September 22, 2023
Saint Helena to Bodega Bay
7.10
Barring anything unusual, this will be the last day of a very long journey. It started 7 years ago at Lewes Beach, Delaware and will end today at the Pacific Ocean, near Bodega Bay, California. Lest anyone think there is a special dispensation for riders on the last day, we found out there is not. In order to finish a journey, one still has to ride every hill, every bend, every rough road, and every mile... even on the final day.
Riding out of Saint Helena after a good breakfast put us in the morning rush of commuters. The first 8-10 miles of steadily passing traffic got us to Calistoga. The town is known for good water, hot springs, mud baths, and wine. We did not partake of any of those celebrated amenities but did ride briefly on the Washington Street portion of the Vine Trail Bike Path. When it ended, at the town maintenance garage, we were back on the road again.
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Around 13 miles into the day and on the appropriately named Foothill Boulevard, we began the long climb, over the Mayacamas and out of Napa Valley. The elevation wasn’t that high but the climb was longer and tougher than expected. I took a breather at the top and then started down the long descent.
Since the road shoulders were minimal to non-existent, my descent was done carefully. When the shoulder disappeared, I positioned myself where the right tires of a motor vehicle would be. The strategy seemed to work, although not every motor vehicle appreciated having to slow down and wait until there was clear visibility and/or no oncoming traffic.
This might be a good spot to comment on the roads in California. Personally, the quality of the roads disappointed me. The surfaces were not always great, the roads are generally narrow, the shoulders are unpredictable, often disappearing completely at times and at the most inopportune places. Traffic is steady and sometimes heavy. Motorists do not move over as far as they do in other states. While there is a 3 foot passing law, it seems that many motorists give the bare minimum when passing a cyclist. For me, there were too many times when they were too close for comfort. There were not many options for alternative routes to get us where we were going. Frequently, both Chuck and I felt that we were less safe than we would have liked. Fortunately, there is a lot of pretty scenery to be seen.
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After we had descended most of the way down the mountain, we broke briefly at the petrified forest museum. Apparently, the Mount Saint Helena (now extinct and distinct from Mount Saint Helens) Volcano erupted 3.5 million years ago. The lava entombed trees, which subsequently petrified and were discovered approximately 150 years ago. The famous author, Robert Louis Stevenson, visited the Calistoga area and was most interested in the petrified forest. He, his wife, and their dog spent an extended honeymoon in the area back in 1880. He wrote about some of it in a literary endeavor called "The Silverado Squatters."
From Calistoga, we had a pleasant ride to Fulton. Since it was becoming warmer, I stopped briefly at a convenience store and picked up some homemade cookies and liquid refreshment. Then I rode on to meet Chuck and Lynn at another agreed upon break point, a little further down the road.
From there, things got very busy on our route. Then surfaces became rougher, the shoulders, when they were present, had gravel and debris on them. At one point and on a busy and narrow roadway, we passed over the also busy Route 101 Freeway and carefully by its on-ramps. Getting through there created more "excitment" than I needed at the time.
Our route eventually brought us to the Northern edge of the city of Santa Rosa. The traffic was heavy there but we were able to buffer ourselves from it by staying inside the orange construction cones that closed off a travel lane. At another point, I got onto the sidewalk in an adjacent park. It did not have any pedestrians and effectively provided a buffer from the road. Chuck stayed out there and seemed to get through alright.
We carefully crossed another very busy intersection with vehicles jockeying for positions in order to make one of several various turning options onto other busy roads. My presence there frustrated at least one driver but the road design left both of us without any other choices. I don't have any pictures to share from this stretch of the ride because stopping to take one would only have further complicated matters.
Chuck and I continued a little further, enduring the madness, until we reached the Joe Rodota Trail. Once there, we were able to leave the motor vehicles behind and get calmed back down for several miles. The trail runs roughly parallel to Highway 12 between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. Its separation from the road by woods and fields was a whole different experience, allowing for a relaxing and cooler ride between the two bustling communities.
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In Sebastopol, we got onto the Bodega Highway. It was busy at first and the traffic lasted until we got out of town. Then the road widened and there were fewer motor vehicles keeping us company. I thought I might have smelled the ocean briefly but it might only have been a dead animal. Reminded me of that old line: Fishermen never die, they only smell that way.
In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock filmed his famous movie, The Birds, in the town of Bodega Bay. We hadn’t planned to be here for the 60th anniversary but serendipity has a way of finding one sometimes. I saw signs for an upcoming Hitchcock film festival and happened to pass by the little church that had a role in the film. After I got home from the trip, I watched the movie with my wife. It seemed a bit dated and not nearly as frightening as it was when I had seen it as a much younger fellow. There are some great scenes of Bodega Bay as it appeared in the 1960s. Things didn't turn out very well for Suzanne Pleshette. She had a much better time as Bob Newhart's wife.
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I stopped briefly for a snack at a small and privately owned convenience store in Bodega. The proprietor was friendly and was concerned about the poor air quality being caused by smoke from forest fires. I empathized but was not personally feeling any ill effects. Her trash cans had blown over and were out in the road, so I retrieved them and helped her put them back along the side of the building where they are normally stored. She definitely appreciated the help. I could have stayed a bit longer to converse but the Pacific was calling, so I moved on.
One mile further to the West was the intersection with the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), aka CA-1. Since the highway is located inland at this juncture the ocean is not yet visible. CA-1 runs through a valley with big dry hills on either side. The sign said 5 more miles to Bodega Bay.
The hills continued to surround us for most of the way. Cattle ranches lay within this dry valley. Highway 1 continued the pattern of narrow California roads with small to non-existent shoulders. It is scenic but you have to be careful... especially when there are Facebook promotional posts hyping and encouraging how fast one can go on the PCH. Talk about irresponsibility!
Finally, the harbor came into view. Bodega Bay stretches out along the narrow roadway that winds up and down through the town and without shoulders. There is a beautiful bay and harbor but a motorist should only steal brief glances until such time when there is an appropriate place to pull off safely. If you're on a bicycle, the view is all around you, so have at it! That, my friends, illustrates very well a huge difference between traveling by bicycle versus by automobile.
The bay was beautiful but Lynn said the actual Pacific Ocean was another 5 miles away. Well, I said to myself, we’ve come this far so we might as well go the rest of the way. We did, and it was worth the effort. From a bluff above, we saw the deep blue Pacific sending waves that crashed onto the rocks below.
The road wound along the bay and then climbed a seriously steep bluff before yielding to lands end. We made it! We couldn't go any further west. We spent a little time looking out over the Pacific, taking it all in. We also stayed an extra day resting in Bodega Bay before heading back to Sacramento and then going our separate ways home.
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The journey was long and arduous at times. But it was also filled with memories of great people and places along the way. It was worth every bit of the time, effort, and money needed to complete the trip. Thanks for following along with the account of Stage 7 and for your comments. Getting that feedback and knowing that others were interested enhanced the trip in real time and in a way that I had not previously experienced during a bicycle tour.
I wish all the best to all of you in your bicycle adventures and future endeavors.
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 1,168 miles (1,880 km)
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8 months ago
Chuck and I are fortunate and at least I have been blessed. All of the other folks who spent parts of the long trip with us are still good friends that I plan to continue riding with and spending time with. Each helped us finish this ride and they are heroes to me.
We had several support drivers for some of the stages. They all did great jobs and were invaluable to the success of each stage.
The whole thing was a team effort. I like to look at it that Chuck and I brought the whole team over the finish line. We owed it to them.
I am deeply appreciative of your kind comments and that you took the time to read some or all of the journal. I wish you all the best. Take good care.
8 months ago
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