What exactly was I thinking? The easier and more sane ride would have been the River Road through Guerneville to Jenner or I could have just ridden through Sebastapol and into Bodega Bay. Not ever wanting to do anything easy, I choose the Stewarts Point Skaggs Creek Road. Bad decision. Unless I wanted to push my bike, which, of course, I did. The road climbs and descends and climbs...
Vineyards in the Fall Sun
The day started out cold as I left Santa Rosa. After breakfast in Healdsburg, I flatted twice before getting to Lake Sonoma. It was at about this point that I was passed by another cyclist who just shaked his head at the fact that I would try to ride this road. Oh, well.
Lake Sonoma
At least I had good company. The motorcycles love this road and descend and ascend its curves at dizzying speeds. At one point in my ride (or push), a group of them said "sorry buddy as they knew what was ahead for me...more hike-a-bike.
I hadn't planned well enough. I started later than I wanted and somewhere along the way I ran out of water. Although it was not hot, I didn't drink enough water and I was becoming dehydrated from pushing my bike up so many steep hills. Since I didn't have any water and there were no places to buy water along the way, I decided to flag some passing cars.
Curves Ahead
The first pickup truck that stopped only had iced tea. That wouldn't do. The passenger of the truck urged me to go back. He told me that I was at the midway point and the the rest of the road was just as curvy as the last 10 miles. I didn't believe him. I could see that I was steadily climbing up to the high point on the road where I would then be at the headwaters of a creek. From there, I would follow a river for 10 miles. So I knew that I would soon be done with all the climbing and would be able to have an easier ride. I was suspicious of the pickup truck passenger.
Since I still didn't have any water, I flagged down a minivan. The driver said he didn't have any water, then he thought for a moment, and asked me if I wanted cold water. I told him that I didn't need cold water because it wasn't hot outside. He went to the back of his car and pulled out two 1.5 liter bottles of Polish spring water.
After drinking nearly the entire contents of one bottle, I continued pushing my bike up the hill eventually reaching the top of the hill. It was downhill for the next 5 miles and then the road was flat or generally downhill as I followed the creek.
I had folded my map into three sections. I was now travelling on the second section. I did not know what was on the third section. As I reached the end of the section section, I unfolded the map and noticed that the rest of the road would not follow the creek. I assumed that meant that I would need to push my bike and I was correct. I pushed my bike for three miles to the top of one hill and then I pushed my bike a bit as I came out of another river drainage. However that last push was easier and I was able to ride the rest of the way (most of it downhill) to the coast.
Highway 1
Reaching the coast at Stewarts Point, I saw that it was 5 p.m. The sun was setting, yet I still had 10 or so more miles to ride. That meant that I would ride in the dark. So I turned on the flashing light and put on my highway construction worker vest. I assumed that the cars wouldn't be able to see me at all. So after a few minutes, I decided to be as safe as I could. Whenever I saw or heard a car coming behind me, I would just pull off of the road and wait for it to pass. Because the road was curvy, I couldn't see very far behind me to determine when the next car would arrive. Altogether, I pulled off of the road at least 20 times.
I arrived at Salt Point State Park in the dark and called my aunt's sister. Her husband came and picked me up. They fed me Thanksgiving leftovers and we watched a movie - "We Are Marshall." Because they had house guests, I was driven a short way down the road to the Stillwater Cove Regional Park. Unlike the State Park, this park has showers. Both the parks have hiker/biker sites ($3/night). I had a peaceful sleep under a full moon.
Day 61 - Santa Rosa to Timber Cove - 77 Miles
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