Ride day 75 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
I am a confused senior citizen that messed up the days count. This is actually day 74 but I am not going back to change it all to correct it, who cares?
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Ride Day 76 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
My ride from Patrick's Point State Park to Crescent City was gorgeous once again, 56 miles 5000' of climbing and 85 degree heat that made it sort of like work. The Pacific coast is very nice all along it. I did not get much out of Patrick's Point State Park because everything there required lots of walking along trails to see and I just am not able to walk far enough to do that. So I pretty much sat around resting and watching the big trees blow in the wind.
I left early in the morning before 7. The weather was cold at that hour but it was clear with a headwind of 10-15 mph. I enjoyed the ride despite the tough riding conditions. Big Lagoon was a good looking area with a saltwater lagoon and the on the other side of the road was a freshwater lagoon. The beach along there was covered in trees and other debris washed up over the years which made it look even more isolated than it was. My road was ok but in some areas, like curves, the shoulder disappeared and it was a bit scary. I had no real close calls but my luck can't last forever.
There were two big grades that were work. The cold morning quickly turned into hot dry weather blowing in my face. It made me use a lot of water and my lips got a bit wind burned but not so bad that it lasted until the next day. I met a few other riders that were interesting to stop and talk with. A couple from Canada were planning on spending six months riding around the US. They asked me about where I had been and what the conditions were. They did not always like the things I said like the 120 degree heat and the high steep climbs along the way. They told me they wanted to go to all the national parks and I asked them if they knew how many parks that would be, they did not have a clue. It would take well over 6 months to bike to all the national parks in the country.
After cresting the big grade south of Crescent City, I got to my planned campground and found it closed. So I had to continue all the way into town in the 85 degree heat and bright sun to look for a new place to camp. I found a place called Village Camper Inn on the north side of town. The people running it were nice and friendly so I will stay a couple of days to redo my laundry and rest up before I hit the rolling hills of Oregon next. I have to redo my laundry because I used a harsh detergent for my last wash and the soap made me get heat rash everywhere I was sweaty which was just about everywhere....More later.
Ride Day 76 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
I left early in the morning before 7. The weather was cold at that hour but it was clear with a headwind of 10-15 mph. I enjoyed the ride despite the tough riding conditions. Big Lagoon was a good looking area with a saltwater lagoon and the on the other side of the road was a freshwater lagoon. The beach along there was covered in trees and other debris washed up over the years which made it look even more isolated than it was. My road was ok but in some areas, like curves, the shoulder disappeared and it was a bit scary. I had no real close calls but my luck can't last forever.
There were two big grades that were work. The cold morning quickly turned into hot dry weather blowing in my face. It made me use a lot of water and my lips got a bit wind burned but not so bad that it lasted until the next day. I met a few other riders that were interesting to stop and talk with. A couple from Canada were planning on spending six months riding around the US. They asked me about where I had been and what the conditions were. They did not always like the things I said like the 120 degree heat and the high steep climbs along the way. They told me they wanted to go to all the national parks and I asked them if they knew how many parks that would be, they did not have a clue. It would take well over 6 months to bike to all the national parks in the country.
After cresting the big grade south of Crescent City, I got to my planned campground and found it closed. So I had to continue all the way into town in the 85 degree heat and bright sun to look for a new place to camp. I found a place called Village Camper Inn on the north side of town. The people running it were nice and friendly so I will stay a couple of days to redo my laundry and rest up before I hit the rolling hills of Oregon next. I have to redo my laundry because I used a harsh detergent for my last wash and the soap made me get heat rash everywhere I was sweaty which was just about everywhere....More later.
Ride Day 76 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
Friday, May 3, 2013
Ride Day 74 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
Ride Day 74 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
These numbers for the data like distance, time, speed etc are all wrong because the big redwood trees blocked the gps signals but the elevation profile looks right as does the map. The distance was about 56 miles not 14.
These numbers for the data like distance, time, speed etc are all wrong because the big redwood trees blocked the gps signals but the elevation profile looks right as does the map. The distance was about 56 miles not 14.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Ride Day 74
I got to Eureka and almost got a hotel for 50 bucks but then thought about the bad Best Western night of discomfort in their bed and I decided to just pedal on to Arcata and stay at the KOA campground in my familiar tent. I also met up with a friend of mine David that I had not seen in about three years. He passed me while I was riding along 101 going into Garberville. We went out and had coffee and chatted for a while as we watched all the people that came out due to the sudden heat spell wearing pretty skimpy clothing. Thanks David for the coffee and visit.
At the KOA I just caught up on my business and had an early night because I want to ride as close to Crescent City tomorrow as I can then hole up in a campground for the weekend to let all the drunk drivers have the road to themselves without me on it. More later...
Rest Day at Weott
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Ride Day 73
I road from Leggett to Garberville today which was a very short ride of about 28 miles but it had some grade to it so it was not a piece of cake. I was planning on going all the way to Weott but when I arrived in Garberville my knee was all swollen up and hurting a bit. I was a bit worried about making it worse by continuing to ride on it so I stopped in Garberville and did some internet catching up at a place called Treats. I enjoyed talking to the owner of the ice cream store, she was helpful.
While there playing with my computer, Karen called me up and told me she wanted to drive up to meet up with me. That was a convenient excuse to stop riding for the day so that is what I did. I popped 800mg of ibuprofen to see if the swelling might go down and sat down to wait for Karen. After finishing with my wifi junk, I rode my bike around town to get a feel for the layout of Garberville and went to get my haircut at a local barbershop. Deborah had a shop just off the main strip so she gave me my buzz cut. I enjoyed chatting with her while I got buzzed.
The swelling was quickly going away on my knee. I do not know why it puffed all up on me but I did ride 70 miles and climbed 6700 feet in the previous two days so maybe I just over worked my tired old body. I do hope this was a one time thing cause I just do not need any more problems with my tired old body.
We checked into the Best Western in Garberville when Karen got here. It was good to see her again so we hung out at the hotel for the most part but we did go out for a sandwich later. I am not too impressed with the Best Western beds though. They use a heavy duvet cover and a sheet set on the beds and the heavy blanket made me sweat but the sheet alone was not enough to keep me warm. There was no in between choice so I slept poorly. I think I slept better in my tent lately than I did last night in the fancy hotel.
Karen wants to spend the day at Weott so that is what we will do. We just ate breakfast here at the hotel and are packing up the truck and the bike to hit the road and do some local exploring. My knee is still stiff this morning but it is not swollen so hopefully it will be nice to me. More later.
While there playing with my computer, Karen called me up and told me she wanted to drive up to meet up with me. That was a convenient excuse to stop riding for the day so that is what I did. I popped 800mg of ibuprofen to see if the swelling might go down and sat down to wait for Karen. After finishing with my wifi junk, I rode my bike around town to get a feel for the layout of Garberville and went to get my haircut at a local barbershop. Deborah had a shop just off the main strip so she gave me my buzz cut. I enjoyed chatting with her while I got buzzed.
The swelling was quickly going away on my knee. I do not know why it puffed all up on me but I did ride 70 miles and climbed 6700 feet in the previous two days so maybe I just over worked my tired old body. I do hope this was a one time thing cause I just do not need any more problems with my tired old body.
We checked into the Best Western in Garberville when Karen got here. It was good to see her again so we hung out at the hotel for the most part but we did go out for a sandwich later. I am not too impressed with the Best Western beds though. They use a heavy duvet cover and a sheet set on the beds and the heavy blanket made me sweat but the sheet alone was not enough to keep me warm. There was no in between choice so I slept poorly. I think I slept better in my tent lately than I did last night in the fancy hotel.
Karen wants to spend the day at Weott so that is what we will do. We just ate breakfast here at the hotel and are packing up the truck and the bike to hit the road and do some local exploring. My knee is still stiff this morning but it is not swollen so hopefully it will be nice to me. More later.
Ride Day 72 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
Ride Day 72 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details
The time, speed, distance etc are all wrong for this ride because the big redwoods were blocking the gps sigs for most of the ride but the map and elevations look right to me so I shared it.
The time, speed, distance etc are all wrong for this ride because the big redwoods were blocking the gps sigs for most of the ride but the map and elevations look right to me so I shared it.
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