finally made it home to Austin yesterday (Sat Sept 11th) after a quick visit to Tucson....my bike case, shipped FedEx from San Diego on Wed, arrived yesterday too which was good....got it all unpacked and but not much else....feels great to be home....
for the last few days my appetite has been constant and I eat about every 2 hours....today I have hit the wall physically....my legs feel very heavy and it feels exhausting to walk up a flight of stairs....I got up this morning around 4am and already had an hour nap in by 9am....I'm sure I'll nap again this afternoon....my thought is this will be a 2-3 week recovery....
a picture album is now on my facebook...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Summary of the Ride
I did not miss having to wake up this morning and get on the bike and ride....it was time to be done....instead got the bike cleaned up, taken apart, packed and off to FedEx to be shipped home....
Before I began the ride there was a fear of failure....I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stay on the schedule or hold up physically....but the reality is the failure would been in not trying....
Sometimes I feel like I'm not quite sure what just happened or if it really did happen....there was so much over the last 13 days that everything hasn't really sunk in yet....the coast was more spectacular then I ever imagined....
I feel pretty good....a little tired with very heavy feeling legs but nothing sore or hurt....today I have been very hungry and needing to eat about every 2 hours....I lost 3lbs during the trip....
thank you Sandy....you are my lifeline....without any doubt, I could not have done this without you....much love....and Mom, same to you, your prayers were felt down the entire coast....
a big thanks to the Hanley family, Anne Marie, Bruce and Kaisa for the home stay in Goleta....you are the best....and to my buddy Dave and friend Nancy....even though everyone rides at their own pace, it was good to have someone along the way the last 5 days looking out for each other....
1616 miles total
13 day average of ~124 miles/day
12 day average of ~130 miles/day subtracting the day 1 travel day of 55 miles
thanks to all who followed the blog....I hope to have a complete album of pictures of Facebook soon....
Before I began the ride there was a fear of failure....I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stay on the schedule or hold up physically....but the reality is the failure would been in not trying....
Sometimes I feel like I'm not quite sure what just happened or if it really did happen....there was so much over the last 13 days that everything hasn't really sunk in yet....the coast was more spectacular then I ever imagined....
I feel pretty good....a little tired with very heavy feeling legs but nothing sore or hurt....today I have been very hungry and needing to eat about every 2 hours....I lost 3lbs during the trip....
thank you Sandy....you are my lifeline....without any doubt, I could not have done this without you....much love....and Mom, same to you, your prayers were felt down the entire coast....
a big thanks to the Hanley family, Anne Marie, Bruce and Kaisa for the home stay in Goleta....you are the best....and to my buddy Dave and friend Nancy....even though everyone rides at their own pace, it was good to have someone along the way the last 5 days looking out for each other....
1616 miles total
13 day average of ~124 miles/day
12 day average of ~130 miles/day subtracting the day 1 travel day of 55 miles
thanks to all who followed the blog....I hope to have a complete album of pictures of Facebook soon....
summary of day 13
woke up to mixed feelings....sad and glad....as with the last 4 days this day is familiar from having done San Fransisco to San Diego at least a half dozen times....so then came the surprise of drizzle to rain to drizzle to rain with 25mph headwinds....this has never happened anytime previously....combine that with rush hour traffic through LA and Long Beach and I felt if I lived after the first 25 miles there's a chance I can finish the ride....dicey conditions....after about 30 miles the rain stopped but the wind did not....in fact it was headwind the whole day....by Laguna Beach, 50 miles to go the sun can out....through Dana Pt, San Clemente and then through the USMC base, Camp Pendleton....at the base, with about 25 miles to go it hit me...or I allowed it to hit...I had a flood of emotion difficult to explain....but I quickly suppressed it with too many miles still to go....under 5 miles left and the emotion returned....and when the day and the ride was over I realized that the whole thing is going to take some time to sink in....104 miles for the day....
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Summary day 12
Finally a start with no fog...cloudy but not very cold and very strange calm wind...a nice easy cruise through Santa Barbara and then breakfast in Carpintina....a lot of people getting ready for Labor Day...Ventura, Oxnard and around Pt Mugu, which was not too windy , to get to where the action is and the crowds of people...Malibu, Santa Monica and the beaches of LA...30 miles or so of rollng hlls with crazy traffic and people everywhere....and the finally the last 20 miles of sight seeing on the congested bike path to Manhatten Beach...sunburned now, a little tired and enjoyed the day...118 miles
Monday, September 6, 2010
Summary Day 11
the day started as has been the norm...coastal fog...from Morro Bay to SLO to Pismo Beach....finally after getting into the farms near Guadalupe the sun is out and getting warmer...big wind too, 25-30mph....on flat roads its a great tailwind....on the big hills to Vandenberg AFB and Lompoc its a headwind or cross wind....heading out of Lompoc its sunny, warmer and a nice tailwind...crappy chip seal road surface though....once through Goviota pass the road is parallel to the Pacific. a lot cooler, and about 25 miles of rolling freeway riding to end the day....
I suppose its all relative, but this felt like the easiest day so far....however "easy" 119miles can be....
I suppose its all relative, but this felt like the easiest day so far....however "easy" 119miles can be....
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Summary day 10
Big Sur...this day has always been one I looked forward to on previous rides....then it was day 2 of rides starting in San Fransisco....it is a challenging day with my last time on this ride to be up in the redwoods...
got a slow start to the day....a later then wanted roll out from the hotel, my first flat tire of the trip and slow service for breakfast all to blame....my legs felt good though, finally .not having the deep fatique and heavyness there from day 7....Big Sur was a mix of sun and fog....it was almost 50 miles in to get so plenty of time to warm up....felt good through all the climbs and it was as beautiful as ever....coming down to Ragged Pt the road then flattens out...with a strong tailwind the next 20 miles to Cambria were a very fast time trial....and after that was when my day fell apart....or my body....with about 25miles to go for the day my body said no more....this was the biggest struggle I've had to the end of any day so far....it took all I could do to get to the hotel.....it is quite interesting how unpredictable this can happen....129 miles for the day....
got a slow start to the day....a later then wanted roll out from the hotel, my first flat tire of the trip and slow service for breakfast all to blame....my legs felt good though, finally .not having the deep fatique and heavyness there from day 7....Big Sur was a mix of sun and fog....it was almost 50 miles in to get so plenty of time to warm up....felt good through all the climbs and it was as beautiful as ever....coming down to Ragged Pt the road then flattens out...with a strong tailwind the next 20 miles to Cambria were a very fast time trial....and after that was when my day fell apart....or my body....with about 25miles to go for the day my body said no more....this was the biggest struggle I've had to the end of any day so far....it took all I could do to get to the hotel.....it is quite interesting how unpredictable this can happen....129 miles for the day....
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Summary of day 9
on Thur with temps unusually warm and cooler temps coming late in the day the coastal fog was already rolling at night and it was bad most of the day Fri....in fact the only time there wasn't any fog was coming into Santa Cruz...there it was sunny and warm, which during previous year is the opposite of the norm....so I had to peel off my jacket and knee warmers....however a few miles before Moss Landing I had to put it all back on once again....
I had a bit of a roller coaster start to the day....mentally what started as a day of percieved excitement and encouragement quickly turned into dismay and disappointment....however after 8 days now of solo riding and a well established routine of handling the day I recovered fairly fast...physically I'm tired and despite that have some periods where I feel pretty good....today I had a real rough spot between miles 100 - 125....the sun turned to fog and I got chilled and had a hard time getting warm again....
no pictures today....with the fog there were very few opportunities and little time for it....144miles for the day....next up Big Sur
I had a bit of a roller coaster start to the day....mentally what started as a day of percieved excitement and encouragement quickly turned into dismay and disappointment....however after 8 days now of solo riding and a well established routine of handling the day I recovered fairly fast...physically I'm tired and despite that have some periods where I feel pretty good....today I had a real rough spot between miles 100 - 125....the sun turned to fog and I got chilled and had a hard time getting warm again....
no pictures today....with the fog there were very few opportunities and little time for it....144miles for the day....next up Big Sur
Friday, September 3, 2010
summary of day 7 & 8
day 7 started in Redcrest nicely enough with the last 20 miles of the Ave of Giants...after that it was all about the climbing, with the highest climb on the route coming in Leggett...thats where you finally get off of the hwy 101 and get on hwy 1...that climb is about 4 miles @ 8% grade...actually even after that most hills were 7-8%....the decents were very techical, with many hairpin turns and it was constantly sun and shadows....hit my highest downhill speed at 51mph....scared the crap out of me so I started working the brakes....in Medincino the route is now on cliffs overlooking the ocean...similar to Oregon with sea stacks but much clearer views as Oregon always had lots of fog...ending in Pt Arena this was the longest day in miles so far at 150...no day so far or any day coming up will be as difficult as this....to be honest with the planning I knew this ahead of time so it was no surprise....
day 8 from Pt Arena to Mill Valley provided more of the same but different...the climbs were shorter but more frequent....very steep and twisty winding road....the posted speed limits on the turns was 15mph to 25 mph....I could have been ticketed quite a few times....plus getting into Sonoma and Marin counties the traffic increased quite a bit...not as many trucks and motorhomes as previous days though....my legs were completely trashed from yesterday....so the day after the rain day from Coos Bay to Crescent City I was mentally trashed, today I was physically trashed....sometimes after a while you begin to feel a liitle better but there would be none of that today...and after a cool morning it got hot, into the 80's....first day to wear a short sleeve jersey....sunny and warm and beautiful blue ocean....126 miles for the day....
now in Mill Valley getting ready for day 9 to Monterey...
day 8 from Pt Arena to Mill Valley provided more of the same but different...the climbs were shorter but more frequent....very steep and twisty winding road....the posted speed limits on the turns was 15mph to 25 mph....I could have been ticketed quite a few times....plus getting into Sonoma and Marin counties the traffic increased quite a bit...not as many trucks and motorhomes as previous days though....my legs were completely trashed from yesterday....so the day after the rain day from Coos Bay to Crescent City I was mentally trashed, today I was physically trashed....sometimes after a while you begin to feel a liitle better but there would be none of that today...and after a cool morning it got hot, into the 80's....first day to wear a short sleeve jersey....sunny and warm and beautiful blue ocean....126 miles for the day....
now in Mill Valley getting ready for day 9 to Monterey...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Pictures
The pictures that follow will be from Day 6, 7, & 8...Redwood Natl Park, Ave of the Giants and Hwy 1...
At the end of Day 8
I have made it to Mill Vally, CA....with 2 days in row ending in places with cell service my blog is in chaos...and actually I am so tired I don"t remember what I have posted....so I hope to catch up a bit now but bear with me if some stuff is repeated...
More on day 6
Entering California there is about 1000 miles to go...Fortuna was the half way point...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Summary Day 6
Sorry tobe behind with updates...again no cell...it was Redwood Natl Park in the morning, a lot of freeway riding most of the day with coastal fog and then finish the day on the first part of the Avenue of the Giants...it was a difficult day for me mentally coming off of the previous day of rain...really had to work hard to keep my pace...it was the first day so far of riding without a jacket...when the fog burned off it was nice to have sunshine...127mles
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