Was That a Tailwind?
By admin | June 12, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Half Moon Bay to Ano Nuevo
32 miles
There was a lot of loud squawking around our campsite last night, and at least some of it turned out to be raccoons unzipping my trunk bag and stealing my delicious muesli bread that I didn’t even try yet. At least they were kind enough not to destroy the zipper, like some squirrels I know.
After I cleaned that mess up, I took off my back wheel to put on my new tire. The back one, which carries the most weight, was definitely in the worst shape. Getting the last six inches of the tire tucked into the rim is the hardest part. I finally did it, but my thumbs are still hurting. I’ll get to the front one in a few days, when my thumbs can take it.
After that, I was very hungry. We finished packing and went into town to have a leisurely breakfast and look at maps. We both left with extra pastries for later in the day. We also stopped at the post office and another terrific grocery store, and got on the road around noon. We were doing great compared to yesterday! And, we were thinking we might only do a 25 mile day.
We got a pretty detailed description of the road ahead from a cyclist at the cafe. There was some climbing, including a two mile long hill, but nothing too terrible. Again, it was nice to get more accurate road information from someone who was used to biking it.
Yesterday, I was somehow quite a bit faster than Sadie going uphill, and I could mostly keep up with her otherwise. Today I would completely lose her as she wound downhill ahead of me, and I wasn’t climbing nearly as strong. My legs seemed to be saying, “Yes, hello! We are here!” At the top of one hill, my quads felt like they were going to pop out of my legs. This type of riding takes some getting used to. Also, the speeding downhill parts are still scary. I hope to be used to that in a few days, too.
After 15 miles of this, Sadie suggested we go to a restaurant that had come highly recommended for lunch, but it was two miles off our route. We’d have to go two miles out, and then two miles back to our road. Four extra miles! And there might be more climbing. On other trips, I have definitely passed up stops that were less than a mile off route, in order to not add any extra miles. What the heck! It’s always a good time to try something new.
Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero was worth it! Cream of Artichoke Soup! Warm and crusty bread! Crab Sandwich! Olallieberry Pie! And the ride back to our road felt easier than the ride in, even though it was uphill on the way out!
With ten miles left, happy bellies, and the wind at our backs, we finished the day quickly. I even coasted uphill for a bit, with the wind pushing. What a treat to have a tailwind! I was telling Sadie that I’d experienced virtually no tailwinds on two trips across the country, and I was starting to think the problem might be me. I must have been mistaken about that. Bring on the tailwinds!
The tent sites are just an empty meadow at the very far end of this campground. Our tents nearly blew away as we set them up. A long shower in a heated comfort station (bathroom at a fancy campground) made up for that. Even though it was getting chilly, I found a spot in front of a tree that sort of blocked the wind and practiced yoga for bit. That was lovely! Is it too much to hope for another tailwind tomorrow?
Leave Your Comment