorize the memories. I’m sad that our days of 50 miles rides along ocean beaches and amongst giant trees is over, for now , but also happy to have some time to rest my bum from all those hours in the saddle. It won’t be proper rest, as Christi has big plans to walk all over San Francisco, but at least my butt will get a break. 😂 Ready to hit the road before sunrise In order to have enough time at the Golden Gate Bridge before sundown we set an alarm for 5am, and actually stuck to it. After eating the last of our oatmeal, and packing our campsite for the final time, we were ready to finish our journey. With stars in the sky and a light breeze, we hit the empty roads towards San Fra...

Fort Ross State Historic Park- windmill September 25th, 2020     We woke up to another short day of riding. Today’s adventures would take us about 28 miles into Bodega Bay. Our journey prior to Jenner, CA consisted mostly of crazy hills along the coast that had shear drop offs to one side without a guard rail to prevent you from launching off the side and into the ocean. This was the first time on the trip that I didn’t just let the bike take me down a hill, attempting to go as fast as possible, typically 30+ MPH. It was terrifying and my brakes got a workout! There was also a fair amount of construction work happening on this road so it wasn’t a smooth ride either. The cars were mostly respectful during this section. Contemplating how far he can launch himself (parachute is in the back) 😂; also the rare guardrail is present     One of the first places we came across was Fort Ross. We didn’t explore much at this park, eager to get to the next place, but we had to se...

September 24th, 2020     We moseyed around the motel in the morning, taking our time packing up and getting ready for the day. This resulted in a 1030 start time for our 36 mile day. We were excited to have a short day finally, and crossed our fingers there wouldn’t be too many hills. This section of Highway 1 continues to have great views, but the first 10 miles or so had construction. This resulted in uneven road waiting for a fresh layer of asphalt; what a bumpy ride! A few vehicles got a little too close for comfort and didn’t bother slowing down. I cursed them under my breath and continued on.      We hit our lunch break in Gualala around noon and were excited to find an open restaurant! It had been about four days since we had an actual lunch with real food, not typical camping garb you cook over a Jetboil. It had also been since Trinidad, CA that we have sat at a restaurant in outdoor seating; everything we have found has been takeout only. We met a nice ...

We were in no hurry to leave the comfort of the Wildflower Motel, but we did have 36 miles to ride today, so we finally rolled out just before 11, after eating a glorious yogurt parfait provided by our hosts. The day was misty and wet in the morning, but it soon cleared up and it was blue skies as far as our eyes could see. One of the many great looking beaches we rode past today We soon rolled into Gualala, the town we would have been camping in last night, had we continued on and passed up the hotel. We were both hungry, and it was a little after noon, so we stopped at the first (only?) restaurant we saw and grabbed some food and a beer. BBQ bacon burger 😋 After lunch we had one more break along a cliff side to watch the huge waves crash in. While there, Christi managed to see her first whales! They were quite a ways offshore, but we could spot their spouts of water clearly. It was a great little spot and I was excited for Christi. Great little break spot We didn’t have much further...

  After booking a cool little cabin at Redcrest Resort, and a quiet night of blogging, we were excited to have a relatively easy 40 mile stretch of riding through the redwoods. We got a bit of a late start, but it was okay because there were few food options on the way, and 40 miles would go quickly with so many giant trees to keep us company. After eating a couple slices of leftover pizza for breakfast (yes, the same pizza from Eureka 😂) we were on the road around 9am. We decided to stop for coffee and pastries at one of the few operating businesses along this stretch of the Avenue of the Giants. It was called Rise and Grind, and it was operated by a young artist, but we didn’t get her name. The coffee was good, even though I’m not generally a coffee guy, if you add enough sugar it all tastes great!  “Look up at the coffee sign Christi!” While we were enjoying our brew, I received a phone call from an unknown number... I’m on vacation, so I let it go to voicemail... It was t...

  September 20th, 2020      Eureka turned out to be bland, so we were more than happy to hit the road again. My keen eye spotted In-n-Out Burger as we were rolling out of town and Brandon was insistent on grabbing a burger for breakfast. Compared to the one in Kaiser, OR this establishment was a ghost town. With our stomachs full of burger, it was time to get peddling again.      The roughly 20 miles to our lunch stop was over before we knew it. We initially took the wrong exit, but this turned out in our favor. I spotted a local fruit stand that had fresh apple cider; the cider was refreshing on what was turning out to be a warm, muggy day. Few miles down the road we found Eel River Brewing Company. The food looked appetizing, but we weren’t incredibly hungry so we decided to skip food and just sample the beer.       20 miles to go to our stop for the day! We were heading back into the redwoods! Again we were traveling through back...

  We were a little slow to get loaded up this morning, but we had a relatively easy 40 mile day, so I wasn’t too worried. Our late start proved fortuitous, as we happened to roll past an In-N-Out burger just as it was opening for the day. My eyes lit up when I saw the sign, and I had to stop in for a double-double.😋 This was 3 miles into the ride, so I had not earned a burger, but I didn’t care, it had been several years since my last double-double.  No lines! After our breakfast burgers it was back on the road towards our lunch stop at Eel River Brewing company. It was a flat 20 miles on the highway, and we were locked in and riding fast, before we knew it we were there, before our burgers had time to settle. We decided to skip lunch and just grab a beer. After Eel River brewing it was back on the highway steaming towards Avenue of the Giants, and our home for the night at Redcrest resort. We had originally booked a campsite in the state park, but the fires had temporarily c...

  September 18th, 2020 After being abruptly woken up to rain sprinkles on our faces (no rain fly on the tent), we packed up and the tires hit the pavement at 8AM. Since arriving at Elk Prairie Campground, we had been jonesing for an elk sighting, and we weren’t disappointed! As we rounded the corner out of camp we spotted a small herd of elk, consisting of a few doe and younglings; no large bucks in this bunch. They were very skittish, and pranced across the meadow as our bikes clicked by.  The miles rolled on without much picture taking, until Brandon got his third flat tire. Had to document that! We have developed a method for changing out his tires and have gotten relatively fast at it; we’ve had lots of practice 😂. Great view of the Big Lagoon after Brandon’s flat The ride to Trinidad, our lunch stop, was relatively uneventful after this, until we found Patrick Point Road. It was a climb to get to the top and consisted of rolling hills and washed out pavement in places, b...

  After a great night around our first campfire of the trip, we were abruptly awoken at 6AM by raindrops coming down on us inside the tent. Due to the nice weather, and starry night sky we decided to leave the rain fly off the tent, and it proved to be a great idea, until it wasn’t. We only had 50 miles to ride today, but after our early natural alarm clock, we decided to get geared up and hit the road. We were pretty excited for real beds, clean clothes, and a day off in Eureka that awaited us after today, so we were motivated! About 10 miles in, I got a flat tire, the first in a few days, but I wasn’t able to identify the cause, so I put a new tube on and kept going. The road today was narrow, without shoulders for large sections, so we got to share the road with cars often, and there were a few serious hills for the first half of the ride. By the time we made it to a lunch stop in Trinidad around noon we were famished! A clif bar for breakfast was not enough food for the miles a...