We had a great evening last night chatting with the fellow cyclists in the hiker/biker. The young couple who had come in late were from Juno Alaska and had started their ride in Vancouver. They were finishing up today just outside of San Francisco.
We were on the road by 8:20 with the sun shining. We soon realized that we were going to face a headwind...whatever happened to the idea that the prevailing winds are to be from the north. Today we truly saw Northern California's ranchland. The last few days was to be only a small glimpse of what we experienced today. Highway 1 headed inland after leaving Bodega Day. Even the town names were reflective of ranching...Valley Ford and Tomales. We saw sheep grazing, huge dairy operations and again thousands of cattle up in the hills.
Marshall was a strange little town on Tomales Bay. All the buildings were built out over the water because the other side of the highway was rock face. Marshall only exists because of the oyster farms in Tomales Bay.
The real surprise for us today, however, was all the climbing. We assumed...I know assuming just makes an 'ass of you and me'...that today was to be a relatively easy day of riding. It was anything but. Chris's GPS clocked us in at 2789 feet of climbing. There were no huge climbs but just nothing flat...at least not until the last 12 kilometers. A nice lady in Point Reyes told us of a flat route to the park. It entailed some back tracking but it was a pleasure to ride culminating in a 8 km paved bike path on an old rail line into the park.
We are camping amongst the redwoods in Samuel P. Taylor State Park in the hiker/biker area. The down side of the park is that the showers have been closed due to the drought conditions in the area...not good for cyclists. We are again camping with Chris and swapping stories of our biking adventures. He has biked in a lot of different areas of the world...fascinating!!!
Trip Distance = 70.14 km. Time on the Bikes = 5 hours 5 minutes. Average Speed = 13.78 km. Maximum Speed = 55.93 km. Wildlife Sightings = Black Tailed Deer, Sea Otters, Harbour Seals, Raccoon, Scrub Jay, King Fisher, Blue Bird, Great Egrets, Turkey Vultures, Brewers Blackbird.
I believe for the first time on this adventure we are truly tired...our legs will not feel good for our ride into San Francisco tomorrow...YES SAN FRANCISCO here we come!!!
Grazing Land Near Valley Ford
Part of The 2700 Feet We Climbed Today
Large Beef Operation
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