June 13, 2011 Kernville to Seattle

June 8, 2011      12.22km,  0.55hrs,  13.2km/h      Kernville - Sequoia National Park

Dan takes me to the 100 Giant trail in Sequoia National Forest. Kernville is at about 3500ft and we go up to about 6400ft. He shows me my first Sequoia tree. Amazing how big they are! The first one I'm looking at is called the Proclamation Tree.
Dan and I stand by the car talking with Hans from Colorado. He has just cycled from San Francisco to San Diego and is on his way back home. Dan had tried to cross at Big Sur. He tells us how he went down were the rope was with his bicycle and trailer, sliding, pushing and puffing. Just going along the beach to get to the beginning of the slide was an ordeal. The bottom of his trailer had been damaged by the time he got there. Moving his equipment over the big boulders( and they look a lot smaller from high up the cliff!), he did not want to damage his bike too so he turned around and went back this time using the rope. He had to cycle 20 miles back to the next town in the dark, just to climb a killer pass the next day with a racing bike and a trailer on an 16-17% incline. I guess I would have had to push most of the way!

Dan says good bye and Ed from Colorado is joining us. Ed just has cycled east to west across the northern part of the States. He also has his bike with him on this trip and is also going into Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park. We stand there in the sun in the forest until it is 11:30am. It`s time for me to go.  I have a 100 km day ahead of me. I still have a bit of climbing to do up to 7300ft. It`s going constantly up through the trees, not much of a view except of the occasional glimpse over the Sierras.  I cycle for an hour when Ed is passing me, asking if I want a lift.
I happily accept. We drive on a super windy road, no shoulder at all! all the way down into Fresno. Ed is an extremely good driver. He`s driving fast but I feel totally save and enjoy the ride ( except of a slight queasiness in the stomach...). We pass hundreds and hundreds of orange trees, that haven`t been picked. The oranges are laying on the ground and are just too tempting to not stop and pick some. They are perfectly ripe and delicious! We are climbing back up again to Sequoia to 6500ft.
At the entrance they tell us the camp site is full. We still go in and try to get a spot. No problem, we get a nice snowy walk-in site right by the river. This is bear country, you have to lock away everything.  Walking around the site we realize, there are lots of free camp sites, even the drive in sites. Why do they tell us it`s full, when it is not?!
We have beans, sausage and pasta soup all mixed together, cooked on a fire. There is plenty of wood around so we can keep it going until food is ready. Unfortunately there are no seats near the fire, so it's really only for cooking. It's getting pretty cold at an elevation of 6500 ft.

Me in my backyard

The Proclamation Tree

Camp Site in Sequoia, just a little snow!

June 9, 2011       Sequoia National Park to Yosemite National Park


We walk early in the morning to the General Sherman Grove, it`s a peaceful and quiet walk, hardly any traffic yet. There are lots of Sequoias in one area, very impressive especially in the morning light. This time the trees are fenced in, we can`t touch the trees. But we still find some trees off the trail, so we can take some pictures with us in front for comparison.

Here are some facts about the General Sherman Tree:
It measures 36 feet in diameter at its base and reaches a height of 275 feet. The tree weighs almost 2.7 million pounds and contains a volume of 52,500 cubic feet of wood. One of its branches alone measures approximately 7 feet in diameter, and a 15 story building would fit comfortably beneath its first branch! The General Sherman is estimated to be somewhere between 2300 and 2700 years old. The lowest limb of this tree, 130 feet above ground, is larger than any tree east of the Mississippi. The Sequoias only grow in 5000-7000 ft, they need a lot of snow, water, moisture and steep hills.

We take the free shuttle bus back to the camp site.
We drive through the park to see the Giants Grove. On the way there we find another cluster of trees beside the road. A lot of them are in twos or threes or have a parting trunk. The sunlight is great and we walk from one tree to the next marveling at their size.
The Giants Grove is a bit busier since it is now midday. Again we get to see a lot of impressive trees. 2 man have built a very solid hut in the middle of this forest in the 1890s so that they can do logging. It took 2 man 2 days to cut down one of those giants!

We keep going to Yosemite. At the entrance they tell us there are no camp sites available at all. We again try our luck, but it doesn`t work this time. The camp sites we go to are literally booked out, the sites that have no one on it yet are payed for. Even the walk-in camp site is full. One tent next to the other. The park is overloaded with tourists, it is so crowded!
 We drive out of the park, just into El Portal. We don`t know how far the camp sites are that are outside of the park. Just as we pass the post office and store we find a parking spot by the river. The ideal place to camp, perfectly flat, grassy area high and far enough away from the river to avoid being flooded out should the river suddenly gain height. Which they say will happen soon. The mountains have 300ft of snow in the highest elevations and it is warming up fast. The Merced River, along which we camp is already very fast. No one is rafting on this part of the river.

can you see me?!

June 10, 2011       Yosemite- Hike to Vernal Fall


We drive back into the park, and take the shuttle for getting around. It`s still early, so the masses are not out yet!
Ed is going on a long hike up Half Dome. I go to the visitor information to find out about buses to Merced so I can catch a train back to Seattle. Around noon I take the shuttle to get to the waterfall trail head. The hike is very crowded, but I zoom by everybody up the Merced River. Eventually I get so close to the waterfall that everybody is getting wet from the spray. It feels so good, being in the sun, the mist. It`s steep, there are 600 steps going up! But I haven't done much exercise recently so this feels just right! I have a nice rest on top of the waterfall, everybody is sitting or laying on the rocks soaking up the sun and the sound of the waterfall.

Once I'm back down a bus driver tells me about a spot where I can get free wifi. It's the camps recreation area, where the workers go for their leisure time. I walk in and sit down, no one would know, if I'm working there or not.  Someone is playing the piano, a treat to my ears, he's very good. 
Ed and I meet up at 5pm at the car and drive back to the same camp site we found yesterday. No one has claimed it so we are in luck again. This time we are a little earlier than last night, so we go to the store and have a beer for dinner.

Vernal Fall

Yawning Squirrel

June 11, 2011     113.03km,   6.14hrs,    18.1km/h        Yosemite - Merced


After 2 days in a car my bags are all messy, I have to repack everything for the ride. Ed and I say good bye to each other, he`s driving back into the park to go for another hike while I ride to Merced.  I am going downhill. For a while. Most of the traffic is actually going uphill into the park, so I have a pretty good run down the river except of the occasional truck or bus passing me really close! Soon there is lots of river activities, the river seems to have slowed down somewhat. Lots of tours are getting their boats ready this morning to take people down the river on rafts.
I`m leaving the Merced River and start climbing along a smaller river.  I have 2 summits to climb, the first climb is at least 13km long, then a short downhill and another climb. Of the 113 km I probably climb 25-30 km. But the next part is gradually downhill. The wind is picking up, of course headwind, what else! And it is getting hot too. 30 Degrees Celsius. I stop in Mariposa and have a burrito in a restaurant, sitting outside to watch my bike. I slowly get into the foothills of the Sierras and eventually I end up in the hot Central Valley. I don`t see any orange trees anymore, but plenty of grape and pistachio. Nothing ripe yet or reachable from the road.
I stop at a fruit stand, an asian couple is selling sweet strawberries. They are very curious about my trip and just like in Asia they invite me to sit down and have the strawberries right there. It is very tempting but I still have at least 10 km to go and by now, if I stop now, it would take a lot of energy to sit myself back on the bike again!
Down here the road is a lot busier and there is only a very narrow shoulder if at all.
Eventually I get into town, find a motel, cycle to the store, forget the lock. I`m not willing to get my bike stolen on my last day, so I cycle back to get the lock, back to the store, back to the motel and enjoy a beer after this nice long day.
Booking my transports or accommodation on this trip has been made pretty easy with my laptop. I even was able to organize some hotshowers.org stays. Though I only stayed once with people in San Francisco.  It`s a very handy tool to have and it is great to keep in contact with people. But I would think hard about taking it on a trip again, that`s promising to be very hilly. Every ounce weighs, literally!

Back in the flat and dry

June 12, 2011    Merced to Seattle

I leave my motel at 11am to see if I can find a cafe. Everything is closed today, it`s Sunday. I find 2 cafes open and have some food. Really just to do something with my time. I have until 7 o'clock tonight, hanging around this town. A couple starts talking with me. She has grown up here, so I ask her for advise, where to hang out for a few hours. She sends me to a park.
There are lots of homeless people and some mexican families. I spend a few hours there. One of the homeless is coming over to introduce himself. He has a bike and has cycled all around the country. Another man shows up a while later, again very respectfully asking if he might approach. He introduces himself as Fred and sits with me for quite a while, telling me about his bike trip and his life. There seem to be a lot of homeless people on bikes in the States. Fred tells me about how he cycled around the country, with very little money and finding all those goodies, like a brand new Harley Davidson Helmet( which he uses sometimes for cycling), or a leatherman knife. He has a storage place somewhere, and goes back to get his automatic bike. It has an automatic gear changer called ``autogear``. Whenever the wheel spins faster the gears go up automatically moved by a little belt. He is pruning trees around the park, occasionally when there is a flood he is shoveling sand and mud so that people can pass that area without getting all soaked. He`s clearing areas off the Russian Thistle, which is an invasive plant.

He takes me to the railways station and tells me he comes back later to wave good bye to me. The ticket man in the building sees my bike and tells me to take the next train, then take a bus to Sacramento. It would be much easier to pack the bike there and I have much more time. He claims they don`t have the facilities here to pack my bike. I point out to him, that I can see a bike box in the background. He`s not willing to help, so I get on the train, the conductor tells me I have to get a proper bus ticket in Stockton. But there it is no problem, I have to take the luggage off the bike and load my bike into the bus.
In Sacramento the ticket officer is very nice and helpful, even though, as he tells me, he`s working the whole day just with 2 people in this big train station. He gives me a used box for my bike for free, I just have to pay 5$ for the bike transport.

I spent 30 minutes in Starbucks. From 7:30 until 12:30 I sit at the train station waiting. I get to talk with a nice couple who are going to go on a big hike on Mount Rainier. They are from Oklahoma, have 10 cats, 2 dogs, 2 horses and they are planning to hike all the major mountains in the States as long as they can.
Another couple arrives, they are on bikes and take the train to Vancouver. They will start their journey in Vancouver to go down to Mexico. Exciting! Isn`t that interesting, how even here, which is not on any main bike route, you meet other cyclists? This has been really great here to meet so many people that are on a bike trip or that want to go.

June 13, 2011      train to Seattle
I find a good seat next to a college student, who is fast asleep at night.  We have nice conversations over the day. And of course plenty of time for it, since we both go to the end of the train ride, Seattle.
There are 9 bike boxes on this train, incredible!
I get my bike ready and cycle to The Moore Hotel. It's a great hotel, old but nicely renovated, everything very clean and very friendly staff.

June 14, 2011   Last day of this journey, arriving back in Canada with the Clipper

June 7, 2011 Ojai to Kornville

June 2, 2011        49.20km,   4.14hrs,  11.6km/h  Ojai to Cuyama

Richard, Daniel and I have breakfast together. I pack my stuff and look for the ranger station to get some maps of the area I am going to. Not much there. The whole family is in the studio working, when I get there. I admire their work, get a little tour, fill up my water bags and finally go on my way.

It's 1pm, when I am finally ready. I stand on the road, checking the map and considering the amount of water I intend to carry up 5250feet. A man stops in his car. Scott is a cyclist too and has cycled this stetch many times and he can tell me exactly what to expect. It's an 11 mile climb, after 4 miles there is a camp site with water, after 7 miles there is a spring that comes out right beside the road. He offers me to take my waterbags, get a map he has at home and meet me on top of the pass in 2 hours time.
It`s a great sunny day, it goes uphill right away and I reach the 2000 ft mark one hour later. Another hour later I make the 3000ft. How in the world should I be able to meet Scott at 6000ft or even at 4000ft at 3pm?! He passes me at 2:45pm, asks me if I need anything, passes me some cherries. Not far anymore, he assures me! Though as soon as he leaves I come around the corner and see another steep switchback climb, I still have 6 km to do. There is no end, but it is very beautiful scenery. Scott comes back to check on me, tells me I'm almost there. He tells me how the road levels out and I think I'm on top keep going uphill. He will wait there. I had told him to just leave the bags on top so that he doesn't have to wait so long for me. But he is fine, happy to help. I had carried all my luggage, but it is good to have that moral support. Even cyclists on the road call out to me, not far anymore!

As promised he waits at a great viewpoint with my water, apples, nuts, more cherries and powerbars ( that are by the way delicious!). He tells me about the rest of the way, it goes down, then up to 6500ft. My guess is we are at 4000 ft right now. He gives me a good detailed map which is very helpful!
The problem is that even though on the map are little towns or campsites marked, they actually often don't exist anymore. So you have to bring enough food and water for at least 1 night, 2 days.
I keep cycling, it is 4pm now, it's getting late. About an hour later the wind has picked up so much, that I'm not sure I can make it to the campsite, 6 miles after the pass, I'm still a long way away from the pass. I keep looking for an ideal place to set up camp, but can't find anything, too open land. There is some traffic on this road, so I rather try and hide, if I have to camp wild.
Eventually a car stops coming towards me. He had passed me earlier and noticed, that there was no one else with me. He wants to make sure I'm alright. This is always a matter of trust, luck and knowledge of the human nature. We start talking for a while, then he offers me to take me over the pass. We fix the bike on top of the cheep, his 2 dogs are in the back, though one manages to join us in the front. Can't be left out! I have a few choices now, either I can go to New Cuyama on 166 west, where there are hopefully some motels. Michael calls a friend to find out if they still offer rooms for rent, but they are renovating. Or I get dropped off at the campsite about 4 miles into Lockwood Trail just after the pass. Michael also offers me carefully, that I can pitch my tent in his yard. I chose the latter.
Michael runs a water truck business, which are used on new building sites to keep down the dust. He buys cement trucks and converts them to water trucks. This is heavy work! He also runs a business, where he washes down fire trucks after they have been used in an area with weeds, so that they don`t contaminate the next area. In his free time in the winter he goes surfing.
I set up my tent and go to sleep pretty quickly. It is dead quite, very peaceful.

this is where I came from!

June 3, 2011    58.78km,  2.53hrs,  20.5km/h    Bakersfield HWY 5/119 to Kern River Park Campsite NE of Bakersfield

All around us is farming land, it`s flat with the exception of a mountain range on 2 sides, where we drive over to get to Bakersfield. Michael has some business to do in Bakersfield and gives me a ride. I say good bye to him and start riding on Hwy 119 over the Hwy 5  going east to Lemont. It`s not pretty, there is a lot of traffic, not enjoyable at all! Every town I pass is pretty ugly, well it is the outskirts of Bakersfield. I feel like in Mexico, there are pretty much only Mexicans working on the fields. I turn north on 184, I`m looking for a camp site. It`s till very early, since we started at 7am to drive the hour to Bakersfield. I ask a lady infront of her house for a camp site. She gets her son to check his Cell phone for camping and the road, he says it`s 33 miles to Isabella Lake from here. She tells me about a pretty camp site just 3 miles off the Highway at the Korn River. On the junction I ask a fireman, who`s sitting in his truck for directions and he confirms that there is a camp site and a little store just before.
It is such a pretty site! One side is full with mexican families. I stay close by but far enough away so I have my peace and quiet. The ranger comes by to collect the money, it`s usually 22$, I get the seniors rate of 20$. The toilets are pretty dirty, people don`t seem to flush here! But the shower has hot water to my surprise!
It`s weekend and the site fills up quickly. Soon I talk to a neighbour, who has an electric car at home. He believes, if there is an emergency or a fire, don`t take your electric car to get away. You might not make it! We get to talk about his heart attack, his 5 children and grandchildren, nice to connect with your neighbours. My direct neighbour is here with his 84 year old mother. She is camping in her tent, he put up a cot for her, so she doesn`t have to sleep so close to the ground. She`s amazing, very sweet woman! And doing very well camping in her age! He is going to do a 100 mile race on Sunday. They bring me back some milk and a very delicious mexican meal for breakfast. So thoughtful of them! We play a little guitar, then it`s bedtime. I have to get up early in the morning to try and avoid the busy traffic on the highway through the gorge.

My camp site at Kern River Park

June 4, 2011    91.55km,   6.25hrs,   14.2km/h         Bakersfield to Kernville by Isabella Lake


I get up at 5am, ready at 6am after having eaten the Burrito for breakfast.
Except of maybe 20 km this whole trip is basically uphill! Once I get into the gorge, I realize how right people were to say it is dangerous. There is so much traffic, I can`t believe it, at 6am already! The corners especially to the right are a killer, I try and stay in the middle of the road as long as possible, so cars and trucks can see me from far away. If they pay attention that is! At some point a Transit bus is overtaking me. What!? If I would have known, I would have taken the bus! I can't really appreciate the beauty of my surrounding because I have to pay so much attention to the traffic!
I get to lake Isabella. I don't see any cosy stores or cafes, no nice camp site, only a free campsite at the lake with heavy motor traffic on the lake!
I ask some cyclists who tell me that I would like Kernville more. It's only another 10 miles and it's still only midday, since I have started so early. That's the problem with starting early, you don't really want to finish yet, but I am pretty exhausted.
The traffic there is still pretty bad, one car peeps the horn at me from behind, as if saying, get off the road. Though I can't get off the road, because the side is often soft gravel, where I will get stuck!
From Woffords Heights on it gets better, more scenic, some hills and as soon as I get into Kernville I know, this is where I want to stay. It's weekend, very busy and there are hundreds of people doing white water rafting and river kayaking. I find the camp site and despite having cycled a lot already today I cycle back into town to get supplies and to use the internet in a cafe.
Pretty quiet night.

The Kern River Gorge

Not much of a shoulder here!

Looking back at Isabella Lake

  

June 5, 2011    Kernville

It rained a little last night, but it's sunny in the morning. I would like to get a motel room. I find one for 60$, Dan gives me deal! I have a kitchen and river view, absolutely beautiful and very quiet! I enjoy the day, cycling to town and walking around.
In the evening I use the laptop in front of the office. Dan tells me I can use one of the rooms to get away from the mosquitoes. I already started feeling queasy a few hours ago, bloated, as if I've eaten too much. I go back to my room at 9pm and get the shakes. I am throwing up every hour until about 3am. I barely sleep, my whole body aches.

Kern River

The view from my Motel room onto Kern River

June 6, 2011    Kernville

A day of sleeping. My body aches everywhere like when you have a fever. But I think it is just the convulsion of throwing up that makes me sore, sorry for being so picturesque! I sleep until 2 pm, when I finally make my way to the supermarket, which is blessedly just across the road. I know what to get, since Micky had to do the same things. He had called a doctor friend to find out, what he can eat and drink. I buy the smartwater ( distilled water with electrolytes) , cranberry juice, bananas, Saline crackers. I barely can stand up at the cashier. Partly it`s just the weakness after the ordeal of last night, but I`m also hungry. I start drinking some juice and water, eating some crackers and wait and see what happens. Over the afternoon I get a bit stronger, but my belly is still funny.
I was so lucky to have changed to a motel room yesterday! I had a nice clean toilet to use... which would have been horrendous on the camp site!
Dan asks me a few times in the day, how I`m feeling. In the evening he tells me I can stay tomorrow night for free, so that I can get stronger before the ride. Also, today arrived some motorcyclists who came over the pass, that I intended to tackle tomorrow. They had 43 Degrees Fahrenheit at 1pm. Dan says it`s getting warmer every day now, so it might be good for me to wait a day. He`s even offering me to take me up the hill, so that I can ride in one day back down to Porterville. That way I don`t have to sleep in freezing temperatures and I get to see the beauty of the landscape.

June 7, 2011   Kernville

Dan is very kind, he lets me stay a night for free in this beautiful room with the great view and my big kitchen. I have a day of rest, go for a leisurely bike ride to a hiking trail along the river.

June 4, 2011 San Francisco to Sant Barbara

May 19, 2011    Emeryville

Still on the train, I have lunch in the restaurant. The people in the sleepers get the meals for free. The nice man next to me doesn't want his desert, so he orders for me a crumble and a Haagen Daz Ice cream. Yummmy!

I'm arriving 2 1/2 hours late. I have to wait a while for my luggage and bike to come out. I know I don't have far to go, so I just tie everything onto the bike and set off. I am staying with Carla and Josh, who live very close to the Amtrak Station. They are my first warmshowers hosts and what wonderful hosts they are. They live in a very interesting building, and old factory, that was converted into apartments. Josh builds cargo bikes, even designs them himself. One big part of the apartment is Josh's workshop. Heaven! Everywhere you see bikes hanging off the ceiling, or parts of bikes, like a row full of fenders or bike wheels hanging off a water pipe. Josh is checking out my bike, when he gets back from work, a bike store in town, that sells "old-fashion"bikes, many of them cargo bikes for hauling big stuff from Europe.
We have great dinner together and exchange stories about our past touring and travelling experiences.


May 20, 2011     15.6km,   1.10hrs,  13.1km/h     Emeryville to San Francisco

I have to pack everything in its proper place again after having put it all into different bags for the train ride. It takes me until noon before I'm ready to leave the apartment. I first cycle to a health food store. They tend to be about 50 times bigger here in the States than in Canada and it's hard for me not to stay in there for hours looking at all the goodies they have. Unfortunately I have only so much space in my panniers( or as it happens none!), so I can't do a "Costco" type of shopping. Then I'm riding to REI, the equivalent to MEC.  I need to get a map of Adventure Cycling for the Pacific Coast. It's 3pm by the time I get to the BART Station to go to the center of  San Francisco. The station I buy the ticket first doesn't have an elevator, so I go to Berkley Downtown Station. I could not find an elevator again and just as I start daring the escalator with my heavy bike- a 45 Degree angle!- a police man shows me the elevator across the street. Lucky! In the station waiting for the train I start talking with another cyclist, a commuter. He cycles every day 1 hour each way to and from work. He helps me find my way back out of the station in San Francisco. I'm looking for Josh's bike shop and they help me find a hostel.
I'm riding along the shore to the Fishermans' Wharf Hostel, a great ride in the evening sun.
I store my bike and walk along the shore to see the Golden Gate Bridge from far away. It's super windy and I'm glad my bike is locked away.
A young woman,( sorry Spring? I must have lost your contact info, can you send me an email? thanks!)  I'm sharing the room with tells me about a great bike ride she did the day before over the Golden Gate Bridge to Point Bonita. So I decide to stay another day and do this ride.

Golden Gate in the sunset

May 21, 2011    32.51km,  2.11hrs,   14.7km/h    San Francisco-Point Bonita in Marine Headlands and back

I start cycling along the shore and can't believe my eyes. I have never seen so many joggers and cyclists in one place before. And they keep coming, all day long. I see a man with a pink colored poodle.  I make my way over the bridge and just as I am almost over I decide to call my parents. It's my birthday tomorrow and in Germany it's almost the 22nd. My parents have been on this bridge 15 years ago and they have good memories of San Francisco. I haven't seen the Saxophone player they talked about though!
The road leads through a tunnel, an experience by itself. It's like cycling through a cave with Stalactites and Stalagmites both present.
Coming out on the other side is indeed like another world. The air is clearer and more moist, here is far less traffic and a lot of cyclists. It's just fun being here. The people working in the Information Center are super friendly and happy to chat. I get a free bicycle repair kit from them!
The way back is a bit more challenging, the wind is very strong now, but luckily not gusty. The one side of the bridge is reserved for cyclists, this is where I cycle back. Sometimes it's quite narrow, but no crashes!
After a late lunch I go out for a walk, this time towards Fisherman's Wharf. There is so much to see!
There are swimmers getting ready for a long swim in the ocean. On some stairs are a lot of people of all nationalities drinking wine and beer in public! I thought this was not allowed in the States. I'm going back there after my walk and have my red wine. 
I enjoy the sunset on the stairs, plenty to look at.

Golden Gate Bridge

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!!!!   May 22, 2011   39km, don't know the exact riding time, my odometer broke down ,  San Francisco to Montara

I'm getting lots of emails for my birthday, facebook is a nice reminder to people.
Thanks everyone for remembering!
The ride to Daly City and Pacifica is a partly pleasant ride along the ocean, partly too busy for my liking. 5 or so km of the last 11km to Montara is horrendous! The first part goes through a dense forest, very windy, no space on the side. A white pick-up truck( what else!) honks at me before he passes me within inches in high speed. Not 2 minutes later a group of motorbike drivers are passing me and one of them is coming so close to me, I can feel his breath in my neck. And he shouts at me, just as he is beside me! I shout and scream and swear puffing up the hill and swear to myself that I will not do this part of the ride ever again! Isn't it hard enough to cycle uphill! No you have to deal with people who send their death wishes at you!

I intended to go to a camp site, but after this day and the temperature dropping, I decide to check out the hostel, which I am just passing. I'm glad I have stopped. It used to be a lighthouse and they turned it into a hostel. Great place. And I'm lucky to share it with a few other very nice people. I have a nice evening and we are only 2 people in the dorm.

Just before the Hostel

May 23, 2011  76.23km,  3.46hrs,  20.3 km/h   Montara to Davenport

I start around 10:30am and have tale wind. What a pleasure! The wind is getting nice and strong, so my average is up high! The road is still busy. On the road I meet a couple of cyclists from San Francisco, they are on a weeklong tour along the coast. We talked for a while, then I get back on the road. Shortly after I see another cyclist. Micky is from San Francisco on a week long tour down to Santa Barbara. He had heard about the landslide after Big Sur and started planning this trip to enjoy that part of the road with very little traffic.

We  have a brake and the other cyclists are catching up.  We talk for a while, then cycle together. At some point they turn off to go to a camp site, they have come all the way from San Francisco today! I keep going, I haven't done so much yet. Just before Davenport my knee starts hurting badly, when I stop I can hardly walk.  Finally it loosens up and I go into a restaurant in this 300 inhabitant little town that has a Sushi - Night on tonight and a Blues Band playing.

The view from the hostel looking north

Great bike path

It's windy!

May 24, 2011   95.22km,  4.59hrs,  19.1km/h   Davenport to Monterey

The pastry at the pub- they have pub, restaurant and bakery all together- is amazing! My breakfast is one filled croissant after another. Delicious and no regrets! I even get a muffin for the road.
The road is great, traffic is less now and often the road leads away from the busy highway. Parts of it go through fields of strawberries and artichokes. All these nice smells! And the tailwind is so strong, it pushes me along. That's why I'm able to do 19km/h!

As soon as I hit Santa Cruz I'm actually off the main road. There is only a 9 mile stretch that is on Hwy 1, the rest is on side roads or bike paths.
At some point I'm catching up with the young couple from San Francisco a bit further down the road, we have a cup of tea and enjoy each others company and some more pastries. They just scraped together everything they need  for cycling and camping and even borrowed her dad's bike.  On a trip like this you learn things like how important it is to have cycle shorts! I could not do 80 miles without them!!

Going into Monterey the last 10 miles are on a bike path. I've noticed, that around towns they often build proper bike paths, that lead away from the main road especially, where it tends to get really busy. The quiet of the bike path is so much more peaceful. There are mostly good sign posts for the Pacific Coast Route, though sometimes they make you use your brain and map, just so you can exercise that part of you as well.



 May 25, 2011         63.4km,  3.45 hrs,  16.9km/h    Monterey to Big Sur

Along the 17 Mile Drive around Monterey

The little detour around Pacific Grove and the 17 Mile Drive has  some nice beaches, but mainly you're cycling through a huge Golf Course. Back on Hwy 1 it seems less traffic than coming into Monterey.
The road ahead is closed due to a huge mud slide that happened in April. We are hoping to get through with our bikes, though we've heard they won't let anyone through except of a High School kid who lives on the other side of the slide. They let him through early in the morning and when the days work is finished and the slide is secured. He walks down on a rope to the beach, pass the slide and comes back up to the road on the other side. So I guess we can do that too?! But with the bikes?

We have breakfast at Carmel Highlands. Clouds come in pretty quickly and it starts raining. We wait it out and set off in light mist. Most of the day is rain jacket on and off, hard to say how you get more wet. I'm happy to stop at Big Sur, which is off the coast right in the hills. It's a nice change of scenery, there are lots of great big trees here.

Coast looking north

Lots of great beaches!

 May 26, 2011       80km,  3.35hrs,  22.3km/h     Big Sur to Ragged Point


Today is the day! The Big Crossing!

It's cold in the mountains, especially in the treed part of the road, but the sun is out and the first uphill gets you warmed up good! No rain jacket necessary today!
Tail wind again, pushing me along. The coastline is stunningly beautiful. Not much traffic and just pure pleasure riding here!
Passing Santa Lucia for lunch and stocking up water we get to Gorda in the afternoon. Over the day we keep asking people about the slide and what the chances are that we can get through. The closer we get, the bigger our chances are! At first there is no chance at all, impossible to walk through.  There are 2 police men, one is the good, who doesn`t see you, one is the bad, who gives you a ticket!
Someone approaches us and tells us just before the slide is a red bag on a post, after which is a rope, where you can go down to the ocean. This is where the High school kid is going too. He says the workers finish work usually around 5pm and at 7:30pm they are mostly gone.
When we are at the barrier 2 cyclists are just coming from there and they say there is no police and they went to watch the work. Still not sure, but now it is more and more likely we actually will do the crossing.

We go through the barrier, cycle down to get closer to the slide. Once we see it, we hide our bikes and ourselves and wait. There are 2 backhoes working on the slide, some people walking around, 2 bulldozers going up and down the far side of the slide. Surprisingly a pick-up truck passes us going to the slide, we manage to duck, hoping they haven`t seen us!
We get company, someone on foot is coming towards us. We show ourself, hoping he's not one of the slide watchers. We're in luck, he's a tourist, wanting to cross the slide too, so he joins us. The 3 of us are hiding behind rocks and high grasses, having cold dinner, cheese, nuts, bread and mueslibars. A great view of the ocean and occasionally we check out the work on the slide. 2 motorbike drivers pass, when they come back we show ourself and we get some even better info from them. They tell us, that there will be a black Toyota pick-up truck coming from this side, parking and crossing the slide by foot. He lives on the other side of the slide. He`s the last to check that there is no one around anymore.
Eventually the backhoes stop working, people seem to walk down the far end of the slide. The black Toyota pick-up truck comes as promised and the driver crosses the slide by foot, he's going straight across. We get excited, that would be the easiest option! Well, easier than cycling a 3 day detour with 16% inclines or even easier than carrying the bikes and luggage down to the beach, carry everything over huge rocks and boulders and then somehow take it all back up to the road again.

Around 7:30pm, when there is no one left, we set off quickly. Changing sandals to shoes, unloading the bikes I start off with 4 small and one big Ortlieb bag. The first steps on the slope are scary, so are all the others! On the right is the ocean, far down a nice and smooth slope, on the left is the seemingly endless slope with little bits of gravel coming down constantly! My left arm is killing me half way through. I struggle with every step, I breath like I haven`t done any exercise for 10 years! Michael is behind me struggling too, but being patient with me, since it would be pretty hard trying to overtake.
Micky has taken his bike across, a nice and light racing bike, perfect for crossing a slide! He comes back to get more luggage, encourages me to leave one set of bags in the middle of the slide, because I can`t carry them anymore, he'll pick them up later. I make it to the far side much faster. Suddenly I can actually walk instead of setting down the bags every step.  Micky goes back for the third time and gets my bike, a packhorse, not on the light side. All Michael and I can do is watch him struggle and take pictures.  I grab the bike, Michael pulls Micky up and we all catch our breath.

Michael is going to camp out near the slope and we start riding in the sunset. We still have some light and have to make it to Ragged Point. With all that excitement we actually forget to look at the map to see how the terrain is for this part. Just as well, there is a pretty good hill ahead. On the downhill part is not much light left and it's getting quite chilly.  I'm shaking of cold by the time we get to Ragged Point.

Great coast line and beaches

The big Slide- or as we call it the Big Divide!

It's even steeper than it looks!

May 27, 2011   Ragged Point          Hike


For me this is supposed to be a rest day. I haven't had a day off in 7 days and I have been going hard.
Well, my rest day consists of hiking up a mountain for 1 1/2 hours, then running down the hill in 45 minutes. It's been great, but I'm not sure about the "rest" part!

Looking north from Ragged Point, magic coastal route!

Just south of Ragged Point

May 28, 2011         80km,  3.35hrs,  22.3km/h       Ragged Point to Morro Bay


Beautiful sunny day!  I have time to practice Tai Chi at a great spot with sea view right above the cliff.
Eventually I set off around 2pm and fly with the wind! I cannot stop, the tale wind is too good to give up, so I go much further, than I thought I would.
The landscape is flattening out into a wide valley. But there are long beaches with hundreds of sea lions. It's really interesting watching them, I could stand there for hours!

No high cliffs anymore but many long beaches

Do you see all the sealions?

May 29, 2011      111.20km,  5hrs,   22.2km/h      Morro Bay to Lompoc

Another tale wind day! I love to fly with the wind! This is my furthest I've ever done  in a day! Thanks to the wind!
There are a few more hills today, but the wind helps me to cover this huge distance! But it's by far not as spectacular as on the coast around Big Sur.

 heading into the hills after passing lots of agricultural land

May 30, 2011       96km,   4.50hrs,    21.3km/h        Lompoc to Santa Barbara

I've never had so many days of tale wind before! This coast is definitely a north-south route, I would not enjoy it the other way around. All the cyclists going north are frustrated, even consider taking the train for a bit or going inland to get out of the wind.

After a hill and a busy Highway I'm back on the bike path 10 miles or so before Santa Barbara. It's so good to get off the busy road.
Santa Barbara has a mountain range on one side, palm trees, a long sandy beach and it is actually warm here.

May 31, 2011     15.83km,   1.06hrs,  14.3km/h    Santa Barbara

I take a rest day. I cycle around Santa Barbara, sitting at the beach, checking out the skate board/ bike park. I see some great performances!

Santa Barbara

June 1, 2011      79.41km,  4.48hrs,   16.5km/h     Santa Barbara to Ojai

I'm leaving Santa Barbara and cycle mostly on bike paths or a road that leads parallel to the Hwy. Not very scenic, but pleasant enough. Once I turn to the east on 150 it gets much nicer. This is all fruit growing area, Avocados, Oranges, Kiwis, some trees I'm not sure, what they are. Everything is very green. The climb starts immediately. It's pretty much 40 km of climbing with very few downhill parts.
In a village just before Ojai I buy some strawberries that are so sweet, I eat the whole package on the spot. I wish I had more space in my belly. At the fruit stand a man on his bike tells me about a shortcut to get into the mountains instead of going to Ojai itself.
I decide I like to see Ojai, since this supposed to be a place not unlike Salt Spring. It's all on bike path now and I see the turn off to the Campsite Camp Comfort. I don't make it over the road, the traffic is far too heavy, so I keep cycling into Ojai. I just cycle through, get to the turn off to get to the campsite. Creek Road is going along the creek and it gets darker and darker. Not from sunset though, the camp site is situated in a deep valley and I don't really like this place very much, not much of comfort for me. There is sun up on top and that's where I want to be.
I'm pretty indecisive about if I want to keep going into the mountains today and try and find a camp site. I've been riding plenty already and I'm getting tired. Also after riding with people most of the time I'm aware, that cycling alone can be quite challenging at times and right now seems much less fun than sharing this adventure. So I want some comfort and not be on a lonely campsite in the middle of nowhere.
I get to the start of the mountain road and see a cafe. Someone tells me about Oak View, where I could find some more affordable motels. So I cycle that direction until I realize it's a long way back. I ask again someone and she tells me about a couple of decent hotels in Ojai. Back I go the way I came from. By now I have probably added another 15km just in cycling up and down in Ojai.
The Visitor Center is closed. I keep asking people on the road, they pull out their magic cell phones with wifi and try to find where a hotel or motel might be. I keep cycling through town and find 2 hotels. The first one is 119$, the second one is 109$. I check in and go out right away to get a beer or wine. Almost immediately I meet Daniel again, the guy I talked to last. He tells me, he was looking for me. He had called his father after I left and I can stay with them, they live right in town.
I manage to get my money back from the hotel and go with Daniel to stay with his parents. We have dinner together and when we get back I meet Richard and Maria. They are lovely people. They live in a really interesting nice house ( they are on a garden tour every year), their house is covered in tiles that they make themselves. Everywhere in town you can see their tiles. Ojai reminds me of Salt Spring Island, it has about 8000 inhabitants and lots of very artistic people.
We sit together in the evening, I enjoy myself very much. Maria has baked some Rhubarb Cake, it smells so good. It`s her favorite and it seems difficult to get hold of rhubarb in this area. She shares the cake with us and I feel at home!
Richard is going back into the workshop to fire some tiles, Maria and I sit chatting. Funny how this happens, this is exactly what I needed, some good company. And there is Daniel who is just out of the Armee, caring enough to organize my stay. Thanks Daniel and thank you Richard and Maria for your true hospitality! It was really wonderful meeting you and your family. 

climbing has it's advantages!

The entrance to Richards and Maria's house

May 18, 2011 Glendale-Red Canyon-Bryce-Escalante-Capitol Reef

May 7, 2011     63.62km,  3.57 hrs,   16.4 km/h          Glendale to Red Canyon Park

I manage to leave at 11 am. The morning is pretty cold but eventually the sun comes out and warms me up.
First part of the trip is a gentle, sometimes not so gentle uphill for about 25 km to Long Valley Junction, where the 14 goes off the 89 to Cedar City. I have strong tailwind for a change and enjoy it thoroughly. There is quite a lot of traffic in the morning, big trucks and touring buses, which are actually the best drivers, They usually give me lots of space. It's the small RV's that are the crazy ones, they don't have a good judgment. Once 3 RV's are driving behind each other so close, that the second RV goes pass me far too close for comfort because he has no clear view of the road. And I also don't like the huge bus-like RV's with a car towing behind, sometime 2 bikes on that car. They are strong windbreakers and wind makers and no fun, when you are struggling up the hill!

There are those ripples just on the outside of the white line, which means it sometimes doesn't leave me much space between the edge of the road and these ripples. So I have to cycle sometimes on the white line. It's not easy to keep the balance, when it get's tight like that. Once I look to the side and end up in the soft sand and have to get off the bike.
The scenery is very pretty. A small river turns into a flooded valley, there are cows everywhere and horses. These 3 horses are so curious when I stop for a drink of water, they all come to the fence. So I walk over to them. Very pretty shy horses.
I see some not so pretty sights too. Several adult deer freshly killed by the side of the road, on even on the road and I see a little down the road a fawn, that hasn't even been born yet.
I meet 2 cyclists. He's pulling a trailer with a little dog in it. They come from Tucson, started in Colorado heading west to Cedar City. They left Bryce Canyon today and have strong head winds. They tell me there is a gas station with a little store on top of the hill.
 I have a long break there, waiting for Julia. It's windy but I find a spot in the sun, that's warm enough and enjoy my lunch. I see some mountains pretty close by with snow on them! When Julia arrives we chat for a bit, before I keep going. An unknown pleasure is ahead.
I'm zooming down the hill at 33-50 km/h. An hour of riding 30 km or more downhill with the wind! What a pleasure!
The river is getting bigger, more flooded areas and some red mountains in the background. Very pretty. Anything is pretty when you go downhill with headwind. It actually means there is no wind at all, because you go the speed of the wind. So the sun is nice and warm on my back.
In Red Canyon Town I turn onto the 12 towards Bryce Canyon. I pass the Red Canyon RV Campsite and go uphill towards the red mountains. These roads here are illusionary. They are so wide, that you think it's not much of an uphill. But when you look back you get the right perspective. It's much much steeper than it looks!
Once I enter the Dixie National Forest everything is red and green around me. I stop every few meters to take pictures. Eventually I make it to the camp site. Very pretty site. When I'm opening my tent I look at one of those red mountains.
I have some food and enjoy the rest of the sun. Julia is arriving at 8 pm, she stopped at the campsite in Red Canyon Town and got chatting with the owner there. He tells her a route we could take to get to Salt Lake City. I keep that in mind.

Red Canyon near Bryce Canyon

May 8, 2011    Red Canyon  to  Bryce Canyon     23.51 km ,  1.46 hrs,   13.1 km/h

It's really windy today. I leave before Julia. It's gorgeous through the Red Canyon. It's a short but extremely windy trip, especially the last few kilometer. I arrive at Ruby's campsite. The weather is getting worse, weather forecast predicts snow. Well, I don't want to wait for Julia to make a decision. I'm choosing one of the Tipis the campsite offers. I ask about the hole in the ceiling, if there is a cover for it. The lady tells me the Tipis are built in a way that it doesn't rain in. Take it with a grain of salt...

I ask a driver of a pick up truck, if she's seen another cyclists on the road, so I know Julia was not far. I dropped off my stuff in the Tipi, grabbed my swimming stuff and went over to the Hotel, where we are allowed to use the pool. I find Julia in the Hotel. she's joining me later in the pool. We have some good conversations in the hot tub. We get to meet Jon from Rhode Island. He's so impressed to hear we are actually sleeping in a Tipi, that he comes over for a beer and check out the tipi.  It lasted until the snow made its way through the hole in the top. We got soaked and Jon drives me to the other hotels to see if we can relocate to a dry place. Unfortunately all the rooms are over 100$, so we go back and Julia and I squeeze right to the sides of the tipi, where we hope the water, that runs down the wood doesn't get us.

May 9, 2011             Tour de Bryce

Our tipi in the morning

I wear everything I have!

I wake up with my sleeping bag soaked, Julia's is wet too.
I go to the reception, which was closed last night, and ask for a refund. They finally agree to it. Tonight we treat ourselves to a cabin with a heater! We will be nice and warm!
I go into the hot tub again to warm up and wait for noon, until we can move our luggage into the cabin. I don't want to sit on my bike in this weather, it's still snowing, everything is white. I am waiting in a snowstorm for the bus to take me into the park. I first go into the visitor center, where I watch a film about Bryce. By the time I come out it's sunny! April weather in May! At an elevation of over 7000 feet  no surprise it's still snowing in May.
 I go from viewpoint to viewpoint with the bus, once I walk along the rim from Sunset Pppoint to Sunrise Point, then I go back to the cabin, warming up. I've been 3 times in the hottub in the last 24 hours, each time for at least 1-2 hours my body can't take any more chlorine. So no hot tub for me today anymore.

The classic Amphitheater in Bryce

May 10, 2011    Bryce to Escalante     46.96 km,   3.24 hrs,  13.8 km/h

It has not snowed last night, but it is sunny and cold this morning.
I pack my things and leave before Julia.
The first 15 km is downhill. I stop on the way at a mossy cave, go for a walk, but walking back I get into a snow hale. It lasts for quite a while. I'm entering Tropic, which is not that tropic really but I am able to take off my Raincoat and my fleece.From here I start a 37 km uphill, it takes me 2 3/4 hours. It's so slight, that I first think I'm just tired, but looking back I realize the gradient I'm coming up and I get it!
I meet 5 female cyclists coming down from Escalante, not heavily loaded as we are. I let the last one know, to tell Julia that Escalante will be the place to stop and camp for the night. We will have cycled enough for the day by the time we get to Escalante. One of them tells me, while she easily is rolling down the hill " Good luck with getting up there!". That sounds like a long haul!
I cycle for about 1 hour through heavy snowfall, very beautiful, but cold and wet. I put on all my fleeces and rain jacket and keep cycling uphill. When you think you finally reached the top, don't always believe it. The real top is still to come. Actually, part of it is so steep, I have to get off the bike and push. And stop, and push, and stop and push..... I consider shortly the possibility of not being able to make it, my bike feels so heavy! Someone is reminding me later, that it might have to do with the elevation. At almost 3000 meter it is quite natural to have to rest more often. Eventually I make it back on the bike and push just barely to move forward. This way I can keep going longer without stopping.

by the mossy cave towards Tropic

This doesn't look too good!

me in the snow!

Just before the top I hear Julia hollering out of a car, they will be waiting on top if I want to get a ride down the hill.
Oh yes, I want a ride down the hill, or do I? That's the first for me! Why would I?! Because it is snowing like it is Christmas and I am cold despite having just climbed a pass! The lady giving us a ride pulls a horse trailer, that she had repaired in Cedar City, a 3 hours drive for her. The horse trailer of course is handy for our bicycles. She drops us off at the campsite in Escalante. We stay at the RV Park in a Cabin, we need to warm up!

May 11, 2011   Around Escalante    32.25 km,  2.15 hrs, 14.2 km/h

The weather is supposed to turn bad today, rain in the afternoon, so we decide to stay aother day. Escalante seems a nice quiet place.
I go on a tour around Escalante into Box Canyon, which is a nice ride up a gravel road with nice gorges going off to the side.
Midday I do some work on my bike. Frank, the owner of the Campsite, is lending me his tools and I can clean my chain with his chain cleaner. I have to get one of those! Very handy and I have a shiny chain at the end!
In the afternoon I go for another little ride toward the Petrified Forest. The Ranger tells me it`s not really worth paying the 6$, so I just ride along the lake and go back. The weather ended up to be very  nice and I was glad to have spend the day outside.

This is where I came from yesterday!

Alpine flowers

May 12, 2011     Escalante to Boulder, Utah    49.19 km,  3.59 hrs,  12.3 km/h

Sunny and blue sky, no wind! Great weather!
It's flat for a while, though it might be uphill too, not sure, but the talewind pushes me along and I know, why I'm doing all this. The views while riding are great! After about 5 km it gets steeper and goes steadily uphill for 15 km. I see a great viewpoint, leave my bike at the road and  run up the hill to take a photo and film of the view.
On another viewpoint lower down I meet some nice people from Holland. they have done a 2 month cycle trip through France last year.
It goes downhill at 8 % at times, great view again! And relentless headwind, as if it wasn't hard enough already!
 Eventually up and down into a gorge until I get to a Cafe in seemingly the middle of nowhere, that calls me in. Frank from the campsite reminded me to drink lots of fluid, do fruit, sugar. So I get a Strawberry Shake and drink it slowly, though soon asking for a hot cup of water!
As soon as I am going down into the bottom of the gorge the uphill starts! Pitilessly uphill! |There are 4-5 very steep parts, that I realize later are a 14% gradient!
Half way up these hills the fruit shake starts working. It bloats my belly until I'm not able to bend my knees on my bike anymore and I have to get off the bike. It's painful and as soon as I bend forward my belly feels like a cannonball. I see no other choice than stopping for a while. I lay on a rock head down and rub my belly, no success, except the sun feels so nice and warm on my skin. I get up and do some Tai Chi exercise, the turning one, with a great view at where I came from. After about 8 minutes it starts working wonders. It takes another 45 minutes for me to be able to sit back on my bike. All the air puffed out! Ready to go.
Just as I am taking some pictures  a cyclist stops and we start chatting. His name is Ian, he is from Boulder Colorado and on the road for a few months( sorry Ian, I don't remember exactly for how long) We arrange to hopefully meet in the next town. I take some pictures and follow up the hill. Even though the steepest 14 % parts are over ( it almost seems flat), it still goes generally uphill! Still sunny,  all day great views, the last part into Boulder is, of course, uphill!
I meet Ian on the road, he just checked out the camping possibilities, since there is no official camp site in town. We decide to have some food first and find a very good restaurant( there are only a couple anyway), that makes delicious, mostly organic meals. I don't have to spend money on accommodation tonight, so I splurge.
Julia arrives at around 8 pm, her bike is not working well and she had to push a lot. She's also having some dinner and meets us at the campsite out of town after dark.

 

Looking back where I came from

Don't I love this sign, if it goes the right direction...in this case I came from there!

May 13, 2011  Boulder (6593ft, 2010m) to Torrey (6843ft, 2085m)  16.85 km,  1.29 hrs,  11.3 km/h

We all go different paths from here.
Julia has decided to stop the bike tour and go to Denver. She is going back into Boulder to try and get a lift over the next mountain toward Green River.
Ian is taking the Burt Trail to get to Powell Lake.

And I start up the hill to tackle the 14 % gradients again and get over 9600 ft ( 2900m). After riding for an hour and a half I hear Julia calling out of a beautiful Oldsmobile from 1963, asking if I want a ride. The weather is great and sunny but I am pretty tired. I was thinking of getting a ride to the top, I'm carrying a lot of water and my bike is heavy. But we have such good sand fun together, stopping at viewpoints talking with other visitors, that I stay with them all the way to Torrey. At one view point I'm talking with a couple from Santa Cruz, who kindly invite me to stop by on my way down the West Coast. We get to meet a couple that gives us packages of Braggs samples. Before they left on their trip they visited their 80 something year old neighbour Patricia Bragg, who seems to be as fit as ever and very entertaining. She gave them boxes of samples to give out to stores and people. In Torrey we share the the goodies, thanking Gunnar for the ride I say a final goodbye to Julia.
I go into the Information Center and talk with Scott. He tells me the park Campsite is full and explains to me the route to Green River, where I was thinking of catching a train.
I go to the next camp site, Sandcreek RV Park, which is nice and quiet. Donna and her husband are very accommodating. It's not so quiet in the evening though, a large youth group arrives. They are very excited about setting up their tents! And another  group of 5 in their twenties arrive and noisily set up tent and pump up their air mattresses for hours. They chat at the fire about 3 Meter away from my tent. At midnight I finally ask them to be quiet.

May 14, 2011  Torrey to Capitol Reef (5500ft, 1676m) and back  42.07 km,  2.41 hrs,  15.5 km/h

At least I wasn't the only one complaining. People in the cabin and some in the campers are complaining to Donna the next morning about the noise. And they were far away!
It's been a cold night again, as almost every night since I've been in Arizona and Utah. Cottonwood and Zion Canyon were the only warm places on this trip so far.
I'm having trouble with my stove. It is most of the time so windy, that I need to build a barrier, so that the Propane flame is not blowing out. The pot keeps sliding, so whatever I'm cooking, I have to hold on to the pot for the whole time!
So this morning I spill my porridge! I pick up what I can, add a bit of water and oats and start over again.
At 9 am I'm ready for the ride to Capitol Reef. I talk with Donna, who even gives me her phone number, just in case I get stuck down there and can't make it back up before dark. That's a great back up. People are looking out for me here!
Just as I want to leave the office, it starts raining and storming. So I go back to my tent and wait for an hour until it's sunny again. It is spring weather so it actually does get sunny again!
I start riding to the info Center and talk to Scott. This time I ask him for the route going to Salt Lake City. Green River station doesn`t let me put the bike on the train, so I have to get to Salt Lake City for check in. The 350 km trip to Salt Lake City doesn`t sound very exciting and the last 150 km would be through heavy traffic.Scott offers to keep an ear out for anyone going that way and willing to take me and my bike.
Going to Capitol Reef is a blast! All downhill for about 20 km, 400 meter elevation drop! Again with great views! I was told it's a 2000ft drop, not quite.
I stop many many times to take pictures. In the park I go for a one hour hike. It goes up steep, then the temperature changes. It gets so nice and hot, I`m walking through a Cohab Canyon with side canyons going off. People are climbing into the side canyons, sometimes you only hear them, so deep are they in the rock! I could stay there forever!
I met some cyclists on  racing bikes earlier and asked them how long it will take them to go back up again, the 20 km. They say, oh about 30 minutes. My guess is, it will take me about 3 times that time.
Actually, not true. I make very good time and in about an hour I make it to the last hotel before town. A thunder storm is coming, it starts raining, lightning and thunder in the distance, though not too far away and coming closer! Looks pretty threatening. The wind is so strong coming from the side, that it pushes me several times right into the middle of the road. Once a car is just overtaking me and I stop dead in the middle of the road. Puh, that was lucky! Another car overtakes me, I`m kind enough to go as far to the right as possible and the idiot is overtaking me despite oncoming traffic. Not alone that, his trailer is carrying a boat, which passes my arm at elbow length! I shout uselessly at him!
The wind is getting even stronger so I go under cover at the hotel entrance, but the wind comes from the front so the roof doesn`t do much good. I put on my rain clothes and keep on riding  my bike through the wind. Whenever I see a car behind me I get off the bike and push. Finally the road turns into the wind and towards Torrey and I make it  safely in good time into town!
I get a phone call from Scott from the visitor center, telling me, he is still looking for me for a ride to Salt Lake City. He tells me he's working for the next 2 days in the Visitor Center and on tuesday he's going shopping in the next city/town. And if I like I can stay in his trailer for the 2 nights, save some money and rest. Donna assures me he's a very nice guy. A rest sounds good to me.

My lift

Capitol Reef

Cohab Canyon

May 15 and 16, 2011   7.85km,  30 minutes, 15.1 km/h     Around Torrey

Sunday morning I move to Scotts place. His dogs are excited to see me. I unpack and leave to find a cafe with internet access. The book store is a great place with lots of books, guitars, music, good coffee and wifi. Updating emails. I manage for the first times in weeks to do some Tai Chi sets!
In the evening we are going to a restaurant to meet some old friends of Scott's and have dinner with them.
Monday I do the washing, let the dogs out, write diary, email in the cafe... have great dinner in the evening.

May 17, 2011     Torrey to Salt Lake City - No cycling today

Scott kindly offers me to take me all the way to Salt Lake City. He hasn't been ther in 2 years! And it's a 350km trip one way! We have a good drive, though it is snowing most of the way and I'm so glad to sit dry in a car!  He drops me off right in front of Chris's house, who's expecting me. So good to see him again, last time we saw each other, we played tennis on Salt Spring Island. And finally I see, where he lived for the last 5 years!
We spend the afternoon in the Two Creek Coffee House close to his place. I catch up on emails.
He takes me to a pub, where I drink a Schneider Weisse, so good to drink good beer! The austrian restaurant, that Chris wanted to take me to, has gone out of business. So we go to this pizza place, where I have one of the best pizzas I`ve ever had.

Wasabi

May 18, 2011  Train from Salt Lake City to San Francisco

Slow morning, writing diary, breakfast with Chris and visiting the Coffee House again.

The evening is reserved for watching the Canucks play in a Sportsbar with probably 25 other TV screens.
Chris takes me to the train station at 10pm right after the game. They keep telling me, that I have to either carry on this huge bag or take the bags out of the white cover bag, its only purpose is actually to keep 2  bags together without a rope. They make me buy a box for 3$ but it doesn't fit all in, so I have to pay another 10$ for an extra piece of luggage. Funny thing is, that no suitcase is as waterproof as my bike panniers!
My train is 2 hours delayed because of floodings on the rail road tracks coming from Chicago. I have a really nice conversation with a young traveller, Steve. He's travelled in Europe, hitchhiking from Germany to Romania and back, travelled all over the States, often by train. But not the conventional way! When a train comes into a station, he finds a part of the train, that is open and he goes in, mostly cargo trains. Sometimes he even can get into the second locomotive at the other end of the train, which is often heated. Very resourceful! So tonight he's just taking a short 4 hour hitching- trip to get out of the snowy region.
The train is pretty empty, everyone has 2 seats available. In the moonlight I can see a little of the landscape we are passing by, like the Salt Lakes, which seem flooded in that light. I have a pretty good sleep, especially with having 2 seats for the night.