Day 16 - Sea Ranch to Lagunitas (92 miles / 772 total)

Wow. I didn’t know I had that in me. I knew my legs would be fresh after a days rest but they really came through yesterday.

When I first left Sea Ranch around 6:30AM it started raining. I stopped and made a deal with myself that if it rained for 10 minutes straight I would go back and wait for a better time. This would have been somewhat demoralizing but it was the smartest move.

But I caught a break, after a few minutes the rain stopped, I clipped in and sped away ... at 10 mph. Fortunately not many cars where driving south on Highway 1 at that time of day. The wind hadn’t started yet so my plan was to put as many miles as I could behind me before the afternoon winds (and possibly rain) came into play.

Things were going well until I passed Fort Ross, at which point I hit a wall of fog. I should have taken a picture of it (you can see a picture by looking at a white piece of paper). I knew I was right on the ocean, and could hear the ocean, but could not see it. Fog is horrible for bike riders so I pulled off and waited. The fog stayed and I was getting antsy so I made another deal with myself, I would ride from turn out to turn out and stop at each one listening for any cars that might be coming. Cars usually drive in bunches so if I waited for a group to pass I might be a little safer. This seemed to work but it took forever.

Finally I made it into Jenner, a nice town that is unsure of how it feels about tourists. This was per the local radio talk show dj that sat down next to me as I drank orange juice, water, and a coffee. He was a nice guy. I asked him how he could talk on the radio for three hours and he mentioned that it was fitting the show into three hours that was the problem. After a half hour it was time to leave.

I should mention that Sonoma and Marin counties have no shoulder on Highway 1. Further, CalTrans does not mow the growing wild life, it is allowed to grow onto the freeway. It is you and the cars in one lane. The cars have a speed limit of 55 mph. I don’t recommend this road for anyone not passing through. That said, the scenery is amazing and cars seemed to understand that they share the road with bicyclists and tend to give you a lot of room. Surprisingly, I’ve found that Cadillacs give you the most room.

Thankfully, I’m off Highway 1 at the moment until I get to Golden Gate Bridge, which is a different story.

After Jenner I hit Bodega Bay, another coastal town that has two surf shops and also claims to have the best clam chowder. Everyone has the best clam chowder it seems.

I believe Oregonians survive on less, or at least, it requires less to survive. In a town of 200 in Oregon you’ll find a couple of markets, gift shops, restaurants that serve a couple generous of food (every restaurant says “family dining” on its store sign).  In California a smaller town may have nothing but a post office and one place to eat or a market.

I passed through Valley Ford and then hit Tomales where I ran into a group of cyclists. This can be both good and bad. The good is that they are nice and very interested in your ride. The bad is that they all have opinions about where you should stay, routes you should take, and if you are carrying too much gear they will let you know. Overall it was nice to run into some other cyclists.

I fear my beard has dandruff – not sure if that is possible or not.

I had planned to stop in Tomales. This would be a place to divide up my miles for the next couple of days. But…. I still had fresh legs and it was supposed to rain hard on Thursday. The next possible place to spend the night was 16 miles away but I felt like I could make it, so I rode on.

At this point my dad’s voice pops in my head and won’t go away, “stay diligent, be careful.” Yes, I know. I am. I remind myself that the sun will be setting soon and my brain is starting to get tired of listening for cars (with some level of certainty I can tell what type of car is coming up based on it’s sound). 

So I pass through Marshall, a very small town and then hit Pt. Reyes Station. Time to reevaluate everything as it was going to be the last place to stop for 10 or so miles. I had no cell reception and the only places to stay where bed and breakfasts places… I rode on.

By this point I am taking a gamble. If I get a flat, have bike problems, or otherwise get delayed I’m not going to make it to Lagunitas by sunset, a dangerous scenario as I don’t have any front lights on my bike.

At 6:45 I make it and find a place to eat where I order a coke, water, a Lagunitas IPA. By 8:30 I’m laying down waiting for sleep to take me away. My knees are more than sore but that is to be expected.

Today’s trivia is in the pictures.

Getting caught up on the trivia results:

Day 15 Trivia winners – Happy Kat, sister of Dream Smasher, representing the west side of Los Angeles had the correct answer of zero counties.

Katharine J. also was quick with the correct answer of zero and went on to drop some knowledge that they have boroughs instead. I did not know that.

Day 14’s trivia was a little harder and had only one correct answer: St. Orres Inn and Restaurant by Happy Kat. Very strong work.

Day 13: Christine D. once again had a correct answer of North Coast Brewing Company. Not to be outdone, Mark D. came in over the top with the same strong answer. Good work to both of you.

Day 12 has proven to be even harder as no correct answers have been received. I’m making this trivia worth two points. Honorable mention goes out to Happy Kat for submitting a good guess.

Towns I passed:
Stewarts Point (pop. unknown)
Fort Ross (pop. unknown)
Jenner (pop. 170)
Bodega Bay (pop. 1,423)
Valley Ford (pop. 126)
Tomales (pop. 210)
Marshall (pop. 50)
Pt. Reyes Station (pop. 818)
Lagunitas (pop. 918)

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