We got all spread out during the climb, but then we waited at the top for everyone
to arrive. Leo-1 was last up, but that was because he was continually stopping
to take pictures.
Like all of the previous tours, I would not take the bus, either to or from the tour. Instead, the plan was to begin and end my riding from my home in San Jose. Below are the totals of miles, speeds, riding times, total times, and touring factor for each of the days.
Day From Distance Speed Leave Arrive R.Time T.Time Factor
miles mph h:mm h:mm hours hours %
-1 San Jose 73.8 14.5 7:00 2:20 5.09 7.33 69.4
0 Patterson 86.5 14.1 7:20 3:25 6.13 8.08 75.9
1 Columbia 59.4 12.6 7:35 3:20 4.71 7.75 60.8
2 Jackson 79.8 14.3 7:59 5:10 5.58 9.18 60.1
3 Folsom 67.8 16.2 7:45 4:10 4.19 8.42 49.8
4 Lake Solano 67.9 15.0 7:55 3:38 4.53 7.72 58.7
5 Calistoga 74.6 14.4 8:34 4:50 5.18 8.27 62.6
6 Duncan Mills 69.6 14.5 7:20 4:56 4.80 9.60 50.0
7 Olema 38.4 12.4 8:37 1:09 3.10 4.53 68.4
7+ San Francisco 62.4 15.2 2:40 7:45 4.10 6.60 62.1
San Jose
Totals 680.2 14.35 47.41 77.48 61.2
We had perfect riding weather to start out. Overcast for the climb up to Mt. Hamilton, and then clear skies after that. This would be the same all week long. It never got either too hot or too cold for the rest of the week.
We got all spread out during the climb, but then we waited at the top for everyone
to arrive. Leo-1 was last up, but that was because he was continually stopping
to take pictures.
Dropping down the back, Deb and David on their tandem got ahead of the group and we never saw them again until the Junction. Some of us stopped to regroup at the bridge over Isabel Creek. Looking down into the pool of water, we found a turtle swimming along. It looked to be about 8 inches long. In San Antonio Valley, I tried checking out the wild flowers, but found that most of them were now all gone.
Most everyone had Jerry's burgers and fries at The Junction Cafe. Even though it was alot of food, we all managed to finish. Then it was off towards Patterson. I had announced that it looked like we might get a good tailwind today in Del Puerto Canyon. But that turned out to be totally wrong, and we all had a nice refreshing headwind all of the way. At least it was mostly downhill.
We arrived at the Villa Del Lago Inn at 2:20, only to find out that rooms wouldn't be ready until 3:00 PM, same as last year. Patti arrived soon after we did, then soon after that we were allowed to start checking in. Once checked in, we all met out by the pool for some swimming and just generally hanging out.
I brought along a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, which I proceeded to put together on
one of the tables near the pool. I've tried puzzles on some of the other campouts,
but this would be the first time on the Sierra to the Sea. Doing a puzzle by the
pool worked out good, as when it got to be too hot, I'd just take a quick dip in
the pool and then come out and work on the puzzle some more.
By dinner time, the puzzle was still not completed, so we just left it there and went across the street to Denny's. I had my usual hamburger and fries, plus I got a big banana split to go. Back at the puzzle near the pool, I could leisurely eat my banana split and fix the puzzle, both at the same time. We finished the puzzle with daylight to spare.
Today we would have two tandems riding. Tracy and Sharon would be joining Deb and David. Also joining the group would be Dale Worden and Margie Smith, who were going to bring their car along and trade off the driving. Leo-1 had volunteered to drive Tracy and Sharon's truck all of the way to Knight's Ferry, which he didn't seem to mind, as it just gave him more time for picture taking.
Pam's plan was to ride all of the flat section today, and so my plan was to just ride along with Pam. This worked fine, as we were often joined by some of the others who also just wanted a nice social pace. We often would not see the tandems until the next regroup on down the road, but that was fine. I didn't want to be rushed today, as I still had all week to be riding.
By Knight's Ferry, the fast group had already left by the time that we got there, but that was fine. I was still with Patti, Mike and Karen, and Dale and Margie. Together we all had lunch and then checked out the covered bridge on the way out of town. Before leaving, though, I made sure that I got a quick jump in the Stanislaus River. It didn't seem as cold as usual. But I was out and ready to go again before the others had started, so we were all able to ride out together.
In Jamestown, we decided to keep the stop a bit shorter, and so I only had a Pepsi and 2 candy bars, and not my usual giant burrito. Just as we were ready to leave, I found that I had a flat tire, so we all waited while I fixed it. We finally made it in to Columbia at 3:25, a few minutes behind schedule, but who cares. I still felt fine after two days of riding.
Dinner wasn't until 6:30, so I didn't have to do any hurrying. Still, there was
plenty of socializing to be done, as I kept running into people that I haven't seen
for a whole year. Lisa Curran and Karl Schilling were camping, so once I found out
where they were putting their tent, I made sure that my tent went up close by.
Then it was off to the shower, and then a walk back in to town to hang out with the
City Hotel crowd for a while before it was time to get back to camp. Pam and Mike
and Dale and Margie were all staying at the City Hotel, and Deb and David and
Mike and Karen were staying nearby.
Back in time for dinner, but I don't like standing in long lines, so I decided to just hang out until the line went down. Lisa and Karl, being vegetarians, got their food early and were all finished before I even got mine. Once I got mine, I filled my plate with spagetti and bread. It turned out that I was very thirsty, but Lisa was willing to refill my cup whenever needed, and so she ended up making about 5 trips for me.
Just before it got dark, Pam and Mike dropped by in camp to meet everybody. So I was their guide back into town, taking them along the trail. After that, I headed back to camp, staying up on the road, and using car's headlights to see my way home. Then it was off to bed.
Just before we were ready to leave we found out that Kim Carr couldn't go just yet, as they had a panic with there being too many bags to fit inside the truck, and so as many of the bike boxes as would fit would need to be loaded onto the club's bike trailer that was going back to San Jose on Kim's car. Since Kim was on the staff and it was her car that they were using, she ended up having to wait. So we all headed off without her.
We made the usual photo stop in the middle of the Parret's Ferry bridge over Don Pedro Reservoir. I thought about straying off and going for a quick dip in the reservoir, but I didn't this year. Climbing up towards Murphys, I mostly rode with Patti and Peggy along with Phil, while Lisa and Karl kept going off the front and then waiting for us.
We got to the usual bakery in Murphys, only to find it closed, but there was another one a few blocks down so we went there instead. Nobody stopped in though, as it was still early in the ride and nobody was hungry yet.
We then followed along the official route, the same as we did the last two years, taking Murphys Grade into Angels Camp and Dogtown Road out to the first reststop. We talked about maybe doing Sheep Ranch Road again next year. Dogtown Road was still as bumpy as ever.
Muriel was in charge of the first reststop, and she had a good spread of things to eat. Like last year, Kim, as food chair, had the SAG stops provide some food for all of the riders. In past years all that you could expect was water at these stops.
We then bought lunch-to-go in San Andreas and packed it along with us to eat at our scheduled swimming spot. We stopped at the 2nd reststop (headed by Stephanie), just long enough to gather up a few more people. Theresa Sickmiller, Nancy Ross, John Mazzella, Dick Caron, Jerry Schonewille, Ray and Shannon Rodriguez, all decided to join us on our Gwin Mine Road option.
Not everyone was going to stop to swim, but it was a good scenic detour even if you didn't do the swimming. Once down at the big bridge, we found the water level to be full up, maybe even 10 feet higher than last year. There were fishermen lined up all along the bridge, so instead we went over to this new trail that was made to haul the rafts up out of the river.
I went all of the way into the water, even swimming across the river and back again. Being that the water level was higher, this section of river was now acting more like a portion of the reservoir, as there was no current to carry me downstream like there was last year. Instead, I was able to swim across and back without having to work harder to fight a current. Lisa, Ray, and Theresa were the only other ones in the water, but it was too cold for them to stay in for long.
We finished our lunches at the river before we finally started up the hill towards Jackson. Ray was our slow rider, and so I offered to give him a pull with my brand new bungee cord, but Ray didn't accept my offer. Instead Ray managed to ride all of the way up on his own power. Shannon, Theresa, and I all waited for Ray at the top of the hill, then we rode on into camp together.
At the St.Sava mission in Jackson, we found that there were already lots of tents up (as usual), put we were able to put ours up in an area without too much crowding. As would be the case for all week, I would put my tent up near Karl and Lisa's and also near Peggy's tent. We would be camping buddies for the whole week.
Since it was only 3:30, we had lots of time before dinner, and so we spent much of it in the nice pool, complete with water slide.
For dinner, I put out my red/white checkered tablecloth, and we ate dinner there. Then
after dinner I started the 2nd of my puzzles, this one being pictures from Survivor-1.
I had lots of help with the puzzle, but we didn't quite get it finished, as the lights
were turned out. Instead, we were able to watch a slideshow from last year's Sierra to
the Sea, presented by Steve Sloan. This show was a good success.
Next on my list of things to do was to go on the swings over near where our tents were set up. Nice big swings. I could sit and swing and still keep an eye out for Lisa and Peggy getting up. Lisa got up and went off to the bathroom, then Peggy got up and came over and joined me on the swings for awhile.
Next up was breakfast, followed by packing up and putting away the wet tents. As usual, we were about the last group to start out. Patti and Kim were going to go a different route into Folsom, as Kim needed to get there earlier to go buy some food for the next morning. Phil then led the rest of us over to his house in Sutter Creek, so that we could again stop in and look at his garden railroad. Phil had most of this setup last year, but this year things were more complete and he even had the train out running.
Phil then suggested that we all go just one mile up Hwy 49 to Amador City to look at his friend's train layout. Off we all went. None of us could hardly believe what we would see. This other train layout was about 10 times as big as Phil's, but then we went and checked out the train yard in the basement. This place was amazing. There were about 8 trains there, including one that actually belonged to Phil. Each train was radio controlled. Phil gave one control to Miguel and had Miguel take the train out into the yard for a spin.
Finally it was time to go, so Phil took us on the old road back to Sutter Creek, where we got back on the official route towards Volcano. Miguel, Jeff, and Karl all decided to go off the front and get on up to the reststop to let them know that the others might be late. Peggy, Lisa, Phil, and I all then just cruised along at our regular pace.
Because of our train stops, and because it wasn't overly warm, we decided to skip the usual creek stop. I did notice that the rope swing was still attached and seemed to be in good working order. If I was alone I would have stopped, but I chose to stay with the others. Our planned water stop for today was under the bridge on Latrobe Road.
But first we had to get to Volcano. We stopped in there for about 10 minutes, long enough for us all to say hello to Rosie, and to grab a bite to eat, and to fill up water bottles. Then it was on up Rams Grade. Our schedule didn't look too bad now, and we were able to arrive at the reststop a full 12 minutes before it was scheduled to close. Fletch Dobbs and Nancy Kenny had this reststop, located at the upper end of Fiddletown Road.
Jeff and Karl were still there waiting for us. We hung out for awhile, then we headed down to Plymouth to buy lunch, with a regroup in Fiddletown along the way. In Plymouth we decided to just buy lunch and carry it with us to the river, skipping our usual stop for lunch in the fairgrounds. This worked out fine, as it now let us get to the second reststop a full half hour before it was due to close. This was Barb and Ed Kilduff's stop.
A few minutes at this reststop and we were ready to go again. We had kept alot of our stops shorter to allow for more time at the river, so that was our next stop.
It was only me, Phil, Karl, Peggy, and Lisa who stopped off at the river. We usually brought our bikes down on the righthand side, but that was barbwired off and overgrown with weeds. Phil had me check the lefthand side, and it turned out to be a clear path down to under the bridge to hide the bikes, and then a nice trail on down to the water. The water was a bit higher this year, but not too high. I could still manage to go upstream if I worked along the slower water close to the edge. After swimming around for quite awhile, we then had lunch. I went back in for more swimming after eatting, but the others were getting ready to go so I did too.
Back up on the road we still had alot of riding to do to get on into Folsom. Luckily it was not as hot as it has been in past years, but it was hot enough today. We finished with Latrobe Road, only being passed by one logging truck the whole time, even though a few more went by earlier while we were stopped at the reststop.
Phil decided that he wanted to stop and buy something, so we all rode into town on busy Bidwell. But it was good to stop off and buy an ice cold Pepsi, as my water bottles were either empty or filled with hot water. We finally got over onto the American River bike trail and turned towards Folsom dam and reservoir. I was glad that this path was in the shade and also wasn't too steep, as I was now officially tired for the day. We checked our mileages and discovered that we were going to get close to 80 miles for the day.
In camp they were trying out a new system where they would only allow 8 people per campsite. This was fine, but since we were late, it looked like we might end up having to split up the group. But then Karl found that not all of the campsites were populated and we were able to score us a completely empty site. I signed everybody in, and we already had 7. Now we could think about dinner.
There was still a line for the showers, but lucky for me, both Phil and Peggy had the idea of going straight down to dinner, but bringing our swimsuits so that we could jump in the reservoir before it was time to eat. I liked this plan. It was still hot out, but in the water it felt great.
Dinner was great as usual. After loading up our plates we all sat around on the grass in the shade. After dinner, Kim said that she still had to go out shopping, as the SAGs were unable to go with her earlier. It seems that there were lots of SAG logistical problems this tour, and that most of them were the result of having too much luggage for everything to be able to fit inside the truck. So Kim and Fletch went off shopping.
Peggy and I went back to camp and watched Phil work on bikes until it got dark. Then we all went back over to the reservoir and took another swim. Kim finally got back from shopping at 10:00 PM. They had a very long day. I stayed up chatting with Kim until after 11:00, then it was off to bed.
We were finally all ready to start rolling at 7:45. Just then Patti arrived to ride with us. I had forgotten all about Patti. Well, at least we would have met up along the way if we didn't meet in camp.
We had a big group riding along the bike trail for all the 30 miles into Sacramento. The 16 or so people were all in a double paceline, paired up for easy chatting. We did one restroon break along the way, where I got out my frisbee and Lisa, karl, and I played for awhile. Then it was back on the road again.
A few miles before Sacramento, we were going around a curve and it felt and looked like my front tire skidded out for a few inches before it managed to catch again, so I almost fell down. I lucked out. But then after that it seemed that at every corner it was trying to slip out, and I couldn't figure out if it was the bike or just me. Finally, just before reaching Sacramento I decided to stop and look. It turned out that my front tire was almost flat, which would cause it to move sideways on a turn. I just pumped it back up, thinking that I'll change the flat when we stop in Old Town Sacramento.
The others had kept going, but then noticed that I was no longer there. Lisa and Karl turned back but then saw that I was now coming. Lisa stopped but Karl didn't realize it, and so Karl ended up running into Lisa, knocking them both down. Luckily no one was too hurt, with Karl getting a few scrapes and a broken cleat on his shoe.
In Old Town, we all just stopped at our usual place. I sat down and fixed my tire, but first I went over and bought a smoothie to eat while I was working. The others did a bit of food shopping also. Karl and Phil went off to find a bike shop.
After we were sitting there for awhile, Kim and Ken decided it was time for them to get going, so off they went. They were going to do the long option then ride out to Lake Berryessa for a swim before getting into camp. That was my plan also, but since I now didn't have Kim to go with, the plan switched back to my usual. We would just ride into Davis on the short option along the Causeway, and then just on into camp. This was fine with all of the group.
Phil had to get to camp early to meet his wife, so he took off on his own. In Davis Phil caught up with Kim and company and they quickly pacelined him on into camp, so he made it there on time.
In Davis, we first parked our bikes at the bike shop, then decided to split up. Some wanted a big lunch, while others didn't. I went with Peggy to first buy a bike lock and then we went and got some ice cream, and then we went to a book shop to get Peggy a book. Then we went to the restaurant to check on the others and they were just finishing.
Next on our list was a stop in the park like we did last year. We started with a nap on the grass under a tree. Next was some frisbee with me and Lisa, with a break for Lisa and I to go play in the fountains. There is a concrete area with about 8 pipes coming up, each with a random shooting, much like little geysers. We found that if you sit down just in front and lean back, then the water will give you a good back massage, plus get you all totally wet of course. Then it was back for some more relaxing under the tree.
Finally it was time to go again. We had just started out when we found Ray and Shannon, so we all rode along together to the next reststop (Barb and Ed's) near Putah Creek. At the reststop Ray decided that he was ready to be sagged in, and so we inherited Shannon so that she could ride the rest of the way in with us. Shannon later told me that this was her first time riding without Ray, and so I told her that she didn't need Ray. Just joking of course.
In camp I again set up near to Lisa/Karl and Peggy. Next up was a jump in the river and then showers. Kim had gotten into camp by this time, so she came down with us. The river water was cold, but it didn't seem as cold as the last few years. I was able to swim across to the other side and back with no problem. I remember that last year my wrists and ankles were hurting from the cold, but I didn't feel that this year.
Kim said that she would have stayed in longer at Lake Berryessa if I was there, and so I offered to ride back out again with her, but it would have been too far. She said that Miguel was with her and that he said that a fish was biting him when he was in the water, so he didn't stay in too long.
Dinner was great as always. After dinner they were going to have the hula hoop contest that we have been practicing for all week. I was a bit better but could still not keep it up. I think that I was 2nd out in my group of 4. For the women there was some real competition. It ended up being a tie between Nicole and Kim. Kim seemed to have to work at it, but with Nicole it seemed so totally natural, just as if she wasn't doing anything at all and the hula hoop could just keep going around forever. I was impressed.
Nicole and husband Eric (from Truckee) were on the tour last year also, but I really didn't remember them. This year they hung out more with our group, and so were a great addition to our tour. Nicole has this pair of big fluffy booties that she sometimes wears in camp if its cold. In one of the slides from last year's tour, who did we see but Nicole standing there in those same big booties.
It never seems to get damp at the Lake Solano campground, so that is the night when I decided to try sleeping outside so that I could check out the stars. I did this last year also but then made the mistake of actually falling asleep until after the moon had come up, so the stars were not as visible. I was able to see a few more stars this time, but then again I ended up sleeping through most of it. Very early in the morning I finally climbed back into my tent.
This sprinting sort of seperated the group, though, and so it wasn't until the top of the hill that we found out that Phil had to escort one rider, Peter Kellner, back into camp because he had a broken spoke. Peter ended up sagging in to a town to find a bike shop. The good news was that Tammy Baker would then stay with our group for all of today. We didn't get the full report until Phil finally caught back up with us at Moscowite Corners store.
At the top of the dam, even though alot of the group had not caught up yet, it was decided to push on ahead and do a regroup at the top of Cardiac Hill instead. That gave Kim a chance to show me the swimming spot where she and Miguel had gone to yesterday. We stopped at the water and I went in for a quick swim but it was still too early for Kim. We then headed off again, thinking that we would save the time to use at the next swimming spot. When Kim and I got out onto the road we were just in time to ride up Cardiac Hill with Nicole and Muriel.
At the top of Cardiac there was still no sign of Phil yet, so we decided to go on up to Moscowite Corners and wait for him there. It seemed that almost everybody was hanging out at the store when we got there. Even though it wasn't too hot yet, I had an ice cream, just for tradition. Phil finally did show up, so we got going again. But not before I started to hear a few rumblings.
I think Lisa mentioned that if it didn't warm up, then she wasn't going swimming. Then I think it was Peggy backed her up. I was riding at the front at this time and I wasn't liking what I was hearing. It was still another 5 miles up to the Spanish Flat junction where we would have to stop and make our decision. I sort of rode this section extra hard just to try to work my frustration out of my system, but it was still there. At the junction we all stopped and gave everyone a chance to have their say. I announced that this swimming spot was always the highlite of the tour, and how they could even consider not going there was beyond me. I was going to go, even if I had to go by myself, but I was hoping that at least Kim would come along with me. Then Kim said that she was going with the others. Peggy and Lisa tried to have me reconsider and to go with them, but I was set in my ways. I didn't want it to be a bad goodbye, and I didn't want to have any ill feelings, but I was still going to split off and go to the swim spot, no matter what.
So we said our goodbyes, and I got my hugs. I told them I might see them again on Ink Grade or in Angwin. Then off I went on my own. I left behind Peggy, Lisa, Kim, and Tammy - 4 women and just 2 guys - Phil and Karl. What was I passing up? But I was very sure that if I did not go get my swimming spot out of my system, then I would have that thought eatting at me all day and it would just make me miserable. So I was more glad to be going to the swimming spot than I was sad to be leaving the others.
I stopped in at the Spanish Flat store to get lunch to bring to the lake. It was a good thing that we didn't depend on this store, like we had planned, as it had almost nothing to offer. I bought a pepsi and some cookies and off I went.
I arrived at the traditional swimming place, the same one that we've gone to for the past 2 or 3 years. It was in perfect condition. The lake level was up to its highest so far, putting this one large flat rock just a few feet up from the edge. Since I was alone, I used this rock for some good sunbathing, as it was just big enough for me to lie down. I got in the water, swam up to one end and back, then got out and sunbathed and ate some. Then I got back in the water and swam up to the other end and back then got out and ate and sunbathed some more. Then I went in the water one more time and got out and finished my lunch. An hour and a half had gone by this time, so it was finally time to get going again. I was now quite satisfied with my swim stop.
Back on the road now, I figured that I had a good chance to catch back up, as I felt fine and also I wouldn't have to wait for any slower riders but could just ride straight through to Angwin if needed. The Ink Grade reststop (Barb and Ed) closed at 2:00 PM and I was there at 10 minutes to. I asked for the other group and Ed said they were about 20 minutes ahead. I had everything that I needed, so I just sped up Ink Grade. I figured that I could maybe gain 10 minutes on this hill, so that they would only have a 10 minute advantage in Angwin.
I made it up Ink Grade with no problem. In Angwin, I seemed to still have lots of energy, and I had paced myself pretty good so I didn't feel worn out. As expected, I found my group sitting on the grass in the shade, at the usual spot. They had already bought and eatten their food, so it wasn't too long and we were all ready to go again. I was glad to see all of them and they were all glad to see me. I was very happy to have been able to catch back up before Calistoga, as that way we could make sure that all was forgiven for the split up earlier in the day. We were now one big happy family again for the rest of the way into Calistoga.
They all talked me into joining them on the fast descent down Deer Park Rd, instead of taking the usual scenic and bumpy Howell Mountain Rd. I think that they thought that I might object again, but this option didn't matter to me, as I wasn't losing any swimming oportunities here. Kim lost her Spanish lesson papers on this downhill, but otherwise we all made it down ok.
On the Silverado Trail, we just did a steady paceline, with Karl and Lisa at the front, but not going so fast as to drop anybody. Along the way we picked up Nicole and Eric and Shannon. Coming closer to Calistoga, Lisa told Karl that she was getting tired and so dropped to the back with me and Phil and Eric. Eric mentioned something about the city limit sign, and I then told Phil that they had moved it, as Phil thought that it was in the middle of a long straghtaway. Eric moved up towards the front to look for the sign. At this time I asked Lisa if she would consider doing another sprint and she said yes. We hung at the back, then on one long straight section I could just make out what could be the sign. On a hunch I moved quickly towards the front, with Lisa attached to my wheel. I was right. There was the sign, just in front of us now. Eric, Phil, and Karl finally realized it, but they were all too late, as Lisa and I were now at the front, just in time for Lisa to get another sprint. Good job Lisa!
We were now pulling into Calistoga and it was time to say some goodbyes again. Karl and Lisa, Kim and Ken, Peggy and George, all of them would be staying at motels this evening and we probably wouldn't see them again until the morning. But today's splitting up and later rejoining made me more confident in the strength of our little group, and so I wasn't too worried at having to say goodbye for awhile more. Besides, I had Nancy Ross and Theresa Sickmiller staying in camp this night, so I would finally have some time with them.
At the fairgrounds camp, it looked to be a bit less than half of the people were camping. I put my tent up, showered, and then joined in going down to the laundromat, even though I didn't have any clothes to wash. Lots of the tour people do their wash this day, so the laundromat is a good place to hang out. I arranged to meet Theresa and Nancy there at 6:30 to go off to dinner.
We had 11 for dinner at Bosco's, our usual place. I ordered a 10" personal pizza, which I was then able to trade slices for lots of other people's meals. So I got a good selection to eat. And some pizza to go also. That pizza got eatten later that evening.
The next 10 mile section up to Jimtown store has always been a fast-paceline and a slow-paceline section. Today was no different, even though we started out as just one paceline. Sooner or later, the paceline splits, and the one group goes on ahead and the other comes along later. I escorted Peggy and Shannon in today. Lots of the tour people were at Jimtown Store when we got there. I got myself a big ice cream, and it look all of my effort to eat it.
Theresa and Nancy were already there, and they wanted to climb up the Geysers Rd a bit to get the view, so I said that I would go with them. Again, I had to say goodbyes to Peggy and Lisa, as they didn't want to do the climb. As we were climbing up, Kim and Ken rode on by, saying that they were going all of the way to the top before they turned back. I told them bye. At the scenic lookout over the Alexander Valley, Theresa and Nancy wanted a picture, so they put me in the middle. I had been riding with the legs of my shorts pulled all of the way up, and so when I was getting ready for the picture I was going to adjust them down a bit, only to be told by both Nancy and Theresa, "No, you should leave them raised up." OK, I said. Funny to find that I was now their sex object for the picture.
We found Ray and Shannon on our way to Geyserville. There we stopped at the general store as all of the rest of my group makes this stop every year. This is a real general store, not your usual touristy type store like the Jimtown store. All together again, we headed up over the last hill and on to the Dry Creek Store to buy lunch. This was also Stephanie's reststop, and she could carry wine for you back into camp.
With lunch in hand we went the short distance to the Dry Creek Winery where we again had lunch and played frisbee and napped, just as always. An hour later we were on the road again.
I wanted to finally do Sweetwater Road again this year. The last time had been on Kim's first tour when she had fallen and broken her clavicle, so this hill had memories. It was also here that the road was muddy and Peggy was not enjoying the climb, but I was keeping her company anyway, hoping that she would not blame me for choosing that road. She didn't. The group stayed together to the Sweetwater road junction, then we split up. Kim and I first went to the winery across the street and filled our waterbottles. Then we went up over the first climb on Sweetwater and down to the creek in the middle. Luckily we found that the others were stopped and in the water. I found a section deep enough to actually get a short swim in. This new group consisted of me, Kim, Ken, Miguel, Jeff Olsen. Eric, Fletch Dobbs, and two Lindas, both whom happen to be from Colorado. Linda #1 was on this tour about 2 years ago, but this time she brought along her husband.
Out of the water and the climbing soon started. Kim had left before me, saying that I would catch up. I was the last to leave, and it seemed like a long while but I did finally catch Kim and Ken. Ken then went off the front with Eric while I stayed with Kim. They were gone when we got to the summit. I told Kim that I was going back down to bring up the others, so I did. It wasn't too far, maybe a half mile or so, so I was back up again in just 10 to 15 minutes.
All together again at the summit, Kim told everyone that she wanted to stop in at the crash site. I was last one down and I was able to remember it all very clearly. The site was just where I remembered it, just around a very tight hairpin to the right. Then we continued on down to the bottom and onto Armstrong Road.
Going into Armstrong Redwoods Park, Linda #2 kept remarking on the size of the trees as I don't think she had seen a redwood before. So as we rode along, I was pointing out all of the giants, "There's a big one, there's a big one ...". We went straight to the Colonol Armstrong tree and were there checking it out just as the other half of our group showed up. They had been over at the Bullfrog Road section of the park and had just decided to come find the Armstrong tree. Good thing that they did, or else we could have all missed each other. But we were now together again.
Finally in camp, we were picking out a place for the tents. Karl, Lisa, and I were ready to set up out at the far edge, but then Peggy said, "Why not here next to the truck?" so it would be closer to all of the action. So instead, we just moved some bags out of the way and put our tents there. Good thinking, Peggy.
I'm thinking that the wine and cheese party got started later this year, as here we were already in camp, and the party did not even start yet. Still time to go jump in the river and then have my shower. And I was still in time for the party. I didn't have any wine but instead walked up to the small store and got a big pepsi and some small chocolate donuts. This would keep me until dinner was ready.
After dinner, there was no walk over to the bar across the river, as Phil had a very sore achilles tendon. Instead we all just stayed close to camp until bedtime.
It was perfect weather this morning. Along the coast we had a nice tailwind, so it was terrific easy riding over the curves and rollers, all the while having the great views out along the ocean shore. Then it was up Coleman Valley. I hung back with Lisa while Karl went on ahead to wait at the top. More great views. Once over the top and heading down towards Occidental, we started passing some of the others from the tour, now done with their breakfast and heading out to the coast. I happily considered each one to be one more space available at Howard's Cafe.
We arrived in Occidental, and were surprised to find that the other half of our group wasn't there yet. We waited a bit then decided to get a table and we'll see them inside. We had just ordered when they all arrived. We'd be joined by Ray and Shannon, and Kim and Ken, and Eric and Nicole, along with the usual Phil and Peggy and Karl and Lisa and me.
After breakfast, it seemed to me like we waited around outside for a very long time, not really doing anything but just not being in any kind of a hurry. There was a little puppy tied up across the street, so we all had to go play with the puppy for a bit, then we all got some water, and I put on more sunscreen. Finally, everyone was ready to go. It was off down the hill past Freestone and on to Valley Ford.
Freestone doesn't have a city limit sign, but Valley Ford does. I was stategizing with Kim for her to get this one, but Karl came up just at the end to win, with Kim taking second. Peggy mentioned to me that she got the Occidental sign, just beating out Kim on that one. Later on, there was a county line sign which I missed but Kim saw, only to be beat out once again, this time by Eric. So Kim had 3 second places this morning.
Climbing the steep hill on Middle Road, Peggy was having trouble with her gears, as her bike kept shifting out of first into second gear, even though Peggy wanted it to be in first gear. Peggy got so mad at this that she actually threw poor Joey down at the top of the hill. It turns out that there wasn't much that Phil could do for it, as the shifter was worn down enough so that it wouldn't click at first gear. At least there were no more hills that steep for the rest of the day.
We hung out at the reststop (Muriel's) for a bit, but this stop is almost unnecessary as Tomales is just a few miles away. But we'd stop at both of them anyway. We were touring. In Tomales, it didn't take long for us to take up our usual positions of laying down on the sidewalk to soak up the sun, eat our munchies, and play our kazoos. Nobody was eager to go, so we all just stayed here in Tomales for a long time.
Finally it was time to go, and also time to split the group up again. Phil, Peggy, Lisa, Karl, Ray, and Shannon all chose to go the shorter, flatter coastal route, while the rest of us chose the hillier, hopefully hotter inland route. We were me, Kim, Ken, Nicole, Eric, and I also talked Theresa into joining us.
On Chileno Valley Road I was a bit concerned that I was riding up at the front with Kim and that we seemed to be dropping the rest of the group. Finally I convinced Kim that we should do a regroup. In what appeared to be almost no time at all, here comes everybody else, all riding together with no stragglers. So we continued on all together again. At Wilson Hill we spread out again, with me following Kim at the front up to the reststop (Barb and Ed's) at the top.
It wasn't too much farther on to the Cheese Factory for our final reststop of the day. Even though we seemed to have been stopping alot and for long periods of time, this didn't stop us from having a nice long stop here. I even almost got a nap in, laying on the grass.
Did I mention that it was very windy today. This didn't really bother us so far as it had mostly been a tailwind all day, but now for the remainer of the ride this was going to be a straight-on headwind. I didn't mind it though, so led them out. Even though the road looks almost flat, we go slow because it is actually uphill plus the little matter of the headwind. But we're finally at the top and we get a real downhill for a mile, then slowly climb up again. Funny how it seems to be uphill going to the coast.
At this juntion 2 miles from Point Reyes Station I decide to split off, as I didn't get my swim in for today. So they all keep going west and I turn south to cut over to the creek at the back of Samuel Taylor Park, where I do a quick dip in the water. With my water dip now out of the way I got on Sir Francis Drake Blvd and climbed up over the hill and in to Olema.
In the campground, I at first can't seem to find where the other's had set their tents, and then I thought that I found Peggy's but not Lisa's. I then went to find my bag, only to find that my bag was sitting in a spot next to the real Peggy's tent with Lisa / Karl's nearby. Good, they remembered me. I was happy. I put up my tent and went off for my shower. Almost time for dinner.
After dinner we were going to go down to the bar, but I was running short of cash so I wanted to find an ATM first. I found one, but then my request was refused, saying that I had insufficient funds. Next I called up my bank account and finally figured out that my paycheck from the Friday before had never made it over into my own account, but instead had stayed over in my wife's account. Luckily for me she did not spend any of it yet, so I was able to transfer my paycheck over to my own account. I later found that my ATM now worked again, so now I had money, and so went on over to the bar in time to catch the last beer before we all walked back to camp.
Instead of stopping for breakfast at the Parkside Cafe, this year we skipped it and just started off up the hill. I paced Lisa to the top. We all regrouped at park headquarters. At the top we met Jeff and Linda #1 coming down from the Mt.Tamalpais summit. They said that the view was fantastic today.
We now traveled along the Panoramic Hwy and Lisa had us stop off to check out this bed and breakfast that her sister stayed at last year. What a view. Then it was drop down to Mill Valley and hop on the bike path over to Sausalito. Sausalito was just packed with tourists by this time, so lucky we were on bikes as we could just slip on by. We were almost through Sausalito when we were joined by Peggy and Phil. Good. All together again.
We continued on to Fort Baker and under the Bridge, taking a picture stop along the way. then it was up and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. There were alot of bikes going across the bridge today. At one tight spot, Lisa ended up falling down, so we stopped to help. Again, she was lucky to not be hurt bad, but she did get a chainring cut on her ankle. Lisa was still able to ride, so we continued on.
On the other side of the bridge, Lisa and I continued on to the end of the bike trail and waited there but no one came. Then we went up to the other corner but could not find any one there either. This area was an easy place for people to get separated. Since we were all now split up, we decided to just go on ahead to the reststop about 2 miles away. There we found some of our group but still not all of them. Because the reststop was at Baker Beach and was a few blocks off of the normal route, it was very easy for people to skip it and just head on to the finish, so we figured that was what the others had done.
I decided to cut the route short a bit and just cut straight over to Golden Gate Park. Lisa, Karl, and Linda #2 all decided to join me, while Miguel would lead the others on the normal route. We made it to the final stop at 1:09 PM, just 9 minutes late for my 1:00 PM ride to San Jose. Now I just had to find and arrange for my bag (to go home in Kim's car), get some lunch, and say goodbye to all of my friends. It was that last part that took the longest. Plus both Pam and Megan were there to help with the lunch, so I wanted to spend some time with them also. Finally at 2:45 PM I was all ready to get on the road again.
Before I left I had some more food and reapplied my sun screen. I was feeling pretty strong, so I was pretty sure that I would be able to catch the others, it was just a matter of where. It was still clear skies and mostly a tailwind, so it was nice riding. I just cruised along. Peggy and George and Phil passed me in their car while I was climbing the hill in Daly City. We all waved to each other. At the Burlingame Chevron station I thought that I might have a chance to catch up, but there was nobody there. I still was feeling good so I just skipped this stop and rode on by making up some good time.
Finally, soon after I crossed over Hwy 92 and got on Canada Road, I could recognize Doug up ahead of me. When I caught up with Doug I saw that the others were all close by. I just hung out with this group now, and together we cruised in to Woodside, stopping at Roberts Store. At the store we found Lyresa and company, but they were just leaving as we were arriving.
We bought food and drinks and sat on the curb outside to eat. While we were sitting there a new Mercedez started to pull into the parking space. Instead of leaving us a bit of room the lady kept inching up until her wheel touched the concrete bumper. Sitting where I was, I had to quickly lift up my leg, or it would have been pinned and broken from the car's bumper. The lady got out to go in to the store, and we all had a little conversation. She claimed that she had a right to park as she did, coming up to the concrete curb. I guess that it didn't matter to her that she might be running over some bicyclists at the same time. She was very lucky that I had a bit of patience, as I could have easily done some nice damage to her brand new car. Instead I just wrote down her car license number and a description of the lady. Just in case. I wasn't going to let this ruin my day.
On the road again. Next stop was at the gas station at Foothill and Homestead. Only 16 more miles to get to my house and less for the others. We now started figuring where each person had to branch off. First to go was Doug in Campbell. Then it was Jerry in Willow Glen. Then it was Theresa in South San Jose. Finally it was Dick and Drew just a mile before my house. I was home at 7:45, just a nice 5 hour ride down from San Francisco.
I called to check on Kim but they weren't home yet, so I showered up first. Later I tried again and they were there. I went over for my bag, and Kim fed me some leftovers from the Olema dinner the night before. Then, together with Ken and Miguel, we all watched a movie. We were all starting to fall asleep but we made it to the end. Finally it was back home again. I hung my tent outside to dry and unpacked all my dirty clothes. My tour was finally over. Now, back to reality. Do I have to?