Sierra to the Sea 2006

2006 would make my 12th Sierra to the Sea Tour. This year the tour was to start in Bear valley, which required some changes in planning. Instead of a 2-Day Ride to Columbia, it would now be a 3-Day Ride to Bear Valley. And since we would be camping in Columbia it was decided to have SAG available so people can bring their full tour bag along.

There were 31 people signed up to do the 3-Day pre-tour, the most ever. After many months of planning, the time finally came.

Thursday - San Jose to Patterson

24 people met at my house at 6:30. 5 cars were parked around the corner. 1 more person would meet us at Alum Rock, 2 more at the Junction, and 4 more in Patterson, 31 people total.

People on the tour (19) were: Donny Axtell, Kim Carr, Megan Nguyen, April Manns, Cora Haselbeck, Guy Neenan, Franz Kelsch, Marguerite Meyer, Janae Hunziker, Audrey Jew, Paul McKiernan, Grete Johnson, Steve Crosby, Dave Dierking, Kathy Dierking, Katrina Christy, Jim Lovewell, Pat Coghill, and Bruce Marchant.

People doing just the 3-Day ride (12) were: Patti Hartinian, Holly Wong, Jeff Orum, Jan Derecho, Joanne Grimaldi, Ben Mandac, Doug Gillison, Fran Bryan, Jeff Bryan, John Taylor, Ken Goldman, and John Dickens.

Having Kim as my co-leader, to help with signup and money collection, worked out great. This way I was free to concentrate on getting the SAGs loaded and making the SAG driving assignments.

Gear for 31 people did require 2 SAG vehicles. SAG #1 was my Mazda van, equipped with a rack to hold 4 bikes and all seats down so it could hold lots of luggage. SAG #2 was Franz's Tahoe, with a rack for 2 bikes and all seats down to hold lots of luggage. The luggage filled both SAGs, leaving just a small space at the top to see out the back window.

SAG assignments for this day worked out good, having the slower riders SAG each of the first 3 sections, thereby getting everybody to the top of Mt.Hamilton about the same time. We had a nice long reststop behind the main building, near the fountain.

As the group was arriving at the Junction, we noticed a helicopter circling around and finally landing at the CDF station across the road. This turned out to be bad news, as John Dickens crashed on Mines Road prior to reaching the Junction and had to be airlifted out. John and Ken Goldman were riding in from Livermore to join the group. Ken also decided to abandon the tour. I was able to make a quick decision and had April and Cora take Sag #2 and drive to Livermore to drop off Ken and the 2 bikes, then hop on Hwy 580 and Hwy 5 to drive directly to Patterson and meet us there. This worked out well.

The last people arrived in Patterson about 4:15, with still plenty of time to enjoy the swimming pool and hot tub. Aside from John's crash, this 1st day worked out well.

Friday - Patterson to Columbia

The SAG system fell apart today, and my plan that the group would basicly stay together also went by the wayside. In Patterson that morning, most people were ready to go, so I let them get started. One person was late, which caused the SAGs to get a late start, which also caused me to start late and off the back riding by myself. That was not the way it was supposed to be. I did manage to pass a few of the slower riders and then caught some of my Donettes at the Hwy 132 SAG stop. Thanks Cora, April, and Megan, you are true Donettes.

Most of the group was way off the front, which I guess is better than having them off of the back. But my way of thinking is that the ride is not over until the last rider is in, and so my concerns were with moving the SAGs up just fast enough to not leave anybody behind. If people got to Columbia hours before their gear, then that was not my problem.

In Ripon, we again waited for the remaining riders to arrive, then started off again. Crossing over Hwy 99 on Wilma, I noticed a new road, which would cause confusion as to which way to go. I made sure that my group was ok, but the others were out of sight ahead, so we just continued on. Later, April called me on my cell, saying that they had gotten lost but were now back on route. They had been ahead but were now 45 minutes behind me. I agreed to turn back to go bring them up, and when I started back I met Fran and company who had also managed to get lost. The route sheet for Ripon definitely needs correcting.

In Knights Ferry, we finally met up with some more of our group, hanging out down near the river. I took my first dip of the day. Very cold. But I had a good time down by the river.

I arranged the SAG drivers for the final 2 sections. Paul McKiernan was to drive SAG #2 half way, parking it at Yosemite Junction store, and then Doug and Grete were going to ride to there and then SAG in the rest of the way. April was going to drive SAG #1 up to Jamestown and pick up Kim to do the food shopping in Sonora. Coming out of Knights Ferry I got a flat, so Doug and Grete got ahead of me. Cora, Megan, and Joanne stayed back to wait for me.

Flat fixed and riding again, after about 5 miles we met Doug and Grete sitting in the shade. I stopped to check on them and found that Grete had heat exhaustion or something and needed a SAG to come pick her up. Luckily Paul had just called me to say he had just dropped the SAG off at the junction. I called Paul back and told him we needed him to drive the SAG back to pick up Grete.

Grete was stopped on a divided section of Hwy 108, so the SAG coming back would not be able to see where she was. So I walked up to the west-bound side of Hwy 108 and waited for the SAG. It was all sunny here, but there was nothing to be done, as the SAG could come along at any moment, and so I waited. It turns out that I waited there in the sun for a full hour. I don't know what happened to Paul, but finally Kim came along in SAG #2 and rescued Grete, driving her on up to Columbia. (I later found out that Paul was not at fault in this, as he met Kim at the SAG stop and Kim said she would come pick up Grete. I guess Kim didn't realize that it was an urgent request.)

With Grete now taken care of, Doug and I continued on up the hill by bike. It was hot, and soon the heat was getting to me, and I struggled along, finally getting to Yosemite Juntion a few minutes behind Doug. I met Cora, Megan, and Joanne still there, waiting for me. They were ready to go, but I was now wasted, so I sent them off ahead, while I stayed back with Doug and Steve to wait for another SAG. We had gotten the message out and one was on it's way, but it couldn't take everyone so it was good that the girls could ride it on in.

By the time Franz arrived with SAG #2 again, I was feeling much better, as I had been able to stop in at the store. We checked along the route for more riders, but found the girls doing well and were almost to the top of Jamestown Road. Franz dropped me off so that I could escort them in to camp. It was about 7:30 that we finally rolled in.

I went directly to the camp office, as I still had to pay for camping. I met them just closing down and they told me I could pay tomorrow. But when they told me they opened at 9:00 AM, and I told them we would be gone before then, they opened back up and I was able to settle the bill. For next year, that first SAG should pay the camping fee when it first arrives.

While the one SAG was bringing in the remaining riders, Kim and April had finally been able to go off to the store, as we needed the stuff to cook dinner. Dinner was late, and I was tired, but thank you Holly for making sure that I was fed and had enough to eat. This had been a tough day for me.

Problems were not over, though, as I found that Fran was having medical problems and Dr. Ben needed her to go into Sonora that night to run some tests. So for Ben, Fran, and poor Kimmmy, that meant a late-night trip into Sonora to find the hospital. I was just getting to bed at 11:00 when they finally returned. This had been a very long day.

Saturday - Columbia to Bear Valley

This morning, I was brain-dead and still bummed out about yesterday's SAG problems. My plan for today was for me to drive SAG #1 to start off and then I would just take it from there. Kim had a good idea for SAG #2, so we just filled it with all of the bags that it could hold and Kim took it all the way up to Bear Valley, taking Grete along too. Their plan was to unload bags and then drive back to check on the other riders. So I helped get them loaded and on their way.

The riders had all started off about 8:00 AM, and here it was past 9:00 and I didn't start yet. April finally called to say they were now in Murphys and would wait for me. I ended up unpacking and then repacking all of SAG #1, making sure that it had the back seat available to take on more passengers if needed. I was now feeling better, and had my bike clothes on and my bike ready to ride. I had the SAG in Murphys by 10:00.

April and Fran were going to SAG for the rest of the day, so I got them ready. I gave them instructions to check on all the riders and make sure that they were ok. I would then ride with Megan and Joanne, so I was ready for that. This could be a good day.

Megan, Joanne, and I found the uphills along Hwy 4 to be long and hot. After a few miles we got to Avery and we saw Paul. We checked on him but I made sure that we were not going to ride with him, as I was still frustrated with Paul from yesterday's SAG problem. (I later found out that Paul was not at fault in this, as he met Kim at the SAG stop and Kim said she would come pick up Grete. I guess Kim didn't realize that it was an urgent request.)

Avery did not have any food places, but I knew that Arnold was bigger so we continued on to find lunch there. We had just sat down at this nice place when we were joined by Audrey, Dave, and Kathy, all fresh from Sagging along in their car. We had a good lunch.

Joanne's Big Wad.

Joanne, Megan, and I then continued along up Hwy 4. Again the uphills were long and hot. Joanne was a bit slower than Megan, so I hooked her up with the bungee cord and we were able to stay together. Along the way we stopped off for a quick jump in the creek to cool off.

A few miles later and Joanne was feeling the heat, so she was thinking of needing a SAG. Soon after, Peggy and George drove by, stopping to say hello. I tried to get Joanne into Peggy's car, but she wouldn't fit, so instead we sent Peggy off with a message for April to come back with the SAG. Soon after, April came back anyway, so we all loaded in to SAG the final 16 miles up to Bear Valley. Those miles might have taken another 2 hours to do, and it was already 5:30, so it was time to call it a day. Thanks April, for picking us up.

On the SAG up to Bear Valley, we passed Cora, Doug, and Steve, all rolling along. On one final trip April picked up Cora, but Doug and Steve both wanted to finish, as they were almost in anyway.

It was a good plan for April to drive SAG for the rest of the day. That plan would have worked very well yesterday also, and for next year, that should be the way we do it for both these days. It means many more miles on the SAGs though, so we should charge $15 to $20 each, which is still a good deal. We only charged $5 each this time, and I ended up spending alot of gas money out of my own pocket.

3-Day Ride Recap -

We need to collect more money for gas. With more use of the vehicles as roving SAGs, the mileage went way up. Maybe collect $20 each instead of $5.
About $190 was spent for food. About $7 each.
SAG drivers need to realize that the ride is not over until everyone is in.
Need route corrections for 1)Ripon, 2) Jamestown, 3) Shaws Flat.

Sierra to the Sea Tour

Sunday - Bear Valley to Jackson

Dinner last night and breakfast this morning were both included and provided as part of the tour. They were very good. Also, the dorm-style housing at Base Camp worked fine. I shared a room with Kim, Cora, and April, so it was fine with me. Megan shared a condo with Joanne, Diane, and Sharon.

5:45 this morning, Megan popped her head into our room, but the others were not quite ready to get up, so instead I went with Megan over to her condo and helped her and the others all get ready. Bags needed to be packed and taken out to the yellow truck before going off to breakfast. I then came back and got myself ready, and helped haul all the bikes outside. By 8:05 we were ready to go, but we then went over to the big truck to check on Phil and the others. It wasn't until 8:30 that we actually started.

Peggy wanted the group to ride up to Lake Alpine first, which is a portion of the long route. This was a 7 mile round trip and took us about 45 minutes. For next year, this would be a good option to do yesterday afternoon, but we couldn't really afford the time for it today. Also, we should have gotten on the road sooner this morning.

April and the stone whale.

Finally on our way down the long 35 mile stretch of Hwy 108, I noticed a funny looking rock off to the right. I stopped April and Megan so we could check it out. It was a big rock fixed up to look like a whale, with big mouth, a row of teeth, and a big eye painted on. This was worth the stop. We then caught the group, which was stopped ahead at a scenic viewpoint.

Starting out again, we all planned to check out Calaveras Big Trees. Megan and April were slower on the downhill, so I stayed back with them, letting the others go on ahead. At the Big Trees, it took us awhile to locate the others, then stop off at a restroom. They had already had a chance to see the trees, so I wanted to stay a bit more so that I could see them too. We didn't stay too long, just enough to read about the Big Stump. Then we were on the road again.

A few miles more and we got to the turn onto Moran Road. I took a look at the route sheet and saw that the next reststop would already be closed. I suspected that there would be no food and water opportunities along the way, so I had my group just stay on Hwy 4 so that we could pass through Arnold and get something to eat. Only a few miles more to Sheep Ranch Road, so we got the food to go and carried it with us to eat at the swimming hole.

It was 12:15 when we passed the reststop location, that had closed at 11:00. We now turned off of Hwy 4 and onto Avery Sheep Ranch Road. This road first went up and then a long down, and by the time we got to its end, the others were telling me what a great road that had been.

We now turned right onto Sheep Ranch Road, which is here very narrow, bumpy, and steeply downhill. I don't think that this road would be good for everybody. And that goes for the steep uphill into Sheep Ranch also.

At the bottom of Sheep Ranch Road is the original swimming hole, the first place I ever went skinny dipping on this tour. We met the pool populated by a couple of small groups of locals, but we went on in anyway, and we all got along fine. I just needed to keep my shorts on this time, but that was ok. Soon, another group arrived, and I counted 8 small girls with this one couple. A few of the girls adopted April as their aunty, and it was very funny to see all the attention that April was getting. After a good lunch break at the pools it was again time to get going.

Just before we started, 3 more riders came along. They were Morgan, Julie, and Annie, from Florida, and they said they had gotten delayed in Calaveras Big Trees for over an hour.

Climbing up the steep road into Sheep Ranch, my chain got stuck in my front sprockets, and when I finally got it fixed and myself up the hill, the others were already there waiting. Sheep Ranch Road now turned to a better surface, but some of the hills were long and it was still hot out there. April, Megan, Cora, and I were a bit faster than the Florida girls, so we went along. By the time that we got to Mountain Ranch Road, April was feeling the heat, and so we pulled into the fire station and got some nice fresh cold water. April wasn't feeling good. While we had April waiting, I filled my 4 water bottles with cold water and rode back down the road to check on Florida.

Annie had arrived just as I was leaving, but I met Morgan and Julie about a mile back. I gave them the water and showed how my bungee cord worked, but then put it away as the hills were too short to make use of it. Julie was ok, but Morgan could use my assistance, so together we made it up over the next few uphills. Then we got to one long one and Morgan had nothing left, so we agreed that she should just walk it, no matter how slowly, and she would soon get up it. I went back up to the fire station to say we were almost there, then when I turned back again Morgan and Julie were right there.

April, Morgan, and Julie decided to try to SAG in from there, as it ws now 3:00 and there was a very long way to go, and they had no energy for it. Now with them in good hands at the fire station, Megan, Cora, and I added Annie to our group and rode down to Mountain Ranch store for some food. It was hot out so besides the food, we also split up a bag of ice for our water bottles.

It was now 3:30 and it looked like we still had half the route to go. New roads of Whisky Slide and Jesus Maria were ahead of us, but I suspected lots more ups and downs so I did not want to go that way. I knew that we could get there by staying on Mountain Ranch Road all the way down to San Andreas and then just stay on Hwy 49 from there to Jackson, so that was the way that I led my group. By the time we got to San Andreas, Cora got a phone call from April. It seems that they were able to catch a ride from someone so they were now safely in Jackson. That was good. Now we just had to get ourselves into camp.

Riding along Hwy 49 is usually boring and hot, but today, as late as it was, we were getting shadows extending all the way across the road, so many times we had the benefit of some shade. Also, everyone in our group seemed to have good energy, so I was able to lead a very respectable paceline, and we were making good progress.

On the final downhill to cross over the American River, I told Cora that I needed to stop to get wet. They all continued on as I went down to the river. I was soon out and riding again, and just before town I managed to catch back up. About this same time, 6:45, we saw our first SAG of the day. It was picking up people just before Jackson, but we were now close enough to just ride on in.

It turns out that they sagged in a record number of people today. Good thing that April was able to find her own ride, as she would have been out there forever waiting for a SAG from the tour. Many people were late for dinner today. I was tired and worn out. There was a general concensus that today's route was much too long and hard for today's hot weather. The SAGs were overwhelmed.

Some Possible Solutions -

do Alpine Lake option the day before and not that morning.
leave earlier, 8:00 AM at the latest
skip the stop at Calaveras Big Trees
keep Avery reststop open until 12:00 (not 11:00)
have SAGs capable of carrying more people and bikes
change route to go through San Andreas, then have a SAG shuttle from San Andreas to Jackson

Another Problem - Moran Road bypasses Arnold, which means there are no food options along the way, with the next food/water being at Mountain Ranch store, much too far away. If people miss the reststop, they are sunk.

Possible Solutions -

make sure the reststop stays open for all riders and is well stocked.
warn riders of the long hard stretch ahead and the need to have food and water.
leave out Moran Road and stay on Hwy 4 through Arnold to allow for food stops.

Monday - Jackson to Ryde

It was going to be hot again today, so because of yesterday's problems they suggested that people not do the long option through Volcano, but instead do a medium option through Sutter Creek or the short route past Pardee Reservoir. For me, there was never any question about which route I would be taking today, I would take the short option.

April and Cora requested a coffee stop before leaving Jackson, so we found one on Main St. We also had me and Megan, and were soon joined by Pat and Mylo, so the 6 of us would make up today's group. After coffee, we all hit the ATM machine, and then we were finally ready to go.

The short route takes a very steep uphill out of town. We let Mylo and Cora sprint off in their low gears to see who could make it to the top first, while Pat, April, Megan, and I had a leisurely walk up the hill. The road then changed to Stoney Creek Road and a series of nice sweeping downhills towards Pardee Reservoir. This was very nice going.

Yoga at Pardee, with April, Megan, Pat, Cora.

I mentioned rootbeer floats at Pardee, so we all stopped in for an unofficial reststop, at mile 12. I had a mint chocolate chip milkshake, a few had chocolate milkshakes, and Cora got the rootbeer float. We also all worked on our yoga a bit. This was a great reststop.

On the road again, we were now leaving roads that I already knew and were going out into the Valley, all new territory for me. 5 miles more and we had our first official STTS reststop of the tour. We met the reststop still busy, as the medium option rejoined us here and so we saw Kim, Peggy, Guy, Phil, Eric, Nicole, Michael, Sarah, Bill, and many others. Anita Miller was handling this reststop, and Megan started calling it "Anita Reststop", like in "I need a reststop".

From here the route passed by Comanche Reservoir, and we were thinking that this might be a swim option for today, but all I could see was a well-maintained barbed wire fence all along the way, with signs saying to keep out. We then passed a store where the route crossed over Hwy 88, then we continued on with flat straight roads out into the central valley.

For all these next sections I took the lead and we kept a steady paceline, making sure that nobody got dropped. We did what they called the Staircase, which was a series of 8 left or right turns, each 1 mile apart, which stepped out into the valley, finally ending at our next reststop at the Woodbridge Winery. This was a great reststop, the highlight was the small pool that we sat around dipping our feet into, not minding the school of goldfish swimming around.

We now had one final section to get through to reach the Ryde Motel. Our paceline was working good, and so we would cruise along slowly catching and passing all who were in front. Each time we got close, my riders would start hooping and hollering and ringing our bells, so that those being passed would think we were having a good time or something.

Donny hooping and packing up at Ryde

We arrived at the Ryde Motel at about 4:00 PM, which was the earliest arrival so far on this tour, and one of the main goals these past few days. We finally had enough time left to relax a bit before dinner. They had us set our tents up on a section of golf course and that worked out fine. They had a pool, and that worked ok also, although the water was too green to attract alot of customers.

I got the collection of 7 hula hoops out and they were getting alot of use today. Bringing these hoops turned out to be a very good idea. The frisbees also came out, and so for awhile I was playing frisbee and hooping all at the same time.

Tuesday - Ryde to Lake Solano

Today's ride had a snag, as Grete needed to go to the hospital, as she just wasn't feeling any better from her heat exhaustion. So I helped Kim and Grete get packed up, as Kim would drive the small truck to Vacaville, drop Grete off at the hospital, then maybe try to hook onto the ride later. Anyway, our group got a late start as they were waiting for me.

Cora at the ferry crossing

Donny and his giant donut

Winding through the windmills

Just a few miles into the ride and we got to our first ferry crossing. This worked out great. We had one car and about 15 bikes for the short crossing. Once on the other side, the route split with the long turning right and the short turning left. We went left, Peggy's group was turning right, but then Peggy decided to stick with us for awhile, so we had me, Peggy, April, Cora, Megan, Robin, and Mylo for today.

I think we were riding on Grand Island in the delta now. We soon got to our second ferry crossing and that one was fun also. These ferry crossings, and all of the roads to and from the Ryde Motel, were a very good addition to the Tour this year.

Next up was a stop at a bakery, where I bought myself the world's largest donut. We then started in on a 10-mile section of Montezuma Hills Road, which was a great road. In the distance we could see the windmills, and then at each crest we got closer and closer, and each time it was a view worth stopping and taking pictures. Finally we were just right there, right in the middle of all these huge windmills. Very impressive.

Then it was on to our next reststop at Shilo Church, with lots of shady grass to lay on and a sprinkler to play in. We all had a good stop here. We then had a 6-mile stretch on a busy highway, so I got the paceline going again, but this time we were going fast mostly just to get this section over with quickly. It was a good section to be done with.

Coming into Vacaville, we decided to stop in at Burger King for lunch, as the reststop was another 5 miles up, and it was getting very hot out. By the time we started again, the sun was getting to me, and I was feeling like I just wanted to get this thing finished for the day. We stopped in at Ken and Michelle's reststop next. I tried to get myself refreshed but just couldn't.

On the final section of the day, I was really getting overheated, and so all I could think of was finding myself a stream to jump into. I finally found one and I did. None of the others wanted to, so they waited patiently for me in the shade. I was soon out and rejoined them, feeling much better but still just dragging myself along so that I could finish. April was actually the strong one now, and so she led the group on in to Lake Solano campground. Way to go April.

At dinner time I brought 2 hoops down with me. I ened up hooping with Tally, just 11 years old, and a very good hooper. We ended up being the entertainment for all the people standing in the food line. Very fun.

Wednesday - Lake Solano to Harbin Hot Springs

April told me before the tour started that she and April were going to skip Harbin this year so that they could go to Calistoga with all the others. I was disappointed of course, but once I got over that initial shock, I was ok with their decision. I told April that as long as I had Megan to come along with me then that would be fine. April was ok with this plan and so promised to not try to talk Megan out of going with me to Harbin Hot Springs.

I packed our sleeping bags and Megan's clothes on my bike, ready for the Harbin trip. But that was all for later. For the first 30 miles today we would still be on the short route with all the others, so we would do all that first. We started out with me and Megan riding with April, Cora, Robin, and Mylo, and got up Cardiac Hill together. But then Megan was a bit anxious to keep going, and since I was with her and we had further to ride, I would go with Megan and we would leave the others behind.

Donny packing hoops, with Megan at Turtle Rock

The perfect swimming hole

Kim and Peggy and alot of her group wanted to try out the new Pope Valley swimming hole, so they went with me and Megan too. They were faster, so Megan and I would get a headstart and then they would slowly pass us by. We finally met them just arriving at the pool. The pool looked very inviting and everybody was ready to get a good swim in. I brought along two air mattresses so we were blowing those up so we could float around.

Just as we were settling in, another group arrived, a young couple with about 10 little kids in tow. These asked us, please, could we all put our clothes back on. Bummer, but we were ok with that. Seems that they were from a church camp retreat and had baby-sitting duty for all these kids. So we were all down at the pool together and still had a good time.

Afterwards, at the Pope Valley store, we bought a bag of ice and 2 gallons of water. This proved to be just enough to fill 8 people's water bottles, so we were all ready for the hot sections to come. They were all going to climb up Ink Grade to Angwin and then on to Calistoga, while Megan and I were going to keep straight on Butts Canyon Road to Middletown and Harbin.

Last year, this was tough going for me April and Cora, but this year Megan and I seemed to make quick work of it. We reached Middletown by 2:15 and were at the pools in Harbin by 3:00.

After relaxing in the pools for an hour, Megan wanted to go to the yoga session that was scheduled, so I decided that I could go with her. I wore my sarong, and Megan assured me that was ok. This yoga session ended up being 90 minutes long, and much more yoga than I ever did or wanted to do, but I tried my best, and finally it was finished. We then had our dinner at a picnic table in the shade, eatting stuff that we bought down in Middletown. Then it was back to the pools for the rest of the evening.

We slept on the big deck. I counted 11 other people, so it wasn't too crowded. Nothing but clear skies, so in the middle of the night I awoke to a splendid array of stars. The stars were so amazing that I even tried to wake Megan so that she could see them too, but she remained fast asleep.

Thursday - Harbin to Duncans Mills

The next morning we had an early session in the pools, then Megan went to another yoga class while I went hiking for the same amount of time. It was about 10:30 that we got all packed up and on our bikes again. Since we hadn't eatten yet, we stopped at Buellah's restaurant in Middletown for breakfast. Then one more stop at the market and we were finally getting going. It was now almost noon.

We were told that it was supposed to get up to 105 F today, and it was feeling like it. We rode out Hwy 29 and got to Western Mines Road. I had told Megan about this road by this time, but she was not at all happy about it. But this was the only way for us to go, and once we managed to get up to the top, then all would be ok again. That was my plan. We were able to ride the initial paved section, but once it turned to gravel we both had to walk. It is 3.0 miles to the top, 2.4 miles of which is gravel. We had to walk most of this, and many sections were in the sun, and it was very hot out.

Megan might have been whining, but I was doing my share of whining also. Megan did walk up the hill maybe even better than I was doing. It was all that I could do to keep from overheating on this section. We were both very happy to finally find the summit. It took me 3 waterbottles to get to the top and just 1 water bottle for Megan. She does much better than I do in the sun.

For the remainder of the day, Megan was the strong one and I was only able to manage to keep up. We stopped for sodas at the Jimtown store and then continued on through Healdsburg and back onto the route at Westside Road. Here we were only 2 hours behind the closing of the last reststop. We stopped to rest there anyway, as my waterbottles needed refilling. We finally rolled into Casini Ranch at 6:15, seeing that people were lined up for dinner.

We didn't bother setting up tents yet, but just washed up a bit then got into line just as it was finishing. So we were just in time for dinner. I thought that I was feeling good again by this time, but some people later told me that I looked tired when we arrived.

Friday - Duncans Mills to Olema

Today, we were going to take the short route, as always, and so would go out to the coast and down to Bodega Bay for breakfast. Besides the usual me, Megan, April, Cora, and Mylo, we were joined by Audrey, Janae, Steve Sloan, and Robin. It was a good group. Too bad the coast was all foggy this morning, so any pictures of the coastline were not to be today.

I wasn't sure where we would find a breakfast place this morning, but the place shown on the route sheet, The Tides, turned out to be perfect. Soon after we sat down, I noticed Kim wandering around, so she joined us for breakfast too. Seems that she started out with Peggy and Michael but they turned up Coleman Valley Road while she wanted to come over to Bodega Bay. It was good to have Kim join us. I haven't hardly had a chance to ride with Kim all tour. I like Kim.

After breakfast, we headed out on the rollers towards Valley Ford and the next reststop. Audrey said she didn't do good in hills, but we soon found out that she does just fine with rollers, as she was always near the front.

It was in Valley Ford that I found out I wasn't feeling too good. I farted, but it turned out not to be a fart, so I had to spend some time cleaning up in the portapotty. For the remainder of the ride I had to be careful with what I did or what I ate.

Easter Island maybe?

Donny, Kim, Cora, and April at Easter Island

Next up was the road up to Dillon Beach Road, nice scenery but a very long steep uphill. Audrey was finally at the back with me, and so I was very happy to be able to walk up the hill with her. And she thought that I was just keeping her company. At the top a few of us stopped to check out what I call the Easter Island statue, but most of the group just rode on by.

Tomales was our next stop. My first errand was a walk over to the portapotty, then I had a Pepsi sitting in the shade. I would make it through the day, but I was glad that we would be going in on the easiest route. We then all rolled down to Marshall and our traditional stop in for oysters at Tony's restaurant. I skipped all my eatting here, but just hung out, with another trip to the restroom. I did some sitting in the sun, but in retrospect I think that I should have skipped that, as my skin was starting to feel pretty warm.

Going once more, we pulled into Point Reyes Station, and a few of the group wanted to stop. By this time I could again only think of getting to a portapotty, so I skipped the stop, our group split into two, and I led the one part the last few miles down to Olema. I rode directly to the restroom.

In camp, all that I could think of was getting out of the sun and laying down, so I found my bag and dragged it over into the shade of the truck, then spread out my thermarest and laid down to take a nap. This is what I needed. I also tried to keep drinking.

I finally felt a bit better but still pretty wiped out. I went and took my shower, and that helped alot to cool me down. April, Megan, and Cora saw that I was doing badly, so they were making sure that I was doing what I should to try to recover. Thank you April, Megan, and Cora.

At dinner, I found my body wasn't able to handle the shift to a slightly colder temperature. I gradually put on all my warm clothes, long pants, sweatshirt, then earmuffs and long gloves. April lent me her wool cap and Guy lent me a fleece vest, both of which I gladly accepted and put on. Once I was all dressed up I felt better, but my usual self in this temperature would have been just my shorts and a tanktop. So everyone that saw me knew right away that I wasn't feeling good.

I went to bed very early that night. The fact that I was sleeping right next to the campfire didn't bother me. All the chatter was nothing to me, as I was tired enough to sleep through it all. I had a good night sleeping. My only problem was that I had to get up 4 to 5 times during the night, and so I had to walk over to the real restroom just in case I still had diarea.

Saturday - Olema to San Francisco to San Jose

By morning I awoke feeling very much improved, almost my normal self, and ready to ride today. But just to be sure, I kept on many of my warm clothes.

April had asked yesterday if we could shorten the ride home, by taking Caltrain instead of trying to ride all the way. That seemed like a very good idea to me, so that was our plan for today. This meant that we didn't have to be in a hurry, but could instead just enjoy the ride.

Riding out from Olema along Hwy 1, Megan found that she was dropping her chain off the front sprocket at every uphill. I attempted to fix it by adjusting the stops and we continued on. Then Megan found that she could not even pedal, as her chain would not go around the derailuer. Again I took a look, and found that Megan's chain was broken, as one link had popped off. I tried to assure Megan that I could fix it, but she was afraid that she might have to SAG in from there. Luckily, just a month ago I did maintenance on my chain-tool so it was working good now. And I had a short length of chain to use. In no time at all I had the bad section switched out and Megan back on the road again, her chain now working as good as new.

I was very happy for this, as all day yesterday Megan had refused to give me a hug, claiming that she was still upset with me for taking her on that gravel section of road. But now that I had repaired her chain, Megan was again happy, and it seemed that I was finally forgiven for the gravel road. I like Megan.

We rolled on along to Stinson Beach, with Cora leading a nice leisurely paceline, with April and Megan behind, and me taking up the rear. Cora seemed to think that I was the slow one today, as she would often check to see if I was doing ok. I like Cora.

In Stinson Beach I was happy to hear that they all wanted to stop at the Parkside Cafe for a 2nd breakfast. I had cold cereal back in Olema, but some pancakes now would be very good. We were joined by Ken and Michelle, and Pat and Mylo, so it was a very good social breakfast.

The Double DipSea race was going on today, so at the next table Megan knew just about all the people, as her running club works this race, and so alot of them were in having breakfast after seeing the runners off. Megan introduced us to one guy, Bobby. Megan said that she was a Bobby's girl, and that Bobby had lots of Bobby's girls. Sounds alot like me and my Donettes.

Next we climbed up the Panoramic Hwy to the shoulder of Mt.Tamalpais. This was a 4 mile climb of 1600 feet, and we kept a steady 4 mph all the way up. April was impressed that she could do this climb, and she did good. April was happy all the way up, and tried to pass the time by singing. Now where did I hear about this method before, Peggy?

We found Mylo and Ken waiting for us in the SAG in Sausalito. Seems that my group was again the last ones out on the road. We moved along and got up to the Bridge. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge is always a bit stressfull to me, as we have had a few accidents on it in the past, and so it is best to just cross over conservatively, and not try to ride hard or race. It is better to back off and watch out for all the rental tourist bikes and all the local bike racers all mixing together, and then to just stay out of their way. We made it over safely.

We got to the finish at Stow Lake at 2:15, just in time for the end of the lunch. Since we would be taking the train, we didn't have to hurry off but could visit a bit. I checked our options and Janae and Audrey agreed to get our bags to the hotel and we would go pick them up there. The original plan was for Kim to take care of them, but Kim would be busy enough without having to worry about our bags too. By 3:00 we were ready to go find the train.

Robin gave us a map of San Francisco, and Megan knew her way around, so Megan found us a good route across town to get to the Caltrain station. We went east on Kennedy, right on Styman, left on Page, left on Mission, right on 6th, left on Bryant, right on 4th and we were there. About 5 miles and almost no uphills. Nice route. We were there at 3:35 for the 4:00 train, so plenty of time to spare and no rushing or worrying.

On the train, April talked one couple into moving, so the 4 of us were able to all sit together in these 2 seats that face each other. It was me and Megan and April and Cora. The seats were too close together to allow for leg room, so we all took our shoes off and propped our feet up. Good thing that we were all close friends, smelly socks and all. Now this was the way to end the tour.

Back in San Jose, I led our group through downtown and out towards my house. Along the way I realized that we would be going right past the hotel where the tour ends, so I let the others stop there while I continued on home to bring back my car. I brought Diana along so she could see who I've been hanging out with all week, and together we drove over to the hotel.

Donny and Diana at Tour's end

Kim, Casey, Tom, and Miguel were still there with the big trucks, and so Diana met them, and was impressed that we had these trucks filled full for the whole week. We then went over to the lobby to get Cora, April, and Megan, and to load up all our bikes, bags, and people. It was a car full but we all fit. Said goodbye one final time to Audrey and Janae, then we went back home. I helped get Megan loaded into her car, and April and Cora loaded into theirs. Finally it was back home, to stay this time.

Sierra to the Sea Tour June 15-24, 2006 by Don Axtell