Frisbee at sunset in Seaside, OR
Sars biking on the 101
Me biking just before Jenner, CA (Just thought I'd start with a couple of my favorite shots, before I forget about them...)
June 16, 2009
Hump day—I hope at least. The morning was an absolute drag: the weather was dreary, my pod was slow (until they abandoned me, when they seemed to fly), and I ended up riding most of the way to lunch by myself. The only two highlights of today were the last few miles into Arcata, CA (and that’s only relative to what came before), as well as a chance encounter at Patrick’s Point State Park, our lunch spot for the day.
The latter is the only interesting one. This middle-aged lady with a camera was sitting at the corner of the road, as though waiting for us to come by. Apparently she works for CNN, but you wouldn’t have guessed it by her appearance or the equipment she had. She had no light, but only a slightly fancy camera with a tri-pod, and no distinguishing markings separating her from CBS or any random person with a camera. For whatever reason (perhaps based upon where I stood), she decided to interview me first, followed by Jessica.
The lady seemed excited when she learned that we are a Canadian non-profit organization, but slightly less so upon learning that the gentleman to whom she attached the microphone was actually from New York (for the record, I mistakenly told her I’m from Kingston, like I tell most people out of state). I always stumble when I speak, it seems, and this interview was no exception, despite the casual though slightly awkward feel of it. Jessica, however, was much more eloquent. A communications major in college, she had all the right answers at the tip of her tongue, and she spoke with a certain degree of confidence as well. The interviewer was particularly interested in how we use the state parks, in light of the potential closing of 200+ state parks in Northern California in order to save money. After speaking with her, we a staged drive-by for the camera, trying hard not to knock her or her tripod over. There is a possibility that the video will be available online next Monday at cnn.com, but it is also possible that the story will be scrapped. If we would be on it, she would likely only take a 1-2 minute segment for Global Agents for Change, thus eliminating any hope of me becoming famous. :)
June 18, 2009
In stark contrast to biking into Arcata before our day off yesterday, biking to Humboldt Redwoods State Park proved to be a rewarding challenge for me. When we realized that we had forgotten to return the key to the gymnasium to Robin, the pastor at the church at which we stayed in Arcata, Eva immediately volunteered to bring it back in order to save gas for the van. Rachel hesitated only slightly to volunteer to accompany her, since we must ride in groups of at least 2-3 riders at all times. While I would have been completely comfortable sending Eva back alone, sending Rachel made me somewhat uneasy. Furthermore, I felt I would be up to the challenge, and also a rather good match with Eva in terms of ability and riding style. After cornering Rachel, she admitted that she wasn’t especially excited about going, and that she wouldn’t mind sending me in her place. After confirming with the ride leaders, Eva and I headed on our way, ridding ourselves of our cumbersome panniers and grabbing as much food as we could carry. We left the lunch spot, about 26 miles south of Arcata, between 1:30 and 2:00 sometime.
Getting back to Arcata was by far the hardest part. Although it was mainly mental, the headwind was a real physical problem. It took a lot of mental and physical strength to keep going, particularly after I realized that I had left my patch kit and spare tubes in my panniers. But we made it back without stopping once, returned the key to Robin, and picked up an envelope that we had forgotten to bring with us containing receipts necessary for reimbursement after the tour is over. Seeing us about to dig into our granola bars, Robin graciously offered to take us out to a late lunch at the burrito stand in town. It definitely hit the spot. We probably otherwise would have eaten all the food we had, and then had none left for the ride to the state park.
By the time we finally left Arcata, it was already 5:30 PM. We decided to book it, because even though it was one of the longest days of the year, biking 56 miles in the evening after a 52-mile warm-up might seem crazy to some. I suppose it was, but somehow we did it. The first half of the ride seemed so much different this time even though only one thing had changed: the sun came out! Luckily it wasn’t incredibly scenic for most of the day, because we didn’t have time to stop for pictures. Also fortunately, most of the ride was on the freeway, and was quite flat for the most part. The tailwind also helped us greatly to arrive at Humboldt Redwoods State Park by 9:00. Not bad for going 108 miles on the day, if you ask me. We did stop a few times, but only for the bare necessities to continue riding. We were greeted with applause and dinner upon our arrival, which was quite encouraging to me. Never before had anyone been so curious about my day or my mental or physical state.
June 19, 2009
I was surprised that this morning my left knee hurt only slightly. Nothing that a little yoga wouldn’t fix, though. I woke up surprisingly early considering how tired I should have been, before everyone else besides Ben, who was fiddling with his bike. Not only was I awake, I seemed to be full of energy! I must say that yoga in the redwoods gives it a whole new meaning, particularly vrksasana (tree pose). I squeezed in what by my count was probably about an hour or so of yoga before the rest of the team slowly awoke.
Anna and I decided to head out, as we were the first to be ready to roll, and because we had heard a rumor that there were massive hills to climb. We are turning into hill buddies, as we like to go about the same speed and not stop very often, if ever, while climbing. Before we got too far, however, we came upon what we thought was a fairly famous attraction: a drive-thru tree! As it turns out, there are at least two in the California Redwoods, and this was the lesser famous of the two. It was still neat, though. Anna and I managed to get in for half-price: $1! The owner was quite nice, not only in giving us a discount, but in supplying duct tape to mend Anna’s leaking camelbak bag.
After our bit of fun with the 5,000-year-old drive-thru tree and the walk-in treehouses, it was back to the US-101 South. The forests, the stream, and the mountains were exceedingly beautiful, and the tailwind strong. Lunch in Garberville seemed to come way before we expected it, despite a couple of long climbs. Perhaps one of the highlights of the day for me was the fruit stand at lunch, where the vendor gave Anna three free (though slightly bruised) peaches that he claims he could not sell. We ate them on the spot, and were quite satisfied. Personally, they were by far the best peaches I had ever sunk my teeth into. Although we did not beat the van into town, they were not yet finished grocery shopping as of when we rolled into town.
Anna got her first flat as we were ready to leave lunch. She handled it quite well, although her panniers got in the way a bit (one is broken). The second half of the day was equally good. The long-awaited hill never materialized, though. Standish-Hickey State Park near Leggett, we found out a little while ago, is actually at the foot of the dreaded six-mile climb. Anna and I rolled into the campground around 3:30 or so, and the first question she asked the ranger was where the stream access could be found. Before too long, we both headed down with Eva, who later backed out, to swim and do laundry. I must admit that it was incredible. The thought of doing laundry in a stream had never appealed to me, yet it was quite fun. The water, though quite shallow, was extremely clean even warmer than the air. After laundering our clothes, the rocks became our drying rack. The wind, unfortunately, which was rather strong, blew most of them off, much to my dismay. A perfect day, really, it ended with curried vegetables over rice and s’mores! To top it all off, the stars were incredibly bright, even though mainly blocked from our view by the trees.
June 20, 2009
Although at the start of today we feared we might be homeless in Fort Bragg, luckily Rachel and Sarah biked ahead to secure us seventeen hiker/biker spots at MacKerricher State Park, a few miles north of Fort Bragg. The ride itself was gorgeous. I started out with Ben, Patrick, and Anna, but midway through the first epic hill, Ben and Patrick fell behind, never to catch up until we stopped for fifteen minutes to wait for them. They had warned us about how bad the hills were, but they honestly didn’t seem all that bad. Some people felt much differently about them, but Anna and I talked virtually the whole way up, able to ride side-by-side because of a lack of traffic on—nope, not the US 101, but rather, the CA-1. The six-mile uphill was followed immediately by an exhilarating 10-mile downhill.
My brakes are a bit wonky these days, and the long downhill certainly didn’t help. I often tried to go for awhile without braking, but I never lasted long, since the road had plenty of hairpin turns and blind corners. The beach at MacKerricher State Park was scenic but uncomfortably cold and windy. Yes, this is California, but northern and southern California are two different worlds! I did not dream of going near the water, but I did return at sunset to get a few pictures, which didn’t come out the greatest since I missed the actual setting of the sun by several minutes.
June 21, 2009
I felt bad for poor Ben today. I suggested that we ride together, but then was not a particularly good riding buddy. He must have felt that he was coasting most of the way, since I was not in a position to go fast. My knee was not feeling the greatest, to say the least, and I tried to take it easy as much as I could.
The most fun I had all day was at the top of a huge winding hill when Sarah and Jessica joined us at the top for a rather extensive photo-op. The wind was strong, and the view magnificent. They were mainly silly pictures, but we had a blast taking them. I was even in a few...
June 22, 2009
Taryn is back!! While the seventeen of us were left alone to bike from Seattle, WA to Gualala, CA, perhaps 100 miles north of San Francisco, Taryn was at home in Vancouver recuperating from mono. But she is back with us after a speedy recovery for a rather intense day of sixty miles to Tomales followed by another long ride into San Francisco. We’ll see how well she holds up to the long day despite being under the weather for a few weeks.
With tensions mounting a bit between everyone, it was good to have a little debriefing session tonight. We each went around the circle after dinner and said one positive thing about the person sitting to the right and to the left. It was especially good because Taryn did miss quite a bit, and this helped her to integrate back into the group without too much of an issue.
June 23, 2009
Perhaps our most exciting day yet, the realization dawned on me at some point today that we had biked all the way from Vancouver, Canada to San Francisco! What better way to roll across the bridge than to have come all the way from Canada! I rode with Carly, Ben, and Anna today, though we had a bit of a mix-up at the bridge. Ditching her panniers because of knee issues, Carly decided to go into “personal trainer mode” when we were getting close to the bridge and getting into some small but steep hills. Perhaps able but not willing to keep up, I sent Ben to be with her so that she would not be alone, and stayed back with Anna, who was also not in the mood for racing to the bridge with a strong headwind and steep hills before us. They had only been out of sight for about five minutes when we finally saw the bridge(and what a magnificent sight it was—it was the same bridge as I had seen just two years prior, yet somehow I saw it in a different light, having truly earned the right to cross it). Yet Carly and Ben were nowhere to be seen.
We decided to seize the moment and take a few pictures with flowers in our hair, and assuming that our plans to go over the bridge were cancelled (we were last besides sweep to arrive at the bridge), the two of us headed over in the bike lane on the West sidewalk. It was glorious—we took our time, and soaked up the view of the water, the mountains, and the city. The sun was close to setting, making it even more beautiful. As it turns out, the rest of the team was actually waiting for us and the sweeps at a nearby park, unbeknownst to us at the time. Needless to say, we were a bit taken aback to find that we were the first riders (not including the van) to arrive at the church in San Francisco. But not without the help of a special friend. A biker who thought we looked lost came up to us and asked if we needed help. He directed us and continued on his way across the Golden Gate, only to meet up with us again on his way back home. His directions were not faulty—we just couldn’t remember them all. At that point, he escorted us personally all the way to the church, which was quite nice. It was getting dark even as we rolled in, so many of the riders came long after dark had settled in. We were getting ready to send the rescue crew out when the last two riders finally came, clad in their bright clothing and flashing lights.
June 26, 2009
Our two days in San Francisco, though quite nice to have, went by rather quickly. Probably half of the first day was spent at the laundromat (a necessity, I assure you—hand-washing must be supplemented occasionally). We also paid a visit one morning to Kiva’s International Headquarters for a question-and-answer period, which was quite helpful for us. Later that night, Kiva held a bar night for us in which we could meet others involved in Kiva, either as an employee, a lender, or a former Agent of Change (aka last year’s riders). It was particularly nice, in addition to being spoiled with a card from RVUMC church members and two care packages—one from Kathryn and one from my mom—to get to speak with two of last year’s riders, who shared valuable insights they had gained along their journey.
Nevertheless, it is nice to be back on the bike again, with my brakes working a bit better after being repaired for free at Pier 40 in San Francisco, though still not perfect. Our shortest day yet, we arrived at lunch in Pacifica before the van had even left the church. Not wanting to linger too long, we decided that with all the snacks we collectively had (especially mine, which I carried in a small box), we could easily make it the rest of the way with no problem. Mike, an acquaintance of Rachel’s and a fifth-generation San Franciscan, joined Pod America (Rachel, Anna, and myself—the three Americans) for the day and met a friend for lunch in Half Moon Bay. At first, he stayed with us and waited when he got ahead, but eventually he jetted ahead with no mercy. Stubborn me tried to keep up, but was unable to for all I was worth. It did have the effect of getting us there rather soon, though. I showed up at the door of the church—which I noticed only by chance—right around 1:00 PM. As there was a beach not too far away, Pod America wasted little time in getting there. Not even knowing when dinner was, we came back refreshed, slightly burned, and very sandy. I had tried calling perhaps 10-12 people while at the beach, only two of whom picked up (perhaps it was a bad time, but I happened to have a moment). Jon and Kyle are off to Colorado tomorrow for vacation, and my parents are headed out just after they return for their 25th wedding anniversary in Europe!
June 27, 2009
It’s always an interesting day when, after getting completely ready and excited to go, Sarah gets my attention to let me know that I am sweeping. We probably dilly-dallied for nearly two hours after I was ready to roll before actually leaving for Santa Cruz. Cody is a rather fun person to spend time with—certainly more interesting and opinionated than some people you’ll meet. Let’s be honest—anyone with dreads has got to be, if nothing else, at least interesting.
So before too long, we found a bike path that paralleled the road that we both decided would be fun to take. Much to our dismay, it ended in about a quarter mile. Yet there was a sign for another bike path that we also took a little more off the beaten path. In fact, we actually did some off-roading. Yes, off-roading. It was the most fun I had had in quite some time, that’s for sure. There were no rocks or roots, just dirt and a little sand overlooking the beach. Before too long, I spotted a group of horses walking along the beach below—a glorious sight indeed. Within a mile, when we each thought we had reached the end of our luck with off-roading, we found a “coastal trail,” a cement sidewalk path that continued between the beach and the golf course for a little while. Perhaps around mid-afternoon, the fog finally lifted.
Our job as sweep was quite easy today. The only issue we had to deal with was Carly’s pod, when she got a flat tire about two miles before lunch. Apparently they had been there for quite some time by the time we showed up, trying to repair her tube. I was rather surprised when Carly, a personal trainer, had asked if I would try my hand at the handpump (no pun intended). Without hesitation, I did, and later learned that she had inflated it two or three times already, and Rachel had done it once. Eventually we got it fixed, only to find a strawberry patch a mile down the road, one mile before lunch. As sweep, I was obligated to accompany them, in case they have any more problems between there and lunch. Cody decided to continue on, but I had fun picking strawberries for the first time in several years with Rachel, Carly, Anna, and Taryn.
It feels really good to have mailed the last of the postcards out finally. There were about 100 in all to send, but the task is complete at last. Many riders were impressed at my preparation for these postcards, having created address labels before coming to make sure I didn’t miss anyone. While in San Francisco, I printed out fifty digital prints in total which I sent out as postcards to various people, which many people also didn’t realize you could do. I only sent about five or six photos in total, and I especially like the one I sent of Jessica, Ben, and Sarah passed out on the top of a hill before San Francisco (when we took all those crazy photos) with the cliffs and ocean in the background.
It feels really good to have mailed the last of the postcards out finally. There were about 100 in all to send, but the task is complete at last. Many riders were impressed at my preparation for these postcards, having created address labels before coming to make sure I didn’t miss anyone. While in San Francisco, I printed out fifty digital prints in total which I sent out as postcards to various people, which many people also didn’t realize you could do. I only sent about five or six photos in total, and I especially like the one I sent of Jessica, Ben, and Sarah passed out on the top of a hill before San Francisco (when we took all those crazy photos) with the cliffs and ocean in the background.
June 28, 2009
Another relatively easy day, the extensive bike paths and bike lanes today were a blessing between Santa Cruz and Monterrey, CA. Ever since San Francisco–but not before–the scenery in the morning has been veiled by a thick fog until mid-morning or early afternoon. It is a mixed blessing: even though it was hard to see, the fog made the temperature and the sun bearable, which was especially obvious when the sun finally did come out. Although not a terribly interesting day, the ubiquitous bike lanes and less-traveled roads allowed Cody, Sahriar, and myself to engage in a productive discussion about what poverty really is.
June 29, 2009
The long-awaited day comes at last! We had been talking about Big Sur ever since before the trip had started. Since during the previous two years the road was closed due to fires, our fear of Big Sur was based on nothing other than our handy dandy Cycling the Pacific Coast book, which makes everything look much worse (or better) than it really is. It essentially tracks elevation gain, which we all learned is not the most important factor while climbing. Not even close. Aside from the obvious, good views tend to distract me from the climb. Also, the people with whom I’m riding also tend to either make it seem better or worse, depending on their uphill riding and conversation abilities. Despite the heavy fog, I’m so glad we were able to tackle Big Sur this year for the first time. We spent most of the day literally at the edge of a huge cliff looking down thousands of feet, usually with a guardrail. I was riding with Cody, Graham, and Sars, and we set quite a rigorous pace this morning so that on Big Sur itself we could afford to take it easy. We were determined to all make it up the first hill (before lunch) without allowing a foot to touch the ground, and we all did it! Not knowing how bad it was going to be, the hill’s main challenge for me was mental. Rather than always being in the moment, I found myself worrying about what was to come around the next corner.
Perhaps the funniest thing that happened was that Cody and Graham got a flat tire at the same time. Whereas Cody’s was a blowout, Graham’s was a slow leak. As always, I documented the occasion well. I also finally got my first good picture of Sars, who I do not often ride with, while biking, complete with a beautiful mountain in the background. This one might even be Global Agents for Change website material, I suspect.
June 30, 2009
I am currently sitting on a comfortable couch in a teen center in Cambria, CA, a town of 6,000+. For all the hype this morning about the continuing treacherous climbs, they weren’t all that bad. Lunch in Ragged Point came surprisingly soon. The only drag of the morning was our one and only stop for coffee in one of the smaller towns on the coast: Gorda. It was at the base of the first big hill, so it was strategic on multiple levels. I’m not sad in that my whole team was more energetic, but the thing is that we didn’t leave Gorda until after noon, a mere mine miles from Kirk Creek Campground, where we had began.
This morning before even taking down my tent, I decided to see where the path next to our campsite led. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it led to a huge arch-shaped rock in the ocean just a few feet off shore. I sat there for probably about 45 minutes or so just watching the waves crash on the beach. I can’t really think of a better way to wake up in the morning. For better or for worse, I understand that this is to be our last time camping this trip.
Our pod, consisting of Sars, Cody, Anna, and I, stopped at perhaps the biggest tourist attraction along the way, excluding Hearst Castle: the Elephant Seals. For there being relatively few cars on the road, there were what seemed like a hundred cars in the parking lot to view these massive animals. The dinner that night was amazing and plentiful: chicken, beans, corn on the cob, bread, milk, and cookies. Had I not snacked excessively before dinner, not knowing how big it would be, I could have eaten much more. At this rate, though, I’m not sure I’ll even be hungry in the morning…
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