Every time I tour, I end up getting some kind of digestive problems (I’ll spare you the details!). I guess that time is now. Consequently, I didn’t feel good, and didn’t sleep very well, so I was kind of grumpy this morning.
On top of that, CA 1 has basically no shoulder for 99% of this day’s ride, and there was a LOT of traffic. It was also a little chilly with a marine layer of fog that refused to completely dissipate.
I called my wife, Susan, and complained about it, but she shut me down (with good reason), and I just kept moving.
Little by little, my mood improved. The first thing I noticed was that, although there was no shoulder and lots of traffic, and drivers weren’t slowing down, everyone gave me plenty of space. I didn’t have a single pass that felt dangerous. They were all being very courteous, if not especially cautious.
Several miles from Bodega Bay, I started seeing lots of signs, including my favorite, “Bikes may use full lane.”
I ran into Bill Brier, one of the randonneurs I’d met on September 9, when they passed me on their 1726km ride from Seattle to San Francisco. He was doing a 600km ride from Arcata to San Francisco, using almost the same route, less than two weeks later. What a badass!
Colton, Mei (and their dog, Yoshi) saw me and yelled my name, so we pulled over and chatted. They foraged six bags (I think) of wild blueberries! Yoshi watched me suspiciously the entire time we talked.
I also met Karen, from Billings, Montana, who was here for a visit, and she endured my excited chatter for a few minutes!
It turned out to be an amazing day!
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