Finally, a dream come true:  going on a bicycle tour!  The “Farm Fresh” trip left from San Francisco on

First night's camp at Petaluma

September 19 with 45 or so bicyclists from all over the U.S. and Canada, headed over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, and arrived at the first night’s camp at Petaluma. In the following days, we traveled through Sonoma, Napa Valley, Alexander Valley, down the east coast of Tomales Bay, back to Marin and San Francisco.

We camped in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Calistoga, Cassini Ranch (on the Russian River) and Olema and covered over 300 miles.The longest day was Santa Rosa to Calistoga, a total of over 70 miles, with the last stretch in temperatures over 100 degrees. That day was my 56th birthday, and I was determined to finish the ride, despite experiencing some heat stroke symptoms the last hour or so. I did it — was proud of myself — but suffered from strange sense of confusion and disorientation for the next 24 hours. Having trained for the tour most of the summer, I did not find the distance difficult, but the hot weather throughout the valley regions was a challenge. However, we got up early, had a hearty breakfast, broke camp and were on the road by 7 or 8 am; we also had plenty of water & snack stops, and constant access to support vehicles. The food was fabulous, and despite some pretty bad roads throughout, it was a wonderful experience. I met interesting people and made some new friends — and loved the camping. My new REI tent, light Lafuma sleeping bag and Big Agnus pad all worked perfectly, I was able to set up my campsite and break it down in about 10 minutes.

The highlight of the trip, for me, was riding south along Tomales Bay after leaving the Russian River campsite.

Tomales Bay

Seeing the ocean that morning — with the rolling fog — was a thrill and relief after our hot travels through the valleys, the bay simply stunning with its salt marshes, fishing towns, and beautiful beaches.  Point Reyes (across the bay) is an area I’d love to explore;  we made it to Olema on our last night but did not continue onto the penninsula, which seemed like a wonderful trip in itself.  Someday I hope to get back and have a chance to spend more time in that area.

Meeting people was the best part of the experience.  However, by the time it was over, I was firmly convinced I would not choose to do another fully-supported bike tour.   An enormous U-haul trailer carried all our camping equipment and we had three or four additional vans and vehicles for staff members, kitchen equipment and support gear.  It reminded me of driving to the gym to work out…  For me, bicycling is about decreasing the use of gas-powered vehicles, not increasing it.  Self-contained touring is my idea of bicycle travel in the future, and I intend to do more of it very soon.  I did a self-contained camping trip to Seabeck on my new Trek 520 (more about that bike later!) a few weeks before the Calif. tour and loved it.  Somehow, it felt more efficient in every way to carry my own stuff…  I took less, and was more thoughtful and in touch with what I really needed to support my travels.

After a long, cold winter last year, I’m already planning a getaway this winter…  probably a self-contained train/bike trip south to Los Angeles or San Diego, with the Trek, sometime in January or February.

Spring road trip – left Seattle Friday April 24 with LRB in the back of the car, arrived Missoula that night and got up the next morning to explore the town by bike… 

A few blocks from where I was staying in the University District I ran into this event, staged in a park.   Seems it is an annual occasion, sponsored by a group of folks who simply encourage recycling and bicycling.   I especially enjoyed the educational emphasis, encouraging people to learn how a bicycle works.  It was so cool to see all kinds of folks attend — college students, parents, kids, etc., bringing old, unused bicycles, finding parts, building bikes together, taking “new” bikes home for free. 

According to bicyclinginfo.org, roughly 500 bicycles a year were going to the local recycling center and landfill before Free Cycles began in 1996.   A truly inspirational project.  Read more here.    And continue for pix.

Everything about this event was colorful and user-friendly

A few days of great weather after the long, cold, dreary winter and everyone’s  jumping back on their bikes.  Annie and I met at the Agate Pass Bridge for a “park and ride” loop around Port Gamble.  Went up the back side via the Kingston-Port Gamble road, which was fun despite the narrow twists and turns.   This road makes me nervous, as drivers fly along hoping to beat traffic on the main roads, but the scenery is great and the alternatives not appealing.  

We stopped at Port Gamble but a north wind was whipping through, and even sitting in the sun was chilly.  We continued west to the Hood Canal Bridge (closing May 1, btw), braved the trucks and other roaring road beasts on the old highway, then finally turned off onto Big Valley Road and enjoyed ourselves before facing the highway again in Poulsbo.  A good spring outing, in all — Annie is starting to train for the AIDS Lifecycle Ride, her fourth year.  Sadly, she’s moving to Los Angeles soon, so I’ll be losing a favorite riding buddy.  Hopefully we’ll be adding So.Cal. to our outings.

It was good to get back out on the highway after a winter of riding Bainbridge backroads.  Annie and I talked about the inevitable dilemma — we love the safety of island routes, wince at highway traffic, trucks, noise and glass, and yet there is an exhilaration and adventure about being on the highway that you can’t find on the familiar local loops.  We’re thinking about exploring Clear Creek Road next.  Bike season is here, at last!

Okay okay, we were pushing the season, thinking we could take a pretty good forecast, drive to Sequim, and bicycle in the sunshine.  But that’s how desperate it gets here in February.

Will and I did a 32+ mile loop, starting at Railroad Bridge Park — we headed west on the Olympic Discovery Trail, and when we got to the Sequim city limits (where you enter the spooky woods, with Bobcat Hollow and the cougar warning sign) we backtracked and headed out to Dungeness Spit, then east to 3 Crabs Road, on to the little beach community at Jamestown, and back to Railroad Bridge Park. 

It was a sweet loop and a testimony to how wonderful the bike riding is in Sequim that we enjoyed it despite temperatures that hovered in the low 40’s with a brisk westerly.  We saw our share of eagles, ravens, red-wing blackbirds, widgeon, and other shorebirds, and every once in awhile the sun made an appearance and warmed the air a few degrees.  But mostly it was cloudy and just plain cold.   I had four layers on top, cold weather tights, wool socks and hat, toe warmers, and several layers of Chapstick.   I felt like I was dressed to go skiing.

Still, we were both glad to get a longer ride under our belts, and no surprise, we encountered very few fellow cyclists.  We ended the journey with hot chocolate at the Buzz Cafe, and I promised myself to return and celebrate spring…  which is sadly still a ways off.

Got my new Kurt’s Kinetic liquid trainer last week and finally tried it out this weekend.  The temps are hovering in the low to mid-30’s and it’s so raw outside, I’m happy to have an alternative.  I ride in this kind of weather often (and all through last winter) so it’s totally possible — my system of layering works well.  But no matter what I do, I can’t seem to keep my toes warm.  Even the “pocket” toe warmer patches don’t do the trick in these temps.

I like the trainer — it took me awhile to put it together and learn how to mount my bicycle, but now I’ve got the hang of it and I can get going pretty easily.  Both days this weekend I brought my bike in the house and used it, but I’d like to rig it up either on my front porch or in the barn, when the weather gets a little warmer.

I’ve resigned my gym membership for now;  with spinning on my trainer, swimming twice a week, and the occasional run here at home or through the park, it seems I’m set without the expense of the gym.  We’ll see how it goes…  I’ll miss the feeling of community at Island Fitness, as so many of my friends go there.  It’s been two years, and I’ve enjoyed it.  But for the past six months, I just haven’t gotten enough use.

A family bike ride shortly after New Year’s led all four of us to Hall’s Hill Park and a visit to the prayer wheel.  It was a chilly, invigorating ride — me on LRB, Josie on her Giant, Stef on Will’s Giant, and Will on his Cannondale mountain bike.   We pushed up the hill, took some time to appreciate the beauty of the park and the prayer wheel, then headed back down towards Country Club, over Fort Ward Hill, through the park, and then a long stop at the Treehouse for hot drinks and food.

I asked everyone when the last time — and only time, as far as I can remember — we all (four) went for a bike ride together, and managed to stump everyone (even Will, which is tough).  In fact, it was many years ago at Roche Harbor, where we rented bicycles for a day.  I suffered terribly from leg cramps on that outing and firmly decided that bike riding was not for me.

Little did I know that years later, I would fall in love with bicycling and discover that, indeed, it was very much for me!

For more pix, click through:

All in a row… Hall’s Hill Park – and (below) view of Pt. Blakely  from the park

Stef

With my current winter swimming schedule (M-W-F), the holidays and over a foot of snow on the ground, it’s been 17 days since my last ride — the longest off the bike since I began riding in June of 2007.   Fortunately, I’ve been able to step up spinning at the gym, which I trust is helping keep me in shape.  Yesterday I did an hour-long spin and a 2-mile run afterwards, so I think I’m hanging in there.  But there’s no substitute for the spiritual recharge of moving through fresh air, watching the ground race past beneath you, and the sense of adventure that always comes with setting out for the roads.  This morning I got up, looked out at the snow, remembering my 25-mile Christmas Eve ride in sunshine one year ago.  My eyes filled with tears and my heart ached… the yearning to ride is acute today — a poignant feeling, mixed with tremendous gratitude for my bicycle and the abiding love I have for riding it.

Well, I finally did it – plunked down my money and committed to doing an Adventure Cycling tour.  There are so many to choose from, and so many that call to me, it has been agonizing to make a decision.  But my growing (so to speak) passion for food and farming got me over the hump – and I’ve registered for the Farm Fresh tour, which begins and ends at the Fort Mason Hostel on San Francisco’s waterfront and includes eight days of riding through Petaluma, Santa Rosa, St. Helena, Healdsburg, Guerneville and Olema, taking in farms, vineyards, wineries, forest, open land, and beaches.  It all ends with a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge, back to SF.  It runs Sept. 18 – 26, which encompasses my 56th birthday.  Wow – what a way to celebrate being on my way to 60!  And I intend literally to ride through as many birthdays as I can… well past that mark.

Passing 5,000 miles on my odometer seemed like such a big deal, I nearly forgot about reaching 6,000 when I was out on a routine ride last week.  I think I was somewhere on Fort Ward Hill – but, by the time I remembered to look, I was six miles past the mark.