Bike Tour: Day Two (Gualala to Point Reyes Station)
July 8, 2010
Stats of the Day
Distance: 76.2
Moving Time: 5:33
Elevation: 6,778 ft
(all stats and maps here)
Woke up a bit earlier than I expected this morning and ended up hitting the road by 6:40AM (would have been even earlier but I had to wait for Chris to call and wish me good luck on my last leg.)
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
Pre-ride breakfast = a banana
(knowing that I only had to go but 9 short miles until I’d come upon [drum roll please] Two Fish Bakery in Sea Ranch!)
I dream of the day when I know longer hear the siren call of bakeries, candy stores, and the like but, alas, that day is not today.
And so, I pedaled onwards to the bakery and, unlike yesterday, I did so without going through the thick pot-smoke-air that is the area directly above Fort Bragg. (Seriously, the air was so dense with the smell of pot I almost couldn’t breathe for a minute there!)
About 9 miles in I saw a sign for the left turnoff to the bakery. Bad part: the left was up a very VERY steep little hill (especially steep given my tired legs.) I think you climb like 300 feet in a very short space (like maybe half a mile). Not good for the legs!
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
After having my heart pump out of my chest I made it to Two Fish! And what a fantastic little stop. I was pretty much the only person in that tiny place that they didn’t know on a first name basis, but they were super friendly. In fact, when I was in line this guy just walked out and, upon seeing my bike, walked over to me and said “awesome bike.” At that I smiled and said “thanks” … and then after I got my snack (two pieces of banana bread [one for now, one for later] and a granola yogurt parfait thing), I realized he was still drooling over it. So, we ended up talking for 15 minutes. Best line from him, “you know, the word ‘beautiful’ is tossed around a lot where bikes are concerend, but I think it should really be reserved for titanium bikes like this. This is beautiful.”
Awesome.
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
Turns out he used to sell Moots and other bikes before he quit (no money in it unless you own the place) a few years back.
So after I got a little lesson in what makes my bike so great, I was told “happy riding” and “good luck” by a few more people leaving the bakery before I got back on my (much merrier) way.
The roads out of Gualala down the coast are definitely busier at times - more big trucks, not much shoulder at parts, and because of all the trees and turns, there’s an increased risk that people won’t see you. Thankfully, the only issue I ran into was a crazy pickup truck that was trying to pass a slower car in front of it (this is in oncoming traffic). He ended up going over the double yellow lines and was headed straight at me until he cut back in around the guy. I’m fairly sure he didn’t see me (and I’m fairly sure I peed a little), but it was ok. I ended up going way into the right side dirt and just waited for him to pass.
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
Other than that, the most memorable part of the ride was a climbing section filled with bugs and cattle guards about 30(ish) miles in. The climbing was long (at least it felt long with my backpack on), exposed, and hot. And, because I failed to look at any sort of elevation profile, I just didn’t know what to expect (and I’m not one of those people who likes not knowing what to expect on a ride.) But, putting all that aside, the views were absolutely unreal. The Northern California coast is just absolutely gorgeous - to the point where you are saying in your head, “is this really real?”
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
After that little trial, I hit Jenner and tried calling Chris. No dice. Continued on until I (thanks be to the gods) hit Bodega Bay. In Bodega I was hitting a bit of a low point (30 miles left and I just was feeling soooo slow), but luckily had cell phone reception. I got Chris and my mom on the phone and decided that my mom would continue up the one past Point Reyes station and instead get me before the rollers (which would save me about 9 miles).
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
With that new motivation I felt a bit better, that is, until the few miles going into Tomales Bay. So hot! All that climbing! No shade!
(ok it probably wasn’t that bad but I’m not in good shape right now! And my backpack is heavy!)
And as a side note, you can tell there’s a harder part of a ride when there are mysteriously no pictures for an hour or two.
After all that, I dropped down into little ole’ Tomales. And, per Chris’ recommendation, dropped by their bakery, too. I got some stuff to give to my mom as a thank you but took a quality assurance bite of each — very tasty!
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
Out of Tomales there were some massive headwinds getting into Point Reyes, but I survived! I also passed a couple who was biking down from Canada!
Eventually I made it to where Hog Island is (and where my mom and I were planning on meeting), but she wasn’t there yet so I just started my way down the rollers. I eventually decided to wait on top of one of the hills so I could easily see all the cars coming (so my mom wouldn’t unknowingly pass me!)
I saw her and, in her own words, “never had she seen me so happy to see her car.” I jumped up and down and my two-day tour was over! We went into Point Reyes for some delicious sandwiches at Cow Girl (where I highly recommend you stop on your own biking adventure) and another treat at the Bovine bakery (a must stop for cyclists.)
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| From Bike Touring: Westport to Point Reyes |
Overall the ride was beautiful, relatively safe, and a great experience. For all your wannabe cycling tourists, this would be a great two-day test run.
My only recommendation: get someone to go with you! It makes the hills less steep and the roads less lonely.
Happy riding!
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2 Responses to “Bike Tour: Day Two (Gualala to Point Reyes Station)”
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Great report, next time we’ll have to plan it such that I can come too! <3
Agreed!