So, if the theme of yesterday was “truth”, the theme of today was “learning”. In a certain sense, today went kinda badly. (Plan? What plan? R.I.P. the plan). But that’s OK! I learned a lot.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Today started out really great; I stopped off in Redwood Valley, CA, and had a pretty awesome small-town experience. First, I went into the gas station to get a coke. They had a minimum for credit cards, so I offered to pay an extra fee. The guy was just, like, “you know what? This one is on the house.” Try that in San Francisco. Then I walked across the street and these two guys were trying to get a small business started selling espressos and breakfast burritos from a cart. He was telling the lady ahead of me that all the produce was grown locally. It turned out they were cash only - but the guy said “you know what, coffee is on the house today.” I was like, what parallel universe is this? But I said I wanted a burrito; so I went and got cash from the ATM and went back and paid for my soda and then bought what turned out to be the most delicious organic home-grown breakfast burrito I have ever put in my mouth. Seriously, it was amazing, and I hadn’t even been out biking yet so it isn’t just because I was hungry.
Then….the day got weird. I knew I was in trouble when Google Maps biking directions said to get on 101 North for 74 miles. But I decided to tough it out. Bad plan. If anybody ever says they’re going to bike north of Ukiah towards Garberville, please discourage them. I was pretty sure I was going to die, so I got off the highway in the middle of nowhere. Now Google Maps said “hey! here’s a convenient route to the next town”. Next thing I know, I’m climbing over barbed wire fences with my bike and I ended up in the middle of a road construction site. Thanks, Google Maps! The lady came out of the foreman’s office and was surprisingly nonplussed (does she see a cyclist every day?). I redundantly explained that I was lost and needed to get at least to Willits without getting back on 101. She shook her head and said “not gonna happen”. So…6 miles and 7 or 8 near misses later, I pulled - shaking - into Willits. Never, ever again.
My plan that morning was to get to Garberville, but I realized, looking at the map, that just wasn’t going to happen. I had 60 miles of 101 North left in front of me that way, and it was already 1:30. So I made a momentous decision and bailed. I got on Highway 20 - even though it’s totally the wrong way - and headed to Fort Bragg, which has the dual virtues of being on Highway 1 instead of 101, and being part of the ACA maps that I’m carrying. Oh, and did I mention that this all happened after climbing to 2000 feet?
So Highway 20 turned out to be gorgeous, but hilly. I climbed about 3000 total feet. Then, just when I was completely exhausted, and approaching the coast - it started raining. Then my phone died, and I couldn’t find my hotel. Then my backup battery died.
But here I am! Dry, warm, and full of chinese food. So: what have we learned?
I learned that those crazy folks at the ACA (the people that made my maps) know what they’re doing, and now that I’ve picked up their trail, I am absolutely not letting go. I do not want to crawl over any more barbed wire fences.
I learned that Google Maps really, really sucks at biking directions.
I learned that keeping my phone charged is going to be priority #1. I may have to quit using Strava just to make sure I can last the day.
I learned that something is wrong with the backup battery that goes with my solar panel. The panel itself seems OK, but the battery is busted.
I learned that my gear can handle a light rain for 10 or so miles, but I may be in trouble in serious rain.
I learned that chivalry is not dead in small towns.
I learned that making a breakfast burrito from local produce makes it incredibly, incredibly delicious.
I learned that adding 3000 feet of climb to a day of biking makes it much, much harder and slower.
I re-learned that when I get really tired I get sloppy (I knew this already). I dropped my bike on my leg and have three nice cuts to show for it.
I learned that the best way to make a crappy motel feel like the Taj Mahal is to ride on a bicycle three straight days.
I learned that I can leave home, get lost, almost die, make a new plan on the fly, ride 50+ miles with 3000 feet change in elevation in the rain, get lost again, and still make it. I don’t *want* to, but in a pinch, I can.
I learned that Fort Bragg is cold and foggy. And folks on Yelp down here have different standards for a quality chinese buffet than I do.
I learned that you can stand outside a McDonald’s and still use their wifi, but it will really suck and take about 8-10 minutes to load Google Maps.
I learned that I just really, really love Diet Coke. So, forget quitting. Give me the big gulp. I don’t care if it kills me.
One more thing - David and I had a really interesting conversation on the nature of anxiety yesterday. He’s in this awkward position where something really momentous and life-changing (in a bad way) *might* (probably will) happen in about a week and a half. He basically just has to wait, and there’s nothing he can do about it. And it’s killing him. Just like it would me. There isn’t anything I can do to help, except commiserate. But it was interesting to hear someone else describe what I feel all the time - that sense of helplessness and the anxiety that comes from it. I can’t help but feel like that’s even worse for men than women - there is still this societal expectation that men should be active, should be able to “do something about it”. But sometimes there’s just nothing you can do.
No pretty pictures today. Oh, and tomorrow - GO USA!