Monday Sept 24, 2012 Marina del Rey to Costa Mesa
I just want you to know I didn't write this letter. Mark said somehow he got this by email and he forwarded it to me. This is the end of this adventure. What's next? I don't know but I'm hooked.
Thank you all for following along with Mark and I. I hope you got a sense for our adventure and that you will all consider stretching your legs a bit. You never know what you might find out about yourself.
Dear Susan,
It’s Daddy here. Surprised to hear from me?
Thanks for your e-mail of August 30. I have got to tell you, I haven’t had much contact with your world since I got here, so it was nice to hear from anyone, let alone you. Some of the guys here try to get on the internet, but none of them seem to be able to get connected. As you know, I left your world just at the dawn of the internet, so I never really used a computer before. I’ll try sending you an e-mail now though. I hope you get it. However, I have been having fun with Mummy and her computer. Every time she thinks something isn’t working due to a computer malfunction, she has no idea it’s me just bugging her. Anyway, enough chit chat. They don’t usually allow me to contact anyone very often, so I’m glad I have the chance now. By the way, in case you were wondering, I do occasionally see you up north at the chalet.
Before we get to your cycling trip, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. After I left, you and your brother Allan built some business! I never dreamed it could be so successful. Wow. What a great job by both of you. But what is even more impressive is that the two of you built that business without sacrificing any family relationships. You and your brother are as close now as you have always been, and I love when you often tell everyone “Allan has my back – always has, always will”. I’m glad you have strong relationships with Esther, Erin, and Carrie too. Plus, you’ve been an incredible daughter-in-law to Irwin and Muriel as well as being a good sister-in-law to Jo-Ann and her husband Alan. I love that you help Muriel with everything, from gambling to finances. It’s cute to watch. You’re a great friend to all your pals. And what can I say about the way you are with Mummy (and Gordie – he’s good for your mother, don’t you think?). Mummy relies on you so much and is so proud of you. But what I am happiest about is how great a wife and mother you are. I always knew you had it in you. I am sorry I wasn’t there to watch the last 19 years in person. That would have been fun, especially skiing with Adam, Lauren, and Samantha. You’ve shown that you can do anything you set your mind to. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the past few weeks (and months) of cycling.
Incredible. First the training. That looked hard. I was astounded that you could spend hours on that stupid indoor trainer. I tried doing that a couple of times (remember?) and hated it. But there you were, hour after hour on that contraption. Mind you, you were watching TV while you rode inside (I remember you were always good at watching TV, especially your favorite show Mary Tyler Moore), but clearly you were putting in the hours. Then, when you got out on the road, I could see that you were serious. I remember from my rides up to Peter’s cottage just how scary road riding can be, so again you showed just how brave and determined you really are.
And then you left on this trip. Good for you sweetie! After I read your letter, I starting thinking about what you wrote. You’re right, I would have enjoyed the adventure and camaraderie that you’re experiencing. I do remember the ride to Peter’s cottage at Balfour Beach for my 60th birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday. Those types of memories stay with you, my dear. Forever. I was proud of my riding that day, and I got to spend a great day with my entire family. It does not get better than that.
But, in your letter to me, you wrote me that you “get it now”. That was three weeks ago. But did you really get it then? Really? If you’re being honest with yourself, I think you’ll agree now that you didn’t get it then. But you get it now, three weeks later, don’t you? You stood on the coastline of the largest ocean on the planet and were stunned at what you saw. Then you climbed mountains and rode hundreds of miles. And then you visited me.
That’s right. I was with you in the Redwoods, on the Avenue of the Giants. Not in any way you can actually discern. I was with you while you had your moment, and you just simply stood there and wept. You wept at the awesomeness of your surroundings. You wept at the sudden realization of how fortunate you are. Why did it take a bike trip for you to feel this? Who knows? But feel it, you did. And for that I am glad. Your moment was good for you. It’s yours now, and you can keep it with you the rest of your life.
Now you get it. You learned a thing or two about yourself these past three weeks didn’t you? Surprising, eh? To learn new things about yourself at age 53? Bet you didn’t expect that.
I love you, now and forever, my beautiful, strong, brave girl.
Love,
Daddy
PS – we get a heads up on a bunch of stuff around here and the word is out – you can officially give up on the Toronto Maple Leafs – they will never win the Stanley Cup
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Family and Friends
Sunday Sept 23, 2012 Oxnard to Marina del Rey
I have to say that today was a really great day and not just because I can see the finish line (and no...unlike a certain former Alaskan governor, I can not see Alaska from my front yard). First of all, the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny all day long. Second of all, we got to ride down the Pacific Coast Highway and see spectacular surf, scenery and neighbourhoods. Thirdly, we spent a couple of hours with some of Mark's family which was special (thanks Lyle and Cynthia for hosting us today). Finally we had our last dinner together and we had the opportunity to express ourselves and say what this ride and this group mean to us...WOW a really full day.
We rode the whole day today with Mark Koltz. We started off at a missile park near Oxnard and then we got on the Pacific Coast Highway. There was very little traffic for the first 20 miles and we made very short work of the miles. I was able to keep up with both Mark's and before I knew it we were at Zuma Beach at the SAG (for those of you who don't know, SAG = support and gear; Mark's cousins Lyle and Cynthia asked us today what SAG means, sorry I thought I'd explained that one). Several of the riders went down to the water to dip their toes in the Pacific but we kept on moving. After climbing out of the beach area we continued along the PCH all the way through Malibu and into Santa Monica. From there we cycled along a bike path along Venice Beach and into our hotel in Marina del Rey.
Mark and I were in Santa Monica for our cousin Brooke's wedding in February and we walked for hours on the bike path that we rode on today. In February we talked about how we would be riding here in September, and wow, that day was today. Kind of amazing that we got here this time from Astoria and under our own power. It was also way warmer today and the beaches were filled with the strangest kind of human beings.
After checking in (our room was not ready so we had to beg for a switcheroo) we showered and changed and got ready for the family part of the day. Mark's cousins Jenny, Susan and Steven picked us up and drove us to his cousin Lyle and Cynthia's house for a family get together. It was incredibly nice of Lyle and Cynthia to host this event and I was able to snap the picture above of the family reunion. They have a great house and we wished we had more time to spend with all of them.
Tonight was the ABB final banquet and we had a nice dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. Then we came back to the hotel and everyone had a chance to speak to the group to say whatever they wanted. Many of the riders spoke of what this ride has meant to them and the room was filled with warm feelings and words of thanks. We all expressed our thanks to Mike, Barb, Karen and Jim for making this ride safe and for getting us here. Mike prepared a montage of some of the pictures he's taken over the last 23 days and we all loved seeing them. Tracey brought his guitar and sang a beautiful rendition of "America the Beautiful". We were all touched and quite "feklempt". ABB tradition dictates that a map of the route be given to one rider who inspired the rest of the group and that honour was given to Tracey. Tracey is someone who despite physical challenges none of us have to deal with, rode every inch of this route with an amazing attitude, smiling all the way. I will always remember his cheerful support while riding into a 25 mile an hour headwind on an 80 mile day. We all applauded this choice, hugged and said our goodbyes. Although we will see everyone tomorrow for our short 50 mile day, tonight was the symbolic end of the trip.
I'll have more to say about the end of this adventure tomorrow but for now, I just want to get through tomorrow safely.
I have to say that today was a really great day and not just because I can see the finish line (and no...unlike a certain former Alaskan governor, I can not see Alaska from my front yard). First of all, the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny all day long. Second of all, we got to ride down the Pacific Coast Highway and see spectacular surf, scenery and neighbourhoods. Thirdly, we spent a couple of hours with some of Mark's family which was special (thanks Lyle and Cynthia for hosting us today). Finally we had our last dinner together and we had the opportunity to express ourselves and say what this ride and this group mean to us...WOW a really full day.
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| Started off the day at a missile park near Oxnard. |
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| Beautiful view along the Pacific Coast Highway |
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| Mark Koltz and me. |
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| You know who and me. |
Mark and I were in Santa Monica for our cousin Brooke's wedding in February and we walked for hours on the bike path that we rode on today. In February we talked about how we would be riding here in September, and wow, that day was today. Kind of amazing that we got here this time from Astoria and under our own power. It was also way warmer today and the beaches were filled with the strangest kind of human beings.
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| No, these are not the strange people from the beach! This is Mark's family and they are quite normal. |
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| 3 Susan Weisbarth's (it's a long story) |
I'll have more to say about the end of this adventure tomorrow but for now, I just want to get through tomorrow safely.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Twist and Shout
Saturday Sept 22, 2012 Solvang to Oxnard
Mark and I didn't miss home or his office today. That's because we often have roof leaking issues at the house and Mark's office (or should I say his former office...). We were sound asleep at about 4:45 this morning when we were awoken by the sound of rushing water. We turned on the bathroom light to discover water pouring out of the fan vent in the ceiling of the bathroom. We felt right at home! Ahhhh, home sweet home on the road. Speaking of home sweet home, we are staying in a major dump tonight. A major dump. We have a new word for "dump" on this trip. A "dump" is now called a "Guadeloupe". I'll explain when I get home. Suffice it to say, it's a reference to a not-so-nice town in California we rode through the other day.
Mark started riding this morning from Solvang around 7:15. I chose to take a ride in the van to the first SAG stop 20 miles up the road. Today's total mileage was to be 81 miles and I felt that missing the first 20 would be OK with me, especially since the first 20 miles was, you guessed it, climbing!!! Lots of climbing, like 1,300 vertical feet in the first 20 miles. Karen and Barb were in the van with me and we talked about this trip and the challenges it poses. They both feel that this is a very tough cycling trip, maybe even harder than the cross country trip. They would know, having done both for the last 15 or so years. I also talked to Jim separately and his feeling is that this is much tougher than the cross country trip (comparatively on a day-to-day basis) due to the amount of climbing relative to the mileage.
Mark and I met up at the SAG around 9:15 and then headed up the remaining couple of climbing miles together. Once we reached the top at about 2,200 feet above sea level, we began the twisting part of today's title. Boy did we twist. The route down took us along some winding roads barely wide enough for one car. At various points on the decline, we stopped to rest our hands from braking and to allow our brakes to cool off. Mike our tour leader mentioned that at certain points the grade was in the 20's. That is hard to picture, put it is really steep. For those of you that know the Crestwood Hill down to the bottom of the Glendon Campus, that hill is 12-14%, so these hills were twice as steep. We're talkin' steep! The twisting road crossed back under itself at more than a 180 degree angle. It was exciting and challenging at the same time. Once we got down most of the way we were in Santa Barbara and the neighbourhoods got progressively richer. I didn't see Oprah but I'm sure she's sorry she missed us. These are a couple of pictures Mark took as we were twisting down to Santa Barbara.
After making our way to the 2nd SAG, we followed the Route sheet and ended up on a 4 mile stretch of Highway 101. This is where the shouting part of today's ride comes in. This road was like driving on the Don Valley Parkway (don't read this part Mom!). There was a wide shoulder and a bike lane but it was so loud from the cars and trucks, I could only hear Mark if he shouted. I'd prefer if I never have to ride on a road like that again but it was the only way to get to where we needed. So we did it, as did everyone else. We survived to tell the tale.
After our adventure on 101, we ended up on a coastal road in Ventura. I was cycling, oblivious to our surroundings when Mark yelled out to me. He thought he recognized the hotel immediately to our right and the overpass to our left from somewhere but he wasn't sure. Then all of a sudden he yells – Little Miss Sunshine! Remember the hotel they were trying to get to for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant in the movie of the same name? They were on the highway overpass and couldn't get off because they couldn't slow down in their VW van. We rode right by that today as well as the pier that Steve Carell (Frank) and Paul Dano (Dwayne) walk on. During their walk on the pier, Dwayne talks about how frustrating it is to be a teenager. His uncle Frank offers him some advice from Proust –"it is your suffering, not your happiness that defines you as a person". I think this is a very interesting philosophy given what we've been doing these last 3 weeks. Very interesting.
Something I forgot to mention yesterday. As we were riding through the vineyards, I received a shout out for my Colgate cycling jersey. I'm 2,000 miles from Colgate and a rider going in the opposite direction recognized the logo and the jersey!!! Cool don't you think? Anyway, there are only 2 more riding days left and they are definitely the easiest days of the trip. About 50 miles each day, with minimal climbing and lots of ocean scenery. The weather on this trip has been ideal and looks to continue for the rest of the way. I haven't talked about the weather too much, because I didn't want to jinx it, but boy were we lucky. No rain, just a little coastal mist/fog, and almost entirely favourable winds. Thank goodness. This ride was tough enough without having weather to contend with!
Mark and I didn't miss home or his office today. That's because we often have roof leaking issues at the house and Mark's office (or should I say his former office...). We were sound asleep at about 4:45 this morning when we were awoken by the sound of rushing water. We turned on the bathroom light to discover water pouring out of the fan vent in the ceiling of the bathroom. We felt right at home! Ahhhh, home sweet home on the road. Speaking of home sweet home, we are staying in a major dump tonight. A major dump. We have a new word for "dump" on this trip. A "dump" is now called a "Guadeloupe". I'll explain when I get home. Suffice it to say, it's a reference to a not-so-nice town in California we rode through the other day.
Mark started riding this morning from Solvang around 7:15. I chose to take a ride in the van to the first SAG stop 20 miles up the road. Today's total mileage was to be 81 miles and I felt that missing the first 20 would be OK with me, especially since the first 20 miles was, you guessed it, climbing!!! Lots of climbing, like 1,300 vertical feet in the first 20 miles. Karen and Barb were in the van with me and we talked about this trip and the challenges it poses. They both feel that this is a very tough cycling trip, maybe even harder than the cross country trip. They would know, having done both for the last 15 or so years. I also talked to Jim separately and his feeling is that this is much tougher than the cross country trip (comparatively on a day-to-day basis) due to the amount of climbing relative to the mileage.
Mark and I met up at the SAG around 9:15 and then headed up the remaining couple of climbing miles together. Once we reached the top at about 2,200 feet above sea level, we began the twisting part of today's title. Boy did we twist. The route down took us along some winding roads barely wide enough for one car. At various points on the decline, we stopped to rest our hands from braking and to allow our brakes to cool off. Mike our tour leader mentioned that at certain points the grade was in the 20's. That is hard to picture, put it is really steep. For those of you that know the Crestwood Hill down to the bottom of the Glendon Campus, that hill is 12-14%, so these hills were twice as steep. We're talkin' steep! The twisting road crossed back under itself at more than a 180 degree angle. It was exciting and challenging at the same time. Once we got down most of the way we were in Santa Barbara and the neighbourhoods got progressively richer. I didn't see Oprah but I'm sure she's sorry she missed us. These are a couple of pictures Mark took as we were twisting down to Santa Barbara.
After making our way to the 2nd SAG, we followed the Route sheet and ended up on a 4 mile stretch of Highway 101. This is where the shouting part of today's ride comes in. This road was like driving on the Don Valley Parkway (don't read this part Mom!). There was a wide shoulder and a bike lane but it was so loud from the cars and trucks, I could only hear Mark if he shouted. I'd prefer if I never have to ride on a road like that again but it was the only way to get to where we needed. So we did it, as did everyone else. We survived to tell the tale.
After our adventure on 101, we ended up on a coastal road in Ventura. I was cycling, oblivious to our surroundings when Mark yelled out to me. He thought he recognized the hotel immediately to our right and the overpass to our left from somewhere but he wasn't sure. Then all of a sudden he yells – Little Miss Sunshine! Remember the hotel they were trying to get to for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant in the movie of the same name? They were on the highway overpass and couldn't get off because they couldn't slow down in their VW van. We rode right by that today as well as the pier that Steve Carell (Frank) and Paul Dano (Dwayne) walk on. During their walk on the pier, Dwayne talks about how frustrating it is to be a teenager. His uncle Frank offers him some advice from Proust –"it is your suffering, not your happiness that defines you as a person". I think this is a very interesting philosophy given what we've been doing these last 3 weeks. Very interesting.
Something I forgot to mention yesterday. As we were riding through the vineyards, I received a shout out for my Colgate cycling jersey. I'm 2,000 miles from Colgate and a rider going in the opposite direction recognized the logo and the jersey!!! Cool don't you think? Anyway, there are only 2 more riding days left and they are definitely the easiest days of the trip. About 50 miles each day, with minimal climbing and lots of ocean scenery. The weather on this trip has been ideal and looks to continue for the rest of the way. I haven't talked about the weather too much, because I didn't want to jinx it, but boy were we lucky. No rain, just a little coastal mist/fog, and almost entirely favourable winds. Thank goodness. This ride was tough enough without having weather to contend with!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Welcome to Duchie's Wild Animal Kingdom
Friday Sept 21, 2012 Santa Maria to Solvang
Today was the day I remember reading about in the literature from America by Bicycle, conveniently ignoring the mileage from all the other days (60, 70, and 80 miles +). What a chump I am, I only paid attention to the 39 mile day! The weather today was perfect for riding, high 50's with little to no wind when we started and mid 80's by the end of the ride. We left Santa Maria a little later than usual because of the "short" mileage today. I think I'm beginning to sound like them...them being the other riders on this trip. If you think about it, 40 miles is 65 km and that's basically our house to Keele and King Sideroad and back...certainly not around the corner but out here on the road, distances are a matter of perspective.
Last night at RAP (the daily discussion of the next day's route and ride) we were warned that we might see tarantulas crossing the road today. Yeah, tarantulas. The monster-sized version of a spider. Needless to say, Mark didn't sleep last night worrying about this possible encounter.
So, we hit the road around 8:30. Mark kept his eyes more focused forward than he has for the other 1,200 miles we've ridden so far. We rode for about 17 miles through mostly farm country and more vineyards. Then I heard Mark yell "tarantula", and the next thing I know, he's down on the ground (safely, with another rider watching for traffic on this empty road) with his camera taking this picture.
I was watching these two brave guys on the ground, watching out for cars lest someone damage the $10,000 worth of bikes lying on the road when a bunch of other riders came upon us. Phyllis (the rider with the high calorie counting Garmin I spoke about/coveted in a previous blog) informed us of something she learned watching the Nature channel.
Imagine Mark's reaction upon hearing the following in a thick Minnesota accent. "They can jump you know." Needless to say, Mark and Mark didn't need any further prodding to jump on their bikes and high tail it out of there.
That whole Tarantula encounter got Mark and I thinking about all of the animals we've seen or others have reported seeing on this trip. They include whales, sea lions, seals, elk, deer, goats, sheep, coyote, wolf, long horn steer, cattle, horses, donkeys, wild boar, every dog and cat imaginable, squirrel, skunks, possum, gophers, buffalo, snake, frog, lizards, turtle, pelican (technically not an animal, and yes for some reason Mark and I have been fighting over whether to include pelican on this list) and now a tarantula.
The rest of the day was spent cycling on mostly quiet country roads through more wine country. We stopped at Fess Parker's vineyard and tasted a Chardonnay. Mark took this picture of me at the top of a little climb overlooking another gorgeous vineyard, perhaps the prettiest vineyard we've seen yet.
After a little while longer we arrived in Solvang which is the town they visited in the movie Sideways. It's kind of a faux Danish tourist trap outpost north west of Santa Barbara with wine tasting spots throughout the town. They have windmills and Clydesdales here too. Here's a picture that gets it all in.
Tomorrow we head for Oxnard but before we get there, we will pass through Santa Barbara. Maybe we'll see Oprah there...I hear she's got a great house in Santa Barbara and loves it when smelly cyclists in spandex just knock on her door. Check in tomorrow. Another 80+ miles and close to 4,000 feet of climbing (the last of the big climbs for this trip). To quote Billy Crystal from the movie City Slickers "...my ass hurts just watching it...".
Today was the day I remember reading about in the literature from America by Bicycle, conveniently ignoring the mileage from all the other days (60, 70, and 80 miles +). What a chump I am, I only paid attention to the 39 mile day! The weather today was perfect for riding, high 50's with little to no wind when we started and mid 80's by the end of the ride. We left Santa Maria a little later than usual because of the "short" mileage today. I think I'm beginning to sound like them...them being the other riders on this trip. If you think about it, 40 miles is 65 km and that's basically our house to Keele and King Sideroad and back...certainly not around the corner but out here on the road, distances are a matter of perspective.
Last night at RAP (the daily discussion of the next day's route and ride) we were warned that we might see tarantulas crossing the road today. Yeah, tarantulas. The monster-sized version of a spider. Needless to say, Mark didn't sleep last night worrying about this possible encounter.
So, we hit the road around 8:30. Mark kept his eyes more focused forward than he has for the other 1,200 miles we've ridden so far. We rode for about 17 miles through mostly farm country and more vineyards. Then I heard Mark yell "tarantula", and the next thing I know, he's down on the ground (safely, with another rider watching for traffic on this empty road) with his camera taking this picture.
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| Mark Koltz on the ground - look at the size of that Tarantula... |
Imagine Mark's reaction upon hearing the following in a thick Minnesota accent. "They can jump you know." Needless to say, Mark and Mark didn't need any further prodding to jump on their bikes and high tail it out of there.
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| Mark and I cycling away from the Tarantula!!! |
The rest of the day was spent cycling on mostly quiet country roads through more wine country. We stopped at Fess Parker's vineyard and tasted a Chardonnay. Mark took this picture of me at the top of a little climb overlooking another gorgeous vineyard, perhaps the prettiest vineyard we've seen yet.
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Tomorrow we head for Oxnard but before we get there, we will pass through Santa Barbara. Maybe we'll see Oprah there...I hear she's got a great house in Santa Barbara and loves it when smelly cyclists in spandex just knock on her door. Check in tomorrow. Another 80+ miles and close to 4,000 feet of climbing (the last of the big climbs for this trip). To quote Billy Crystal from the movie City Slickers "...my ass hurts just watching it...".
Thursday, September 20, 2012
I'm back in the saddle again, again
Thursday Sept 20, 2012 Paso Robles to Santa Maria
Today I rode...and rode...and rode...and rode. Then I rode so more. And then I was halfway there! Just kidding. This was my longest day ever on my own bike. Believe it or not, it wasn't too bad because there was only a moderate amount of climbing (moderate – HAH!). I rode 84.61 miles and my Garmin shows climbing of 3799 feet. I can not imagine a world where a "moderate" amount if climbing is like riding from the town of Aspen to the top of Ajax, but that's what I did today (and then some). I know there are riders on this particular tour who don't think that today was long or tough, but for a semi-old, semi-zaftig girl (for this who don't know what "zaftig" means, it's a yiddish word that means...that means..."you know that girl – she's not so skinny, you know, a little zaftig") such as myself, I'm very happy with what I was able to do today. Here are my stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/225038110
We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I must say of all the chains we have stayed in on this trip; Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Best Western, and America's Best Value (it may be America's Best Value, but it sure as shit ain't America's Best "anything"), Holiday Inn Express is the nicest by far. Whoever repositioned and changed this brand into Holiday Inn Express did an excellent job. These new ones are not our parents Holiday Inns anymore. Even the hotel breakfast this morning was a cut above the others. Maybe we should buy the stock? Maybe Mark should buy a franchise?? I'm going to have to do something to get him out from under my feet, and fast. Bike trips are NOT the answer!
There were two options for departure this morning and given the mileage, Mark and I opted for the 7:15AM (not PM) early departure. Mark and I rode most of the day with Leticia, who is a very nice lady from Sacramento. She joined our group in San Francisco for the leg ending in Newport Beach (9 days). Unfortunately on her very first day she fell going over some railroad tracks and had to take 3 days off. She was "back in the saddle again" today too. At the first SAG, Mark bought some amazing pastry at a bakery nearby and the half of the almond/cheese bear claw I ate was amazing. Seriously delicious and full of calories, but I was riding a ton of miles today so, what the hell. We met up with our friend Joe Schroeder and he helped me out by eating the other half of the bakery goodies.
We rode through some areas of California that looked like the wild west. We are only 4 hours by car north of LA and look at this scenery. You'd have thought we were in Wyoming or Colorado. Big mountains, wide open vistas, dry sagebrush, and just a certain vastness more commonly associated with other parts of the country. What is even cooler is that about 5 miles from where this windmill picture was taken, there were beautiful fields of produce, flowers, and more. It is amazing the kind of agricultural diversity they have in California. We must have seen 2 dozen different crops today alone, just within a 10 mile stretch of road.
The second SAG was in a town called Pismo Beach. It's a real surfer town. Mark reminded me that in the movie Clueless, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is the captain of the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Drive. Just so you know, there was no Pismo Beach disaster and the town is doing just fine. After the SAG, the scenery got a little more agricultural. The last 20 miles or so, Joe, Mark, Leticia and I just kind of put our pedals to the, well, pedals (I guess) and finished the day as the scenery turned quite ordinary (ordinary is a code word for ugly).
Oh, I almost forgot, I had my first flat tire today. We were about 2 miles from the hotel, just coming to a stop sign (moving at like 3 MPH) when I heard a loud bang. It honestly sounded like a gun shot although I've never heard a gun shot. I looked down and my front tire was almost completely off the rim. I yelled "tire" to the gang in front of me. I wasn't sure what I'm supposed to do when I get a flat but yell I did. Mark, Joe and Leticia stopped and within 10 minutes, they changed my tire and we were on our way to the hotel. Mike the tour leader thinks I had a "pinch flat" while our friend Jeff thinks I overinflated my tires this morning, and as the day warmed up, the tube popped. The good news is that the new tire is good to go for tomorrow.
After dinner tonight, we walked over to Starbucks. On the way, Mark asked me to think about and contemplate on what was the hardest part of this trip. I didn't have to contemplate for very long.
My answer – the riding.
He seemed to be looking for a more in-depth response, but that's my answer and I'm sticking to it. No question, the riding is the hardest part. It's harder than the sleeping. It's way harder than the eating. But I'm really enjoying this. It's a challenging and rewarding adventure, even after 6 hours of pedalling like today. Tomorrow will be a shorter day as we are going 40 miles to Solvang. Solvang was the town featured in the movie Sideways (the wine-tasting movie starring Paul Giamatti). We will definitely be doing some wine tasting tomorrow.
Today I rode...and rode...and rode...and rode. Then I rode so more. And then I was halfway there! Just kidding. This was my longest day ever on my own bike. Believe it or not, it wasn't too bad because there was only a moderate amount of climbing (moderate – HAH!). I rode 84.61 miles and my Garmin shows climbing of 3799 feet. I can not imagine a world where a "moderate" amount if climbing is like riding from the town of Aspen to the top of Ajax, but that's what I did today (and then some). I know there are riders on this particular tour who don't think that today was long or tough, but for a semi-old, semi-zaftig girl (for this who don't know what "zaftig" means, it's a yiddish word that means...that means..."you know that girl – she's not so skinny, you know, a little zaftig") such as myself, I'm very happy with what I was able to do today. Here are my stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/225038110
We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I must say of all the chains we have stayed in on this trip; Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Best Western, and America's Best Value (it may be America's Best Value, but it sure as shit ain't America's Best "anything"), Holiday Inn Express is the nicest by far. Whoever repositioned and changed this brand into Holiday Inn Express did an excellent job. These new ones are not our parents Holiday Inns anymore. Even the hotel breakfast this morning was a cut above the others. Maybe we should buy the stock? Maybe Mark should buy a franchise?? I'm going to have to do something to get him out from under my feet, and fast. Bike trips are NOT the answer!
There were two options for departure this morning and given the mileage, Mark and I opted for the 7:15AM (not PM) early departure. Mark and I rode most of the day with Leticia, who is a very nice lady from Sacramento. She joined our group in San Francisco for the leg ending in Newport Beach (9 days). Unfortunately on her very first day she fell going over some railroad tracks and had to take 3 days off. She was "back in the saddle again" today too. At the first SAG, Mark bought some amazing pastry at a bakery nearby and the half of the almond/cheese bear claw I ate was amazing. Seriously delicious and full of calories, but I was riding a ton of miles today so, what the hell. We met up with our friend Joe Schroeder and he helped me out by eating the other half of the bakery goodies.
We rode through some areas of California that looked like the wild west. We are only 4 hours by car north of LA and look at this scenery. You'd have thought we were in Wyoming or Colorado. Big mountains, wide open vistas, dry sagebrush, and just a certain vastness more commonly associated with other parts of the country. What is even cooler is that about 5 miles from where this windmill picture was taken, there were beautiful fields of produce, flowers, and more. It is amazing the kind of agricultural diversity they have in California. We must have seen 2 dozen different crops today alone, just within a 10 mile stretch of road.
The second SAG was in a town called Pismo Beach. It's a real surfer town. Mark reminded me that in the movie Clueless, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is the captain of the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Drive. Just so you know, there was no Pismo Beach disaster and the town is doing just fine. After the SAG, the scenery got a little more agricultural. The last 20 miles or so, Joe, Mark, Leticia and I just kind of put our pedals to the, well, pedals (I guess) and finished the day as the scenery turned quite ordinary (ordinary is a code word for ugly).
Oh, I almost forgot, I had my first flat tire today. We were about 2 miles from the hotel, just coming to a stop sign (moving at like 3 MPH) when I heard a loud bang. It honestly sounded like a gun shot although I've never heard a gun shot. I looked down and my front tire was almost completely off the rim. I yelled "tire" to the gang in front of me. I wasn't sure what I'm supposed to do when I get a flat but yell I did. Mark, Joe and Leticia stopped and within 10 minutes, they changed my tire and we were on our way to the hotel. Mike the tour leader thinks I had a "pinch flat" while our friend Jeff thinks I overinflated my tires this morning, and as the day warmed up, the tube popped. The good news is that the new tire is good to go for tomorrow.
After dinner tonight, we walked over to Starbucks. On the way, Mark asked me to think about and contemplate on what was the hardest part of this trip. I didn't have to contemplate for very long.
My answer – the riding.
He seemed to be looking for a more in-depth response, but that's my answer and I'm sticking to it. No question, the riding is the hardest part. It's harder than the sleeping. It's way harder than the eating. But I'm really enjoying this. It's a challenging and rewarding adventure, even after 6 hours of pedalling like today. Tomorrow will be a shorter day as we are going 40 miles to Solvang. Solvang was the town featured in the movie Sideways (the wine-tasting movie starring Paul Giamatti). We will definitely be doing some wine tasting tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
46 Degrees of Separation
Wednesday Sept 19, 2012 King City to Paso Robles, California
Starting temp today was 49 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first climb it dropped to 45 degrees and on arrival in Paso Robles the temp was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not good at math, as all or most of you know, but even I can do the math here and figure out that we experienced a 46 degree temperature rise today.
Speaking of math, I'd also like to point out that prior to coming on this ride, the tour company sends you a list of clothing and equipment. You aren't allowed to have your bag weigh any more than 35 pounds and your knapsack or computer bag can't be more than 15 pounds for a total of...50 pounds? Are you kidding me? 50 pounds for 3 1/2 weeks? I need 50 pounds for 3 1/2 days. On Mark's cross country ride, several riders got busted for overweight bags. I was sure I'd be able to get away with an overweight bag if I just smiled and distracted the person loading the bags. Today I got busted. Here is a picture Joe was quick to take, of my bag being weighed. I just hope they don't weigh my knapsack tomorrow.
I spent another day in the van today. I really want to be sure that when I ride, I can keep going and finish this thing. Today was another brutal day of climbing and there were as many as 4 of us in the van at various times. Mark Koltz was feeling really lousy having caught Joe's cold. I actually felt bad for him when Barb Munk (tour leader) made him put on a mask to sit in the van but he fell asleep quickly despite the mask. It was an especially attractive site.
Starting temp today was 49 degrees Fahrenheit, during the first climb it dropped to 45 degrees and on arrival in Paso Robles the temp was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not good at math, as all or most of you know, but even I can do the math here and figure out that we experienced a 46 degree temperature rise today.
Speaking of math, I'd also like to point out that prior to coming on this ride, the tour company sends you a list of clothing and equipment. You aren't allowed to have your bag weigh any more than 35 pounds and your knapsack or computer bag can't be more than 15 pounds for a total of...50 pounds? Are you kidding me? 50 pounds for 3 1/2 weeks? I need 50 pounds for 3 1/2 days. On Mark's cross country ride, several riders got busted for overweight bags. I was sure I'd be able to get away with an overweight bag if I just smiled and distracted the person loading the bags. Today I got busted. Here is a picture Joe was quick to take, of my bag being weighed. I just hope they don't weigh my knapsack tomorrow.
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| Jim weighs my bag. I smiled and apologized and he's letting me slide. |
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| Who says surgical masks don't improve appearance? |
The sites today were mostly ranches and farmland with a few more vineyards thrown in for good measure. Mark rode most of the day with his Gelding buddies minus Mark Koltz. Here is a really nice picture Mike Munk took today that will give you a sense for the scenery and isolation out here.
Tomorrow we head for Santa Maria. We will head back towards the coast, through San Louis Obispo (Madonna Inn) to Santa Maria. It's 84 miles but not too much climbing and I'm planning to ride the whole way. Then it's one night each in Solvang (the town in the movie Sideways), Oxnard, Marina del Rey and then finally to Newport Beach.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
There's Gold In Them Thar Hills
Tuesday Sept 18, 2012 Carmel Valley to King City
I didn't ride today, bottom line...it's my bottom. Nothing more complicated than that. I probably won't ride tomorrow either so that I can rest my aching tush for the final 5 day push into L.A.
The scenery today from the van was quite stunning. It started out a little cloudy but the sun came out by 9am. Every day I wake up expecting the scenery from the day before to be unbeatable and every day the scenery is more spectacular and varied than the day before. Today was no different. We climbed (me in the van, Mark on his bike) for the first 18 miles or so. The road was almost entirely devoid of cars as we snaked through and up a river valley and then over a mountain whose elevation rose to 2155 feet. Once we reached the top, the views were really special.
Wow, big list, we are very lucky and blessed to have you all in our lives. If I missed someone, I'm sorry, but omitting you from this list in no way makes us any less lucky or blessed. More updates to come, starting tomorrow!
I didn't ride today, bottom line...it's my bottom. Nothing more complicated than that. I probably won't ride tomorrow either so that I can rest my aching tush for the final 5 day push into L.A.
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| Our friend Gary at the top of the climb. Gorgeous scenery. |
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| Mark overlooking a gorge.
The contrast of the green trees and vegetation and the golden hills was really beautiful, and utterly different than the coastal vistas, legendary golf courses and $20+ million homes we saw just yesterday afternoon, a mere 30 miles behind us. California is so diverse it's staggering to the eye. After we descended down the other side of the mountain, we were in a valley with rich farmland on either side of the road. We even passed by some more wineries and vineyards. Mark stopped and ate some of the grapes which he said were really sweet. We could smell the onions growing in the fields and saw leaf lettuce, broccoli, and some garlic growing.
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I forgot to mention that after about 15 miles of riding this morning, Mark says he saw Neil Young walking by the side of the road. He wasn't alone in thinking this, as one of the other riders, Howard, also believes that it was Neil Young he said hello to when he was "Down by the River". Unfortunately we have no video evidence of this encounter, but rumour is that he does live around here.
Today we had time to do laundry in a laundromat close to the hotel (I am fairly sure I will not miss walking a half a mile lugging a suitcase full of laundry to a laundromat after this ride is over) and even had a few minutes to rest. Since I'm not doing this blog after dinner when I'm exhausted, I wanted to take a moment to thank some people who I know are following us and posting comments on Facebook or here on this blog. I'm sure I'll forget someone so if that's you, please don't take offence. Thanks to; Ellen Newell Call (ABB 2010), Vance and Susan, Dean, Esther, Jo-Ann and Alan, Esther and Allan, Erin and Carrie, Hessie, Margot, my mother in law (the Facebook Queen), my mother and Gordie, Lyle and Cynthia, Rob Nadler (no, not a cousin of mine), Wendy Rosenfield, Ira Pamnani, Stephanie, Joanie, Jeff Citron, The Lipson Family, Sharon Perlmutter, Julie, Lynn, Shep, Rhonda and Mark, Arlene, Rosanne, Caurie, Amy, Maura, Lisa, Avra, Gina, Dina, Corinne, Shawna, Linda, Cindy, Mark, Paula, Jordan, Heni, Shawna, Lara, Peter, Audrey, Janet, Suzy, Debbie, Francine, Marty, Nanci, Jodi, Karen K, Barb, Susan, Marilyn, Dee, Pat, Jill, Karen, Janna, Angelina, Ian, Sonia, Jess and of course our three wonderful, epically disinterested children, Adam, Lauren and Samantha.
Wow, big list, we are very lucky and blessed to have you all in our lives. If I missed someone, I'm sorry, but omitting you from this list in no way makes us any less lucky or blessed. More updates to come, starting tomorrow!
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