BEGINNING OF WEEK THREE
Day 15 - Monday - 7.8.13... on to Mt St. Helens and Portland
Up at 6 and trying to make contact with Hustons. Finally found Alka Seltzer cough and cold so cold symptoms are mitigated. Called Russell and cannot get my seat worked on in Shasta Lake, CA. Left at 8 on Hwy 12 for 50 miles going over White Pass at 4500'. I went 25 miles on 131 to the turn off for a great view of Mount Rainier..
Along the road were beautiful flowers wherever the sunlite could get thru the unusually dense forest...close, tall, interlaced trees.
Up FS99 for 15 miles one gets varying views of Mt St Helens......
Along the way you see thousands of blown down trees all laying tops away from Helens and no soil - burned to the bedrock. I went back to Hwy 25 and rode 100 miles to Portland and our friends, Dick and Evie Huston. I could not rouse them on the phone but they seemed delighted when I showed out of thin air...nice talk of current life and history together from IU and when we visited their beach house hunting razor clams. Am at HIexp for the nite.
Day 16 - Tuesday - 7.9.13 .... out to the Pacific coast
First up the Columbia River gorge for a look on Hwy 14. The scenery after 50 miles was not too dramatic, except to look up the river at one point. So, I turned back and moved on to Astoria, Oregon at the mouth to the Columbia River (where Lewis and Clark camped). This put me on Hwy 101 heading south. Periodically I got good views of the Pacific Ocean and the immediate terrain. Great forests! It was cold all day, sometimes sunny and cloudy at other times, it was always cold. This was a hard ride as the road wound and wandered, up and down- the pace changed frequently due to small towns, slow drivers and slow speed controls. Finally, I got to Coos Bay for the nite after 384 miles in 7.75 hours and 5200+ overall. Shoulders and back good even in tough driving condition. Almost dropped my bike last eve but a guy helped me and saved my shoulders.
Day 17 - Wednesday - 7.10.13 ...on toward San Francisco
Up at 6:30 to get to Fort Bragg, CA HIexp. Got to ride the coast on 101 with continued views of the Pacific not readily available yesterday- beautiful. Cold and clear. All of a sudden fog....and cold - freezing! I was riding the "Highway of Redwoods" thru several groves on the bypass- Drugy Scenic Parkway. Then a long period to the Rockefeller Forest and the "Avenue of the Giants". The trees are so huge and close together- to say nothing about the amazing height. I had dinner with two grads working for the CA forest service marking and putting for bid state pine and redwoods. As I proceeded down the Avenue the temperature rose from 50s to 98 degrees... Hot.. hot... so I stripped down. Then I hit CA #1 which goes up to 1800' over the Coastal Range mountains and down to sea level ....and the temperature fell to the 40s....cold... freezing..adding clothes. I then hit the coast again and the foggy views were coldly beautiful.... Arrived to heat my room and rest.. Nice but demanding ride in the Coastal Range and in the Redwoods. Dinner at a bar with calzone, with WW points. 368 miles in 8 hours of gawking.
Day 18 - Thursday - 7.11.13. San Francisco and the Wharf (for free)
After the weather changes and thinking about crossing the desert from San Diego to Austin, I have decided to change directions. I will go from San Francisco to Grand Junction CO, crossing Nevada and Utah in the central areas but far north of the southern route. Back into the Rockies I shall go south on the continental divide to Santa Fe and Austin, stopping in Oklahoma Dust bowl areas to give Nook time to clean her apartment.
Up at 6 and left in the cold and moist coastal conditions at 7:15. Rode 176 miles on CA #1.
Stopped in Mendocino, the town we visited in '76 and near which we camped in the same kind of weather as today. What a ride...up-down, left-right with many turnouts to save my passing. Eucalyptus and redwoods line the road in some areas and I can still smell the eucalyptus. One stretch required riding 500 feet up from the straight down ocean without guard rails. Views were limited but dramatic. Towns of few people were numerous and closer to SF there was some cattle farming. After some suburb driving I hit the Golden Gate Bridge and entered San Francisco very tired and sore from the very demanding ride in cold weather. After checking in and arranging parking, I took a 20 mile trip around the city and its parks, including the underside of the Oakland Bay Bridge. After complaining about the quality of this facility- no wifi in the rooms, 18 TV stations without MSNBC and the tour, not being told but charged $45 to park my bike, and being refused to, got my free nite back- I walked to the Wharf and ate. Within points I had clam chowder & fried calamari. They compted my parking and put some points on my account 25% of a free nite. Over at the cable car the line was a block long and I am not a consummate "waiter" so I moved on after talking with some Swiss people. The number of foreign speakers here is amazing. Nice ride today...one of the best of the trip in spite of the cold. Walked 16 blocks in two slow sessions- one for dinner on the wharf and to see the cable car, and one for Carmel corn.
Day 19 - Friday - 7.12.13 South to Santa Cruz, Yosemite, & NV
Up and out of here... Good riddance! Paid my ticket to Wyoming... Started in San Francisco at sea level. Went down CA1 on the Cabarilla Hwy 60 miles to Santa Cruz out of San Francisco and along the ocean. Then East to Merced on 152 for 120 miles thru the truck farm area at 100'. Rode to Mariposa for gas and on to Yosemite National Park at 4200' on 140. Cold to SC and then very hot until 7000'. Leaving the valley I climbed to over 9800'. Then down to Mariposa from 8100' for gas before starting across the high desert above 5k' on 120. This is the area where we packed to 10k'+ in the late '70s with the Downings. Picked up gas in Lee Vining on 120 and Tonopha while riding 300 miles of high desert on route 6. 13 miles from Ely it started to rain for about 5 miles and on arrival met Hwy 50 (same as thru Salem WV). On the road I saw two does and four fawns, all very dark, thick hair which made the fawn white spots stand out. They ran down the road with me until they figured out where mom was and doubled back. At the Ramada Inn in Ely at 6000 feet after 654miles in 11.5 hours and 6670 total miles so far. Very comfortable above 7k'.
Day 20 - Saturday - 7.13.13. On across the desert.... To Utah
Very poor nite of sleep for only 5 hours. I did too much yesterday and drank a Pepsi at dinner. I did learn last nite that it frequently rains in the desert around Ely. I got up at 6:30, exercised, cleaned bike, got gas and dressed to eat and ride. It was a beautiful cool morning riding at 80 mph above 5500 feet thru desert terrain over 6k'+ passes. Got gas 200 miles out and rode on after a coke. The entire road was rolling and winding interspersed by long straight flat sections connecting the hills-mountain passes. The last 100 miles were colorful and dramatic formations and canyons rivaling the national park scenery. Cool and comfortable above 5k'. The last 60 miles dropped below 5k' and the temperature went to 98 degrees. Adjusted my seat and repaired my clock-heat indicator. Made 380 miles today in 5.5 hours, a total of 6994 miles, and 1036 miles in two days from San Francisco.
Day21 - Sunday - 7.14.13. Rest day before going to Colorado
Up late after deciding on a rest day. Laundry and bike washed by 10 so I took a ride thru Arches National Park. This afternoon the temperature was 101. Went by balancing rock and got to the arches as prescribed. I swam and read in the afternoon, with early to bed. Race watch from the Tour de France ... nice climbing into the sky by Sky.
End of Week Three
x
No comments:
Post a Comment