Pelicans, Seals and Gulls – Oh Boy

The Bay trial ride from Oakland to Richmond held some special treats today.  The sun was out, the tide was low, and we encountered Pelicans, Seals and Gulls feeding near shore along the Barbara and Jay Vincent Park.  Watching Pelicans dive is always a treat, and there were dozens of them, along with a good many seals, and the requisite number of gulls. 

The day wasn’t all perfect though.  Riding back on Cutting Blvd, 3 of us were nearly taken out by a semi-truck that didn’t stop coming out of a side street. This was a close encounter that we could have done without.

Tunitas Creek - Quintessential NorCal ride

Prologue:  

Dear Velos,

My thanks to Steelrider for organizing today's ride from Woodside - it got me out to do one of my most favorite rides.

I mentioned the ride to several non-Velos; two were interested, one, decided to come. But he was planning on meeting the guy who built his custom titanium bike, (http://ntpbikes.com/), so we met up at the Woodside Elementary School (a better place to park on Sunday as they have a real bathroom that is open) at 8:30. A whole bunch of riders showed up, planning to do a local ride. Most of us migrated to the parking lot where the Velos were gathering; only 2 were interested in doing the Pescadero loop with us.

We all left together but regrettably Angel, Dan and I didn't see the pack of Velos again after getting somewhat ahead on Old La Honda - we did wait at the top for a while but decided to press on. The three of us did the loop, fighting the strong gusts of wind on Stage Rd and Rt 1, although we were insulated from the winds up Tunitas Creek. We finished back in Woodside at 2PM.

So, although we didn't see much of the rest of the Velos, thanks again for making this lovely ride happen.

-Bill

The 4 trailing Velos (Fred, Robin, Paul and myself) also had a great ride. The ascent up Old La Honda Rd. to Skyline was a steady grind through the towering redwood forest, and the descent from Skyline to La Honda was a bit chilly.  Paul was ahead on the downhill and missed the turn onto Pescadero Creek Rd. The remaining 3 of us managed to contact him, and then meandered up and over Pescadero Crk. Rd, and into Pescadero for lunch at The Country Bakery. The sun came out as we descended into Pescadero and we appreciated the warmth and the blue sky.  Paul arrived shortly, having accumulated an extra 4 miles and 700 ft of ascent.  We had a fine 2 course lunch, sandwiches from the deli, followed by pastries (chocolate and raspberry croissants) generously provided by Fred.  The chocolate croissant was especially good, just the right amount of smooth, dark chocolate filling.  And, it is worth noting that the Bakery has also installed a 'fixit' public bike repair stand like the one shown below, out in back near their picnic area (nice!)

 

After lunch we proceeded North on Stage Road, into the stiff wind, and up and over two small climbs.  Along the way we had great views of the green hills, white capped ocean, grazing sheep, amazing large pigs, and some old tractors.  

At the North end of Stage Road, we made a right turn onto Hwy 1, and descended for a couple of miles to Tunitas Creek Road.  This was a white-knuckle ride downhill, into a fierce, buffeting wind, with fabulous scenery ahead, speeding cars along side, and various rocks and branches littering the shoulder -  terrifying and exhilarating!

Fortunately, the narrow bridge at the bottom of the descent, just before the turn onto Tunitas Creek, was a bit sheltered from the wind, and the cars were relatively considerate, so the bridge (usually the scariest part) was comparatively benign.  We took a right turn on Tunitas Creek Road, enjoying the quiet, less intense, pastoral environment.

 We stopped and lingered for awhile at the Bike Hut before starting back toward Woodside.

( http://blog.sfgate.com/bicycle/2014/06/03/the-bike-hut-a-long-way-from-anywhere-a-haven-for-bicyclists/ ).  

After that, it was just the beautiful ride up through the redwood forest along Tunitas Creek.  The creek is running strong, with lots of cascades, and Mother Nature is on the move.  While the road was clear, we saw several big redwoods either freshly down or leaning on their neighbors, and numerous fresh rockfalls, some with sizable boulders.  After the 7 mile climb up Tunitas Creek, the descent on Kings Grade was COLD.  Staying on the brakes was essential, but we successfully negotiated the tight turns, and returned to Woodside much later than Bill and his two buddies. 

Ride summary:  50 miles, 5700 ft of ascent, 2 major climbs, 1 exhilarating/terrifying experience.

Cheese, Pastry and White Rabbit in Marin

Nice day for a Saturday ride in Marin.  I left the YMCA in San Raphael with 3 other riders for a 55 mile ride to Petaluma and back, via Nicasio.   Around 8:30 am we headed west out Lucas Valley Road. Traffic was light and the temperature was perfect for the climb to Big Rock.

You may know that this is the trail head for the Big Rock Trail, at multi-use trail that runs along the west side of the Lucas Valley Open Space Preserve.  If you have a chance to hike the trail, which I did the next day, you are treated to great views of the surrounding hills and valleys and an overlook of Big Rock Ranch.

Searching the web, I found the pic below of the Big Rock Ranch – (note, the trail is in the trees high up on the slope behind)

After the Big Rock summit, the road descends several miles through woodlands and redwoods, eventually emerging in the grasslands near Nicasio. After a brief stop we rolled past the eastern shore of the Nicasio reservoir, and then turned East toward Petaluma on Red Hill Road, where we encountered a bit of a climb. Fortunately, the road surface is great, and there is a bike lane, so I just kept the pedals moving. Once over the bump we cruised down to the Marin French Cheese Factory (www.marinfrenchcheese.com/), a popular stop for cyclists. 

The cheese factory has a spacious, bright interior and features excellent pastries from a bakery in Sonoma, as well as some good looking pre-made sandwiches.  Of course, they also offer a wide variety of fine cheese (and crackers) with several cheese selections out for tasting.  Did I mention the duck pond with picnic tables and a bathroom?  You can see why it is popular with cyclists

From there we took Hicks Valley Road over to up over Wilson Hill Road and did the climb/slog up Wilson Hill.  This hill is always a challenge, but there is very little traffic making it possible to ride along with someone and chat your way to the top. Looking closely in the upper left corner of this pic, you can see the tree line at the top of the climb.

After the climb, we had the fabulous and FAST descent down toward Chileno Valley Road.

Once down onto the flatter ground, it was on to Petaluma.  Coming into Petaluma from the West we rode through some very charming neighborhoods on our way to the Tea Room Café (http://www.tearoomcafe.com/ ). 

We scored a table outside, and I had the Mascarpone toast. This was a thick piece of toasted sourdough, slathered with Mascarpone, topped with sliced strawberries and drizzled with honey.  It was scrumptious.  Others had French toast, Vegan Tofu Scramble and the Vegetable Frittata.  All were excellent.  The Tofu scramble comes with a bean side that looked great.  This place can be a bit crowded, but is worth the wait.

Here are a few examples of their wares.

The route back featured two musical episodes worthy of mention.  First, as we were climbing above Mc Evoy Ranch on Red Hill Road, strains of ‘White Rabbit’ were drifting up from an event at the ranch far below us.  It was live music and we speculated that they were holding Grace Slick hostage down there. 

After cresting that hill and a couple more, we were treated to more rock and roll as we pedaled past the Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch set up just north of Nicasio (http://www.nicasiovalleyfarms.com/). This was a major attraction with hay rides, inflatable slides, a band etc. all adjacent to acres of pumpkins.   What was really amazing was that none of this was even set up we pedaled through Nicasio earlier in the day (around 9:30 am).  It is ironic that this pumpkin patch event is located along the exact stretch of road out of Nicasio that has signs posted asking cyclists to please refrain from talking – as to not disturb the neighbors.  Hmmm…

All in all, a fantastic day on the bike.

Oregon Adventures - Part 2: Art and Coffee on the Oregon Coast

I recently spent a couple of days biking down the Oregon coast from Bandon to Brookings.  This trip followed directly after four days of biking around Ashland (described in Oregon Adventures - Part 1) and the contrast between Ashland (inland) and the coast was evident the first morning.  It was a bit foggy and cool (it was October) and we made use of our foul weather gear for the morning start. 

Heading south from Bandon, the scenery, as well as the weather, was quite different from the pastoral hills and valleys and sunny skies around Ashland.  Moreover, was soon apparent that this is an artsy community, with the artists here making creative use of the materials at hand.  

 My grandson would love this one,

How did he get Bigfoot to pose for this?

The piece below can be found at 'Washed Ashore' - art to save the sea.  

Their motto is:

 'Give us your ocean debris, 

We'll make art to save the sea'

Note: according to their website, their art is currently on exhibit at 3 SeaWorld locations  (http://washedashore.org/). 

Vines Art Glassblower shop is also nearby, with lots of fine glass art on display.

 These websites describe the art community in Bandon

http://www.bandon.com/webfront/directory/subcat.php?subcatid=227
http://www.bandon.com/WashedAshore
http://vinesartglass.com/

Leaving Bandon we rode south through miles of remote country side with fog looming behind the coastal hills. Sometimes the road would ascend into the gloom and we would get a bit wet, but it never rained hard. Along the way we  spied a beaver dam (unfortunately, no pics) and a lonely barn called Sixes Grange Marketplace. 

We didn't go into the marketplace, but a yelper named  James L. did back in 2013 and from his rather droll yelp review I surmise that we didn't miss much (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sixes-grange-856-market-place-sixes).

Further down the road we passes a cranberry bog - first time any of us had seen one - always nice to see something new!

Port Orford Coffee Adventures

Around lunch time we rolled into Port Orford, a small beach community, and I was ready for some hot coffee and a pastry.  I spotted Tasty Kate's Cafe, and given that I write a bakery-blog, had to stop at this cheery looking place.   

The vibe was good, because as I was parking my bike someone walking on the far side of the road called out saying this was the best place in town.  So I went in, surveyed the baked goods, resisted the urge for an eclair and bought a croissant 

(https://www.facebook.com/TastyKates).

Our plan was to meet at another coffee shop just down the road called One Lump or Two. I suggested that we change our plan and go to Tasty Kate's instead , because the odds of finding pastries this good anywhere else in town appeared slim.  Well, the others in the group didn't trust my intuition, so I pocketed my croissant and rejoined the group.

One Lump or Two

A short way south from Tasty Kate's is One Lump or Two.  I am not sure how to describe this coffee house, so I will defer to Sally:

'At Port Orland we stopped for coffee at One Lump Or Two, a bizarre place with an incredibly eccentric proprietor.  Amongst other things, he keeps the “Closed” sign in the window “To discourage stupid people” from coming in. He was rude to the patrons and seemed to be proud of it.  He was strange in appearance, with piercing dark eyes,  handlebar mustache, long hair, and “sleeve” tattoos on both arms.  But he DID make good coffee! (Included in the options: peanut butter coffee, mint coffee, and waffle coffee).  When I asked about the waffle coffee, he said “Do you SEE any waffles around here?”  I didn’t pursue it!'

The barista's name is Kurlee and eccentric is an overly kind description.  He makes a Peanut Butter Mocha and several other coffee drinks that are unique and very good. But, One Lump' doesn't sell any food, just coffee or Chai Tea, which Kurlee described disapprovingly as 'that hippie tea with espresso'.  Luckily, I had my croissant which I furtively munched down while enjoying the PB Mocha. I have provided a link to the yelp reviews below, and suggest that the interested coffee drinker read them and then make your own decisions regarding this place.   In my book, Kate's eclairs, croissants and inviting atmosphere definitely win out (but they are not gluten-free ;-).   I must say that the 30 minutes we spent in One Lump did supply us with hours of stories, so it was definitely a noteworthy stop - highlight is not quite the right word. 

Oh yes, be warned that if your ears are sensitive to F-bombs, you should probably go to Kate's.  

(http://www.yelp.com/biz/one-lump-or-two-port-orford) .

After leaving One Lump we made sandwiches at a local seaside park. 

We  rode along the coast for much of the afternoon, with a few cuts inland through beautiful canyons, and we did get an occasional glimpse of the sun. 

We also came across this friendly fellow.  Too bad none of us had on our VeloRaptor jerseys.

After 55 miles and surviving One Lump and some gloomy weather, we reached Gold Beach, a charming community just across this bridge at the mouth of the Rogue River.  

Our accommodations had beach access accented with a bit of Northwest Indian culture. 

The path to the beach was inviting,

And Ron again showed his skill with a camera, capturing these nice pics of Susan and these shore birds.

Dinner that night was at Spinner's - a casual but elegant eatery .  Ron enjoyed some good beer and rich chocolate cake with homemade ice cream.  I can also recommend the salmon special and the mixed berry ice cream.  (http://www.spinnersrestaurant.com/).

Gold Beach to Brookings

The weather was misty the next day on our short (25 mile) ride to Brookings, but we were able to enjoy the spectacular rocky coastline.  

This shot is from the Thomas Creek Bridge, which at 345 ft is the highest bridge in Oregon

Nearer Brookings, Sally, Steve and I stopped to see a natural bridge in Samuel H. Boardman State Park.  (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g51780-d2263265-Reviews-Samuel_H_Boardman_State_Park-Brookings_Oregon.html#photos) 

We got off the bikes at Harris Beach State Park, and after a shower and snack, headed back inland to I-5 and the trip home.  

Video Link

This trip was organized by Black Sheep Adventures and here is a link to a short video of the trip that they produced ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVwmeD8UtD4 ).