Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
August 7 Reseda Free Day
It is 8 AM and already 78 degrees. I am hoping to see one of my friends from Heidelberg days. Craig Beeker, the RA on my floor my freshmen year is a Lutheran pastor not too far away from here. Very slow start to the morning. I slept in until 7:45 AM, that is the latest I have slept since July 10I . It was nice to sleep in.
I lounged around this morning. Chatting with our riders and thinking about what me might do on our free day, recognizing that we don't want to do too much outside since it suppose to be hotter today than yesterday.
I was able to meet up with Craig. He drove over to Reseda from his church, which is about 1/2 away with his 3 boys. We had a wonderful timing catching up over lunch. The last time I saw him was 1985 when he graduated from Heidelberg. He's been at his church for 19 1/2 years. He has twin boys 15 and a 13 year old son. All of them are in band and Craig's wife is a funeral director and avid horse person. Craig is one of those special people in your life. He made my freshmen year of college survivable and all these years later he remains a comforting warm soul. It was a blessing to see him and meet his boys.
A group of us are taking Allen out for dinner tonight. We are a bit limited on our food selection since Allen is happiest eating hotdogs and beans, and we're in So. Cal where spicy food is the food of choice. We may go bowling as well.
I lounged around this morning. Chatting with our riders and thinking about what me might do on our free day, recognizing that we don't want to do too much outside since it suppose to be hotter today than yesterday.
I was able to meet up with Craig. He drove over to Reseda from his church, which is about 1/2 away with his 3 boys. We had a wonderful timing catching up over lunch. The last time I saw him was 1985 when he graduated from Heidelberg. He's been at his church for 19 1/2 years. He has twin boys 15 and a 13 year old son. All of them are in band and Craig's wife is a funeral director and avid horse person. Craig is one of those special people in your life. He made my freshmen year of college survivable and all these years later he remains a comforting warm soul. It was a blessing to see him and meet his boys.
A group of us are taking Allen out for dinner tonight. We are a bit limited on our food selection since Allen is happiest eating hotdogs and beans, and we're in So. Cal where spicy food is the food of choice. We may go bowling as well.
August 6 Santa Barbara to Reseda
I woke up not feeling that great. My ankle was swollen again and hurting. I packed my cycling stuff in my day pack with the intention of riding in the van the fist segment and then getting out at the start of segment two to ride the rest of the way. I slept the first 25 miles in the van. We stopped like along the beach for the first rest stop. It was beautiful, and I thought about putting my cycling clothes on and riding, but it was starting to get warm.
I made the right decision not to ride. By the time we reached the second rest stop it was 90 degrees and over 100 by the third rest stop. With the antibiotic I am on, I would have died ridig in such heat and direct sunlight for 5 hours plus. It was almost unbearable in the van at rest stops.
Tomorrow we may or may not have a completely free day. It is a no ride day, but it is suppose to be a build day. The build day has been cancelled, but we may do some volunteer work in the community or at the church. It was still in the 90's at 9 PM at night.
Our host church is Kirk of the Valley, PC USA. There is a clergy couple who co-pastor the church. They are Princeton grads. The husband grew up in San Diego. The sanctuary is set up for worship in the round and has a full sound booth and instruments for a full band. The church has a K through 5 school as well. It appears to be a very happening place and according to the pastors the facility functions as both church and community gathering space.
I made the right decision not to ride. By the time we reached the second rest stop it was 90 degrees and over 100 by the third rest stop. With the antibiotic I am on, I would have died ridig in such heat and direct sunlight for 5 hours plus. It was almost unbearable in the van at rest stops.
Tomorrow we may or may not have a completely free day. It is a no ride day, but it is suppose to be a build day. The build day has been cancelled, but we may do some volunteer work in the community or at the church. It was still in the 90's at 9 PM at night.
Our host church is Kirk of the Valley, PC USA. There is a clergy couple who co-pastor the church. They are Princeton grads. The husband grew up in San Diego. The sanctuary is set up for worship in the round and has a full sound booth and instruments for a full band. The church has a K through 5 school as well. It appears to be a very happening place and according to the pastors the facility functions as both church and community gathering space.
August 5 Santa Barbara Free Day
The mornings are always more relaxed on free days. No set wake up time, breakfast on your own and because it is Sunday worship with either the host church or a church of one's choosing. Five us decided to attend First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara, UCC. We rode our bikes there. It was about 2.5 miles from our host. I had left a voice mail and e-mail message for the pastor the night before.
She warmly greeted us the moment we arrived. There were 36 visitors in worship, including us. There was a baptism, which accounted for some of the other visitors. The congregation was very welcoming and warm. I think we spoke to nearly everyone in worship. I was able to bring greetings from the Central Atlantic Conference and the Conference Minister John D. First Cong. Santa Barbara is John's home church. I was able to speak about the ride and the work of the Fuller Center.
After worship we continued to speak with folks from the congregation. Santa Barbara holds its annual Fiesta this weekend. We learned from the husband of the Christian Ed director at our host church to go to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church for authentic Mexican food and avoid the Fiesta, which is exactly what we did. It was amazing and loads of fun. Then we headed to the beach, rode on the pier and just enjoyed the waterfront of Santa Barbara before heading down State Street and back to the church.
We parked our bikes and jumped on the bus to go back downtown for dinner. We caught the tail end of the outdoor symphony concert by the West Coast Symphony. It was magical. We spoke with a few members of the symphony and got good local suggestions on where to get some reasonably priced pasta in not so reasonably priced Santa Barbara. We bummed into the same people later in the evening, when we went into a restaurant where some of the other cyclists were getting hamburgers. The people who had recommended the Italian restaurant were sitting next to the cyclist we went in to see.
Taxi ride home, which was more expensive than planned, but it was taxi or walk 4 miles.
She warmly greeted us the moment we arrived. There were 36 visitors in worship, including us. There was a baptism, which accounted for some of the other visitors. The congregation was very welcoming and warm. I think we spoke to nearly everyone in worship. I was able to bring greetings from the Central Atlantic Conference and the Conference Minister John D. First Cong. Santa Barbara is John's home church. I was able to speak about the ride and the work of the Fuller Center.
After worship we continued to speak with folks from the congregation. Santa Barbara holds its annual Fiesta this weekend. We learned from the husband of the Christian Ed director at our host church to go to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church for authentic Mexican food and avoid the Fiesta, which is exactly what we did. It was amazing and loads of fun. Then we headed to the beach, rode on the pier and just enjoyed the waterfront of Santa Barbara before heading down State Street and back to the church.
We parked our bikes and jumped on the bus to go back downtown for dinner. We caught the tail end of the outdoor symphony concert by the West Coast Symphony. It was magical. We spoke with a few members of the symphony and got good local suggestions on where to get some reasonably priced pasta in not so reasonably priced Santa Barbara. We bummed into the same people later in the evening, when we went into a restaurant where some of the other cyclists were getting hamburgers. The people who had recommended the Italian restaurant were sitting next to the cyclist we went in to see.
Taxi ride home, which was more expensive than planned, but it was taxi or walk 4 miles.
August 4 Santa Maria to Santa Barbara
Santa Maria to Santa Barbara 74.8 miles 5 hours and 8 minutes.
Back on the bike. I was prepared to stop and ride in the van if necessary depending on how I felt on this new antibiotic and how my energy the Staph infection had sapped from my body.
I was a little sluggish into the first rest stop, but overall I was feeling pretty good. I rode with several different people and rode by myself for a number of miles. My pace was not as fast as other days, so I could not keep up with the faster riders and it was not as slow as some of the the other folks, although everyone was riding a bit slower after 105 plus mile day the day before.
The thing I most remember about today's ride was the long slow climb between rest one and two. The rode was bumpy due to the type of pavement, which makes one slower to begin with becuase one's rolling efficiency is so much less. I was pedaling at a good cadence and only able to maintain a speed of about 10 or 11 miles an hour, which is very slow on fairly level ground. There was also a bit of a headwind. Riding long strentches under such conditions becomes very demoralizing. I started to wonder why I was putting myself through this and praying for smoother pavement and less wind. What I did not realize at the time was I was going up hill as well. This became clear when the climb got more steep and then I rode downhill for 5 minutes or more at 28 miles an hour. Not only had I been riding on very rough pavement, I had also been pedaling uphill.
Much of the final stage into Santa Barbara was along the ocean. It was beautiful and soul renewing to ride along the seashore.
Santa Barbara is the end of segment 3 and Dean the rider who joined us in San Fran will be leaving. Our host church is the First Baptist Church of Santa Barbara, an American Baptist Church. Hans, the longboard skateboarder is the senior pastor. He is what one might imagine a So. Cal surfing pastor would be like.
Tomorrow we have a free day in Santa Barbara. I have always heard good things about the town of Santa Barbara. I'm looking forward to exploring the downtown and the waterfront.
Back on the bike. I was prepared to stop and ride in the van if necessary depending on how I felt on this new antibiotic and how my energy the Staph infection had sapped from my body.
I was a little sluggish into the first rest stop, but overall I was feeling pretty good. I rode with several different people and rode by myself for a number of miles. My pace was not as fast as other days, so I could not keep up with the faster riders and it was not as slow as some of the the other folks, although everyone was riding a bit slower after 105 plus mile day the day before.
The thing I most remember about today's ride was the long slow climb between rest one and two. The rode was bumpy due to the type of pavement, which makes one slower to begin with becuase one's rolling efficiency is so much less. I was pedaling at a good cadence and only able to maintain a speed of about 10 or 11 miles an hour, which is very slow on fairly level ground. There was also a bit of a headwind. Riding long strentches under such conditions becomes very demoralizing. I started to wonder why I was putting myself through this and praying for smoother pavement and less wind. What I did not realize at the time was I was going up hill as well. This became clear when the climb got more steep and then I rode downhill for 5 minutes or more at 28 miles an hour. Not only had I been riding on very rough pavement, I had also been pedaling uphill.
Much of the final stage into Santa Barbara was along the ocean. It was beautiful and soul renewing to ride along the seashore.
Santa Barbara is the end of segment 3 and Dean the rider who joined us in San Fran will be leaving. Our host church is the First Baptist Church of Santa Barbara, an American Baptist Church. Hans, the longboard skateboarder is the senior pastor. He is what one might imagine a So. Cal surfing pastor would be like.
Tomorrow we have a free day in Santa Barbara. I have always heard good things about the town of Santa Barbara. I'm looking forward to exploring the downtown and the waterfront.
August 3 Cambria to Santa Maria
I did not feel all that great when I woke up so I made the decision to ride in the van. Turns out this was a very wise decision. The ride route was not very scenic and I received a phone call from the doctor's office in San Fran that treated on Monday. The doctor told me I needed to stop taking the antibiotic I was put on in San Fran, because I had a Staph infection and Staph is resistant to the antibiotic I was taking.
By the end of the day I was on my third antibiotic in less than 3 weeks. Bactrim, which is broad spectrum antibiotic is my new drug of choice. I sure hope this antibiotic works.
By the end of the day I was on my third antibiotic in less than 3 weeks. Bactrim, which is broad spectrum antibiotic is my new drug of choice. I sure hope this antibiotic works.
August 2 Carmel to Cambria
Carmel to Cambria 107 miles 7 hours 44 minutes.
Early morning in order to hit the road before too much traffic joins us on the road. Today's ride will mostly be on CA-1, which means I'll be riding along the coast line and crossing Big Sur. The ride started at dawn in 50ish degree weather. I thought about wearing my tights along with my long sleeve shirt. I took the tights off, but stuck with the long sleeve shirt for two reasons: one it was cool and two the hyper sensitivity to UV rays caused by the antibiotic I'm on.
We had four scheduled rest stops on today's ride: 25 miles, 45 miles, 65 miles, and 85 miles. My goal was to make it to the first rest stop and see how I was feeling at that point. I did not ride particularly fast during the first segment. There were lots of ups and downs on CA-1 with glimpses of the ocean through the thick fog. I knew the ocean was beneath me because of the steep drops and the sound of the surf from time-to-time. I stopped to take a photo of a "valley" where the fog was beneath me and looked more like a ceiling than fog covering the ocean and valley below.
The area around Big Sur was covered in fog as well. In fact, most of the 95 miles on CA-1 were fogged in, which made the ride cooler, temp wise, but somewhat less interesting from a visual standpoint.
I was ready to stop at mile 25, but I kept going to the next rest stop at mile 45 again, I was ready to stop. By mile 45, I had climbed a very long hill that had a short downhill and lots and lots of smaller hills. The ride had the feel of an uphill ride from the start to nearly the finish. I pushed on to the next rest stop at mile 65. I was feeling better by this time and riding with more easy. I kept my long sleeve shirt on and kept applying sunscreen to my exposed areas.
There was one more big climb and a number of rollers betweenn mile 65 and 85. The 20 miles or so were pretty flat, and I still had enough energy to ride at 20 plus miles an hour on the flats. I stopped to take photos of the Elephant Seals at Elephtant Seal Beach. In the town of Cambria there is a bakery/restaurant that makes wonderful pies. I had learned this from Turbo Tom's son who lives in LA county and buys pies from this bakery whenever he has the opportunity. Turbo Tom, Jenn, Erik and I made a bee-line for Linn's once we reached Cambria. The pies were better than imagined. Of course, after 105 miles on a bicycle almost anything tastes good. Two more miles to the church and my first Century plus ride was under my belt.
Early morning in order to hit the road before too much traffic joins us on the road. Today's ride will mostly be on CA-1, which means I'll be riding along the coast line and crossing Big Sur. The ride started at dawn in 50ish degree weather. I thought about wearing my tights along with my long sleeve shirt. I took the tights off, but stuck with the long sleeve shirt for two reasons: one it was cool and two the hyper sensitivity to UV rays caused by the antibiotic I'm on.
We had four scheduled rest stops on today's ride: 25 miles, 45 miles, 65 miles, and 85 miles. My goal was to make it to the first rest stop and see how I was feeling at that point. I did not ride particularly fast during the first segment. There were lots of ups and downs on CA-1 with glimpses of the ocean through the thick fog. I knew the ocean was beneath me because of the steep drops and the sound of the surf from time-to-time. I stopped to take a photo of a "valley" where the fog was beneath me and looked more like a ceiling than fog covering the ocean and valley below.
The area around Big Sur was covered in fog as well. In fact, most of the 95 miles on CA-1 were fogged in, which made the ride cooler, temp wise, but somewhat less interesting from a visual standpoint.
I was ready to stop at mile 25, but I kept going to the next rest stop at mile 45 again, I was ready to stop. By mile 45, I had climbed a very long hill that had a short downhill and lots and lots of smaller hills. The ride had the feel of an uphill ride from the start to nearly the finish. I pushed on to the next rest stop at mile 65. I was feeling better by this time and riding with more easy. I kept my long sleeve shirt on and kept applying sunscreen to my exposed areas.
There was one more big climb and a number of rollers betweenn mile 65 and 85. The 20 miles or so were pretty flat, and I still had enough energy to ride at 20 plus miles an hour on the flats. I stopped to take photos of the Elephant Seals at Elephtant Seal Beach. In the town of Cambria there is a bakery/restaurant that makes wonderful pies. I had learned this from Turbo Tom's son who lives in LA county and buys pies from this bakery whenever he has the opportunity. Turbo Tom, Jenn, Erik and I made a bee-line for Linn's once we reached Cambria. The pies were better than imagined. Of course, after 105 miles on a bicycle almost anything tastes good. Two more miles to the church and my first Century plus ride was under my belt.
August 1 Santa Cruz to Carmel
Santa Cruz to Carmel 57.2 miles 4 hour and 30 minutes
A short ride today, which is good because tomorrow we have the longest ride of the trip 105 miles. I have been to Carmel once before, but not to the "in-land" part of Carmel. I've been to Carmel by the Sea, which is beautiful.
The ride was uneventful and easy due to short distance. Most of the ride was several miles in-land so I did not see much of the coast line today, which is a bummer. Did not have the opportunity to do 17 mile drive or pass through Pebble Beach.
The only excitement I had was my chain fell off at a stop light near the end of the ride. Our host church today is an Episcopal congregation. There was choir practice in one of the rooms. The choir invited us to join them. I'm sure there are some good singers in our group, but I'm not one of them.
A short ride today, which is good because tomorrow we have the longest ride of the trip 105 miles. I have been to Carmel once before, but not to the "in-land" part of Carmel. I've been to Carmel by the Sea, which is beautiful.
The ride was uneventful and easy due to short distance. Most of the ride was several miles in-land so I did not see much of the coast line today, which is a bummer. Did not have the opportunity to do 17 mile drive or pass through Pebble Beach.
The only excitement I had was my chain fell off at a stop light near the end of the ride. Our host church today is an Episcopal congregation. There was choir practice in one of the rooms. The choir invited us to join them. I'm sure there are some good singers in our group, but I'm not one of them.
Monday, August 6, 2012
July 31 San Francisco to Santa Cruz
San Francisco to Santa Cruz 80.1 miles in 6 hours and 1 minute.
After breakfast the priest of the Armenian congregation led us in morning devotions. It was a very moving service. In the free church tradition one tends to forgot how moving liturgy can be, especially when it is done with purpose.
On the road again, without my riding buddy Hannah and Pete. The group picked up two new riders Dean and Chris F. Dean will be riding with us for a week and Chris F the rest of the way.
The ride was mostly in-land with a little bit of costal riding near Half Moon Bay. I rode with several different people depending on my speed and theirs. I rode through strawberry fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. The strawberries were being picked by migrant workers--100s of them. The strawberries were for Driscoll, which is the brand Martin's/Giant sells in my town. It was amazing to see the strawberries being picked, packaged and placed on pallets in the field and then loaded on to trucks that will eventually deliever them to my neighborhood grocery store.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. Our host church for the evening is called Vintage Faith. It is a Presbyterian Church, but has re-made itself into a West Coast version of the emergent church. The coolest thing about the church is the coffee shop the church runs, called the Abbey. Great coffee, 70's rock, lounge chairs, couches,and lots of young people reading, chatting, studying and simply hanging out. Every church needs such a coffee shop.
Tuesday is the college night at the church. The church hosts a dinner, informal worship, and discussion groups for college age folks. Santa Cruz is home to one othe UC campuses. It was the last college night until Sept. We had sloppy joes for dinner and good conversation with students in attendance. The worship service was the polar opposite of the morning's devotions at the Armenian church. It was informal, with praise music, powerpoint, testimonies, and a rambling homily, but it felt good to worship with such a large group of young adults.
Tomorrow is a short day Santa Cruz to Carmel. Maybe I'll get to see Clint Eastwood.
After breakfast the priest of the Armenian congregation led us in morning devotions. It was a very moving service. In the free church tradition one tends to forgot how moving liturgy can be, especially when it is done with purpose.
On the road again, without my riding buddy Hannah and Pete. The group picked up two new riders Dean and Chris F. Dean will be riding with us for a week and Chris F the rest of the way.
The ride was mostly in-land with a little bit of costal riding near Half Moon Bay. I rode with several different people depending on my speed and theirs. I rode through strawberry fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. The strawberries were being picked by migrant workers--100s of them. The strawberries were for Driscoll, which is the brand Martin's/Giant sells in my town. It was amazing to see the strawberries being picked, packaged and placed on pallets in the field and then loaded on to trucks that will eventually deliever them to my neighborhood grocery store.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. Our host church for the evening is called Vintage Faith. It is a Presbyterian Church, but has re-made itself into a West Coast version of the emergent church. The coolest thing about the church is the coffee shop the church runs, called the Abbey. Great coffee, 70's rock, lounge chairs, couches,and lots of young people reading, chatting, studying and simply hanging out. Every church needs such a coffee shop.
Tuesday is the college night at the church. The church hosts a dinner, informal worship, and discussion groups for college age folks. Santa Cruz is home to one othe UC campuses. It was the last college night until Sept. We had sloppy joes for dinner and good conversation with students in attendance. The worship service was the polar opposite of the morning's devotions at the Armenian church. It was informal, with praise music, powerpoint, testimonies, and a rambling homily, but it felt good to worship with such a large group of young adults.
Tomorrow is a short day Santa Cruz to Carmel. Maybe I'll get to see Clint Eastwood.
July 30 San Francisco, CA Free Day
Slept in a bit, ate breakfast, and went to work on locating a nearby doctor to look at my ankle/infection. I ended making an appointment at a concierge medical group. It will cost me $150 to join the medical for a year, but I can see them this morning. The only other option was going to the ER and waiting for hours.
The concierge medical group is in a neighborhood in what appears to be a converted house. I arrived at 9:30 AM for my 10 AM appointment. I had to fill out my medical history on a computer in the waiting room. The doctor called me a few minutes after 10 AM to go in for my appointment. The doctor who treated me, is actually a nurse practioner who graduated from Harvard. She did her residence at Mass General and lived in Cambridge. We chatted about Boston. She and her husband are heading back up to Boston to visit friends in the coming weeks.
Turns out it was a very good thing I went to see the doctor. The infection was not clearing up, in fact it is getting worse. She took a culture and prescribed a stronger antibiotic and gave me a antibiotic cream to put on the wound itself. Off to the pharmacy to pick up the new antibiotic and then on into San Fran for some sightseeing.
Fisherman's Wharf with Luke, Hannah, Andrew, and a college friend of Hannah. We walked around for a bit and then went for lunch. Andrew and I got sushi at a restaurant at the end of Pier 39 overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, although we could not see the Golden Gate Bridge due to the heavy fog. Every so often we could see the very top of the bridge's suspension system, but nothing else. We walked to Lombard Street and watched the cars zig-zag down. Then it was off to Chinatown for Chinese food.
We wandered around Chinatown for an hour or more people watching, popping into stores and tasting tea. We could not decided on a restaurant, so I asked the mailman if he had any suggestions. He gave us the name of two restaurants. We picked the one that served traditional Hong-Kong style. The restaurant, like most in Chinatown, appeared to be a mom and pop operation. Luke, Hannah, Chris B., John, Andrew and I went to the restaurant for dinner. Chris B made friends with our waitress/mom owner right away by asking if the $20.00 min on credit card purchases was firm. With attitude our waitress informed him that it was. We continued to make her happy by telling her that we wanted individual checks, which led her to walk away in a bit of a huff. When she returned 4 people said they were going to share checks. When she made it around to John, he added fuel to the fire by asking if the restaurant served crab rangoon, she informed him that was not real Chinese food. We continued making an impression by asking for our water glasses to be refilled numerous times, which ultimately led to us asking for a pitcher of water. The husband brought the pitcher after making like it was the only water pitcher in the entire restaurant. We did win our waitress back in the end by asking her to join us in a group photo. She was so delighted that she ran back to put lipstick on.
Most of our group along with several others were heading to the baseball game. Chris F. the newest Chris and I wanted to go back to the church using public transportation. I rode into town with Hannah and her friend. Chris took the public transportation so he was pretty sure he could get us back. We walked all the way back to Fisherman's Wharf in an effort to retrace his steps on the bus and subway. We were having little luck when fortune would have it, we bumped into Pete and Carmen who were asking directions from one of the bus employees. We joined up with them. Turned out we could have stayed in Chinatown and walked one block to Union Square to catch the subway.
Back at the church time for bed. 80 plus mile day tomorrow.
The concierge medical group is in a neighborhood in what appears to be a converted house. I arrived at 9:30 AM for my 10 AM appointment. I had to fill out my medical history on a computer in the waiting room. The doctor called me a few minutes after 10 AM to go in for my appointment. The doctor who treated me, is actually a nurse practioner who graduated from Harvard. She did her residence at Mass General and lived in Cambridge. We chatted about Boston. She and her husband are heading back up to Boston to visit friends in the coming weeks.
Turns out it was a very good thing I went to see the doctor. The infection was not clearing up, in fact it is getting worse. She took a culture and prescribed a stronger antibiotic and gave me a antibiotic cream to put on the wound itself. Off to the pharmacy to pick up the new antibiotic and then on into San Fran for some sightseeing.
Fisherman's Wharf with Luke, Hannah, Andrew, and a college friend of Hannah. We walked around for a bit and then went for lunch. Andrew and I got sushi at a restaurant at the end of Pier 39 overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, although we could not see the Golden Gate Bridge due to the heavy fog. Every so often we could see the very top of the bridge's suspension system, but nothing else. We walked to Lombard Street and watched the cars zig-zag down. Then it was off to Chinatown for Chinese food.
We wandered around Chinatown for an hour or more people watching, popping into stores and tasting tea. We could not decided on a restaurant, so I asked the mailman if he had any suggestions. He gave us the name of two restaurants. We picked the one that served traditional Hong-Kong style. The restaurant, like most in Chinatown, appeared to be a mom and pop operation. Luke, Hannah, Chris B., John, Andrew and I went to the restaurant for dinner. Chris B made friends with our waitress/mom owner right away by asking if the $20.00 min on credit card purchases was firm. With attitude our waitress informed him that it was. We continued to make her happy by telling her that we wanted individual checks, which led her to walk away in a bit of a huff. When she returned 4 people said they were going to share checks. When she made it around to John, he added fuel to the fire by asking if the restaurant served crab rangoon, she informed him that was not real Chinese food. We continued making an impression by asking for our water glasses to be refilled numerous times, which ultimately led to us asking for a pitcher of water. The husband brought the pitcher after making like it was the only water pitcher in the entire restaurant. We did win our waitress back in the end by asking her to join us in a group photo. She was so delighted that she ran back to put lipstick on.
Most of our group along with several others were heading to the baseball game. Chris F. the newest Chris and I wanted to go back to the church using public transportation. I rode into town with Hannah and her friend. Chris took the public transportation so he was pretty sure he could get us back. We walked all the way back to Fisherman's Wharf in an effort to retrace his steps on the bus and subway. We were having little luck when fortune would have it, we bumped into Pete and Carmen who were asking directions from one of the bus employees. We joined up with them. Turned out we could have stayed in Chinatown and walked one block to Union Square to catch the subway.
Back at the church time for bed. 80 plus mile day tomorrow.
July 29 Santa Rosa, CA to San Francisco, CA
Santa Rosa, CA to San Francisco, CA
72.3 miles 5:28:10
Today's ride was one of my most
anticipated days on the bike. I love the city of San Francisco and
the opportunity to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on bicycle is truly
special.
The ride out of Santa Rosa was much
different than the ride in. The ride in was hilly. The ride out was
completely flat. Me thinks it would have been possible to reach the
church yesterday without climbing two hills. When this ride started
a 72 mile day seemed like a long ride, but as the days of riding have
turned into weeks 72 miles has become a short day or at least a very
manageable day.
The first 50 miles of the ride were
pleasant and mostly uneventful. Passed through a few vineyards. In
the town of Ross, where the last rest stop of the day was, a friend
of Chris C, Moe joined us. Moe is a writer for one of the national
cycling magazines and the editor of Dirt Rag, a mountain biking
magazine. Moe and Chris used to work together at the cycling
magazine.
Leaving Ross on our way to Sausalito
there was a long climb. The hill went on for more than a mile.
It's never a good sign when you are chugging up the hill and you the
top is just around the next corner and on the opposite side of the
road a cyclist comes whizing down—a tell tale sign that there is
much more hill to climb. This happened on more than one occasion
climbing this hill. Finally, the top and now the drop. It was a
fast descent, but probably not as fast as someone who knows the road
well.
Rolling into Sausalito brought back
fond memories of the last time I was there in 1999. Stopped in for
ice cream near the maria. Time for the Golden Gate bridge. The road
up to the Golden Gate is a twisty one with lots of dust, which is
surprising with all the moisture from the Bay. Almost the entire
group gathered to take photos of the bridge and the group before
venturing across the bridge. There was fog, but I could still see
the city and all of the bridge. One side of the bridge is for foot
traffic and the other side bicycle traffic. It took a good ten
minutes to cross the bridge. I have some great photos and video of
the crossing.
Once on the other side, it was time for
the hills of San Francisco. I went up. I went down. I went up again.
I went down again. And without fail the church hosting us sat
halfway up a hill, although some people rode through Golden Gate
park, which meant they avoided most of the hills. Our host church is
Armenian Orthodox Church.
The priest is a relatively young guy.
He lives with his family on the second floor of the church. Oh, how
thankful I am that I have my own place. Living in a parsonage,
especially one connected to the church means the pastor is “always”
available.
The church cooked dinner for us. The
folks cooking dinner were very funny. They had planned on cooking an
Armenian feast for us, until they received a letter from the Fuller
Center stating that the riders on the trip eat healthy. The letter
included a few pages of food suggestions with things like Quinua.
The folks cooking admited to us they had never heard of Quinua and
had no idea how to cook, but I must say they did a great job with.
Those of us that heard the food cooking story laughed a bit. It was
too bad they did not cook Armenian food, but the meal was wonderful
nonetheless.
A group of us went out that evening to
say good bye to Hannah and Pete. This was the end of the ride for
the two of them. The look establishment we went to had the Olympics
on. It was nice to be able to see some of the swimming events and
gymnastics. Several of us took a cab back to the church because it
was chilly and we did not feel like walking a mile and a half up hill
to reach the church. Tomorrow is a free day in San Fran. I'm going
to go to an Urgent Care to have my infection checked. The meds I got
in Crescent City don't seem to be working. The infection is holding
on and my ankle is still swollen and starting to hurt again. Not
good signs.
July 28 Ukiah, CA to Santa Rosa, CA
Ukiah, CA to Santa Rosa, CA 68 miles 4
hours 32 minutes
The church folks, the same couple that
prepared dinner for us, made a wonderful breakfast. I wish we could
take them along with us on the entire trip. The couple has a
daughter that lives in Rockville, so they know Hagerstown. Their
daughter works in DC.
I rode through miles of Mendecino wine
country. I was reminded of my last trip to France driving through
one of the many wine regions. I was riding with Jenn and we were
chatting about wine country. She asked if we would be riding through
Napa Valley, sadly our ride does not take us through Napa, but it
will take us through more wine country.
I had my first flat tire on the trip.
It was a front tire flat. I got it right after Jenn took a restroom
break along the side of the road. The owner of the property was
exiting the property as Jenn was walking back to her bike. He stared
us all down. He may have put a curse on my bike, that resulted in
the flat. Of course, I don't need any flats with $350 rear
derailleur repair. In fact, I would take a lot of flats over that
major repair.
Rode through a small town hosting a
triathlon. It was the bike portion, which gave me and the folks
riding with me the opportunity to “race” for a mile or so. I
passed several of the triathletes . The folks I passed appeared to be
stronger swimmers than bicyclists.
I took a photo of a directional sign
post that listed 6 or 7 different wineries. While I was taking this
photo an SUV stopped and the driver asked Jenn and I if we were part
of the tri, and we told him, “no” and then pointed him in the
right direction.
The ride was relatively flat, until we
reached Santa Rosa. There were two steep hills, one longer than the
other, that I had to climb. After 60 couple miles hills, even short
ones are not much fun. The campus/church facility is enormous. The
church runs a Christian school. We are staying in the gym and cooking
in the kitchen used to prepare food for the concession stand.
Discovered Santa Rosa's version of
Whole Foods, Oliver's Market. On the weekends the grocery store runs
a BBQ stand in front of the store. I was with a group of 6 seeking a
late lunch. We surveyed our options: a local burger joint, which
some other folks had eaten at, a pizza place, and the grocery store
BBQ. We all agreed the BBQ was a good change of pace from burgers.
Geezer Tom stepped up to the window first after looking at the menu
painted on the glass side of the window. There were 9 or 10 food
items on the menu. Tom ordered his BBQ Pork sandwich and then asked
the guy if he had french fries. The guy's response was a very rude,
“only what's on the window.” I knew from past experience that
Tom was about ready to cancel his order, after such a rude exchange.
Since the BBQ is part of the grocery store, although it is a free
standing trailer in front, one pays for one's order inside the
grocery. I stepped up to the window placed my order, and then asked
about drinks. I was told the same thing Tom was, “only what's on
the window.” With my order ticket in hand, I headed inside
Oliver's Market. It was a little slice of grocery heaven. Locally
sourced foods, a glorious deli/bakery, and on and on. I purchased
some chips and two beverages to go along with my pulled pork
sandwich. The sandwich was amazing and it appeared to have half a
pig.
After finishing our food several of us
went back into Oliver's to see what else could be had in the way of
sweets and treats. A couple of people purchased milkshakes/malts
from the ice cream, coffee, bakery counter, and a few others
purchased cookies and/or chocolate. I went with the chocolate. Back
to the church to relax for a bit before it's time to start making
dinner.
Friday, August 3, 2012
July 27 Redway, CA to Ukiah, CA 96.8 miles
Redway, CA to Ukiah, CA 96.8 miles
7:01:10
Early morning wake-up call. I'm a bit
nervous about today's ride at nearly 100 miles it will be my longest
ride to date. The previous two centuries: the CASA Century on May
19th is when I crashed and the 95 mile day out of Newport
is when my derailleur sheared off.
Out the church door and down the steep
hill I climbed to get to the church yesterday. It was easier to go
down, but required caution. Shortly after leaving the church, I had
my first climb of the day. The climb was somewhat difficult and my
legs were not fully awake. My slow ascent left me near the back of
the riding pack and far
behind my riding partners.
The ride to the
first rest stop seemed much longer than 25 miles. I refueled
at the rest stop and caught up to my riding buddy Hannah. She only
has two more days with the group. She'll be leaving us when we reach
San Francisco, the half point in the ride and the end of segment two.
She and I rode together off and on between the first rest stop and
the second.
This
section had a serious climb, meaning it was two or more miles long.
In a car such a climb will take two or three minutes and depending on
the grade the car may slow a bit, but otherwise it is no problem.
But for a cyclist, especially one like myself who is not the most
efficient hill climb, a 2 plus mile climb can sap all the strength
from one's legs and leave the person gasping for air and praying for
the end (the top) to be near. This climb is less winding than some,
so it is possible to see the top off in the distance. When I'm
climbing and I can see the top, it is like the shoreline from the
open water—it appeas closer than it really is. I must say., the
human body is amazing. Climbing the hill, I feel like I'm going to
die and I'm praying not only for the top of the hill but also for the
ride to be over, and then comes the down hill hitting speeds of 40
miles an hour, filling the lungs with fresh air, and the legs with
new energy.
I
cruised out of the next rest stop, which was at mile 60ish. I was
burning up the flats with a 21 mile hour pace. Hannah was pushing to
keep up with me. Of course, all that will change when we hit the
next big climb. She's a natural cyclist and a very good climber.
Part of the reason I was riding so fast was due to the fact that my
left foot was numb. I just wanted to get to the end of the days
ride. I rode for about 10 miles with my foot being numb. I had
developed a spasm in my lower back, which was causeing my foot to be
numb. I pulled off the road and into a rest area where I could lay
down on the ground to have Hannah stretch my leg and back. All
stretched and feeling much better and back on the bike for the
homestretch of today's ride.
The
homestretch included a long descent, which I flew down. As I was
speeding down the hill, I happened to look down to my right as an
exit approached. It was a good thing I did, because the exit was the
exit I needed to take. I took the exit, and stopped to signal other
riders, as they came flying down the hill, that this was the exit.
Geezer Tom was the last person down in the group I had been riding
with so I hoped back on my bike and rode with him all the way into
Ukiah.
We met
up with some other folks in our group, who had stopped off to buy a
few things. We rode through town looking for the turn to the church.
We were more than a mile beyond the total distance and had yet to
see the turn. The group Tom and I met up with kept riding further,
while we stopped for a Malt and a Shake. We asked the women who
waited on us where such and such address was. She told us it was a
mile or so back. After our ice cream break we turned and headed back
the way we came. We bumped into Blake and Sarah who had also missed
the turn to the church.
We
rode a little over a mile almost back to where we entered the town of
Ukiah to locate our turn to the church.
Our
host church was the Ukiah Methodist Church. Members of the church
cooked us a fantastic dinner and breakfast as well. We had a brief
presentation that evening at the church, which was open to the
public. The presentation was lightly attended, it was a Friday night
after all, but those in attendance asked great questions.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
July 26 Eureka to Redway 76.8 miles
76.8 miles of riding in 5 hours, 26 minutes and 30 seconds. Not a speed demon, but fast enough. Up early! I was excited and a bit nervous to get back on the bike after 5 days off: 3 riding days and 2 rest days. It was great to ride through part of the Redwood forest south of Eureka. I felt pretty good. My ankle is feeling better. I hope the antibiotic is working. My tender areas are feeling better. Riding in the van helped with these issues, at least in part.
I certainly noticed how much slower I was compared to the other riders who have been riding every ride day, especially on hills. I'm not particularly fast to begin with, but their strength and speed has increased considerably.
The ride was pretty easy, all but the last two miles or so. There was a long hill climb into the town of Redway where we are staying. I joked that Allen found another church at the top of hill for us to stay at. This has been a common pattern throughout the trip. However, when I reached the top of the hill there was no church. Continued on down the hill through the "big" town of Redway. Stopped to asked directions to the church because the folks I was riding with were sure we had missed the street to turn on to get to the church. We learned we had a bit more to go and that the turn to the church was well marked. Sure enough, a bit further down the road and we found the turn. Much to my dismay, I faced a very steep hill. I did not check my gps to see what the grade was on the hill, but I later learned it was 15% or so. There sat the church at the top of the hill.
The church is the Redway New Wine Fellowship. The church is housed in a pre-fab building. The sanctuary/worshp space appears to be in a converted garage. There are couches, lounge chairs and folding chairs. The church has a very non-traditional worship space. It has the feel of an emergent church worshp space with the artwork, photography, drum set, etc.
The members of the church made dinner for us. It was wonderful and filling. I spoke with two members of the church during dinner. The church is an off-shoot of a much larger Assemblies of God congregation. The pastor of the congregation started the off-shoot in his front yard with 14 or so people. He has a tent-making ministry.
The members I ate dinner with noticed the bandage on my ankle. They asked me if they could pray over my injured an ankle for healing. I gladly accepted their offer. Prayer and antibiotics ought to get me back to full strength in a minute.
Early to bed. Nearly 100 miles to ride tomorrow.
July 25 Day Off Eureka, CA
My bicycle is at Revolution Bicycle Repair in Arcata, CA a few miles north of Eureka. I had a great breakfast this morning with two of the three Toms: geezer Tom and Turbo Tom. We ate at Ramones Cafe. I had a cup of coffee. I gave up coffee prior to the trip, since I did not know what access to coffee and coffee in Thailand, where I'll be going after the trip ends is not good. I also had orange juice, which made me really happy. We have not had any orange juice on this trip. The conversation and food was great. The geezer Tom is 70, the oldest rider on the trip. He lives outside of Denver. Turbo Tom, so named by Sarah D, is 63 and from Chicago. Sarah gave him this name last year, because he would not use sunscreen on his nose, which led to him developing a bright red nose. Sarah called it his turbo button.
After the leisurely breakfast we headed back to the church to see what the rest of the folks were up to. A number of folks have plans to go to see the new Batman movie. I'd like to go, but I need to wait to hear about my bike. It needs to be picked up by 6 PM. I chilled at the church the rest of the morning.
I joined the movie goers for lunch at Star Burger. Several people ate there yesterday afternoon. I had a hamburger, spinach salad and chocolate shake. The hamburger was good, but what made me most happy was the spinach salad. I was in deseparate need of greens. While at the lunch the bicycle repair shop called. The total cost of the repair $344.00.
The shop gave me a break on parts and labor, which I greatly appreciate. If you need a quality bicycle shop in and around Arcata, CA go to Revolution Bicycle Repair. Back on the bicycle tomorrow! Hooray. No more van unless I need it for health/fatigue reasons.
After the leisurely breakfast we headed back to the church to see what the rest of the folks were up to. A number of folks have plans to go to see the new Batman movie. I'd like to go, but I need to wait to hear about my bike. It needs to be picked up by 6 PM. I chilled at the church the rest of the morning.
I joined the movie goers for lunch at Star Burger. Several people ate there yesterday afternoon. I had a hamburger, spinach salad and chocolate shake. The hamburger was good, but what made me most happy was the spinach salad. I was in deseparate need of greens. While at the lunch the bicycle repair shop called. The total cost of the repair $344.00.
The shop gave me a break on parts and labor, which I greatly appreciate. If you need a quality bicycle shop in and around Arcata, CA go to Revolution Bicycle Repair. Back on the bicycle tomorrow! Hooray. No more van unless I need it for health/fatigue reasons.
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