We arrived in San Francisco late Monday night after a long day pedaling which earned us a rest day for Tuesday. (Un)fortunately due to bike problems we may be spending an extra rest day here, but that's still to be determined. Either way we love San Francisco but will explain that later.
First off, since our last post which was about our time spent in Arcata so much has happened. Its hard to think back and realize that was only about a week ago. Each day seems like a week, we forget what day it is, and have no idea where we were the day before. For me (Tavin) I've realized that everything about touring on the road by a bike are magnified by 10. The sounds of cars are amplified to where conversation is impossible, small potholes becomes death traps, and the natural landscape can never be captured on a camera. Either way, a lot has happened and we meet so many awesome helpful people that its impossible to describe how much we love bike touring and traveling the West Coast.
The night after Arcata was spent at Burlington Campground. The ride was moderate and the campground was in the Redwoods which is always enjoyable and remarkable being surrounded by such gigantic living specimens. We are meeting a lot more cyclists the more south we get and sometimes have the pleasure of travelling with them for several days where we get to know a little bit about them and their touring goals which is always great to talk about and get insight. At the Burlington campground we met two guys from Minneapolis who we travelled with for a couple more days and a really cool family of four from Seattle bound for San Francisco. They rode tandem bikes with the parents steering each one while the kids helped pedal and practiced their multiplication skills with a chart taped to the back of the parent. At some campgrounds that have a Visitor Center we sometimes get to enjoy free coffee which usually also leads to long discussion to the Park hosts and volunteers which are amazing people and help out so much. It was at one of these 'we stand around and ask questions just so we can keep drinking coffee' discussions where we were introduced to the Reggae on the River Festival. We were told that it took place right outside Garberville and was a 2 day music and culture festival that was becoming very popular. In short Garberville is hippie capital of USA and draws some dirty, dirty people to its festival, even to three guys who ride bikes all day and have limited access to showers and laundry. One of the locals advice was not to swim downstream on the festival. Self explanatory.
We had a great time in Humboldt County and enjoyed a scenic but difficult ride to the Standish- Hickey Campground in the very green Mendocino county. The campground was very empty and we enjoyed a river wash up and a few beers with our Michigan friends before they raced down to Oakland in a two day push.
Friday morning July 22, we packed up semi-early and set our sights on the Leggett Market for some strong coffee to help psych us up for the biggest hill of the entire coast. Our guidebook mentions myths of ditched panniers and dead bodies on the side of the road so we drank a few extra as well just for a little more motivation. (Northern California has great coffee and microbrews) After completing the almost 5 mile uphill and 7 miles decent we concluded that it wasnt as bad a we thought and big, steep, hills are more a mental game than physical. Thankfully we are improving our mental capacity very quickly. Our hard work on the hills paid off tenfold when we were lucky enough to set up a last minute Warm Shower Experience in Fort Bragg with Melissa and Company.
We arrived in Fort Bragg Friday around 3 in the afternoon. With so much day left, our bodies feeling good, and a cool host we were stoked for a good time. Instead we had some of the best days on our trip meeting some really great people. After showering and unpacking for the night we headed off to glass beach which is basically an entire beach filled with ocean-smoothed pieces of glass instead of sand. We had never seen anything like it and was about the only uniquely cool thing that caused from a misplaced landfill. After the beach we drove to the adjacent town of Mendocino to meet Melissa's roommate Morgan who worked at a vegan restraunt and resort. To make it simple somehow Morgan hooked us up with a great time at 'The Raven' and would have never been able to afford or to enter an swanky establishment like that. Great food, unique drinks, and the coolest bartender ever named Virginia. Also thanks to Sid we are now experts on vegan ideals and practices. Many of which make sense but we all agree that cheese is too good to give up.
From The Raven we headed to the beach where we watched the sunset and pre-funked enjoying the local brewery nectar before walking down to the venue where a local band was playing. The beer was good, the people were nice, and the band was a cool folk-style group. Sean even managed to put us to shame in darts where he nailed a bullseye. The night ended passing out all over the floors and couches at Melissa, Morgan, and Gowin's house.
Saturday morning greeted us with clear skies and a desire for some good coffee. Gowin the garden master, picked some fresh veggies and cooked them up for a great breakfast while we started getting ready for the day. Over coffee, or sometime that morning it was decided that the fun and craziness of the night before and to continue. The master plan included us not having to carry any weight that day to our destination so we definitely 100% down. Before we departed FB for good we stopped by Gowin's community garden project and picked veggies for later that night. We rode the 50 mile stretch to Manchester Beach in good time and saw some of the best coastline so far, as well as the steepest section of road for the trip. Although there was no weight on Sean or Max's bike the surfboards still had to be towed since they wouldn't fit in Melissa's car. Max was honored with this section and said he was doing wheelies up it. Melissa, Sara, and Whitney met us there shortly after we arrived and had kid's grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. That night we talked around the campfire and enjoyed the brightest stars we've seen this trip. We also managed to complete a great feat by fitting six people in a very small tent. Sunday morning we walked to the beach and said our long- delayed goodbyes. We had a great time in Fort Bragg and met such interesting people. We appreciate it all so much.
Sunday night we stayed at Bodega State Park where we took showers and went to bed early so we could ride hard the next day and make it to San Francisco.
Monday July 23 was a long, hot, hilly, day but were again rewarded with a mandatory rest day on Tuesday to enjoy all that San Francisco has to offer. Whether you go for Alcatraz, the Bridge, the sourdough, the unique vibe, or simply because its a through-city, many people have a desire to experience the mysterious city of fog. For tourers of the West Coast its both a popular starting and stopping point for journeys on bikes. In our case it meant a rest day, with the hope of seeing the iconic sights. Again we hooked up with another Warm Showers host, this time with Alex and her roommates.
The ride was much harder and longer than expected. We were in such a rush to get to our destination that we ignored eating and drinking longer than ideal and got confused and somewhat lost at the maze of bike trails and roads on the south end of the bridge. We didn't get off our bikes till about 9pm. We found an Indian restaurant where we filled up on naan bread and great Indian cuisine that ended in ice cream before going to bed. Tuesday was our day to be tourists and had a general game plan in mind. After loads of laundry, getting mandatory coffee, and talking about things to do with our hosts we hit the streets of San Fran. Rest days have become strictly no-biking allowed days so we took the metro to the outskirts of downtown. Max having visited San Fran three times became our guide through Chinatown where we again gorged on a huge lunch. After Chinatown was Italianville and finally fisherman's wharf where we were told by Alex were sightseeing boats which allowed customers to bring their favorite personal beverages to enjoy the sights from the water. After a stop at Safeway and purchasing our tickets we were aboard the boat. The tour lasted about forty-five minutes and included a close up view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the ocean perspective. The rest of the night was spent exploring bars with Derrick and his girlfriend Kalina and eventually made it to the Mission district where we tasted the best and biggest burritos ever. Alex didn't get off work till late that night where we met her at a bar called Amnesia to listen to the local band Family Feud Explosion. They had a killer stage presence with psychedelic influences. As always, we met a ton of rad people and had such an awesome time. The night ended in a crammed taxi ride back to the house where we passed out quickly.
This morning we woke up with great intentions to get to Half Moon Bay but was tentatively put on hold when Derrick who happens to be a badass, really knowledgeable bike mechanic looked at all our bikes and delivered some grave news. Sean's back wheel was a little too battered to chance a full day's ride and decided to get it fixed immediately. So we are currently sitting on Alex's couch and just came to the conclusion to stay in San Francisco another night and get after it tomorrow, possibly making Santa Cruz Thursday's destination. Sometimes, like right now, we feel as if we are over-extending our welcome, but are very grateful for their hospitality. It's not too hard to come up with an excuse for a second rest day.
BikeTouringForLife,
Tc, Mb, Sw
Audio Inspiration (Music that inspires us to keep pedaling, especially up hills)
Tavin- Wake Up Lucid, Danzig, The Coast, Rebelution, Uh Yeah Dude podcast, The Men's Room podcast
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