Bodega Head

Friday, Sept 22nd

After we said goodbye to our cycling friends, we cleaned up at the Inn in Sebastopol and got ready for our final adventure. Miss P and I are alike, in that we want to explore as much as we can when we are on holiday.  Our destination -- Bodega Head in Bodega Bay.

I've always had a fondness for Bodega Bay after seeing Hitchcock's The Birds.  I've visited before but not this particular area.  Boy, am I glad we made the time for this.

We walked all over, taking in the views. 

Stunning.

We met some trackers who showed us a vole that had been regurgitated.  Funny, my sister in law had just shared a story about my mother's beloved cat Gigi who had corned a vole in their house. 

Walking the cliffs.

Bodega Bay.  We were lucky that we got the shots we did because a little while later, dark clouds rolled in.

We walked on and on, taking in more beautiful scenes. 

I felt a bit queasy getting close to the edge but it was worth it.

In the distance, at that tiny bit of land in the sea, we could hear sea lions. Alas, a parting shot as our trip came to an end. Til the next adventure.

Petaluma Ride

Friday, Sept 22nd

Our last ride today began in Petaluma at its creamery.  I had a taste of one of the ice creams.  Very nice.

After yesterday's 55 mile epic ride, this was to be just a 25 mile roller ride but it still stung a bit, mostly because the roads are even worse than ours here in the South Bay, and well, the smell of manure was a bit overwhelming!  Ha ha, we are after all in the country.  Molly told a hilarious story about getting some free manure, goat kind that is, and it apparently is incredibly nasty in its smell.  Goats eat anything. 

Leo and I rode together for awhile.  He kept me motivated as he shared his biking adventures from last year.  I enjoyed hearing about his trips.  Some of our gang left last night; some new ones showed up; and some of Molly and John's new cycling friends came along as well.

This scene was spectacular.  We were descending a great hill but I had to stop to take a photo.  So did another ACTC member who had just returned from Italy and showed up today just to do this ride.  Remarkable!  After the ride, we said goodbye to all, but, for Miss P and I, we still had one more adventure....

Me on King Ridge

Thursday, Sept 21st

Oh boy, this was epic.  So, for today's ride, we were doing the Biggie -- King Ride, starting from Monte Rio, a 55 mile ride. 

At Fog Crest Winery, the day before, we read the description posted online.  It sounded frightening.  I wasn't sure I could do it.  Miss P and I discussed bail out possibilities if necessary.

This ride is part of Levi's Grand Fondo.  The Boyfriend has done it a few times.  He said it was hard but he thought I could do it.  The weather can be all over the map.  Luckily we had sunshine.  It was a bit chilly. Well, our group split early in the ride, with one group going the wrong way and my group (all 3 of us) going the right way.  As mentioned earlier, our route sheets were not exactly spot on.  We stopped to ask some bridge workers and a fireman at the firestation for directions.  And thanks to them, we headed the right way.  Unfortunately for Miss P and the others, they wasted time and energy going the wrong way.  They eventually got on the right track.

Leo, Molly and I stuck together, tackling the ups and downs of the course.  My legs were okay but boy my back ached.  While it was hard, it was not as hard as I expected and I managed to stay the course.  And boy was it worth it.  The views were spectacular.  Hauser Bridge was a mess.  I wish I took some photos but I didn't want to stop or get off the bike to do so. 

I plowed on in some state of delirium I believe.  And then I saw this and it was all worth it. 

I was high as a kite taking it all in. 

And then I was like, omg, I have to do all that?

And then I was like, omg, the wind.  Twice I had to stop and get off the bike to avoid being blown off a cliff.  Like I said, I was high as a kite, and I was screaming, "I am so not going to die after doing all this.  F--k you."  Cars were honking and cheering me on.  I was like, "Hey, how about stopping and taking me down instead...."

And somehow, I got down to Hwy 1 and passed Jenner, oh boy, did the cooking smell delicious at the roadside diner, and next, I turned onto 116 back to Monte Rio.

On Hwy 116.  Beautiful.  I had to pee so badly I didn't care if traffic went by ....  I got back safely to Monte Rio along with the others.  But we didn't know where Miss P was.  We thought she had abandoned the ride, so, we went back to the hotel.  She was not there.  We were anxious.  Omg, she did the ride all by herself!  Unfortunately she had worse winds than we did.  Ed and I drove back to get her. What a woman!  We all got cleaned up and had a fabulous meal at Stormy's.  It was an epic day.