BAC Seattle to San Francisco

July 20 – Garberville to Westport, CA

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 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 a link to today's route.

Because Westport has a population of about 25, there isn’t a lodging large enough for our whole group. We are 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 am sharing the house with Miriam and Marlene. I have an upstairs bedroom while they have two downstairs bedrooms. My bathroom is down the stairs and around the back of the house. It should be interesting visiting it in the middle of the night. As I write this, we are finishing off a load of laundry, one of the benefits of being in a house rather than a hotel. The house does not have an internet connection and Westport has no AT&T service. This makes communications a bit difficult. Dinner tonight is at the town’s hotel which has wifi. I’ll use it to do my internet things including this blog.

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

I am sitting at my dinner table at the hotel finishing the blog. It’s time to sign off.