Day 57 – San Francisco

We’re done. What a day. It’s certainly satisfying to make it all the way to San Francisco (and a bit surreal to be here). Tho, honestly, this was probably the most difficult day of the trip. Between the ride itself, the logistics, and just the duration, I’m totally wiped out. That said, Heidi won’t let me go to bed until I write the post, so here it is 😉

It was a beautiful day in Sacramento. JP and I looked particularly photogenic in the morning sun.

The plan for the day was to SAG up to Winters, ride to Vallejo, catch the 2pm ferry to SF, then ride the last 6 miles from the SF ferry terminal to the Warming Hut at the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided to leave out of Winters to make sure we made it to Vallejo in plenty of time for the 2pm ferry. We were shooting for a 1pm arrival, and we got there at 1:02. Not too bad from a planning perspective.

A few days ago Bobby decided he wanted to ride that last 6 mile segment in SF with us. Figuring it was mostly bike path and bike lanes, I agreed. He’s been really excited about it, and the first thing he did this morning when he got up was to put on his biking jersey. Then, after JP and I hit the road, he got his bike prepped with Terran and rode it around the parking lot to make sure everything was ready.

The ride out of Winters started with a bit of a horse race. The route we were on is apparently popular with the local riders. We hooked up with a small group of riders and put the throttle down for the first 5 miles or so. We ran a nice paceline scooting along at ~19mph while we wound our way through orchards and vineyards.

We met up with the MCC and Art 23 miles in to the ride. We refilled bottles, grabbed a quick bite, and were optimistic about the second 23 miles we had left. Unfortunately, mother nature (and the local geography) had something else in mind. The wind really picked up and JP and I fought a 15mph headwind for a good chunk of the ride. Also, there was a bit more climbing than we expected coming in to Vallejo so that cut our pace down too. Luckily we had allocated enough time to get in to the Ferry terminal so it wasn’t an issue.

On the way in to town, we took ~5 miles of a bike trail that went up and over the pass in to town. We swapped positions with another cyclist on the trail a few times, and finally met up with him at the bottom of the hill/end of the trail. The rider asked me “When you reach the bottom of the trail, what do you do? I always turn around, but there’s got to be more riding.”

I respond… “Well, we’re going to go up and around Columbia Parkway, turn right on Georgia, get on the ferry to San Fran, and then ride to the Golden Gate Bridge to finish a 2 month long cross country bike trip.”

“Oh. Huh. I don’t think I’ll do that.” with smiles all around.

Anyhoo, JP and I met up with Heidi in the MCC at the Vallejo ferry terminal. Art had already left for SF to do some sight seeing, and after a quick conversation, Heidi, Terran, and Dax were on their way to SF as well. JP, Bobby, and I enjoyed the midday sun and some chicken tenders while we waited for the ferry.

Terran took the camera while Heidi drove through town. He managed to catch a shot of Cupid’s Span with the Bay Bridge in the background.

He also got a picture of the Ferry Building… pretty good shot from the car.

JP, Bobby, and I tracked the MCC via our mobile app. Heidi was definitely battling Sunday SF traffic and barely beat us to the bridge before we made landfall.

At the Ferry Terminal we were met by Tom Tufts, another Tom (that Heidi and I went to school with) and his girlfriend. They were the first of our welcoming committee and were riding with us to the bridge.  Also, I’ve been worried someone was going to wreck during this trip… turns out, it was Tufts on his way to the Ferry Terminal. He took a spill… which I appreciate. It spared me or JP having to do it instead.

The ride to the Warming Hut was crazy. There are a TON of people on bikes and walking around SF on the weekends. Plus, cars. I was a bit nervous about Bobby making it to the bridge, but he did a fantastic job. He handled himself well, especially when we got behind about 50 tourists who were all over the trail, snapping photos, and generally not paying any attention to those around them.

So just before 4pm, the whole group of us rolled up to the Warming Hut.

And here’s the obligatory handshake. Looks like we just signed a treaty or something… assuming heads of state sign treaties while wearing spandex shorts.

There were even more folks waiting for us at the Hut. It was really fantastic to have that kind of greeting. It’s pretty amazing to see friends and family waiting for us after this adventure. It was certainly heartwarming and a welcome sight after 2 months on the road.

All the cousins even had a chance to play together. I assume they’re all sleeping soundly as they really had a good time together both at the bridge and then afterwards at Heidi’s sister’s place.

And just so we have some proof, here’s us with the Pacific in the background. No it’s not photoshop. Yes, we made it.

Even more friends caught up with us as we made our way back to the car.  And with unplanned timing, one of Heidi’s oldest friends happened to be driving over the golden gate just as we were arriving and we were able to see him as well.  Just amazing.

So that’s it. There will be some follow-on posts regarding lessons learned, advice for anyone else trying to do this, gear reviews, etc. But this is the last of the daily updates. Thanks to EVERYONE that followed us throughout this trip. I was stunned by the number of people who I spoke to over the last few weeks who have been reading this blog and keeping track of our ride. Your support means a lot to JP and I. And a HUGE thanks to Art, Heidi, and the boys for all they did for us this summer. This ride wouldn’t have been possible without them and we can’t thank them enough.

Till the next ride…

Day 56 – Kirkwood to Sacramento

Next to last day, and what a day it was! Wow. We started up near the top of Carson’s Pass, climbed to 8k’ feet, and we’ll  end up spending the night at 31′(that’s thirty one feet… 7,969 feet lower than we started) with a lot of beautiful riding in between. Craziness.

The ride out of Kirkwood was cold. Not just chilly, but proper cold. It was 41 degrees when we left the hotel, and I swear one of our descents was in the 30’s. I lugged cold weather gear all the way across the country and got to use it on the next to last day. JP, the eternal heat source, rode with shorts on. I had full length thermal leg warmers on. I’m not sure how he didn’t get frostbite.

We actually started with a few climbs this morning. The Sierra’s weren’t quite done with us. The views on the climbs where (once again) amazing.

Most of our route yesterday and today followed the Emigrant Trail. It’s a bit hard to make out, but at one point in our nation’s history, people went up and over this pass and they weren’t going skiing at Tahoe. They did it the hard way and were very serious about making it over these mountains. Having done it on a bike on a paved road, I still can’t imagine making the trek on dirt with horses and wagons.

Then came the downhill. The most serious, longest, amazing downhill I’ve ever done. There were a few small climbs here and there, but mostly we went downhill for nearly 40 miles loosing 6,500′ of vertical. The road conditions varied quite a bit, but for the most part they were OK. About halfway down we turned on to Omo Ranch road… the traffic disappeared but BOY was the road bumpy for a while. I got airborne a few times, which was a sign it was time to hit the brakes. Also, if you want to test the build quality of your bike, it’s a great road for that.. any defects will likely have a catastrophic failure at some point.

Needless to say, we had to take some breaks along the way.

JP has been struggling with his allergies the last few days. He made the descent down, but then SAG’d up to Sacramento. I stopped for lunch, then got a short ride up to the road and took a run at the last 40 miles in to Sacramento. I made it in to town around 5pm.. and WOW was I hungry. I’ve been pretty much eating non-stop.

Sacramento was the last stop on the Pony express. Just as we bid the loneliest road adieu, we now must say goodbye to all the Pony Express signs we’ve seen for the last week or so.

We had dinner in Old Sacramento… which as an bit of a New Orleans feel to it. Good food, odd people. I like it 🙂

Tomorrow we ride in to SF. Actually, we ride to Vallejo, then take the 2pm ferry to SF, then ride to the Golden Gate Bridge. For anyone looking to meet up with us at the finish, there’s been a slight change of plans…but only slight:  Be at the Warming Hut (aka: the new stopping point for our ride) by 3:30.

Warming Hut Café & Bookstore
983 Marine Drive
San Francisco, CA 94129
Presidio of San Francisco‎

We should be rolling in shortly after 3:30 and would love to see you there. If you’re interested, we’re having a small party at Heidi’s sister’s house (just a few blocks from the Presidio) after. Ping us for details.

 

Day 55 – Carson City to Kirkwood

Welp, we’re in California. And yep, the kids are constantly singing the theme from The OC… or at least the “California…. CALIFORNIAAAA” part.

This morning the boys got their final stamp in the “Route 50 – Loneliest Road” Passport. Terran was clearly overjoyed.

Today involved a big climb up and over Carson Pass. It’s a 3,500′ pass up that runs just south of Lake Tahoe. JP really wanted to get up this thing from start to finish. Since this is his first day back on the trail, he SAG’d up to the base of the climb right at the CA/NV border to give himself the best chance possible. I rode out of Carson City directly and was hopeful to at least get most of the climb in.

The route took a very back route in to California. There was no giant “Welcome to California” sign or anything. Just this little green sign, a stripe in the road (?!?!) and some tool in the background sticking out his tongue.

The first part of the climb was definitely serious. It was ~800′ of climbing at 8%. I met up with a small group of bikers on that stretch and at least one of them gave up after the first 1/2 mile. Not a reassuring start to the climb.

Once I got on CA 88, the climb continued. Within a few miles, I caught up to JP and Art. JP had put in 7 solid miles up this climb, but unfortunately was feeling under the weather. He put the bike up, ate a bunch of Advil, and called it a day. It’s a real bummer because I know he was looking forward to this climb, even if it took him all day to do. Maybe next time.

I pushed about halfway up the climb… but unfortunately my knees and hips are pretty messed up still from the ride 2 days ago. Today didn’t do them any favors. In fact, as I sit here writing this my left knee and right hip are a special breed of uncomfortable. I’m really glad there’s only 2 days left in this adventure because I’m not sure my body could get past the weekend.

We’re spending the night in Kirkwood. We hadn’t done a lot of research on this place before we stopped, but knew it was a ski town so we figured there’d be a lot going on. Bzzzzt. Try again. There’s one restaurant and a general store that closes early. Luckily the restaurant is good. 🙂

The ski area here is the Kirkwood Mountain Resort (owned by the same company that owns Vail). The trails look pretty impressive, especially some double diamond runs up at the top fed by a long, conventional (ie: not high speed) quad. This is some hard core skiing. The hat approves.

Tomorrow is our last chance at a century. We’ve got 80 miles of downhill on the route tomorrow on our way to Sacramento. Yes, 80 miles, 8k’ of vertical to lose. That’s an average of 2% grade downhill. Should be interesting. Plus it’ll be in the 40’s at the start. Wow. Fun next to last day.

And then Sunday. We’ll be arriving in SF and finishing this adventure Sunday afternoon. Our plan (presently) is to be on the ferry from Vallejo to SF that arrives shortly before 3pm. We’ll then ride from the ferry terminal to the Golden Gate Bridge gift shop (the end point). We should be arriving around 3:45, give or take. Bobby is probably going to ride that last 6 miles with us in SF.  He’s very excited.

To our San Francisco area friends – we’d love to see you at the finish if you can make it.

As always, more details tomorrow.  🙂

 

Day 54 – Fallon to Carson City

We’re in the home stretch. We can actually see California tonight. In three more days we’ll be at the Golden Gate Bridge. Crazy. I think we’re all ready to wrap up this ride and maybe do some mountain biking for a while.

Anyhoo, it was a beautiful morning in Fallon. read: the wind wasn’t blowing like a hurricane. It was supposed to be a relatively short day to Carson City (61 miles) so I had Terran suit up and join me for the first part.

Riding out of town on 50 was nice… a slight breeze but sunny and cool. We were making good time until we had to make the turn to Carson City around 10 miles in to the ride. Then our fancy road with a nice wide shoulder turned to a 65mph road with zero shoulder and a fair bit of traffic. Those kind of roads make _me_ nervous, and I could tell Terran was dreading heading down this stretch of highway.

So I called Heidi and managed to get her before she left the hotel. Terran and I looped back and got 20 miles total before we got to the hotel. The boys needed haircuts and I needed new bike gloves, so we decided to just drive to Carson City and I’d ride more in the afternoon.

I’ll spare you the drama… I never got the afternoon ride in but we did get a lot of pre-California errands taken care of… plus we had In-n-Out again so we had a nice post-lunch food coma. 😉

In the afternoon, we scouted tomorrow’s ride. We head south of town ~30 miles, then turn to head up and over Carson’s Pass. It’s a 21 mile climb… Should be interesting.

Along the way, we went through Genoa. Genoa is apparently the first real settlement in Nevada (they claim to have the oldest house in Nevada and the oldest saloon. Why someone would have waited until they got this far west before putting up a house is beyond me, but maybe they couldn’t afford the real estate prices of Tahoe so they settled down in the valley).

Genoa is filled with interesting history. Like this “hanging tree”. I thought it was called that because of its shape or something. Upon reading this plaque, turns out it got the name for a different reason. Yikes.

Tonight we picked up some food at the grocery store so we could have lunch in the MCC tomorrow. In the parking lot we saw what the MCC would have looked like had we made this trip back in the 70’s. Don’t they look cute together?

BTW, JP and Art are back with us. JP is back from his event and Art is back from a few days vacation up in the mountains. As much as the Potters like Colorado, Art may be hooked on Tahoe.

Tomorrow, California! I’m excited for the state line, not so excited for the 21 mile climb that lay just past it. Wish us luck.  Also we’ll provide the details of our arrival in tomorrow’s post for those in the area who are curious.