April 17-21, 2011 Cottonwood-Flagstaff

April 17, 2011

Lazy day... we have finally internet access, so I do some updates on the blog! Though only for this day.
Still have a sore throat, don't know how to get rid of it, I've had it for 6 days now, no better no worse.

Julia surprised me

The house in Cottonwood

Our view from the house in Cottonwood

April 18, 2011   Daytrip to Sedona

Feeling great today, ready to move, check out Sedona. 

Church built into the rock by Sedona

Rock formation around Sedona

Prickly Pear around Sedona

On the way we do the Red Rock Loop, where we see amazing - as the name says- red rock. Beautiful scenery, a church built into the red rock, high cliffs of white and red rock. 
We visit Montezuma Well on the way back. A fresh water spring, and there is not all that much water in this desert. Everything is pretty dry, though we see many different flowers. It's spring and it's hot in the sun, but the wind is still cool. The trees and bushes are just starting to bud.

April 19, 2011      Daytrip to Jerome    3.21hrs,   50 km,  14.7 km/h 

 I'm riding to Jerome, a 50 km round trip, it goes up from 3300 feet to 5300 feet, almost 700 Meter.
Soon after I start, I almost run over a big dead orange snake, one of those big black flies or bees is following me same speed as I'm cycling, I see a dead Coyote well dehydrated by the sun.
The last bit is the toughest, but the town is just ahead of me and the drivers are quite cautious. I pass pretty flowers, a rock wall covered with prickly pear ( a cactus) and other desert plants.

Still a long way up to Jerome

view backwards

Jerome, Arizona

 Jerome is a pretty place, some old ruins and old buildings nicely fixed and painted. Lot's of tourists! At a look-out before the top people chat with me, they are impressed, I came up here on my bike. Even in town people talk with me. I meet a couple from Victoria, BC. What a surprise to meet someone from home! I'm talking with Molly and Bud from Albany, which must be a cycling heaven. I will have to check this area out some time.
On my way down I meet my first fellow touring- cyclist, Mike from Missouri. We go for a beer in the park, which is one of the few public places in Arizona, where it is possible to drink alcohol in the open, though it has to be in a plastic container. Mike is on a 1 week vacation, a 24 hour train ride to Flagstaff, I call this dedication! He cycled down the switchbacks through the canyon into Sedona and kept going to Cottonwood. A long haul, especially with the strong winds here, that tend to miraculously often come from the front!
 The downhill part is total pleasure. By now there is not much traffic and we can race down the hill at 65km/hour. A great end to a great day!

The view down from Jerome

The road back from Jerome to Cottonwood

April 20, 2011     Daytrip to Cornville and Montezuma Castle  70 km, 3.46 hrs,  18.7 km/h

Today I visit Montezuma Castle, a 70 km round trip. Julia is not quite ready for cycling, so Mike and I are cycling out to Cornville. A lot of it is against the wind, which is blowing constantly in the daytime. Eventually Mike is riding ahead, I cycle right behind in his windshadow, as I say it. What a treat! And at least this way he can work relatively hard and I manage to keep up with him- of course, unless there is a hill!
There is a pretty new store, all organics and local food and drink, a great wine selection, nicely done. We have a cold drink, it is getting hot in the day. Then we keep riding to Montezuma Castle, 8 km or so are on the Interstate 17. There is actually a sign, which says 'Cyclists use right lane'.
It's National Park week, so all the national parks are free this week. Montezuma Castle an interesting place, there are still handbuild walls visible in the big rock cliffs, which are the ancient buildings of the Natives.

Day trip to Montezuma Castle

Montezuma Castle

We take a rest at the Montezuma Castle Casino in the shadows of some trees on rare grass! Great temperature in the shade. In and around Cottonwood and Montezuma Castle you can see small bushes, everything is pretty dry and monotonous. Coming into Corndale the river valley changes the scenery. There are actually fields under water and lots of greenery around. Big trees too.
 The ride back is partly hard work against the wind and partly pure pleasure flying with the wind. So much fun, even when being tired! 70 km is certainly enough today.

Around Cornville near Cottonwood

April 21, 2011    Cottonwood to Flagstaff   46 km, 3.05 hrs, 14.9 km/h 

Well,  Cottonwood to Flagstaff is not only 46 km, but I get to that later.

This is my first real day touring with luggage. And my bags are heavy!
 I started off with 30 kg in Canada, but of course I had to buy dried foods like soup, cranberries, oats, quinoa and more. In addition to that I have to bring kerosin for cooking and a good amount of water. The air here is so dry, that just sitting on your bike riding downhill  you get a dry throat.

I say good bye to Chris and Julia, who will stay another few days in Cottonwood. They have been great company and I'm looking forward to meeting up with them again.

I still have to pack the tent, sleeping bag and mattress-pack!

On the way to Sedona

I'm setting off at 10 am to meet Mike at his Motel in town. He's ready to go and we have a good ride out of town.  Elevation to Sedona is only 1100 feet, 335 meter, but again the wind comes often from the front. I'm a lucky girl though, because I can draught behind Mike.

We take the Red Rock Loop Road just before Sedona and get some great view of the red rock formations. Also, this way we avoid the Highway.

Once we get to Sedona, we decide to keep going to Flagstaff. There is so much tourism and traffic. It's Easter weekend and Easter Brake. Mike has ridden the road down and we were told by several people, that it would be a big risk trying to cycle on the road to Flagstaff.  Also, I'm quite tired after riding with the weight on my bike.
So we try to hitchhike from the end of Sedona. Not all that many pick-up truck and if, they are so new, that I don't believe, they will pick up 2 bikes, 2 people and their luggage. Within 3 minutes we get lucky!
Sanna from Sedona is picking us up, she makes room in the back of the van and off we go. We find out, she actually runs a Shuttle Service between Sedona and Flagstaff and is on her way to pick up some Customers from Flagstaff. She's not charging us for the ride and we are very greatful to her for having picked us up. I like to mention her business here, I can heartely recommend Sanna. So if you need a ride, here is her contact:
 Going My Way-Shuttle, flagstaffsedonashuttle.com, 928451-6186

The landscape changes rapidly from small bushes in Cottonwood to big bushes in Sedona area to firs and pines in Flagstaff. The temperature changes rapidly as well. It's cold here! I'm already missing the warmth of Cottonwood, that I got used to for a week!

Red rocks around Sedona

Riding into Sedona

Apri 17, 2011 San Francisco + Cottonwood, Arizona

April 12, 2011

look back onto San Francisco on the ferry to Oakland

I arrive in the morning at San Francisco Amtrak Station in Emeryville, which is just over the water to the east of San Francisco. I load my bike and off I go. Into the train Station, where I spend a half hour talking with the helpful cashier and using my wonderfully useful phone to call the puplic transport of San Francisco. I had a place to stay organized in Fairfax, which is only 35 km from here, but I would have to change bus about a million times. So I take a free shuttle bus from the Amtrak Station to the BART, the city train of San Francisco. You should have seen me! The bus has a bike rack, but it is about hip height. I first try to load the bike with all the bags attached to it, no way! Too high! Then I unload the 2 back panniers, still too high. Then I unload all 6 bags and lift my bike on it. All awhile the bus driver does not move an inch out of his seat and watches patiently.
Once I get to the BART Station, Julia calls me and we arrange to meet at a Motel yet unknown. I skipp my plan the to go to Fairfax quite happily. I first look at a Motel close to BART, so I can go to the city center in the day to check out this famous city. I don't like what I see though.  I talk with a woman on the road, she says, there is prostitution and robberies. I am out of here!  I talk to 2 other people, one of which, an old man,  offers me to join him to this place, where they give you free food. I decline thankfully and cycle on, down Broadway in Oakland. I pass Chinatown and an overpass and find a great Hotel, The Inn, on 3rd and Broadway. It has a clean cold swimming pool and everything was  save and tidy. Lucky!!
I eat in Chinatown and walk to the ocean, which is just 3 blocks from the hotel. I meet Julia and her friend Chris at the hotel and we seem to hit it off right away.
At 4 pm we take the ferry, which is just a few blocks from the hotel. We meet Michael, a 40 year old cyclist, who has a great knowledge about the area. He becomes our "tour guide" and walks with his bike and us through Chinatown and the italian quarter. Brisk walking up and down the streets of San Francisco. We deserve our quick drink in a bar, Michael's treat to us.  Not knowing, there is grander to come!
We take the ferry back to Oakland, another treat of Michael's! We get the most romantic classic view of San Francisco in the sunset! Michael takes us to a restaurant, we don't even have a chance to order, one plate after the other arrives, champagne arrives, wine arrives. Mussels, cheeses, meats, various baguettes and crackers, salad, soup, all to share. And the taste is unbelievable, the price too, but Michael treats us again despite heavy complaints from us. We enjoy this afternoon and evening to the fullest and have a blast with the ever joking Michael. We just keep laughing!

April 13, 2011

We  pack our things and load my bike into the truck and leave it in the hotel parking lot. We again take the ferry across, it's only a 40 minute ride and so worth the money. This time we take it easier, walking slower, checking things out and it feels good after having talked for 8 hours solid yesterday, to be a little more quiet! We arrive at Fisherman's Wharf and walk via Chinatown back to the other ferry terminal.
We pick up the truck, Chris has to lay in the back and we drive for 2 hours south before we get a motel.

April 14, 2011

We drive another 3 hours to Hanford, California, where Julia is picking up her bike and luggage. Julia has quid her job and her house, so we load all her belongings from the storage unit into the truck. While driving out the gate we realize it is far too overloaded. the owner is so kind to let us back in after hours and we unload everything back into the storage unit.

April 15, 2011

We leave early, Chris has slept in the truck for saftey reasons, our bikes are strapped to the roof of the pick-up truck. We have a long drive ahead. 9 hours driving time to Cottonwood. Julia's friend offered us her house in Cottonwood, where we can stay for a while. So we drive through beautiful countryside, the desert is blooming, yellow ground cover and small purple bushes. All the time there are mountains around us, changing looks as we go along. There is no time to sleep, just too much to look at.
We get to Falgstaff, which is at 7100 feet, 2160 meter, it's cold out at night, especially cold after driving for the whole day through the desert. Flagstaff to Sedona is a steep drop down to 4600 feet, 1400 meter , a shame we are not on our bikes! Though we will come back this way on our bikes!

April 16, 2011

The house is stunning, large, great veranda and a perfect view of the desert and the mountains all around.
We spend a lazy morning having breakfast on the veranda and enjoying the view and the morning sun. First time this year I wear shorts! The afternoon is spent buying foods and other things for the trip. Driving around Cottonwood and talking with the friendly bike store people, who give us great info. We spend a good hour in there. People on the street great us with a big smile on their face and a wave or with a "have a good day!". So friendly! Even in Home Depot, we get to meet a Swiss-American who tells us half his life story, including some history of the wartime. So we come back after hours in town, but just visiting 2 stores, what an experience!
We have a fine home cooked meal, since we have a great kitchen, we might as well take advantage of that. Thinking about baking a bread...
Early night for a change.

April 11, 2011 My first day in the States

April 11, 2011  Train Seattle-San Francisco  8:45 am- 8:15 am next day
Dear friends
liebe Freunde und Familie,

first I want to thank everyone for all your support, I could mention every lovely soul here, who showed me how  many valuable friends I have on Salt Spring Island.  But that would drain the battery on my little 10 inch notebook I brought especially to write this blog and let you all know, where I am and hopefully to tell you some exiting and interesting stories.
So, it is time to start the travel log... I've been on the road for about 10 minutes in Seattle, cycling uphill (steep!!) at 10pm in heavy rain and with no warm-up before to get to my hotel where I found they upgraded my room to an onsuite!
 It was all worth it, because the next day I had a fantastic gentle downhill to the Amtrac Building, where my train left 45 minutes after I arrived. ( the woman on the phone told me to be there 30-40 minutes ahead of departure, but I really should have been there 1 1/2 hours before) I had to franticly unpack allmy bags to find my tools- it always takes a few days and much searching for things, until they found themselves in their ideal place in my bags, where I have better chances to find them again- if I can remember!
The train ride is passing ugly and beautiful scenery, the ugly mostly in and around cities. The beautiful, well, everywhere else. Washington and Oregon is an interesting ride. there is the ocean, the Olympic Penisular, rain, sun, hail,lots of snow in the mountains, flooded rivers with trees standing in a mirror of water, and there is also the 1 hour wait in Portland, there are over 20 stops on the way, plenty to look at. I actually don't  a read book or occupy myself with anything but looking outside. From 10 in the morning until it gets dark I'm enjoying the scenery and many memories are coming yup from previous travels.
I enjoy a very delicious lunch with great company, 2 women from San Francisco and a I-phone apps developer from  Portland. We chat for 1 1/2 hours. His name is Chris, the on woman has a son called Chris, the other woman has a daughter called Stephanie. That's easy for them to remember!  Dinner is similarily entertaining, my Vegetarian pasta was delicious and a little spicy, perfect. I came on this train with no food but some home-made cookies and a piece of chocolate, so this is a great surprise!
Now I'm getting ready for a night in my quite comfortable seat. I have lots of space in front, a legrest comes up and there is a footrest too. It's a little cold in here, but a Merino- Shirt does the trick! I'm surprised about the quality of this train. The seats are spacey, the food is first class for a reasonable price, plenty of toilets and I get from Seattle to san Francisco, and 20 hour journey for 100$. I say that's a deal!
This is actually fun writing, while I'm sitting on the train, passing time in the dark now. Even though there is no WiFi, I still can do some "work".
Now, for all those that speak english, this is fine. But for my parents, at least my mums, it isn't. So I will write also a german version of my experience so that my parents will get a print out at the end of the trip of the whole blog. Besides, they don't have a computer either.



Und die Reise beginnt.
Das ist das erste Mal, dass ich nicht meinen ganzen Haushalt einpacken muss bevor ich auf eine grosse Radtour gehe. anders und auch angenehm. Meine Radtaschen sind gepackt und wiegen um die 30 kg, gar nicht so schlecht! Ich dachte mit den ``gadgets``, wie Handy und kleinem Computer komme ich auf mehr. Bisher hat es sich schon gelohnt, dass ich ein notebook habe, was so gross ist wie ein DIN A5 Buch. Ich hatte angefangen alles auf Papier zu schreiben, damit ich es spaeter mit dem Computer schreiben kann. Wenn man keine Steckdose hat, hat man ja nur eine begrenzte Zeit. Deshalb schreibe ich jetzt, wenn es schon dunkel ist. Oh und zum Handy, das habe ich noch nicht zum Telephonieren benutzt, aber ein Sudoko Spiel habe ich schon gemacht!
Alles gepackt, mein Fahrrad haengt am Auto, fahre ich in den den Sueden der Insel, um Simon von seinem retreat abzuholen. Wir fahren zur 1. Faehre, dann 30 km, dann die 2. Faehre fuer mich nach Seattle.Ein letzter Abschied von Simon und die Reise beginnt jetzt wiklich, zuindest die An-Reise! Die Faehre ist komplett ausgbucht, zum Glueck hatte ich reserviert! Ich muss Papiere ausfuellen, aber nichts wie befuerchtet ueber Essen. So kann ich meine selbstgebackenen Haferflocken-Schokoladen-Ingwer-Plaetzchen doch mitnehmen :-) Zum Glueck wusste ich das nicht sicher, sonst haette ich doch tatsaechlich, gut organisiert wie ich bin, mein Essen fuer die ganze Zugreise mitgenommen, und haette dass ausserordentlich gute Zugessen verpasst!  Dazu komme ich spaeter.
So schnell ich aus Kanada auch rauskomme, um so laenger muss ich in der Schlange im kalten Wind und Regen in Seattle stehen. Es ist 10 Uhr abends, als ich endlich meine Taschen am Rad, mein Fahrrad wieder fahrtuechtig gemacht und ich meine Regensachen angezogen habe. Schliesslich komme ich um 22:20 Uhr im The Moore Hotel an. Ich habe ein grosses Zimmer mit Dusche gekriegt und durfte mein Rad mit auf's Zimmer nehmen, sehr praktisch. Ich musste 2 Mal zur Rezeption, um Decken und eine kleine Heizung zu holen, damit ich nicht mit all meinem Fleece schlafen muss. Um 12 Uhr war ich dann endlich im Bett. Und hatte eine gute Nacht!
Heute morgen begruesst mich die Sonne, es geht sachte den Berg runter, der gestern Nacht super steil war- habe ganz vergessen wie huegelig Seattle ist! Es ist ein klasse Start mit dem vollbeladenen Rad, und was fuer Erinnerungen kommen da auf!
Am Bahnhof wird mir dann gesagt, dass ich 1 1/2 Stunden frueher haette kommen muessen, und nicht 40 Minuten, wie mir am Telephon gesagt wurde. Also war etwas Stress angesagt. Ich habe erstmal alle Taschen oeffnen muessen, um mein Werkzeug zu finden. Es war in der letzten Tasche- und man bedenke, ich habe 5 Taschen zu durchsuchen! Gib mir ein paar Tage und ich kann Dir sagen, wo ich eine Waescheklammer habe!
Danach geht alles wie geschmiert, Taschen verpackt und verbuendelt, mein Fahrrad eingeboxt und ich kann zum Zug. Ich muss sagen, der Zug ist beindruckend. Mein Sitz ist so gross wie 1. Klasse Sitze in Flugzeugen, viel Platz fuer die Beine, sogar Beinstuetzen und Fusstuetzen gibt es. Auch der Zug ist bis zum letzten Sitz ausgebucht.
Das Essen im Restaurant ist wahrhaft Spitzenklasse- fuer Zugrestaurants. Das Essen ist so gut und die anderthalb Stunden, die ich am Tisch sitze zeugen von guter Gesellschaft. Auch beim Abendessen sitze ich mit 3 anderen ueber 1 Stunde am Tisch. Sie muessen uns sogar rausschmeissen, um den Tisch fuer die Naechsten freizukriegen.
Die Landschaft ist auch sehr interessant. Olympic Penisular, das Meer, Regen Sonne, Hagel, Hausboote auf Fluessen und Buchten,  wir fahren durch viel Schnee in den Bergen, mit Ausnahme der Essenszeit habe ich permanent aus dem Fenster geschaut und habe mein Buch nicht mal ausgepackt. Jetzt ist es dunkel und ich habe Zeit zu schreiben. Aber es ist jetzt auch Zeit meine Fusstuetzen hochzumachen und ein Nickerchen zu halten. Gute Nacht!