Home Again!! November 6-7 Days 43-44 Flagstaff, AZ to Soldiers Grove, WI

Last blog posting

 

Best of Journey:
1) Spending 5 weeks with 33 extraordinary women!
2) No rain (except for one time evening showers) in 35 days!
3) Special visits with Alby and Alan in San Diego and Kelle and Gerald in Flagstaff
Vital Statistics:
1) 30 days biking with 5 recovery days
2) Biking distance 1900 miles (73,000 feet elevation) 3) Driving distance 1577 miles
4) Flying distance 2360 miles
5) 175,000 calories consumed in 35 days
6) 140 bottles of water
7) 2 flat tires

Best meal:  Oyster Bar on Fisherman's Wharf
Most comforting:  Evening "Tea" with cycling colleagues
Most difficult days: Gualala to Bodega Bay and Big Sur to San Simeon
Most dramatic views: Big Sur
Most flat:  Route south of Los Angeles
Most breathtaking: Biking across Golden Gate Bridge
Most daunting: Hill with 18% grade
Most friendly: Construction workers on highways
Most unique: Tunnels with flashing lights to indicate bikers were inside
Most embarrassing: Falling in hotel parking lot when meeting up with friends who were visiting
Most utilized medications: Ibuprofen and Arnica
Best story: Cyclist stopped by highway patrol and given warning for failure to stop at red light (in construction zone)
Favorite regular clothes:  "Findlay Farmer's Market" wrap around skirt & long gray sweater
Favorite biking clothes: Anything Hi-Viz with zippers (zip down uphill and zip up downhill)

Last but not least:  Many thanks to Jill, our Pilates instructor, and Ellyn who was a great training/biking partner..... and the many friends and family who made this journey a reality!!!

November 2 to November 5 Days 39 to 42 Visiting Kelle and Gerald in Flagstaff, AZ

Best of Visit:  Spending time with Kelle and Gerald, meeting their friends, traveling to Winslow and LaPasada,

 and Jerome AZ, a historic mining town!

Worst of Visit:  Leaving: 

Best quote:  "Let's just go to a movie and have popcorn for dinner!"

November 1 Day 38 Third day off bike! Leaving San Diego

Best of Day:  Flying to Phoenix to meet Bud then driving to Flagstaff to visit Kelle and Gerald!

Worst of Day:  Leaving San Diego and Alby and Alan

Quote of Day:  Thank you Alan for your generosity and for taking our picture when we left for the airport!! 

This transition must mean the ride is officially "finished" and I am so grateful to all who made this trip (of a life time) possible!

October 31 Day 37 Second Day Off Bike

Best of Day:  Leisurely Day!!  What a gift!   Shipped extra biking gear home.   Spent time with Alby and Alan's new charge named Brooks, a puppy in training to be a service dog.

Visited their grandson for Halloween!  

Worst of Day:  Last day in sunny southern California!   Sooooo beautiful!

 

Quote of Day:  "Kirby and Katie finally made it to Monument Park (aka the border)"  which was written in another blog by a cyclist! 

October 30 Day 36 First Day Off the Bike!!

Best of Day:  Woke up to beautiful flowers.

Casual trip to coffee shop with Alby to meet Kirby, Fouse and their friends, Barney and Sheri.

Dinner with Alby and Alan and Bill and family.

 

Worst of Day:  Separating from the bikes at Bernie's Bike Shop (same bike shop we shipped to when we STARTED the Cross Country trip in 2010!!).   Leaving behind all those crazy (and wonderful) espresso drive throughs.

Quote of the Day:  "How many people does it take to decide where and how to pack and ship bikes?!" 

October 29 Day 35 Cardiff by the Sea to the U.S.- Mexico Border (51.8 miles)

Best of the Day:  1900 miles, 35 days later......

Worst of Day:  Fog rolled in as we were closer to the Border (maybe we wouldn't see it!!)

Quote of Day:  "The Sweeps have maintained their reputation as the last cyclists on the road!!"

We did it!! 

October 28 Day 34 Huntington Beach CA to Encinitas CA (37 miles)

Best of Day:  Beaches, beaches, beaches (see picture), arriving in Encinitas at Alby & Alan's house (see picture)

 

Worst of Day:  Ride is coming to an end. 

Quote of Day:  We called today another "Chris Smith day" (Chris is a good friend from the organized ride who said every day should be fun, short, with time to stop and eat, and visit, etc. etc.!!!!)

October 27 Phase II Day 33 Huntington Beach CA to San Clemente CA (27 miles)

Best of Day:  Left late and arrived early!!  Rode 27 miles today with hundreds of other bikers on Pacific Coastal Highway.  Great to have so many companions!  Had time to strategize for tomorrow (see picture), walk the beach (see picture) and eat at The Fisherman's on the pier (see picture)!

 

Worst of Day:  Being passed by so many of our companions!


Quote of Day:  Helpful local person telling us "You are very close....it only takes me about 15 minutes to get there!"

October 26 Phase II Day 32 Malibu to Huntington Beach (65 miles)

Best of Day:  Great paths around and through the beaches of Los Angeles! 

 

Worst of Day:  Riding the streets through the non-beach areas of Los Angeles!


Quote of Day:  Kirby said today, "Now I understand why WomanTours doesn't include this section in their Pacific Coast tour!!!"

October 25 Phase II Day 31 Ventura CA to Malibu CA (48.8 miles)

Best of Day:  Instructions from our new SAG driver (Jeff Fouse) as we start the first of our extended five days to the border  (See Picture taken by Sheila in front of hotel in Ventura),

 Pacific coastal highway beauty continues with added bonus of kite surfing (See Picture).
 

Worst of Day:  Not just one flat, but two flats just 15 miles out of Ventura!   (See Picture)

Quote of Day:  Jeff needed find a bike shop to replenish tubes and obtain floor pump AND drive to where we were changing the tires.  He has surpassed the demands of any "first day SAG driver day"  and obtained the title of "Senior SAG Manager, First Class!"

October 24 Day 30 End of Phase I (Organized Bike Tour Bellingham WA to Ventura CA --1600 miles and 70,000 feet of elevation) and beginning of Phase II (Ventura CA to Imperial Beach CA)

Best of Day:  Recovery day in Ventura with beautiful weather and time to reorganize ourselves for the remainder of our biking journey to the "border."  Spent time (mapping) with two other groups of cyclists who will also be biking to the Mexico/U.S. border.  Kirby's husband Jeff Foust has arrived from Chicago to be our SAG driver and support person!!

Worst of Day:  Saying good bye to many many good friends we made on the first part of our trip.  The WomanTours van left at 8 a.m. to shuttle many riders to the LAX airport. (see pictures).

Quote of Day: Departing mantra "See you later down the road!"

October 23 Day 29 Lompoc CA to Ventura CA (86 miles)

Best of day:  Sunshine and tail winds!  Last day of organized tour!  Riding through UCSB campus on bike trail!  Celebration Banquet!  Some of us rode to Santa Barbara (55 miles) (see picture) then took Amtrak train (30 miles) to Ventura!!!

Worst of day:  When we got to coffee shop (in Santa Barbara) their espresso machine was down!


Quote of day:  We asked direction while in Santa Barbara.  The woman we asked wanted to know where we were from.  When we said we had come from Bellingham WA, she said "On those?!" (pointing to our bikes).

October 22 Day 28 Arroyo Grande, CA to Lompac, CA (46 miles)

Today we totaled 1500 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best of day:  Wow, our last "official" map meeting!  (see pictures)

Worst of day:  Wondering how we are all going to make the 84 miles to Ventura tomorrow in time for banquet (bus, bike, train......?????)

 

Quote of day:  Sheila asked Michelle and Cy if they "could officially end the tour in Santa Barbara!!??"

October 21 Day 27 San Simeon, CA to Arroyo Grande, CA (56 miles)

Best of day:  Short day with time for great coffee break

Worst of day:  Thinking on it.....

Quote of day:  Gentleman in a town we were riding through asked if we were on a "chick ride"?!  We said, even better...a 30 day "chick tour"!

October 20 Day 26 Big Sur, CA to San Simeon, CA (67 miles)

Best of Day:  No rain but lots of fog, dramatic views (see picture), Elephant seals (see picture)

Worst of Day:  Total elevation today was 4460 feet (and San Simeon, is 60 feet above sea level!!)

Quote of Day:  The word of the day was "undulating," which is often used by Cy during map meetings!

October 19 Day 25 Monterey, CA to Big Sur, CA (44.8 miles)

Best of day:  Short!! Coffee in Carmel!!  Incredible views!!

Worst of day: Long climbs with more tomorrow!!  No internet at lodge tonight (therefore no pictures today).

Quote of day:  Gentleman outside restaurant in Big Sur, when told we started in Bellingham said, "Why not just stay in Washington and pound nails in your hands?!!"

October 18 Day 24 Santa Cruz, CA to Monterey, CA (45.8 miles)

Best of Day:  Shorter and fewer hills than yesterday!  Incredibly warm weather, beautiful ocean beaches,massive farm fields filled with vegetables, barking sea lions, pelicans, and a fabulous lunch at Schooners in Monterey. 

Worst of Day:  Worried about conditions for the farm workers, wondering if the water in the sprinklers is from the Colorado River, and what exactly is being sprayed on all those fields?

Quote of the Day:  "Who has ever heard of deep fried artichoke hearts?" 

October 17 Day 23 San Francisco to Santa Cruz, CA (84 miles)

Best of Day:  Weather and beautiful beaches!   

Worst of Day:  Biked 72 miles before we found coffee!!  Friend had flat tire with 4 miles to go!   

Quote of Day:  "We will never again bike by a Starbucks without stopping!!"

October 16 Day 22 Recovery Day on Fisherman's Wharf (Zero miles!!!!)

Posted early in morning from Starbucks before the day of laundry and bike cleaning begins!! 

Best of Week:  Arriving in San Francisco!  Who would have thought!  On September 25^th that bridge just didn’t seem like a possibility!  We continue to watch the ocean (ever present) in all its magnificence.  The weather has been incredible.  We are so grateful!

Worst of Week:  Those daily elevations just don’t go away….and then we tackled some of the San Francisco hills yesterday (at the end of the day) as we navigated our way to the bridge.

People along the way:  The people we’ve encountered are incredible.  I often wonder how they see us (Oh my gosh, that looks like my Mom!!) and think about us ("There are so many of them") as we keep pedaling away!

Favorite pictures of the week:   

Ready to leave in a.m.
 

Loading van in a.m.
 

Map on van door
 

Preparing for dinner
 

Famous casserole "parking lot" technique

 

Misty morning ride

 

Winding roads

 

Sun setting on Pacific at Golden Gate

 

Cy, our new (very upbeat and enthusiastic) Guide working on a bike – we love her!   

 

October 15 Day 21 Bodega Bay, CA to San Francisco (73.8 miles)

Best of Day:  Riding our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge! 

 

Worst of Day:  As we got closer to S.F., busy towns with many different streets and turns to follow on cue sheet!



Quote of Day:  While in one town, a gentleman with children in a playground, asked if we needed directions.  He was most helpful then asked "Is this ride some kind of bucket list or what??"

October 14 Day 20 Bodega Bay, CA ( 49 miles)

Best of Day:  Tom and Diane Judge, Pam Mansfield (Diane's sister) came to visit!  We drove to the Bodega  (rocky) Headland to search for whales and then to The Tides restaurant to look for Sea Lions.  Seeing friends from home was a wonderful gift! 

Worst of Day:  Hills were deep and steep!



Quote of Day:  One of the cyclists announced at map meeting that our "cumulative elevation (since the ride began) is 50,080 feet!"

October 13 Day 19 Fort Bragg, CA to Gualala, CA (60 miles)

Best of Day:  Easier riding than yesterday!  Coffee shop/bakery in Mendocino.  Lunch in Point Arena!!  

Rode by an Organic Valley Farm!! 

 
Worst of Day:  18% grade hill with hairpin turns (five of the group rode, while the remainder walked!)

 

Quote of Day:  Map meeting tonight, when discussing the 5 cattle crossings tomorrow, it was suggested we could always "jump them if they look too slippery!"