I stayed up way too late on our rest day in Mendocino working on this blog and really paid for it the next day. I was dragging the whole day. It's funny how much I never realized how much a full night of sleep can really make. At home, I'll get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep pretty regularly, and now I'm wondering how much better I'd perform if I treat my body a little better.
It was a challenging day. The road was very beautiful, like out of a storybook, but it was very winding, and there was a very narrow shoulder. It was also very windy, which would push me in and out of the road. Mildly terrifying. We road through Sonoma County, and the drivers that passed us throughout that area seemed very annoyed. They would honk, and sneak right up behind us, impatient to wait for a safe spot for us to pull over or go around us when it was safe. I felt very unsafe and started getting a lot of anxiety.
And this is where I got a nice little lesson in road etiquette.
We were about 10-15 miles away from the campsite, and I was getting so scared, physically tired and mentally exhausted I could barely think. Tyler noticed I wasn't feeling well, and offered to ride behind me and wait with me if I took a break. A woman in a white station wagon drove really close behind me, and honked her horn. I was over as far to the right of the road as I could, and the wind blew me in, and the woman got frustrated and sped around me. I flipped her off as she passed me. Usually that would be pretty out of my character, but I was just done.
The woman pulled over about 20 feet ahead of me and got out of her car. She put out her arms and yelled "STOP!"
Of course, I did, and she immediately started waving her arms around and yelling at me about how it was important that cyclists share the road as much as it was for cars and that she had a 4 year old in the car and that it was never right to flip someone off. She really laid it on thick and I thought she was ready to deck me.
That was it. I opened up my mouth and everything poured out. I told her I was sorry, and that it was my first tour, and that I was scared, and slow, and the wind was blowing me into the road, and that as a responsible driver, if she would have waited 20 feet, I would have been happy to pull into the driveway that she had pulled into and gladly gotten out of her way.
I started crying, and told her that (according to my dad) California State Law stated that cyclists should ride as far to the right as is safe, not necessarily only in the shoulder, if it's not safe.
She interrupted and said all cyclists are only allowed to ride on the white line. Yeah.. Good luck with that.
Then she apologized and asked where I was staying, and offered to let us camp out at her ranch. That would have made a perfect end to the story, but Sarah, Dustin and Chad were already far ahead, and nobody would be interested in turning back. But imagine... if we had stayed with a woman because I flipped her off?
When we got into town, Sarah was disappointed with how little our mileage was for the day. I felt like I let her down for not being well rested enough, and not being up to riding further. We decided to ride to San Francisco in 3 days instead of 2.
On the road that day we met two girls from Canada, Sabrina and Robin. We invited them to camp with us and join in on Hobo Stew. They brought pineapple, which was an amazing addition.
The campground was really pretty. It had the really interesting trees.
That night we had a full on battle with raccoons. They were huge and had no fear. They tried to get into our food cabinet but prying the bottom of it open and reaching their crafty fingers in. We'd hear the rattling, one of the boys would get out of the tent and throw something to try to scare them off and as soon as they went back to bed, we'd hear them at it again. It lasted a few hours. In the end, as Dustin and Sarah went to bed, Sarah closed her eyes, gave up with a sigh and said to him, "Well, maybe they'll go away if they get full."
In the end they got Chad's bagels and avocado, Dustin's block of cheese and a few other weird things. All were greatly mourned.
Gualala State Park to Bodega Dunes State Park: 42 miles
I feel like I finally started coming into myself as a cyclist on this ride. It was hard, there were lots of climbs and wind, but I didn't mind. I felt okay with my pace, and the whole ride was majestic like a John Ford Western movie with rolling dry, grassy fields that rippled in the wind like water.
We met the Canadian girls again and Glen. We also met a man named Sean, who was traveling down the coast by bicycle with his surfboard. Pretty impressive. We met a German couple who were cycling North.
The campground had free showers. Hallelujah.
Bodega Dunes State Park to Samuel P. Taylor State Park: 40 miles
After Bodega Dunes, the route took us inland, away from the twisted and winding coastal roads and steep cliffs. It was kind of refreshing to ride through the countryside, and the weather was sunny and amazing.
There were lots of hills and surprisingly enough, we ended back in the redwoods again. There was a really beautiful bike path right that took us off the main road and right into the campground.
As soon as we got into the campground Chad said that he had liked the slower pace that we had been going the past few days. We got to every campground early enough to rest and enjoy it.
This was our last night with Chad, Tyler and the Canadian Girls. In San Francisco, everyone would head out into different directions. It was a really fun night. We met a Jewish family from Oakland with three kids, who all took turns singing songs from Annie, when they found out I could sing. One of the girls had been involved in theater and it was super cute.
I gave everybody a serenade and we all went to bed under the old branches of the great redwood trees.
Samuel P. Taylor State Park to San Francisco: 30 miles
The next morning the raccoons had struck again, but this time, strangely enough, they got into my bag of electronics (phone charger, mp3 player, etc) and had strewn everything all over the campsite.
The morning was very cloudy, and we had a short ride into San Francisco. I had had some bad dreams, felt a wrench in my gut, and started out the ride with a feeling of dread of the new chapter and the change in cast of characters that was about to take place.
What would happen? Tyler and Chad were so funny and so fun to tour with. Was it my fault that Chad didn't want to ride with us anymore? Would Sarah continue the journey even if she wasn't having any fun? Would she decide to leave in San Francisco? What kind of dynamic would Toren add to the group? Would I do okay at my show on Monday? Are my calf muscles ever going to get big enough to brag about?!
Sarah and I had a nice talk on a few of the uphills about our challenges. She suggested that once Toren joined the group in San Francisco that we travel in pairs, so she could go at her own pace, and I could go at mine. It made me nervous to part from the idealism of everyone traveling together, but I was open to it. If she was struggling to have fun and be inspired, than I felt like I didn't want to whole trip to seem like a waste.
It just so happened that the day we arrived in San Francisco, it was also 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. There was a festival and car/boat show and lots of live music, it almost felt like it was all for us! It was the first time I had ever been on the Golden Gate and it was breathtaking. It was so massive and beautiful, and there were so many people. It felt symbolic of the transition from the first part of our journey into what lies ahead.
Once we got to the other side, we all parted ways. I made this farewell video with Tyler and Chad:
Sarah and Dustin were staying in the city with one of her friends, and Toren and I were going to stay in Oakland with my friend, Derrick.
So, Sarah and Dustin and Tyler and I paired off to meet up with Toren at his sister, Justine's apartment 5 miles away, and I got my guitar and my front panniers back. After riding with a lighter more manageable load for a few days, I felt like I had been a total nut to ride with so much stuff for so long at the beginning of the trip. It was overwhelming, and pretty obvious I would need to send some more stuff home.
Being in the big city after riding out in the country for so long totally fried my brain. When we finally got to Justine's apartment, everything started to sink in, the ride, the challenges, the fears, the exhaustion, the excitement and I felt like I could cry. I was pretty thankful that we were taking a rest day the next day.
Tyler and I each got to take a shower, which was so simple and so satisfying. There's something so sacred and renewing about just standing in the shower and letting hot water run down your back and listening to the white noise of the water coming out of the shower head.
The five of us all had lunch together and it was really nice. Mike, Toren's dad, was so sweet and expressed how proud he was of all of us and of me, and made me feel really special. Toren had just gone to the open mic at Viento back home and brought lots of love from everybody back in Long Beach. I felt like I could cry again. So much crying on this trip... but I think it's a good thing.
Mike took Tyler home, and Toren and I took the Bart to Oakland to Derrick's house. We all had dinner together and caught up, ate sorbet and drove to the top of Grizzly Hill to get a view of the city.
I talked to Toren about pairing off for the rest of the ride, and he was so supportive and just down for whatever we needed to do. Wake me up early with silly songs, do push ups for everyone, get a second map and ride with me, take some of my load, anything. He made me feel really secure and I started really looking forward to riding back to Long Beach.
The next day we started off with a song-sharing session with Derrick. I wish I would have thought to have taken some videos, but hey... it was my rest day. He's a very strong and inspiring person, and it was really nice to get the time to get to know him better.
Derrick went to work, and before the show in Oakland, Toren and I hit up some bike shops and got a map to Big Sur, some brake pads and I finally decided to get some straps for my pedal cages. I was worried that I was too clumsy to be able to get my feet into them while I was riding, but strangely enough, it ended up being much easier. They made a HUGE difference.
Of course, we got lost on the way to the show, and there's a section of town where there are lots of things named after Dr. Suess. I'd like to look into that.
I played a house show that David Jaberi, from Jaberi & Deutsch, put together, and it was probably one of the coolest house shows that I've ever played. The music was very diverse and amazing, and the crowd was really respectful and really into everybody's music. The house had a ton of giant rusted metal sculptures all over it, and it was also a Memorial Day BBQ.
It was really nice just to even play. Riding for so long on this music-tour-by-bicycle, where there are some days when I don't even get my guitar out is kind of challenging. Sometimes I just feel like a mediocre cyclist. But then there are the shows, and shows like this remind me of what inspired me to take this journey in the first place. I met so many people. And Glen, the Canadian from Vancouver made it to the show too!
Here are some videos of the bands that performed:
Whiskey and Women:
Me:
Rachel Fannon:
And of course, Jaberi & Deutsch:
1010 miles into the trip, I went to sleep feeling really good about everything. 1010 miles had taught me so much about patience, and listening, and problem solving, and when to take a breather and when to just keep going. Fast or slow, we all made it to San Francisco, we all made it over the highest climb on the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route, we all made it over the steepest climb, through dodgy traffic, through early and late starts and we still like each other. I'm really inspired by Chad, Tyler, Sarah and Dustin. They're all really amazing people and were wonderful to do the first two thirds of this journey with. We're not even home yet, and I already feel so accomplished.
ALL I COULD SAY IS WOW........I LUVED HOW YOU TOLD YOUR STORY. I FOUND MY SELF ALMOST RIDING ON THE TRIP WITH YOU. THAT IS JUST FANTASTIC.....I APPLAUD YOU.
ReplyDeleteand luv your music btw
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