OMG...omg. Really?? Google maps, really?? I started up the road and it said 8 miles, pavement ends: 4 miles of dirt. What?? I wasn't prepared for the pavement to end but I was totally committed to this path on the journey. I don't know what the grade of this road was, but it was intense and didn't let up for almost 5 miles. I'm glad I don't have any qualms about getting off my bike and walking...wow. I was in my climbing gear going about 2.9 mph pretty much the whole way up with a disconnected rear break to keep it from rubbing (couldn't quite get the adjustment right on the fly). The views were breathtaking, and for a few stretches, I stopped every 50 feet or so to enjoy them in my climbing induced breathlessness while my heart-rate quieted back down to what I consider a reasonable rate to continue riding. I saw the doe and two fawns from my "almost campsite" back in Napa Valley climbing the mountain with me. What a treat to see them again. Also saw a pair of baby raccoons! oh, squeeness (ie having the quality of cuteness to the degree that the perceiver has no choice than to squee-eel with delight!). I had just stopped for a rest and they were doing their best to shimmy up into the roadside brush, so I didn't dig out my itouch for a photo, just appreciated them in the moment. 12" furrballs with striped tails and little black masks. So adorable.
I did stop to take some photos as I climbed up above the mist and saw Cobb Mountain outlined by the rising sun. wowie. Cobb reminds me a lot of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin. Maybe they're related? At the top of the climb (well, mostly the top), I passed 4 people at a pipe sticking out of the mountain (spring water, I assume? didn't ask or stop to taste without knowing) and got told I was "nuts" for the first time this trip. It was quite a climb, did I mention that?
Crossed paths with a pair of tree trimmers waiting to meet a landowner to trim some trees around powerlines on his land and stopped for a chat. They'd been waiting for him for 3.5 hours and were about to give up...I headed on up the hill (for pete's sake...3 hours and almost 8 miles from my beginning at 6:30 am). They'd told me the hill ends around the next bend, so for that I was grateful (and I am aware that people in cars don't always perceive "the next bend" or "the end of the hill" with the same acuity as a cyclist). I plunged on down the dirt road, riding my brakes with my 26x1.5 tires popping and bouncing over the loose stones. About a mile down the dirt, the tree trimming guys rolled up behind me with about a foot to spare on either side and passed me my sleeping bag and down jacket that had bounced out of my xtra-cycle side bags! Thank you for rescuing about $300 worth of my gear!!! ok, time to rearrange. Fortunately, I brought extra tie-downs I didn't know what for. Now it was clear. With my load re-secured, I rolled on down the road again and managed to keep my wheels down for the whole journey down the road. I have a renewed appreciation for pavement.
As the dirt road re-joined the highway, I saw a casino and contemplated calling my friend Nils. It was about 10:30am and he probably just had enough time to come pick me up before his meeting at 11...or I could ride on and complete my goal of riding from SF to his place. My map directed me to a side road, and I took it--much preferable to cars rushing by at highway speeds less than a couple feet from my bike. This Dry Creek Cutoff Road led to a creek that was not so dry...fortunately, it wasn't more than a couple inches deep and there were dry stones I could walk across, so I completed my first "river ford" in safety. :) The other thing this road cutoff was my access to cell service! I came out on Hwy 175 with no bars. Oh well. Guess I'm doing the climb!
Almost ran out of water climbing up the next 8 mile stretch my google map said would take me an hour and 28 minutes...fortunately, I stopped in at a home near the highway and asked for support. I don't know if he could hear the tears in my throat, but he very kindly popped his head up from under the hood of the truck he was working in his backyard and graciously asked his daughter to get me some water. She was a precious 3rd grader on summer vacation, helping her dad in the shop. We chatted about her little sisters and their preschool and how I wasn't the first cyclist to ask for water there. She said sometimes, they would sit in the front yard with their hose and wet people down to help keep them cool! I noticed the thermometer on the wall of their porch: 90 degrees in the shade...wow. What temps was I climbing in?? Better not to ask such things...just keep drinking water and eating salty foods.
2:45 pm, 8 hours 25 minutes from my departure before sunrise, I rolled into Nils's driveway with abundant joy in my heart! I knew Nils was playing music at the Lakeport farmers market and wouldn't be home till 9pm. I made my self at home, took a shower and sat down to relax on his porch in the douglas fir. Shortly after settling in, two of Nils's friends came over and introduced themselves saying they were driving over to the market and would I like a ride? Yes Please!! So I got to see Nils in the daylight after all. What a joyfull celebration by the holy waters of Clear Lake--the oldest lake in North America! I walked over to put my hand in it and wound up meditating for about 30 minutes. Wunderbar!
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