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DAY 11
To Cloverdale
 

Yesterday          Tomorrow
ROUTE: Ft Bragg to Cloverdale DISTANCE: 75 Hilly Miles WINDS: North at 10 or so
WEATHER: Clear and cool at beginning through the middle and toasty warm the last 25 miles TERRAIN: Rolling with two significant climbs late in the day TOTAL CLIMBING: 4100 Feet

DAILY REPORT: 

What a great day to be on a bicycle...we woke to clear skies and cool temperatures.  I was wearing arm warmers and a vest until the first SAG in the Redwoods, but I was warm soon after leaving the motel as I was hammering with Steve to the first SAG.  The guy is an animal and dopey me decided to play with him for a little while.  Needless to say, I didn't get many photos early while we were on the coast.  After the SAG, I soloed to get some photos of several riders and after the last SAG, I rode with Karen...trying to keep up with her wasn't much easier than Steve.  Why do I do this to myself?  Aren't I old enough to know better...guess not.

To say we had a diverse day would be an understatement...the 4 photos in the text will support that statement.  It was hard to believe we were riding in the same day or even the same planet all day as we made our way through urban areas, breathtaking seaside cliffs, old growth redwood forests, and rolling brown hills that were the backdrop for scores of vineyards. 

Our morning started with a hearty breakfast near the motel.  Most of the riders were on the road by 7:45 and making their way along the coastline through the clear morning.  Our first 20 miles bounced up and down and in and out of visual contact with the ocean.  Then we turned inland on hwy 128...and anytime you do inland around here it means slope and usually it gets hotter too.  At first we were riding along the water with the jagged rocks protruding out of the foaming surf, then we found ourselves in another redwood forest for about 10 miles.  Our first SAG was in the forest...the antithesis  of our SAG yesterday along the shoreline.  It was a beautiful spot in the redwoods where we celebrated our halfway point.

As I stated before, our contrasts were not over as we exited the redwoods and then entered the California wine country.  Here we saw large vineyards dotting the landscape all nestled on the hillsides.  At one vineyard, I saw them loading freshly picked grapes...this time of year is called the "crush" for obvious reasons even to this corn farm boy.  I just wanted to take off my shoes and stomp right in...don't think they would have appreciated that, but it did cross my mind.  We weren't through with rollers either, but the brisk tailwind made the day a little easier than it could have been.  The only problem was the wind was blowing around 10 or 11 MPH and when we were climbing we were going around that speed which made the air around us still...and the temperature was rising as we got farther inland.  The descents allowed us to get a nice breeze in our face and luckily a couple of the climbs were in the shade...just another perfect day.

Even with all that, we still weren't through with contrasts by a long shot.  It wasn't long before we started shedding clothing as we peaked over the range.  As I said, the temperature went up drastically after the second SAG and it began to look more like the California I remember when I was stationed in Sacramento.  Large golden hills with green live oaks to contrast the landscape.  This part of California is much dryer too...one match here and you'll burn up the entire state.

The final push into town required us to climb one final time before an invigorating, technical descent into Cloverdale.  I guess the simple word climb may not be quite strong enough to describe the ascent.  It probably was the toughest climb we've had to date with pitches of 15% in places and probably averaging in the neighborhood of 10% for a couple miles.  The only climb I can remember that may be tougher would be the climb over Teton Pass on our North Ride.  But hey, these folks are tough and welcome the challenge.  The scenery was hard to take in due to the nature of the switchbacks on the descent...the eyes had to focus on the line to the bottom.  Congrats to everyone...they all made it up and down safely and we're ready to ride again tomorrow...bring on the climbs...no sweat.

Tomorrow we head to Petaluma...I'm scheduled to be in the van and will miss the good climbing tomorrow...hate that everyone else is having all the climbing fun.  See you then.

 

HAPPENINGS ON THE ROAD
Hopefully the final chapter in the Saga Of David's Mobile Phone
OR
When's the last time you used a pay phone?

I'm sorry for the late report, but this happened yesterday.  If you've been reading previous posts, you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear how David is progressing with his overseas call to his wife Jan.  Well, he still hasn't been able to get anyone to activate his mobile phone with all those unlimited minutes...that may be an issue for another year...or maybe by the time he gets home someone will figure it out...but anyway, yesterday he finally gave up trying to get his phone to work and decided to call Jan from his phone in his motel room...sound's easy I guess.  After several efforts to get a line and then to get the overseas operator, he finally gave up and decided that this was even a worse idea than a mobile phone.  When he checked out in the morning, the motel hit him with a bill for $7.50 for calls.  "But I wasn't able to make any calls," He pleaded.  No luck, welcome to America David.  You picked up the receiver, passed by the dial tone, and someone on the other end talked to you...you had a nice conversation with an operator...it was not the person you wanted, but operators need someone to talk to also.  Undaunted and now desperate to actually hear his wife's voice, he asked his riding mates what he should do.  I'm thinking they were enjoying this unfolding story too much to try to solve it, but they suggested maybe he could find a pay phone somewhere on our route...yeah, right.  Surprisingly enough, he stumbled on a rusty old pay phone at the hole in the wall cafe where they stopped for lunch.  "This couldn't work,"  He thought, "but I might as well try."  He picked up the receiver and got a dial tone..."So far, so good,"  He thought.  He dialed "0" and a real person answered...someone who seemed to know what to do to help him.  "COINS!"  He cried to his riding partners who were nearby munching on their lunch, "COINS!  I NEED COINS!!"  Larry, Greg, Jim, and everyone else within earshot started emptying their pockets and stuffed every coin they could muster into the slots in the payphone giving him about 20 minutes of talk time.  "JAN!  IS THAT YOU?!!"  "Yawn, Yes...David, is that you?"  "YES LOVE...WAKE UP, I ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES...YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE..."  (Well, actually she would, she's been reading the website)

I guess the moral of this story is when all else fails, just return to the basics...and as they say in the credit card commercial:  Mobile phone with unlimited minutes, $45;  countless calls to unhelpful customer service reps, frustrating; efforts to talk to an operator on a motel phone, $7.50; finding a beat up pay phone on the wayside and having friends with lots of coins, PRICELESS!!!

So much for modern technology and the funny thing is, David said if that phone hadn't of worked, the next phone he would have tried would have consisted of two cans and a string.

David is either trying to keep the van from falling over or he needs a prop to pick up a stray penny.

WARNING...sunscreen is less flattering than it appears.

Brian, what a nice camera...you think David's odyssey with the cell phone was interesting, tomorrow I'll get into Brian's camera adventures.

Today, Nancy drew the short straw and was required to wear the "Crooked Road Warning Sign" helmet mod to warn everyone of the technical roads we were on today.  Only problem was, she was so far ahead of everyone that no one saw the sign.

The hills along the wineries were nothing for the tandem team.

Sue couldn't believe she'd come from the coast, through the big trees, and wound up in the wineries. 

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