Allez, Allez!

Bonjour les amis mon. Today's post comes far removed from the wilds of the Northwest coast of the United States. The bike is now "un velo" and I have gained an "e" and am now a cycliste. Welcome to riding in France; specifically, Annecy, France - in the southeastern corner of the country close to Switzerland and Italy.

Those of you who followed my posts during the Seattle - San Francisco journey will recall that I annoited California clear winner of the title "Best State in which to Cycle" over Washington and Oregon. Well, the Golden State has now been supplanted, knocked off its perch, had its ass kicked or, in other words, absolutely crushed by La Republique Francais." Recent economic research has shown that building cycling infrastructure provids much better returns than we get from subsidizing the automobile. The French clearly get this as I enjoyed a 48 mile ride today, at least 2/3rds of which was on separated bike paths. Those parts not on bike paths were on sparsely travelled country roads leading to the Col du Tamie. Had I so desired, I could have stayed on the bike path that runs along the east side of Lac d'Annecy and taken it all the way to Albertville - 44km away.And the great thing is the clear proof of the "network effect" as infrastructure attracts cyclists, which attracts more cyclists and a virtuous cycle is created. Never have I have I seen so many senior citizens, kids in school groups and everyone in between on a bike path. The flow was constant and varied.

But let's go back to the beginning. As part of the 2011 50th birthday festivities I decided that I'd like to take a trip to Europe. Of course, this would include the family so we're all over here. After a few days in London we have come to Annecy and are staying at a friend's house that is about a three minute stroll to the center of the old town, amazing boulangeries, great coffee and a huge farmers market three times a week. It also sits on the shore of a remarkably beautiful and clear lake - the aforementioned Lac d'Annecy. It's a fantastic property and if you ever decide to visit I highly recommend it as a place to stay. Contact me and I can provide the info. Speaking of the old town, here's a shot at dusk:

The first couple of days we explored the old town, swam in the lake, took pedal boats out and did some local bike riding. Having done a bit of research I knew there was a decent bike rental place called Roul' ma Poule that had Scott (no relation to the author) road bikes for rent. Aluminum frames yes, and heavy wheels but Shimano Ultegra rear derailleurs and Shimano 105 front deraillleurs and brakes - not bad. I had to get out and ride at least one day and today was it. Here's a map of the ride - 48 miles and 3,700' of climbing. It was a great ride on a perfect day and France is my new favorite place to ride....at least until I get a chance to do so in Italy!



And here are some photos of the ride

Flying the MCBC Colors

The West Shore

Wrap Up

So the ride is done. Here are some quick statistics:

Miles - 1,021
Days Riding - 15
Average Daily Mileage - 68 miles
Elevation Gain - 50,590'
Flat Tires - Two; one of which was self-imposed
Rainy days - One

I've mentioned this in previous posts but, ironically, the best riding by far was in California with the best combination of scenery, roads and traffic. Perhaps some better weather in Washington and Oregon woud have helped and I'm sure there are all kinds of other routes one could ride through those states that would be fantastic. Perhaps I'll check it out one day.

The Ride Home

Apart from seeing some familiar faces for the first time in ten days, a great thing about Paul and Jane coming up to Bodega Bay was that I dropped all my gear off for them to bring back to Marin, substantially lightening my load. I had about 60 miles to Larkspur and as I went outside I felt something alien. It was....warmth! Yes, it was warm outside! For the first day of the entire trip I did not wear a jacket - just a short-sleeved bike jersey and, as I climbed the first hill out of Bodega Bay I was hot. Quite a change from the cold rain that had marked my departure two weeks earlier.

I was now riding on familiar roads - sections of the Marin Century and Mt Tam Double Century. The towns of Valley Ford and Tomales came and went and I was back on Highway 1 flying down the coast along Tomales Bay with a tailwind.

Tomales Bay - Marking the San Andreas Fault

I passed the Tomales Bay Oyster Company - rocking out on a busy Fathers' Day - and knew that it was only a few miles to Pt. Reyes Station and my planned rest stop. Anyone visiting Pt. Reyes Station needs to stop at the Bovine Bakery for sustenance. Its hugely popular among the weekend bike crowd.

I Can Smell Home...oh, Wait. That's the Pain d'amande I Just Bought

Leaving Pt. Reyes Station it would be an hour and fifteen minutes to Larkspur; through Nicasio, past San Geronimo, up White's Grade followed by the smokin' descent. Through Fairfax, San Anselmo and Ross. Easy pedaling now; warming down from two weeks of hard riding. I pull up to my driveway, hop off the bike and walk to the door. Home.

Hai Voluto una Bicicletta. Mo Pedala!

One can tell a fair amount about a country and its people from the language and idioms they employ. In China a common greeting is "Ni chi fan le ma?" or, "Have you eaten?" While eating is central to existence for all of us, multiple periods of famine have raised the importance of the question in China. Many times throughout history - as recently as the 1960's - the answer could easily be "Not for the last there days. How about you." Here in the US we say, you made your own bed, now sleep in it. Perhaps this mindset contributes to our country's obesity epidemic. In Italy they say something different, which appears in the header of this post. In English it means, "You wanted a bike. Pedal it." I like this version much better and encourage everyone reading this blog to substitute the Italian version for the American. Maybe we can start a trend and change the culture!

Well, I wanted a bike (or six) and wanted a bike ride and today I had 100 miles between Mendocino and Bodega Bay to cover. I would be traveling the coast down highway 1, also known as the Shoreline Highway. Apparently, "shoreline" is a more demanding moniker than "coastal" as in the Oregon Coastal Highway. As I've noted before, the Oregon version spends at least as much time away from the coast as on it. You could ride a bike an entire day on that road and never see the ocean. No such worries in California where they hang the road right on the water for most of the route.

Tired of Pictures of the Coast Yet?

This morning's ride started with beautiful sunny skies and crisp air. A line of fog, however, hung a few miles off the Mendocino Coast and I wondered if I would encounter it. For the first 50 miles the answer was no. Past the Big River and the Little River, the Navarro River and Puntas Arenas the skies remained clear.  As I approached Gualala (pronounced Wa-La-La, with the accent on the second syllable) the fog moved in and temperatures dipped. This was the halfway point to Bodega Bay so I stopped for a burrito and to warm up a bit.

Once more rolling I knew I had some climbing ahead of me as the Shoreline Highway follows the contours of the coast. I would climb 300' then drop down to a river and sea level; climb 250' and drop down to a creek; climb another 300' and drop to the beach; rinse and repeat as necessary. Along the way, however, I did have company.

The World Famous California Mountain Cows

The miles passed fairly quickly as I entered Sonoma County - the last one before my home county of Marin. I came to Jenner where the Russian River enters the Pacific. Ten more miles to Bodega Bay where my friends Paul and Jane had come to spend the night. They had already checked in when I arrived so it was a quick shower and off to dinner.

Back to the Ocean

I awake to another perfectly sunny day and enjoy a hearty and delicious breakfast courtesy of the friendly people at the Eel Rive Cafe in Garberville. Pack up the bike and do a quick run down 101 to Benbow, a name that certainly derives from the snaking river from which the cafe cribbed its name. Some day the name will have to change to Oxbow, as the Eel River is a perfect example of how oxbow lakes are formed.(If you want to know more just send me an e-mail). I run across the group doing the MS ride from Seattle to San Diego and decide to ride with them a bit. This is the third MS tour they've done, including one clear across the US from west to east. It's a very relaxed group and a few of them make regular use of the phrase "right on!" We can mostly follow country roads to the town of Leggett, where I'll break west to cross the coastal range back to the coast. Unlike the Oregon range, this route requires some climbing but I've already gone from sea level in Eureka to 450' in Garberville to 920' in Leggett. To get to the 2,000' summit, therefore, only requires another 1,000' before the descent comes...and what a descent it is. I had been warned about the road by several people. "It's narrow and twisty and cars can't see you around the bends." Objectively they are correct. The road winds its way through forests of redwood, oak and bay trees and there's not enough shoulder to hold up a single spaghetti strap on a halter top. But twisty roads slow down cars and the traffic is light. Once clear of the summit I have the speed advantage on this type of road, especially against the trucks. For ten miles I carve through the turns and only one car manages to pass me the entire time. Another 1,000' climb separates me from the ocean and the descent drops me onto the California coast; sun shimmering off the waves. The 28 miles separating Leggett from the coast had been variously described as sketchy, risky and uncomfortable. Instead, they were sublime and possibly my favorite section of the entire ride from Seattle.

Last Shot of the Eel River

While I have been generally comfortable on this ride, hours of holding your head up - because it's important to see what's in front of you, can start to tighten your neck and shoulders. A common mistake of newbie cyclists is to ride with their arms stiff and shoulders set in a permanent shrug, whereas keeping your upper body relaxed is key. I once read that one way to accomplish this is to keep your jaw slack as it's hard to have tense shoulders with a slack jaw. The weakness of this theory is that it's also hard to keep your mouth closed with a slack jaw and cruising down the road at 20 miles hour with your mouth open is almost certain to result in something flying in that you really don't want there. At the end of the day, just focus on keeping your shoulders loose and move your hands around on the bars to switch positions.

Of course, the final area of potential discomfort is your backside. Bike saddles come in all shapes and sizes...just like asses and it's worth it to take the time to find one that fits you, well, not like a glove, so to speak as that conjures up the wrong image but you get the idea. Most shops carry demo saddles and will let you try different types until you find one that works. I have Prologo saddles on two of my bikes and Brooks on another. If weight isn't a key consideration Brooks is a great way to go as the leather molds itself over time to your particular dimensions. One you have a good saddle don't forget the chamois butter for rides of longer duration!

Back to ride, flying down Highway 1 with the wind at my back the toughest parts of the day are behind me when I come across the Pacific Star Winery. Well, this is a vacation and I've never been to a winery perched on the coast so I decide to stop. Sally, the owner greets me with a couple of questions about where I rode from. In tell her and she asks how bad it was on highway 1 across the mountains. I really don't get the issue with this road. As we are talking Sally points out a flock of pelicans soaring over the waves. Pelicans (Alcatraz in Spanish, in case you ever wondered what the name of the island meant) are the ace flyers of the coastal bird world. They follow each other in close formation, each bird drafting off the one in front. Then they drop low over the waves taking advantage of ground effect (again, feel free to e-mail if you want to know more) to remain aloft with minimal effort.

Pacific Star WInery and a Big Abalone Shell

In any event, I forgo the tasting in favor of a half glass of their Chardonnay, which is bright and fruity rather than the typical California oak and butter. They have a red table wine called It's My Fault and I ask about it. Turns out that some geologists were doing survey work and discovered a previously unknown fault running off the San Andreas directly below the winery, so they named it the Pacific Star Fault. It's all fun and games until the ground starts shaking!
After my glass of wine it's 25 miles of hammering to get to Mendocino. Most of the ride passes quickly and enjoyably until I get to Fort Bragg. The town appears to be recovering. There's a new bike shop and adventure sports store. Good move as there are multiple opportunities for these activities in the area. Of course, there's also abalone diving and I see numerous divers as well as fish and game inspectors. The ten miles between Fort Bragg and Mendocino, however, are marred by narrow shoulders and constant traffic but then I arrive at one of my favorite spots on Earth.



Mendocino was a whaling village in the 1800's and is now a major tourist destination for people from the Bay Area. just south of the town is the Stanford Inn by the Sea. I've been in hotels on every continent on the planet...well, except Antarctica but I don't think there are any hotels there anyway, and the SIBTS is one of the best. Beautiful wood-paneled rooms with fire places, views of the ocean and really comfortable beds. The Ravens Restaurant has amazingly good breakfasts (as long as you don't mind vegan)and I plan to have a big one before tomorrow's century ride to Bodega Bay. But first, it's time for a massage. I booked it when I booked the room and it is sublime. Thanks Robin! 76 miles and 7,000' of climbing melt away and I'm feeling much better about the big ride mañana.

The Mendocino Coast

The Mendocino Watering Hole

And the View Looking out from Dick's

Dysfunctional but a Great Place for a Bike Ride

Ever since crossing the Oregon-California border I have felt more comfortable. While still a few hundred miles from home the contours of the land are familiar, as are the redwoods, the California plates on the cars and, truth be told, the beers. Fish Tail Ale and Manny's has given way to Boont Amber Ale and Lagunitas IPA. When I flick on the TV the Giants are on rather than the Mariners. Today is my first full day back in California and I'm struck by a thought: our state may be dysfunctional, our budget is a disaster zone, gerrymandering has created districts where only the most extreme can be elected leading to a polorized, paralyzed and ineffectual legislature. The proposition system...well, let's just leave it at. Despite all of that, however, it's a fantastic place to ride a bike. I wake early, check out of the hotel and roll back to the Eureka Old Town for a decent coffee. Found one here.

The first few miles out Eureka are on Highway 101 but they are fast as the roads are flat and the tailwind is strong. Despite moving at 25mph the air seems completely still due to the tailwind and I tick off ten quick miles, taking me to Tompkins Hill Road, wherre some guys at a bike shop in Eureka told me I should hop off to avoid the highway. I do so but do not pay attention to where I'm going and miss Eel River Drive. Staying on Tompkins Hill Road teaches me the source of its name as the road climbs 750' in two miles. I realize I'm off track but just then another cyclist comes up and asks if I need help. I explain my situation and he assures me that there's not much more climbing and I can drop back down to Hwy 101. So it goes. Another few miles down 101 and I exit again at Avenue of Giants. There's been a lot of hyperbole on this trip. Every restaurant in Oregon had the World's Best Chowder or World Famous Fish and Chips. Corvallis was the innovation capital of the world. Avenue of Giants, however, perfectly describes exactly what it is - 30 miles of lightly trafficked, spectacularly beautiful riding through thousands of towering redwood trees, accompanied the entire way by the sinuous Eel River.

The Eel River Goes Straight for a bit

And Then Curves Around

If this ain't the Avenue of Giants I Don't Know What is.

This is bike touring at its best and I meet a number of others on the road. I thought Seattle to San Francisco was a long trip but I meet four guys and a woman does an MS ride from Seattle to San Diego. I meet a couple from the UK riding from Calgary to San Francisco. The man was towing a Burley Trailer with their son in the back. I asked how the boy liked hanging out in the trailer. As I did do I looked back and saw him stick his face up into the screen with a huge smile. He liked it just fine. Then there was the group heading from Vancouver to Mexico. Fially I came across Chris. He had not spoken with Scott P so He was riding up from San Francisco to Arcata before cutting east and riding to Ann  Arbor, Michigan!

As I rode along it occurred to me how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to ride through this amazing part of the planet, to have the bicycle available to me as a form of transportation and recreation and I thought of Mike's Bikes. Matt Adams is on the board of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and a co-owner of Mike's Bikes. If you haven't been to Mike's, check it out. With shops in San Rafael, Sausalito, San Francisco, Petaluma, Palo Alto, etc., etc. they have unmatched buying power, great prices and a huge selection. Matt and his partner Ken have done a fantastic job over the years raising thr bar at all the shops and installing experienced, professional and courteous staff. But this isn't just a plug for Mike's. It's a plug for what you can do through Mike's. A few posts ago I explained how just doing half your local rides to the store or school or the barber could make a huge difference. Even if you do take on that challenge, you might still have a bike lying around that not's going to be used. If so, take it to Mike's. They have created the Bike Africa program. Under this program they have staff who identify potential entrepreneurs in Africa to establish bike sales and service operations. Mike's collects donated bikes until they can fill container. They throw in various parts, tools, etc. and it all gets shipped to Africa. Over there, staff provides instruction in bike repair, business management and other areas. The container of bikes and parts is dontaed to the new small business owner. Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, teach him to fish and he can eat for a lifetime. It's hard to believe how little access there is to something as simple as a bicycle in Africa. People walk for hours on end to accomplish daily tasks. Mike's is making a difference and you can too.

Today's leg to Garberville was 72 miles with 4,000' of climbing. Tomorrow it's off to Mendocino and back to the coast. Slightly longer distance and more climbing. It's going to be a tough ride but Mendocino is one of my favorite places in California so it will be worth it to arrive.

Ride of Mystery

Earlier in this blog I mentioned that it had been recommended I ride north to south to avoid the headwinds. Of course, the first two days of the trip I had the wind bang on my nose. The person who previously remained nameless, however, now deserves full recognition - Scott Penzarella, take a bow. The wind has been stiff at my back for the last several days. Had I been able to fly spinnaker off the front of the bike yesterday I could have gone dozens of miles with nary a turn of the pedals. Riding in the other direction, however, would have been a morale crushing battle.

Nothing about yesterday's ride was even vaguely morale denting. Rolling out of Cresecent City (on a cloudless morning) one comes across a sign welcoming you to the redwood forest and for the next several miles you climb: steady, not steep but climb....and climb...and climb from sea level to about 1200' in seven miles. The road, however, is smooth and relatively free of traffic. The air is clear and the trees, well the trees are incredible. I've seen a lot of redwood trees but these are big, not just now and then but every...single....tree is huge and they are lined up right along the road.

What would it take to cut down this tree?

It's early in the day and cool and I am loving this climb. Then I get to the top and start loving the descent. The altitude evaporates ove the same distance that it was gained and the coast comes into view. I waxed melodic about the Oregon coast but the California coast is no slouch.

Having done the climb and the descent, Klamath soon approaches. Coming out of Crescent City I had seen a sign extolling the "Trees of Mystery" 14 miles ahead. Enering Klamath I see this sign. What exactly are the trees of mystery? Redwoods!

That's right, the trees that blanket the entire California coast from the Oregon border to Santa Cruz are trees of mystery. Of course, the Winchester Mystery House in the South Bay was likely built from "Trees of Mystery" wood. Perhaps that's what makes the house mysterious. But do you know what's really a mystery? Why does a national forest, one of that last areas of old growth redwoods left celebrate this amazing gift of nature with.....

That's what it would take to cut down that tree.

...Paul Bunyon and babe the blue ox - characters built entirely on their ability to decimate a forest in the blink of an eye. This photo does not do justice to the monstrosity of these figures. Look at the people in the lowed left corner. These thingas are HUGE. If only we could get Paul and Babe to face off against the T-Rex in Oregon. Now that's something I'd pay to see! I even came up with another haiku.

A man and his ox
Real or myth?
Trees of Mystery

A few people had told me that after Klamath I needed to get on the Prarie Creek Redwood State Park road, allowing me to bypass Highway 101 for about 10 miles. This sounded like a good idea so I headed that way and ran into this.

Surely that applies only to cars and not to bikes. This thought was bolstered when I found that I was bale to ride my bike under the gate - didn't even have to dismount. I started cruising down the road enjoying the absence of traffic when I saw a tractor coming the other way. As I approached the tractor slowed, stopped and a park ranger stepped out. OK, let's find out what he has to say, I thought to myself as I pulled alongside him.
Marty (For that was his name): I didn't get out to stop you. I need to fix this pothole here.
Scott: Cool. So bikes can ride through here?
Marty: Yeah no problem. There won't be any cars so enjoy the ride.
Scott: Uh, why's the road closed?
Marty: Well. we sweep it once a year but there was a problem with inmates at the facility so they didn't come out.
Scott: Uh, OK. (This sounded more like an explanantion of why the road should be open but since he had been nice and I was the beneficiary, I didnt's press it). The result was that I spent the next eight miles free of vehicular traffic, slaloming back and forth across the double yellow line running the length of the road. It was glorious.

Marty fixin' to fix a pothole

Wednesday's ride was fairly long at 86 miles with 5,226' of climbing but it went quickly as things flattened out after the initital climbs and the tailwind gave a push. I arrived in Eureka and once again checked into the local Best Western. Eureka was a pleasant surprise as the city seems to be making an economimc recovery. The Old Town has been dramatically rennovated with numerous shops and restaurants and the art scene appears to be important. I chose the Oyster Bar and Grill as Humboldt Bay accounts for something like 50% of all the oysters harvested in the US. Their specialty is the Kumamoto so naturally I had to sample. Outstanding.

Now that's a mural.