Day 28 – Bodega Bay to Samuel P. Taylor State Park

Sunday August 16, 2015, 53 miles (85 km) – Total so far: 1,585 miles (2,550 km)

Bodega Bay to Samuel P. Taylor State Park (between Olema and Lagunitas)

Distance 53 miles (83 km) Time riding 4 hours 15 minutes Max speed 36.3 mph Average speed 12.1 mph Left at 7:40 am Arrived at 1:30 pm

All great adventurers have been lost once or twice on their expeditions. In those halcyon days of exploration in the late 1800s and early 1900s Shackleton, Hornby, Franklin, Fitzroy et al rarely knew where they were.

In California I have traveled without maps, just the GPS. Many cyclists do. They sneak a look at someone else’s Adventure Cycling map in camp the night before and may photograph it. I had looked at the Swiss guy’s and tried to remember it. I turned off route 1 too early. I didn’t realise but I was being followed by Adam (Toronto – Tierra deal Fuego) and Michael (Northern Tier and Pacific Coast) who I had passed earlier. After a couple of miles looked at the GPS and realised the error and retraced the tracks back to route 1. Humorous.

Today was hot. The temperature has been sneaking up the last few days through the late 20s and into the early 30s. By 11 am it was 33C today, and got up to 35. Quite rare for this area. The ride was fine and certainly challenging. As with the last few days hardly any parts are flat. Some gentle undulating hills and some steep ups and downs often to the bays. Being Sunday the traffic was heavy though. I had left quite early but by mid morning it was considerable. Riding down the side of Tomales Bay was a delight, but the restaurants and boating opportunities made it popular for motorists also. Very few trucks and RVs, but plenty of cars, not all being well-driven.

In camp last night they had to open two hiker biker areas as there were so many, probably 15 I would guess. Annie from Quebec had hitch-hiked from Gualala after a bike problem. Carla Paz from Chile had tried to do the same, but failed after 5 hours at the side of the road and was still in Gualala. Both are finding the route very challenging.

Tonight we are camped amongst the redwoods at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. It is impressive that they have this facility so close to the city which is only 30 miles away. There a group of 4 from the city out for a 2 day adventure, I guess they are in their 20s and 30s. It is the furthest they have ever ridden, and they will go home tomorrow. A French couple who were here last night, staying an extra night as its $7 here as opposed to considerably more staying in SF.

Up the road a mile and a half is Lagunitas village and back down the road 2 miles Olema village, which the route didn’t pass as for the last 4 miles we were on the Cross Marin Trail, a track for bikes only. I will investigate Lagunitas later, especially as it has quite a famous brewery.