Bob on BAC Seattle to San Francisco 2010

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I met Bill at a cafe down the street from our motel at 6:30 when it was supposed to open. Arriving a little after that was the waitress who let us in and said that we could order and eat prior to the 7:00 opening time. We did. I had eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee. I got the 10% senior discount.

I got on the road at 8:00 being the last to leave again. Our route took us on and off US 101 for the first 24 miles. The on part was a bit dicey when the shoulder disappeared. The off part was in redwood forests and very awe inspiring. We had a few rough patches and even one dirt stretch. The temperature was rising and I had to take off my cold weather gear.

We finally said good bye to US 101 after 24 miles and turned onto CA 1. We immediately encountered “the climb” of the tour – Leggett Hill. It turned out to be tamer than expected. Julie and I rode together up to the top. The temperature was pretty warm but we were in a forest whose trees gave us lots of relief from the sun. As we descended, the micro climate changed drastically. It got cold. I stopped to put on my arm warmers. Then I stopped again to put on my jacket. Looking ahead, I could see fog. I almost stopped to put on my leg warmers, but it was fortunate that I didn’t because the next climb was steep and very warm.

I reached the coast and stopped at a lookout to eat my PB&J sandwich. I was joined at different times with Ben, Sue, Linda, Julie, Ken and Martha. They all took off while I was finishing my lunch. Because it was foggy and cold, I slipped on my leg warmers for the last 5 miles of the ride. I reached Westport before 1:00.

Here is today's route.

Because Westport has a population of about 230, there isn’t a lodging large enough for our whole group. We were in three different locations. I was lucky enough to get into a large guest house with a great view of the surf across the street. I shared the house with Miriam and Marlene. I had an upstairs bedroom while they had two downstairs bedrooms. My bathroom was down the stairs and around the back of the house. It would be interesting visiting it in the middle of the night. As I wrote this, we were finishing off a load of laundry, one of the benefits of being in a house rather than a hotel. The house did not have an internet connection and Westport had no AT&T service. This made communications a bit difficult. Dinner tonight was at the Westport Hotel which has wifi. I used it to do my internet things including my blog.

Happy Hour was at our house. Dinner was at the hotel – salad, baked breaded chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables and cheese cake.