Day 15: REST DAY in San Francisco,Ca

BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING ELSE.......
Let me say thanks for those of you who have sent e-mails, voicemails, or posted comments. That's a great encouragement to me without question. And I especially appreciate those of you who are praying for our trip. I can't thank you enough for that.
If I could describe this trip in one word, I say "blessed." We've just been flat out blessed by the grace, goodness, and mercy of our Lord. There's so many details and little things in a trip like this, and so far we've been fortunate to have so many good things fall into place.

Miles on the Road Today: 6 (Stephen and I had to ride to the bicycle shop to get our bikes tuned up....it was about 6 miles roundtrip)

Weather: Beautiful. Picture Perfect. High 70's and Sunny during the day. In the early evening, we were watched the infamous SF fog roll in. That was pretty cool...to see something that you hear tons about.

The food item that I enjoyed the most today: My bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl. (see pic)

What I'm totally intrigued by right now: Alcatrez. Man, that place is just fascinating. The question is....if you were there, would you try and escape??

Best Pick-up line story of the day: (Thanks to Andrea Thompson)
So my friend Andrea had an interesting train ride this evening after her flight to San Fran. She was sitting next to a gentlemen who really really really wanted to give her golf lessons. He even went as far as to say that "she had a great golfer's build."
Gosh, that's hilarious. I'm laughing already. What's a good golfer's builder anyways??
Ok, so he told her that he would love to meet her to give her lessons, evening putting lessons. But here's the best line.....
during the train ride Andrea accidently dropped her phone on the floor. She picked up her phone and said outloud, "I wonder if this still works." This guy promptly exclaimed, "Do you want me to call you and we can see."
Smooth. That's all I've gotta say. That's smooth. Smooth as a baby's bottom.

What do you do on "REST DAY?"
Well, the idea is to do exactly that......rest. To do nothing whatsoever. Or as little as possible. And we got off to a pretty good start by sleeping in and having a late breakfast at IHOP. However, in hopes to partake in some of SF's finest tourist attractions, we ended up walking a little bit more than we would have liked to-----like about 4 miles or so. yeah, not cool. But it truly was a delight to experience a little San Franny culture.....we hung out in Fishman's Wharf, did the Alcatrez tour via boat (vs. by swim), and we took Lyle's Toyota HIghlander down the crookedest street in the world. Good grief.....I just can't get over how steep these streets are here.....it's crazy. What if it snowed in San Fran??? That'd be wild. Just nuts.
the rest of the way.

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES......
Lyle Devries, Marcy McGovern, and Andrea Thompson from Denver,Co. I lived with Lyle back in 03' when I was out in Denver, and I met Marcy and Andrea through him. Marcy and Andrea flew in to the Bay area to be apart of the Hunger Ride today, and Lyle drove the 16+ hours from D-town. Needless to say, I'm simply ecstatic to have my friends here with me. We've shared a lot of laughs already in just a few short hours, and I'm looking forward to many more with "TEAM DENVER."
Lyle, Marcy, and Andrea will rotate riding and take turns driving with the sagwagon. It should be a stellar ride down Hwy 1.

TOMORROW'S RIDE:
San Fran to Santa Cruz: 75 miles
We'll be staying near a National Reserve and we'll all be sleeping in a 'bungalo" ....whatever that is. I guess I'll find out, and then I'll let you know.

SHOUT OUTS.....
I have thank Jan Misch, again, of the Best Western Tuscan Inn of San Francisco. Talk about VIP treatment. We experienced it here thanks to the BWTI. I can't say enough about this place.

Day 13 & 14: Fort Bragg-Bodega Bay-San Francisco

Tuesday's Ride: 108 miles from Fort Bragg to Bodega Bay
Weather: 70's and Sunny
Wind: Strong...and out of the North (thankfully!)

Wednesday's Ride: 75 miles from Bodega Bay to San Francisco
Weather: low 80's.....it was a scorcher compared to what we've had the last two weeks!!
Wind: Out of the North

TOP SPEED OF THE LAST TWO DAYS: Tom--46 mph Stephen--47 mph

Key Item to Note for these last two days: We had no van support. My parents took our luggage to the hotel we booked in San Fran, and then they flew back to Wisconsin. We carried a spare change of clothes in our camelbacks and made our way to Bodego Bay, and then to San Fran.

The happening of the day (Tuesday) that made MMRR livid: A Lexas drove by us on the PCH and literally layed the horn on for 7 or 8 seconds. That was frustrating. Most driver's are, for the most part, very courteous and friendly. Not so the case with this yahoo.

The Streak that ended today: I got a flat tire. Yes, I had gone OVER 1000 MILES WITHOUT A FLAT. That's crazy, by the way.
Absolutely insane. Especially considering the fact that I don't even have "touring" tires on my bike.

The Latest Hunger Ride nightly tradition:Getting ICE CREAM! I'm not sure that we've missed a night in the last week.

Best Quote of the last two days: "I can't even imagine where you guys have muscles."
-the comment that a construction flagman, about 55 years old, made to us as we rode by on our bicycles.
-the thought that I had in my head after he said that, "Thank goodness you're not trying to imagine!"

Best "California Scene" of the last two days: As we rode through a small coastal town, I noticed a woman, about 40 or so, sitting outside of her 1989 Ford Bronco with a boombox. She had pulled off the road on one of those slow vehicle turn-outs. There she sat....her hat was on backwards, and she had a "Grateful Dead" tie-dye t-shirt on. Best of all, she had George Thoroughgood's, "Born to be Wild" blasting on her boombox.
I tell you what....that was cool. She was cool. I'm so glad that I saw that. It made me think of my two older sister's and all of their great 80's music that I was introduced to growing up.

Songs Stuck in My Head: "San Francisco" (Bring some flowers for your hair) -Scott McKenzie
"World's Apart" -Jars of Clay

HOW DO I SUM UP THE LAST TWO DAYS???......
Man, that's a great question MMRR.....how do I sum up the last two days of riding? We've seen so much....and we've ridden so many miles! (Over 180)
The riding itself has certainly become much more difficult. The razor-sharp, hairpin turns, as well as the short, steep climbs of Hwy 1 have really taken their toll on us. In cycling, it's always about the grade of the road. And we've hit some steep grades. In addition, the heat has definitely become a factor. We were noticeably fatigued by the latter part of this morning from the higher temps.
But as I've stated before, the scenery is breathtaking. I haven't seen many things like the Pacific Coast. And those pics just don't do justice. I'm constantly amazed at what our Great God has created in this part of the country. And again, I am convinced that their is no better way to see and experience this than on a bike.

BIG CITY RIDING.....
I'm definitely not a fan of. Adventure Cycling did put us on some great roads to bike on as we entered the urban area, and we did see more bikers today than we've seen the entire trip. However, it was still tough to navigate through all of the stop-n-go traffic of the city. It was also hard to fully take in the GG Bridge as we rode over it today because we were constantly dodging tourists with their camera's, as well as other bikers and pedestrians. I'll enjoy the bridge tomorrow though for sure.....from a boat.

THE HUNGER RIDE SAYS GOODBYE TO........
Roger and Rose Rand, my wonderful parents. It was quite lonely riding these last two days without our SuperSagwagoneers!
Stephen and I were truly blessed to have them for 7 days of the ride. The are constantly encouraging, continually uplifting, and they are pretty funny as well as fun to be around too.

SHOUT OUT'S......
Jan Misch, GM of the Best Western Tuscan Inn. Thanks for the room, the drinks, and the free 30 minute massage!

Day 11 & 12: Fortuna-Leggett-Fort Bragg

Monday, June 11th: Fortuna,CA to Leggett,CA: 70 miles

Tuesday, June 12th: Leggett,CA to Fort Bragg,CA: 51 miles

Wednesday's Ride: 107 miles to Badego Bay

Thursday's Ride: 63 miles to San Francisco.......as we await the arrival of TEAM DENVER (Lyle "Heavy D" Devries, Marcy Mcgovern, and Andrea Thompson)

Weather: Perfecto for both days! High 60’s and Sunny….maybe the best weather that we’ve had so far!

Wind: Out of the North for both days….a sweet tailwind for sure.

Terrain: Hilly, in fact, very very hilly. . We had several long climbs both yesterday and today. Today (Tuesday) we had several short, steep hills, which proposes a different kind of challenge for our legs.

Top Speed of the Day: 42.4 mph down a short 7% grade on Monday.

Movie that I was reminded of as I was riding: “Shawshank Redemption” .....at the end of the movie when Andy Dufrain has escaped from Shawshank, taken the money and run, and is somewhere on the coast of Mexico working on his boat. "Red" talks about never imagining the Pacific being so blue in his dreams. It's a great scene. And man, parts of the Pacific are so blue!

Songs Stuck in my head: “Mr. Wendle” –Arrested Development
“California Dreamin” –Mama’s and the Papa’s
“All Night Long (All Night) –Lionel Richie

# of hitchhikers we saw today: 5
# of hitchhikers that we saw get picked up: 1

TTR’s Take on Day 11 and Day 12, the midway point of the 2007 Hunger Ride:
Originally, we had decided that we would try and make it to Fort Bragg,CA by Monday. However, we decided against this due to the fact that we were pretty banged up from Sunday’s treacherous 103-mile ride. In addition, that would have been 116 miles on the blacktop for us on Monday. We just didn’t think that would be the best idea. So, Stephen and I ended up tent camping at the Redwoods River Resort Campground. It’s far from a resort, but it is a nice little place nestled away in the hills of Northern Cali. Rog and Rose tucked themselves away in a cozy cabin while Stephen and I tried our hand with the critters of the northwest in our small, but adequate two-man tents. I actually slept like a baby.
Today,(Tuesday) we said goodbye to Highway 101 and welcomed the narrow, windy, and arduous riding of highway 1 (aka the PCH--Pacific Coast Highway). While it definitely presented a great challenge to us today, when you're constantly looking to your right at the glorious Pacific, it makes it much easier to press on.


SHOUT OUT’S
*Jack; the man, the myth, the legend, and owner of the Redwoods River Resort six mile south of Leggett,CA. He graciously gave us a cabin and a tent site free of charge.
*Christina of the Quality Inn of For Bragg.

Day 10: Crescent City,CA to Fortuna,CA

Miles on the autobon: 103

Weather: High 50's and mostly sunny.

Wind: Out of the N/NW at 15 mph. So, for the most part, the wind was in our favor.

Roads traveled: Highway 101 South

# of flat tires on this trip: 1 for Stephen, 0 for Tom. Stephen ran over a glass bottle today and we said goodbye to our flat-tire-less streak.

Terrain: Killer Hills for the first 60 miles, then we had some nice rolling terrain with the wind at our backs.

Best Meal of the Day: A greasy patty melt for lunch at local cafe in Orick,Ca (pop 470).

Why today is a GREAT DAY: Roger and Rose Rand (my parents) celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary!

The Songlist that gets you through a tough day like today:
"Don't Stop Believin" -Journey
"Higher" -Creed
"Lonesome Day" -Bruce Springsteen
"Let it Rock" -Bon Jovi

T-Rand's Take on the Day.......

I tell you what, for the first 60 miles of today's ride I felt like I was in a 15-round, all-out slugfest. 3 miles outside
of Crescent City,CA is where all the fun began. Stephen and I bicycled from sea level to appr 1300 feet in the span of 5 or 6 miles. Then, after eventually returning to sea level, we had another climb close too 750 ft or so. And in between all of this there were many many "small hills." It was grueling, and it was punishing. The scenery,however, was breathtaking for sure. We traveled the first 25 miles through Redwood National Park. I've never seen trees that big in my entire life. We heard that there's a tree where you that you can drive you car through, but we did not see it. After the N.P., we had some spectacular views of the coast. We were able to experience the infamous, fast-moving fog of northern Cali. That was nice. The difficult thing about today though was managing the temperature of your body. I would sweat like a pig on uphill climbs, but then freeze my tail off on the big downhills. It was uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill. HIt, punch, jab, bodyshot.......go to the corner, spit blood, vaseline, water to the face. You get the picture.
But I lay here tonight being able to tell you the good news, and that's that the good guys came out on top. We tamed the beast today. We conquered the giant.
So, the question at this point is, "Are you sore?" The answer is yes. A resounding YES. My tush, for the better part of today, either felt numb or like it was on fire. And I'm not sure which is worse. But here's the deal, all in all it's awesome feeling because it's all part of the journey. I lay here tonight feeling completely and totally spent....yet somehow all the more ready to get up and get after it again tomorrow.


SHOUT OUTS......
*Nicole, GM of the Holiday Inn Express of Fortuna. We appreciate you, Nicole.
*Dad & Mom, you are truly amazing.....Not just because you have made the effort to be out here (even on your anniversary)
but because you have been incredible parents for me for the last 29 years. Thanks. I love you guys!