Day 36: - What happened to the sun? - Aimless

July 25, 2013

Day 36: - What happened to the sun?

I guess this ain't the desert anymore? Or, at least someone forgot to turn on the sun. But no matter. It was foggy and a little damp at the start, but that can't last forever, can it?

It was nice not having to be out at sunrise to beat the heat, like the last several weeks. I slept 'till 7:00, lollygagged, drank coffee.... I even had time to wash my face and brush my hair! Pure luxury!

I set off feeling spry, and after a quick breakfast at the local store, I was off. The target today was for Gualala and the hiker-biker campground.

The riding was nice for the most part. It was interesting to watch the foggy and sun. They seemed to be in a little battle as to who would reign for the day. The sun, from the east, made a good effort, but the fog, from the west, put up a good fight.

Chris, from last night's campground, and I spent the day leapfrogging each other. We both rode about the same pace but I stopped more, mostly to take pictures.

Hmmm? The fog is definitely winning here...

...but the sun, off to the left, is making a good effort!

Actually, the blue skies didn't last long. Or, at least, they didn't really last at all over the water. It was only when the road headed inland for short stretches that there was any sun.

Still, every little bit helps.

I like this part of the country. All the little stores sell non-industry, local type foods and products. I like trying the different kinds of sodas, cheeses, meats, and whatnot.

Chris, ahead on the right, on a really steep section of road

In Europe I often stopped at cemeteries. So when I passed a cemetery on the coast I asked myself why I don't ever do that on a bike trip at home? So, I stopped. It was interesting. Some of the graves were older than I expected for this part of the country (from the 1800's). There were a lot of WWII vets here as well.

Later in the afternoon I decided to stop at the Point Arena Lighthouse. It would mean an extra 4 plus miles of riding but I kind of wanted to, because Mark and I had flown over it on the way out, as you may remember.

After I got there I kind of wished I hadn't wasted the energy. It would have been great, on a sunny day. But today it was just grey, damp and cold.

From there it was just onward to Gualala. By then I was once again wearing all my warm clothes--arm warmers, leg warmers, jacket, gloves--but I still felt cold. I saw Chris's bike at a little restaurant and found him digging in to a plate of tacos. I wasn't in the mood for tacos so, after moaning a bit about the cold weather, we said goodbye and, "I'll see you at the campground."

By then it was after 6:00pm. I set off to find wifi, to update the journal, but the only place in town that had public wifi was closed, so I hit the store to find some kind of food to warm me up, seeing as it would be a cold, wet, night in the tent.

I settled on Top Ramen and a can of chicken to dump into it, making a sort of gross, yet warm, chicken soup. That, along with an apple, some leftover cheese from lunch, a chocolate bar and tea would have to due.

It felt colder on the way to the campground, which was supposed to be about a mile outside of town. Except there seemed to be two campgrounds? What the? I wasn't sure which one had the hiker-biker site so I turned around and headed back into town to ask...

"I'm looking for....with the hiker-biker.....which one....," I asked a man walking down the street.

He confirmed there were two campgrounds, and then asked me the usual questions about my trip, and where I was from, and so on and so forth, and then added, "...so you can go do the campground across the water, or, if you want, I own the hotel right there," he said while pointing across the street, "you seem nice, I'll give you a discount. How about 60 bucks?"

Hmmm? It was extremely tempting. But I promised myself that this last part of the trip was going to be budget-like, since I got more hotels than I had planned in Part 1. Then I thought about Chris. We were not riding together, just two cyclists passing in the night. Still, I did say, "see you at the campground."

"It's up to you," the man said. "But at least look at the room."

I suppose I could at least look?

He got a key and opened the door and.....holy crap! It was awesome! A big room that could hold 20 Truckers! With a big balcony, and ocean view, a big comfortable bed, wifi, a FIREPLACE, and a (GASP) jacuzzi tub in the giant bathroom!

Holy cow! In the desert, I paid more, much more, than this for crappy little rooms with a view of a cinder block wall!

"60 bucks?" I said to confirm. I'm sure he had extra rooms. So, for him, $60 is better than nothing. Still, I also think he was being nice to a lolly bike traveler. Whatever the reason for his generosity, I couldn't pass it up. Chris would just have to deal with it.

The first thing I did was take a long hot bath in the jacuzzi. Then it was a big mug of tea while watching the light fade away to darkness.

You never know what will happen on a bike trip. Despite the gloomy weather, today could not have ended on a higher note.

Point Arena light house. I dragged myself out there in the cold, so I had to include a picture.

What? Hey! Long Haul Truckers don't have engine breaks. Duh!

There is even a view from the bathroom, with the jacuzzi tub on the left.

...and a great view from the balcony! :-)

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 1,510 miles (2,430 km)

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