After 150+ miles the past two days, it was time for me to take it easy. Samuel Taylor State Park was about 40 miles away, and was just north of San Francisco, which seemed like an ideal stop for me today. This would be the closest thing I’d have to rest day on my trip (unless I bang out some insane miles later on, which I doubt I’ll be doing).

the hammock in a grove of eucalyptus at Bodega Dunes State Beach

Today I’d also be saying goodbye to my newfound friends from Seattle I’d been riding with the past few days. They were riding on to the Marin Headlands park, which was another 20+ miles and up a big hill that I really didn’t want to deal with if I didn’t have to. Great view of San Francisco and the bridge, but not worth it for me. We had breakfast at The Tides in Bodega Bay before parting ways; they hit the road as I stayed and worked on my blog posts. (Unfortunately the Internet connection was flaky and I still couldn’t post.)

I rolled out on my own and headed south on Shoreline Highway. I smelled more than one skunk along the way… this area apparently is infested with them. I was on a 13mph pace through the first hour as I saw a bunch of recreational cyclists tooling down the road. There must have been at least 50 of them! As I made it into Tomales I saw what was up – a supported ride. That explains all the Spandex I was seeing.

too many witnesses for me to steal commandeer Gatorade mix from their tent

These weekend riders are not like the other cyclists I’d been seeing on the roads during my trip. Without fail, a touring cyclist would wave at me as they rode by (and I waved to them)… the weekenders are too busy pretending they are Lance Armstrong for such gestures. Maybe that has something to do with the special pride I felt when I passed a few of them up and over a hill, me with me 100+ pounds of bike + gear, and them with their 15-pound carbon-fiber rocket bikes. (Don’t make Hulk bike angry… you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.)

As I moved past Tomales and into Marin County, I hit some intense headwinds, strong enough to make the port on my fuel bottle whistle at a standstill. Head down, keep the pedals turning.

I made it to Marshall and stopped at at local eatery on Tomales Bay for a pulled pork sandwich and some fantastic fish tacos. After enjoying the view by the water and some digestion time I was back on the road.

sitting by the bay (in front of someone else’s food for the picture spot)

More plodding along. As I rode today I could tell I was pretty beat, but I was also a bit bummed riding by myself after rolling with the Seattle riders the past few days. It was a good thing though – they were at the end of their journey, whereas I am at the midpoint of mine. A quick rub of my Stone Brewing bottle cap to remind me of the glory awaiting me in San Diego, I soldiered on.

I arrived at Point Reyes and found the Bovine Bakery I was told about, asked about the cookie with the big name, and walked away with a chocolate cherry almond cookie of my very own. Fantastic cookie.

Bovine Bakery and the bookstore in Point Reyes… nice little town

I was noticing that people were more into cycling today, not just with the weekend warriors, but with the people strolling along who would stop and check out my bike parked by the sidewalk. Later as I was riding to camp, someone stopped on the other side of the road pointed my bike out to his friends, exclaiming “Look! a Long Haul Trucker!” Nice to see more people into bikes.

Anyway, I parked it at the local bookstore in Point Reyes and took advantage of the first decent Internet connection I’ve seen in days. I rolled out at 6pm when the place closed with some groceries from the local market so I wouldn’t have to cook tonight.

After a hill I was heading down the road to the park. Apparently the entrance is a bit confusing for cyclists, as I rode by several cyclists going the opposite direction seeming to look for it (probably coming from the Bay area for the weekend). One asked me if we were in the park about a half-mile after I’d ridden by a sign saying I’d entered the park. I saw a small bridge leading across the river and headed over it, ending up in the park where some of the paper mill buildings are. After riding around a bit to get my bearings, I rode to the other side of the park where the camping and registration is, found the hiker/biker spot, and looked to get situated.

This park has a nice redwood grove, which I was surprised to see – I didn’t know I’d get to camp in the redwoods one more night on this trip. The park was nice and the hiker/biker area was awesome – there are rings of redwoods for each camp spot. Unfortunately I wasn’t seeing anything jumping out at me for a place to put my hammock. I mentioned as much to a couple who rode up from Berkeley, and they pointed out the hook protruding from the redwood directly behind me. Sure enough there was a hook resembling a bent railroad spike sticking straight out of the tree, perfect to hitch my hammock to. There was another redwood across from it that was so large you could stand in the middle of it… I wrapped it with my nylon cord and lashed the other end of my hammock to that. Score another one for the hammock.

one more time in the redwoods

Another day draws to a close. I’d reached the midpoint of my travels, and had over 700 miles behind me… the numbers are looking pretty good for me to make it to San Diego on time. Tonight I sleep content, eager for tomorrow’s crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge and finding my way through San Francisco.

Most Exciting Moment
Probably the anticipation of tomorrow’s crossing of the bridge. So close! No, it was the cookie.

Roadkill Report

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