STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

And artichoke fields and Brussels sprout fields as far as you can see. Now I know where those big beautiful tasteless strawberries that I buy in November in Chicago come from.
Santa Cruz-Monterrey 46 miles
THE easiest and most leisurely day of the trip- still blessed with fantastic weather. Went through miles of farm land and then on to a long winding bike path to and through Monterrey
*strawberry fields
* the largest tarp in the world?
*delicious deep fried artichoke hearts at a road side stand
*harbor seals and pelicans in Monterrey

BACK in the SADDLE

San Francisco- Santa Cruz 57 miles
I couldn't muster up enough excitement to do an 85 mile day AND ride out of SF in morning traffic so several of us bumped up to Moss Beach for a warm, beautiful day of tailwind fueled biking. Hugging the coast and headlands all day with long ups and long downs and hundreds of acres of what appears to be artichokes, kale and Brussel sprouts
*great James Turrell art installation at the DeYoung Museum
*Pigeon Point Lighthouse
*pumpkin fields

FRIENDS VISIT

A rest day with special friends, delicious food and a little "cultcha". Schon and Ed came in from Sonoma on this beautiful day for some fun! Lunch outside at the Ferry Building and then a visit to the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. Thank you dear friends!
And Coop, friend and sag from ST- great to see you.

CATCH UP

Rest day in SF today. Sitting now having leisurely coffee after having slept in- life is good!
Sag Nancy compiled these facts for us a few days ago. In our group of 31 riders, we have age wise: 5 in the 70's, 7 in the 50's, 2 in the 40's and 17 in the 60's. Average age-62.3 and age range 45-73. What a strong bunch of ageless babes!!! And speaking of strong.. Picture below of 2 strong riders , Sue (OH) and Lynda (LA &WA) Lynda has run 90 marathons (more than 1 in each state & continent) and has 2 more Canadian provinces to do. And then there are the dozens of ultras she has done- wow!

THE GOLDEN GATE

Bodega Bay- San Francisco
70.6 miles 3620' climb
We had it all today! Started along the coast & then turned into the ups and downs of rural Sonoma & Marin Counties with just a bit of high fog, along the beautiful Tomales Bay for miles, then through little towns north of the bridge, over the glorious Golden Gate and then city bike paths along the water to Fisherman's Wharf. A stop at Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes, a quick lunch bite in San Anselmo and made it to the hotel with 35 minutes to spare for dinner. Today was a top ten riding day- the warmest yet- we muddled our way through 4 pages of cue sheet directions - what a day!

FOG, CATTLE GUARDS and CORDUROY ROADS

Other than that a great ride!
Gualala -Bodega Bay. 49 miles 3078 ft
A foggy start but not as cold as our fog day in Oregon ... and then at least 5 miles of corduroy road surfaces-- great for x country skiing, not so great for biking. Cattle guards where you can't imagine cattle would be and then endless hills on cliffs( up and down) into Jenner. Made it to Bodega Bay through Sunday traffic but great road, lifted fog and doable rollers. Coop from Southern Tier showed up this afternoon.

Route 1

Sat 10/13. Fort Bragg-Gualala
59.8 miles 4320 ft
Almost balmy this morning-stopped early for coffee in lovely village of Mendocino& lunch in the sun in Point Arena. Bare legs for the 1st time today!
We are in the terrain of,"you need to wear a life jacket & a parachute out there". Thank you Ed Clay! Switchbacks and runs down to the sea and then long pulls back up to headlands. Calif. coast here is different-equal drama but land is arid and trees are smaller.
*Patty after a long day
*Gualala coast
*Mendocino
*Katie,Nancy,Patti
*paddle boarder in Little River
*Cy- new, great guide, strong, exuberant biker
*Nancy,Deb(OH) Marilyn(MI)