The So Called 2 hr 3% grade bike ride

Saturday, July 20th

Before I get into the planned bike ride for today, I want to mention that if you're in the Jamestown/Sonora/Columbia area, do visit Railtown 1897 and Columbia State Historic Park to get a sense of the gold rush era.  We had a blast visiting both.

If you've been reading my dull blog entries, you'll know that this cycling excursion was somewhat foiled because of a mechanical issue with my bike.  Alas, our vacation is coming to an end, and we have one ride left, one in which The Boyfriend and I are riding together, something we haven't done since Tuesday.

The BF put together the 30 mile or so ride based on some mapmyride route.  Hmm, where do I begin.  I'll be on a ride that he's "put together", and I'll ask, how much further?  He'll reply, not much longer.  Well, 20 miles later .... to which I'll say, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.  Or, I'll ask, are there climbs on this concocted route, and he'll say, nah, don't worry.  To which, it'll be 10% climbing for most of the ride.  And to which I'll end of saying to him, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again..

You see, he's in his own orbit, planet, universe, galaxy whereas I, a librarian, demand details routed in reality.  This is not to say that I don't enjoy spontaneity, the unexpected or an adventure.  Just give a heads up otherwise as I like to remind The BF,  if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.

So, today's so called 30 or so miles of 3% grade turned out in reality to be 36 miles with a whole lot of climbing, alot of steep pitches in the 10% grade.  Again, let me remind The BF, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.

I mean, like duh, we're in the Sonora area, at elevation, it doesn't take a rocket scientist  to figure out that our ride is probably going to include hills and steep pitches. But I like to let The BF think he's in charge....

Having had my momentary bitchfest, I must say that the ride was incredible, with super rollers, descents that involved no pedaling at incredibly fast speeds, pastoral scenes, and a fantastic way to end our holiday.  The so called 2 hour ride ended up being 36 miles and 5 hrs later (well, I suppose only 3.5 hrs of actually riding).  If The BF thinks he's getting any tonight, think again.  I do so like to keep him on his toes.  The vacation ended too quickly  Til next time.

Onwards to Jamestown

Friday, July 19th

Before leaving North Fork, The Boyfriend deposited me at Bass Lake so I could test drive my bicycle for a 10 mile spin.  Nice to be back on the bike again.  And then we were off to Jamestown, our next destination.

Omg, we were pleasantly surprised on Hwy 49 between Bear Valley and Bagby with these incredible views.  We had to stop for awhile due to road works.  I spoke with one of the roadworks guys.  He told me about the fire that burned a few years ago. 

Wow, it was a great drive; we wondered if we could bike it.  That would be a thrill.

A beautiful drive as we made our way to Jamestown.

A Somewhat Better Day

Thursday, July 18th

So, what to do today while my bicycle was hopefully having a successful surgery?  I walked 2 miles to visit Bandit Town, a recreated historic western town that is currently sort of on hold -- read this article.

Meanwhile, The Boyfriend went off on a much deserved bicycle ride around Bass Lake.

It was much more challenging than he anticipated but I know he enjoyed himself.

I'm glad he got some cycling in. Going on holiday is meant to be about having fun! We went to Miller's Landing and had a good lunch of fish n chips.  Afterwards, back to Clovis to check on my bicycle.  Omg, I was so lucky -- the bike man did a wonderful job, replacing the shifter along with giving my bike a tune up.  We were back in business.   We picked up dinner from Trader Joes's, took a scenic route back to our lodgings and had an enjoyable evening.  All is not lost, after all.