Help support Alpha One research by making a donation

Several people have been contacting me about how to make a donation to the Alpha One organization. The link on the left side of this page is not working. I am not sure what the problem is but I am working to correct it. Please keep checking back.If you have any problems please let me know. I am working to correct it. You can read more about the Allpha One organization at http://www.firstgiving.com/eatons

Thanks so much for helping us out. And please know that all of this money goes directly to Alpha One. Hap and I are in no way financed or reimbursed for any of this ride. Well, they did give us a really cool cycling jersey! Our pay is in being able to meet with Alpha patients and maybe just maybe make a difference in spreading the word about a disease that is close to our hearts. The only way to fight this disease is to have the funds for research. Dugan started in a research study 20 years ago at THE Ohio State University (GO BUCKS!). He began taking the medication Prolastin before it was approved. For many years it was the only treatment available. Now there are a couple of other medications available.

Riding in Ohio

I thought I would share some pictures of our rides in Ohio. You can see them on the left side of this page. We really do have some good roads for riding around here. And with the trees changing with the season it is just beautiful. From our front door we have the option of riding flat cornfield lined roads, rolling empty roads, or long steep tree lined roads. You can see that from the pictures.

We also have a "little" event here in Circleville called the Pumpkin Show. ww.pumpkinshow.com This year Dr. Leggett grew the largest pumpkin ever, at over 1500 pounds. The city of Circleville pretty much closes down for the week of Pumpkin Show. Schools are closed, businesses are closed. I play in the Pumpkin Show Community Band (see picture). We not only play at Pumpkin Show but play at numerous events throughout the year. There are over 70 members ages 15-80 years. As you can see in the picture we don't march through any of the EIGHT parades that they have. There are two parades per day! We have our own trailer. I love playing with the band. I played in the band in school and hadn't played the baritone for 20 yrs when I joined the PSB about 13 years ago. I love the challenge of trying new music. There are some terrific musicians. Me?? I figure it is a successful song if when the director stops at the end of a song, I end at the same time! It's not a good idea to have any notes left over.

And how are our pregnant girls doing? We had a shower last week for Heather and it was a good time. She looks great and the baby is doing well. I can't wait to see if we have a little girl or boy. Tiffany's twin boys are also doing well. They weigh 4.2 pounds each now. Tiffany is the size of a full term pregnant person. The docs are saying if she doesnt' go into labor they will do a C Section on Nov. 12. Our tickets back to San Diego are for Oct 30 so we'll just have to see when the babies are "done".

I do have to mention our Number 1 rated Ohio State Buckeyes. How 'bout them Buckeyes! GO BUCKS! I probably should do a shout out for that team from Lafayette IN. Let's see what was their name...........oh yeah, Purdue. Now are you happy Hap?

Hopefully we'll be back on the road soon. We sure miss it. We are probably going to be taking our Bobb trailer back with us. We are thinking that will balance out our "extra' weight that we have on this trip. We also bought a new front rack that hopefully is stiffer and will help with the problem we have been having with the bolt breaking on that rack. Hap says he has a "plan" for the front headset problem. I am not sure what he means by that. But knowing Hap he has researched the problem, graphed it, mapped it out, talked about it and whatever else you can do. It will be fixed. We'll keep you posted as to our EDT for San Diego. In the meantime we are enjoying the beautiful riding here in Ohio in the changing of the seasons.

Ohio news

Hello everyone, I thought I would let everyone know that we are still here and are planning to continue our "road" trip as soon as we have healthy twin boys! Adjusting to regular life has been difficult. I have been working alot, and Hap has been making sure that everything here at the house is in good working order. MMMm..... wait was it before we left???.... Yesterday we discovered we had a "guest" in the house. We'll just call him BEN. Don't worry BEN is now in heaven with all of the other BEN'S out there. I am just glad that I did not see BEN first. We have been out riding quite a bit but we do miss riding every day. Above are pics of us on our "5 pound" bikes. No, Bing, they are not really 5 pounds. But I thought by the time you factor in the wt we were carrying and the weight of these actual bikes, do the statistics, draw the graphs etc, they weigh 5 pounds. It sure is a change from what we have been doing anyway. I love riding my Kestrel and Hap is riding his Giant TCR. In fact I am getting ready to head out now, before the next baby shower. I have gotten alot of emails about are we going to not go back to our trip. The only answer is YES, ASAP. The tandem is in San Diego at Hap's cousins house, sitting in the garage, all covered up and just waiting. We'll be there soon................

Our babies are all healthy. The twins are 4.2 pounds each and Tiff is doing super. All system's are go and hopefully they will cooperate with our EDT of Oct 30. Heather is also doing well and we are headed to her baby shower today. I am in debt from buying baby gifts but who knew what going to Baby's r Us would be like. Have you ever been there? Mostly I picked up "stuff" and said what's this for?

I am getting Physical therapy on my back, massages and seeing the chiropractor. It is tough to know just how much to do. I am used to lifting wts, swimming, etc here at home, but I don't want to mess up our BIG RIDE. So I'll just play it safe and do what they tell me. I am loving being back at work. Berger Health System has been awesome to me. Everyone is so supportive of our ride and what we are doing. We just opened up a new Berger Medical Center that will be a real asset to our community. It is a beautiful building.

So that's all the news that is news today. Check back and I will let you know when we will be headed to San Diego. The plan is to ride east from San Diego to Tucson, across N Mexico, Texas (maybe go down to the tip, Brownsville) and on east to Daytona Beach by March. Then back to Ohio. Oh, One last note. HOW BOUT THEM BUCKEYES! GO BUCKS!

One more note about Dugan. He and Sonnie have just started doing their own home infusion of Prolastin. I am so proud of them! Nurse Sonnie has really stepped up and is doing an awesome job.

Back in Ohio

What! Back in Ohio! Whassup with that? Like I've been trying to tell you....we're having twins! I'm going to be a grand-aunt. Our boys are coming -- out boys are coming. We left the tandem in San Diego and plan to fly back to continue our adventure after they are born. We are looking forward to making our next LEFT TURN across the southern US. Hopefully, we have planned it so that the weather will be nice for our winter lap.

We rode through San Diego to Imperial Beach and left our tandem with Hap's cousin Jon and his wife Joy. The ride into San Diego was really pretty. It was right along the ocean with beautiful scenery. It was also really nice because there was alot of cyclists out riding. More than we have seen since we have left home. Traffic became heavier the closer we got to the city. But overall was pretty good. It did seem like San Diego drivers were not quite as patient as they were in LA. We were really surprised by that. We had another flat tire today. That is three in two days! Hap found a cut on the inside of the tire, so that's what the problem was. He got it fixed and we rode on. We rode to downtown San Diego and took the ferry across the bay to Coronado. We were alittle worried that the tandem would fit on that "little boat", but it did with no problem. Once across the bay we had an easy ride down the strand to Jon and Joy's. Joy fixed us a wonderful supper. The next morning we took a walk on the beach and stopped for breakfast. We walked out on the pier and watched people catching alot of big fish called Bonita's. We also saw some dolphins. We could see Mexico very easily. We are maybe five miles or so from the border. Hap cleaned up the bike and I took a nap. Hey I offered to help................... For dinner we went out to a great mexican restaurant with Jon, Joy, daughter Jenny, husband Nate and new baby (3 wks) Chase.

Today Jon took us to the airport for our flight home. The flight was uneventful. It was alittle wierd to think that it took us almost five months to get to California and about 5 hours to fly back to Ohio. Does that mean we have to start all over again?

Bill and Jill picked us up at the airport and we got a very special bonus. Tiffany came up with them. It was so good to see her. I thought I was going to have to wait til tomorrow. What a surprise. The house was still standing. It is alittle sad being home. We are looking forward to making our left hand turn in California. And NO we are NOT tired of riding the bike. In fact, my little 5 pound bike is sitting here looking at me. Too bad it's dark outside! Stay tuned for baby news. I am also planning to work while I am here. We'll see how all of this plays out.

Oceanside, CA

We left the hotel near the LA airport we were both we not looking forward to today's ride through another 60 or so miles of city traffic to Mark and Jenny's house in Irvine. We started out by riding west back to the coast. We planned to get back on Rt 1 and head south. The roads were very busy mostly 3-4 lane. We had several people give us a thumbs up (in a good way) as we rode along. We even had a couple of people at traffic lights ask us where we were going as we waited for the light. Generally the traffic was good and patient. There were lots of cyclists around, so I think they are used to seeing cyclist. We finally got back to Rt 1 and went south down the coast. The weather was overcast and cleared up in the afternoon. There were some long climbs along the coast but it wasn't so bad. We rode through some beautiful areas with million dollar homes on the hillsides. Someday someone will have to explain to me why you would build a house like that on the side of a hill that keeps sliding off. I guess when you can afford to build something like that you can afford to just build another one. Or maybe just move to your other house!! We also saw lots of harbors with some beautiful boats or is that ships? What is the difference between a boat and a ship anyway?? We rode through the Huntington Beach area which was an interesting place. It was a four lane highway with a strip of beaches and on/off ramps like a freeway. We stopped to eat a snack on the side of the road. Mark and Jenny had told us about a Mountain to Sea bike trail just of Jamboree Road in Newport Beach that would take us right to their house. They also gave us the option of riding up Jamboree Rd to their house. They said it had a nice bike lane on it. We opted for Jamboree Rd because it looked shorter. We turned onto the road and started climbing. It was about 5pm so traffic was just awful and all the nice drivers that were on Rt 1.....well they were still on Rt 1.....we got to the top of a hill and it looked like we were headed onto a freeway. So we stopped to consider another option. It just so happened we stopped right beside a bike trail. Was it the Mountain to Sea?? Who would know ..... of course we didn't have a map! But what the heck...let's just see where it goes. As it turned out it did connect up with the right trail.........eventually. We rode past UC Irvine. There were alot of bikers and runners on the trail. It was really pretty. There were alot of parks, palm trees and no traffic. We followed the trail and then all of a sudden we realized we were not where we were supposed to be. We called Mark and Jenny and said "We're on the corner of .... and ...." They said so what are you doing way over there? They "googled" us and told us how to get to their house. Aren't computers wonderful? We finally made it to their house. It was good to see Mark, Jenny, Katie and Abby again. They headed off to church while Hap and I ate their food, used their shower and I watched a video before heading for bed. It was great!

We spent the next day just laying around the house not doing much. Jenny had arranged for me to get a massage at the house. Thanks Jenny! and my back thanks you too! It was just a quiet day at the house. Jenny's sister came over and brought her twins. All of the kids put on quite a show for us. The next day, Mark was off so we all went to Laguna Beach. It was fun to spend a day at the beach, looking at tide pools. We saw sea urchins, sea slugs, starfish, little fishies, crabs, and other "stuff" The weather had been overcast in the morning, but once we got to the beach the weather was perfect. When we got back, Mark and Jenny headed off for a party. Hap, myself and Jenny's mom watched Katie and Abby. I read Katie a story. Her comment to me was "That was a really looonnnnggg story...........".

This morning we packed up "the bus" and headed out. It was really good to see them, we had a great time. We got on the Mountain to Sea trail again. They gave us more directions this time AND they showed us where it started. We didn't have any trouble finding it this time. We got on Rt 1 south again. Today was Sat. so there seemed to be more traffic. We stopped at the Shake Shop in Newport Beach for milkshakes. They were delicious! When we got into Laguna Beach and had a flat tire. Only our second since leaving home. Hap fixed it and we continued on. There was still alot of traffic but there were also tons of cyclists. We had several longish climbs today. The temps were alittle warmer. All day today we rode along the beaches of southern CA on the right and million dollar homes on the left. What a pretty ride on a pretty day! Our plan today was to ride into Carlsbad and stay at the State Beach. When we got to Camp Pendleton we had to ride on Interstate 5 for about 8 miles. The last time through this area you could ride through there but they now have it closed and send you to the freeway. It sure was noisy!! We got off the freeway in Oceanside and stopped for a drink and to see if there was a campground in this town. It was getting alittle late, but we still had another 8 miles to ride or so. I called a RV park in Oceanside and they wanted $39 to pitch a tent. I don't think so! So I called around to see what hotels cost and found one for only $59. So would you spend another $20 for a bed?? As we were leaving we discovered we had ANOTHER FLAT TIRE! What's up with that?? We stopped to fix it and then headed to the hotel. By the time we got there it was almost dark. Across the street was a Thai Chinese restaurant. But the best news of the day!! We got to watch the Buckeyes beat Minnesota! AND Florida lose to Auburn. Isn't that sad! We had a great dinner, topped off with the pumpkin bread that Jenny sent with us. Hap found a cut on the inside of the tire wall. That is why we got the flats. He put our new tire on, fixed the inner tubes and were good to go. We have about 45 miles to ride to Imperial Beach (San Diego) tomorrow to Hap's cousins house. Yes, we do have to ride through another city. I can't wait until we are riding without all of this traffic. I may be sorry I said this when we are going across the desert of S. CA and Arizona. Until next time!

Los Angeles, CA

Hi everyone,

We started our day in Lompoc by having breakfast at McDonald's next door. Hap went over and got us carry out so we could finish packing up the bike. Don't worry it was a "healthy" breakfast afterall we are in California. We started out in bright sunny skies with temps in the 70's. Since Lompoc is on the east side of the mts from the coast we of course started our day with a 14 mile climb. It was pretty gradual so not so bad. The scenery has changed again to the golden brown hills of California. There were several burn areas that we rode through. Once we started downhill we were riding along the coast once again. Just along the waters edge. It was beautiful riding. Rt 1 was mostly four lane with a very wide berm for us to ride on. Oh, we had one interesting thing happen as we were coming down the hill. Tell me what you think, maybe I'm biased. There were three lanes. Coming towards us there were two (one was a passing lane up the hill) and we had one lane and a nice berm. The berm had alot of gravel, dirt, some glass and grating. We got up to speeds of about 50 mph so Hap moved out into the downhill lane. There was hardly any traffic. Most of them just moved over and usually waved. But one lady as she went around us "motioned" through her sun roof that we had to move onto the berm. But at 50 mph we didn't feel it was safe to do that. There was one car behind her, which she held up because she was so busy helping us drive. Sometimes I just don't understand. We stop and get off the road anytime we back up traffic or have more than one or two cars blocked but when there is a clear road, and no traffic it just makes no sense to us. Oh well, we all made it down the hill safely. She probably got to her "hair appt or whatever" on time. And by the way how fast was she going if the speed limit was 55 and we were going 50 and she passed us pretty fast......

Once we got to the coast we stopped at Refugio State Beach to check on camping. From now until we get south of LA the camping is going to be sparse. In fact, we called the only campground for about 90 miles and they wanted $43 to pitch a tent! You've got to be kidding. I wouldn't pay that to pitch a tent. After looking over the map, we decided to stay at Refugio that would break up our ride through LA. It was a short day but it ended up being a good decision. The hiker/biker sites were right on the beach. It was a beautiful day. We spent the rest of the day walking on the beach, watching the surfers, and porpoises. What a great spot. We did get in trouble with the warden though. We pitched our tent in the wrong place (even though it said hiker/biker) so we had to move the tent. For dinner we cooked spaghetti and green beans. A hiker came in and set up his "camp" which consisted of a piece of plastic and a sleeping bag. He vaguely said he travels from Alaska to California working various jobs. It's going to take awhile to get used to the transient people. People who just walk or bike from place to place work for awhile and then move on.

We got up in the morning and ate our usual oatmeal for breakfast and headed south on Rt 1 again. It was once again a beautiful sunny southern CA morning. We rode through Santa Barbara again. We had done this on our previous trip down the coast. The last time Hap went through it so fast because he was trying to "beat the lights" that I couldn't see anything. So this time I made him slow down some. We got lost in Santa Barbara but fumbled our way through again! We stopped at an IHOP for lunch and some great crepes. The rest of the day we had trouble following the instructions in the book "Bicycling the Pacific Highway". But finally made it to our final destination of McGarth State Beach. We had arranged to meet another Alpha patient, Karen Erickson for dinner. We got there set up camp, took a shower and Karen picked us up. We had a great dinner with her at an Italian restaurant. It sure didn't take long to get to sleep!

This morning we got alittle bit of a late start because I had a migraine. Thank goodness for Imitrex. Karen was planning to meet up with us to ride today near Leo Carrillo State Beach. We had about a 20 mile ride to get there. Most of it was right on Rt 1. There was some traffic but it really wasn't bad. We really enjoyed the scenery today, it was awesome. We met up with Karen and rode with her. We stopped in Malibu for lunch. It was really interesting meeting another Alpha patient who rides with oxygen on their bike like Dugan. It's amazing what you are able to do if you really want to do it. It's kindof like our bike ride. People have told us that what we are doing is pretty amazing but I think being able to ride your bike with 29% lung function is super incredible. It would be sort of like riding while breathing through a little straw. We had a wonderful time with Karen and hope to see her again soon. After leaving her we rode on toward the airport, hoping that we could find a least expensive hotel there. We rode on a neat bike trail right on the beach in Venice. Then we got off the trail and headed toward the hotel. That was when things really got interesting. We had a heck of a time trying to find good roads but eventually we did. We even had two people stop and give us directions. Who knew that people would be that way in LA.? When we got close to the airport it looked like we were getting on a freeway but it turned out to be a road with a bike lane. And it was even the right road. We made it to the Comfort Inn, had Chinese food, got our laundry done and had a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we are riding through more LA traffic to our niece and nephew's house. Good night.

Lompoc, CA 5000 miles

We had breakfast at the hotel and left about 11am. The weather was sunny and warm maybe 70 degrees. Perfect cycling. But before we took off I had to take a "drive" around the hotel parking lot (see picture above). We headed south on Rt 1. Today's ride was a big change from the previous days riding. We were finally in "southern California". We are now out of the mountains, in more open spaces, with the golden hillsides of California all around us. We rode the highway to Morro Bay where we got off and rode through the city of Morrow Bay. We stopped for lunch at a deli. Judging by the price of lunch, I would say "welcome to California!". But at least it was "organic". Would it be ok if I have mine NOT organic for $5.00 less? When we left Morro Bay we got alittle bit turned around. Or at least we thought we did. We had to stop several times to check the maps. It just seemed that we were going the wrong way. Then we realized that if we had just stayed on Rt 1 we would have avoided alot of city traffic (and the drivers!) and it was shorter. Oh well we're just out for a bike ride. To make it even more fun, the route we were on was wall to wall traffic. I love traffic. But we had a nice shoulder so it wasn't that bad. Just noisy. As we were riding to San Luis Obispo we saw large dark clouds lining up just ahead of us. Mmmm.....we were headed for Oceano State Park to camp. But it looked like that was where the rain was. As we were going through SLO we saw a Motel 6 and decided to abort the original plan and have a HOT shower and a dry bed. We walked next door and picked up dinner.
This morning we left the hotel and rode to Pismo Beach for breakfast. We saw alot of cyclists today. But then it was Saturday. We stopped at a cafe and sat outside in the nice sunshine. I had banana pancakes and Hap had quiche. The food was good, but it was too expensive and took way too long to get it. One thing that we are noticing is how many of the signs are in spanish. I would think you would have to learn to speak spanish if you lived in California. We saw alot of vegetable and fruit farms again. And along with that all of the migrant workers out in the fields. We also saw (and smelled) alot of eucalyptus trees. It reminded us of riding in Australia a few years ago. We went through the town of Guadalupe. Everything was in spanish. As we were leaving town, the rain that we had been watching (and hoping was going the other way) caught up with us. We stopped on the side of the road and put on our raingear. People ask us what we do when it rains....we ride....and Hap sings! Today's selection was "Here comes the sun." (Although I didn't see it at that point). We continued to ride through farmland. Eventually the sun did come out and we took off our rain gear. (That is what Hap is doing above in the picture). We stopped in the little town of Orcutt for a milkshake. The last 5 miles included a three mile climb with a 2 mile descent into Lompoc. As we were climbing the rain came again! That made the descent into Lompoc a cold one. We stopped to buy groceries and decided we were cold, wet and stayed in a hotel. Or maybe we just wanted to watch football. We love to watch the college football games. And we got a bonus in that we watched Purdue play Minnesota. Ohio State thumped Northwestern so life is good. So here we are in sunny southern California. I heard they need rain, so it's a good thing we showed up to help them out. Later..........

San Simean, CA

Two other cyclists showed up at the Hiker/Biker sites in New Brighton Beach State Park. They are Pius and Stefan from Switzerland. They were riding their recumbents from Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego - June 07-February 09. See we are not the only crazy people in the world. You can check out their website at http://www.panamerica.ch/

The next morning we had our oatmeal for breakfast. By the time we got away it was almost 11am. All the other cyclists were gone already. It was a pretty morning. Alittle fog but not so bad that we needed our lights. The temperatures were nice and warm. Instead of following the route back into town we decided to blaze our own trail. BIG mistake! We ended up climbing several very steep bonus hills. But what the heck we're just out for a bike ride! Today we rode through alot of agriculture area. The picture above is celery (we think). We also saw brussel sprouts, artichokes, strawberries, tomatoes. There were alot of migrant workers in the fields harvesting the crops. I have never seen such large fields of strawberries or tomatoes. In each field there along with the workers there was a truck pulling a port a potty and playing music. Quite a sight as we rode along! As we got closer to Monterey we got onto a bike trail that took us into Monterey. We had been to Monterey several times before when Hap was racing motorcycles. Once a year we would drive out to Laguna Seca Raceway just outside of Monterey. We got into town and stopped at the visitor center to ask directions to the Veterans Memorial Campground. As we rode through town we stopped at a street fair and bought some fresh fruit to take to the campground. The campground ended up being at the top of a fairly steep one mile climb. One of those biking laws!! When we got to the campground we found Grant, Jenny, Stefan and Pius already there. We set up our tent, took our FREE shower and started to cook dinner. Grant said he wanted to go to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner so we all ended up going DOWN the hill to the wharf. Stefan and Pius walked down and we all rode. The weather had turned very cool and windy. We ate dinner at Rappa's Seafood Restaurant. Since it was the day before Hap's 61st birthday we decided it was his birthday dinner. It was really fun to go out do dinner with a group of people. By the time we got done eating it was dark outside so we put on all of our lights and headed out. Before leaving I heard seal lions barking very close so I walked around the side of the building. There was a great big one laying on the dock. Some people started walking towards it and he RAN them off. Boy they sure can move fast! It was really funny to see the people's reaction. The other guys decided to hit the bars so Jenny rode back up the hill to the campground. It was especially fun with a full belly.

The next morning we were the last ones to leave the campground again. Jenny and Grant decided to stay and go to the Monterey Aquarium. Late the night before another couple had showed up. They were from the Yukon. They are on a 10,000 mile birding journey. You can read about them at www.birdyear.com. It is so interesting meeting other cyclists and finding out their reasons for taking a cycling journey. We have discovered in our 20 years of cycle touring that the trips are more about the journey and not about the destination. It's how you get to where you are going. The people, the sights, the smells, the adventure. That's why I don't talk too much about how many miles we ride or how far we went in a day. It is so much more than just miles. I can't wait to see who else we get the opportunity to meet. The campground host told us a way to leave without going down the big hill, so we took his advice. It turned out to be a big climb anyway. But I guess it kept us from going down, climbing back to where we were and then climb some more. We were still in Monterey and went past the famous 17 mile drive. Someone asked me if we went down it. But at that point we were just trying to figure out a safe way through all of the traffic at that intersection. We had to merge onto US 1 and so was everyone else. Rt 1 started out with not much berm/shoulder and lots of traffic. But the traffic lessened as we got further away from Monterey. Today we spent most of the day riding right along the edge of the ocean. We had spectacular views. It was awesome. The weather was alittle cool and overcast. But the scenery made the day. Traffic didn't seem so bad either. There were quite a few hills today but nothing terrible. We had decided to stay in a hotel for the night so that we could charge up our phones, computer etc. But when we started looking at the prices around Big Sur we changed our minds. We ended up at Pfieffer State Park in a hiker/biker site. At $3/pp it sounded like a good deal to us. They had a laundromat so we took our cooking stuff and went to do our laundry and cook dinner. While we were there a couple from Chicago came to do their laundry. We had a nice chat with them while we finished up. We went into the lodge to see if we could get online since our verizon card wouldn't work, but no dice. Hap worked on our pictures for awhile and I went "shopping". Ok so I didn't buy anything again. I really don't wanna carry anything else. During the night it rained pretty hard, but we stayed dry in the tent. The only problem was when we had to go to the bathroom and it was "outside".

This morning we got up to a very wet tent. It had stopped raining but was soaked. We packed up anyway and went to the lodge for breakfast. Both of us had eggs benedict, sitting by a roaring fire and drinking Hot coffee. Ok, Hap now I feel better. The ride today started out with a three mile climb. Now your just being cruel. I need at least a 20 mile warm up before a hill. The sun came out but the temps today stayed cool in the 60's. I think today's ride was one of the best since we had left home. The views were just awesome. Hopefully the pictures will show you some of what we saw. We spent all day along the edge of the cliffs overlooking the water. We saw another whale today. Traffic wasn't too bad. Although we did have a black mustang come really close and a motor home come right up behind us and scare us. We tried to catch them but we were in the middle of another 3 mile (or so) climb. Too bad. Most of the traffic was going slow because they were looking at the scenery too. We stopped alot today to look, take pictures or eat a snack. We stopped in Gorda to eat. We got two cokes and some fritos for $8! There isn't much in the way of towns or commercial restaurants along this stretch of road. You could see where there were lots of areas that had slid off and they had repaired it. We came down off of Ragged Point and the road flattened out just before San Simean. We saw Hearst Castle up on the hillside. In San Simean we decided to stay at the Sea Breeze Inn. I had a coupon so we got a deal. We got take out at a mexican restaurant. Until next time!

Bear Valley, CA

We spent FIVE days sponging off Gary and Catherine. It was so good to be able to spend time with them. On previous trips through their area we have always been rushed to get somewhere. Gary graduated from Purdue (as did Catherine) back in the stone ages. He also came to alot of Hap's motorcycle races around the country and helped with the wrenching or mechanicing! Hap road raced back in the 70 and 80's all over the country. Once per year we came out to Laguna Seca in Monterey. So we would spend a few days before the race with our west coast friends. We spent our time this trip just chillin. The first two days we stayed in Mt. View and let Catherine cook for us. She kept asking us what we liked. And our answer was always FOOD! They have a great dog named Rex so we also got our dog fix at their house. On Thursday morning we drove up to their cabin near Bear Valley. What a wonderful place! We went kayaking at Lake Alpine. They have a tandem kayak. I insisted on "driving" this time. I did much better than on our trip down the Methow River. It was a great day. Alittle chilly but beautiful blue skies. That night, Catherine fixed us a great dinner and we played a new card game called Quiggly (I think). I thought I was in trouble being at the table with three Purdue engineers but the Buckeye won! The next day we went for a hike at Big Tree State Park. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=551. It was really interesting. They had alot of stops that we could read about the trees. Some of the trees were 300 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. You can check out their website for more info on the trees. Today was my birthday so Catherine fixed me a almond poppy seed cake with chocolate icing. Sunday we got up and drove back to Mt View. We got their in time to go to the evening service. The music was especially great. This morning we were really sad to have to leave. But it was time to get down the road.
We planned to ride to Santa Cruz. Gary called a friend who suggested a route for us. We had a major climb on the route. It was very steep and we had to do lots of "hitches". That means we had alot of stops on the way up. But we made it to what we thought was the top. We were stopped getting ready to make our left hand turn and a car stopped and asked where we were going. Sally told us that we were not at Skyline Road yet so we were not at the top yet. We needed to go right and three more miles up to the top. Thanks Sally for the help!! The ride down into Santa Cruz was excellent. Traffic picked up as we got closer to the city. We stopped at Safeway for dinner supplies and rode to Brighton State Park for the night. They had hiker/biker sites. Grant and Jenny showed up. Check out their video on www.youtube.com/slowcoast. They did a great job of talking about Alpha. Until next time.

Mountain View CA

We left Bodega Bay State Park about 10 am. We were about a mile or so from the town so we decided to have breakfast there. It was very foggy when we left. So the bus left the station with three flashing lights on the back and bright green jackets on. If you couldn't see us, you probably shouldn't be driving! We got into town and had some trouble finding a restaurant. We finally stopped at a restaurant that was open for brunch. We both decided staying in a hotel was a good idea. We were tired of the dampness of the fog. I called a hotel in San Rafael and made a reservation. So now we had a "target" for the day. The special was fish and chips. Being on the wharf we thought that was an appropriate "breakfast'. After I ate my fish and chips, I moved my cole slaw off of a big cabbage (or some type) of leaf. Underneath of it was a BIG worm. Not just your run of the meal, teeny tiny worm. But a great BIG GREEN worm. At first I thought it was a fake worm. But then it moved!!! I called the waiter over and said could you take that OFF the table. He looked sort of stunned and just took it along with the leaf. That was the end of my eating for the day. We left Bodega Bay on Rt 1. It was a very narrow road with no shoulder. The traffic was non stop. Most of them gave us plenty of room but there was always that occasional one! Lots of motorcycles passed us. Several "buzzed" us, coming by inches from our elbow. Thanks very much that was nice. One guy seemed to have trouble with his shifting and revved the engine very loudly as he went by. I hope he gets it fixed! The road continued pretty much the same all day. The traffic eased up once a road turned off that went directly to Petaluma. We continued on Rt 1 toward San Rafael. The road was still narrow, winding with lots of climbing but at least there was less traffic. As we got closer to Tomales Bay traffic picked up some but it still wasn't as bad. It was just very narrow so we had to pay attention. Especially when we could hear motorcycles coming. We climbed up and over a hill and headed down into a state park. As we were going through this section, we had no shoulder. Traffic picked up again. We had one girl who decided to pass with a car coming towards us, Hap trying to balance on the white line on the shoulder and no where to go. She stopped just as she was almost touching our bike bags and realized she wasn't going to fit. She scared me so I yelled and motioned for her to get back. Someone wasn't going to fit. Once I did that she backed way off and then wouldn't pass no matter what. There was finally a clear road ahead where you could clearly see to go around and she would not pass. She came beside us going very slowly and told us we were number one. In the meantime the line of cars that were caught behind her, had to pass HER on the wrong side of the road. It was very scary to say the least. But we made it, and she went on. We got into San Rafael and called the hotel for directions. I couldn't understand them at all as they spoke Indian. After several tries and several phone calls, we made our way through the traffic and got to the hotel. We were both pretty tired just from fighting the traffic all day. We ordered a pizza and went to bed.

The next day we decided to stay an extra day in the hotel. It was a nice place and very clean. We walked to the laundromat and got our laundry done. Then rode the bike to a bike shop to get maps of San Francisco. Our friends live in Mt. View which is one of the suburbs of San Francisco. We were going to have to negotiate the city traffic to get there. We were about 17 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and maybe 40 or 50 miles north of Mt. View. We knew it was going to be a long day. We have cycled into San Francisco a couple of times on trips. One time we rode in we took the train to their house. But we had alot of trouble getting the tandem on. First we were told we could put a tandem on and then once we got it on we were told, oh no, you cannot put that on here. Luckily he let us stay on, but said if a single bike wants on you have to get off. We didn't want THAT hassle again. Another time we flew into the airport and rode to their house south of the airport. That wasn't so bad. We got off the next morning about 10 am. We had to negotiate the 17 miles to the bridge which wasn't easy either. We had asked directions at the bike shop, so we had an IDEA of where we were going. SOUTH! Follow or parallel Rt 101. We climbed up and over a sharp steep hill and then couldn't figure out where we were. We asked directions and found our way. Then we saw a cyclist who looked like he knew where he was going. We came up beside him and asked where the bridge was. He said I'm going there too, follow me. It would've been very difficult to find our way as it turns out. So thanks to the cyclist who helped us. We rode into Sausilito and stopped for a fantastic breakfas. It was great. We climbed a big hill to get to the Golden Gate Bridge. There were lots and lots of cyclists going both ways. Once we got over the bridge, the fun started again. We had cycling maps of San Francisco and the bay area, but we had a heck of a time negotiating the streets. There was alot of traffic of course, but there were also lots of bike lanes on the road. So traffic didn't bother us too much. The biggest problem was that some of the streets that were on our map, had been changed or just simply weren't there. For example, at one point we were following 3rd street. On the map it showed it went straight through to another road we needed to get to. We climbed a very steep hill (if you know San Francisco you know what I'm talkin about!), got to the top and there was a new light rail train that went through the hillside and third street just dead-ended! A lady came by and told us 'just go back down the hill, take a left, and go under the freeway and then turn left on the other side". Thanks. So we went back down the hill, turned left, under the freeway and then climbed back up the steep hill on the other side of the freeway. It was like that alot of the day. We finally got to Gary and Catherine's in Mt View. Of course first we had to miss a turn, go past their street and have to turn around. The day's total was 70 miles of CITY riding! It was so good to see them after so much time. Gary was an OLD college friend of Hap's. Catherine fixed us a wonderful dinner, we chatted for awhile and then headed to bed. We plan to spend a few days here, sponging off our friends!

San Rafael, CA

At the Standish Hickey State Park in Leggett we got up to beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures. We fixed our standard breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter and bread (sourdough since we are in CA) and fruit. We got our "typical early" morning start, 10'ish. On today's ride we got off Rt 101 and turned onto Rt 1 which took us back over to the coast. This meant that we would be climbing over the coast range. The climb turned out to be not so bad. It was very windy, through some big trees with little traffic. As we got to the top we stopped for pictures and heard someone talking behind us. We waited and here came Grant and Jenny up the hill. We thought we were going to see them at the state park the night before. They stayed there but they were in a different part of the park. As we were going down the hill I noticed that Hap wasn't going as fast and slowing down alot from what her usually does. I was expecting the usual bomb down the hill. So I figured something must be wrong. When I asked him he said the headset had come lose again. We had stopped the day before to tighten it up in Garberville. We stopped to tighten it again. The only problem is the tool that he needs to really tighten it is too big to carry so he had to use a teeny tiny adjustable wrench. It is kind of cute but it isn't really all about that. It 's more about tightening up the front headset so that when we fly down the hills it doesn't come lose. He did get it to tighten alittle, but it still didn't feel quite right. Hap and I have been riding tandems together for 21 years. I have also watched Hap race his motorcycle at 180 mph. So I am super comfortable and completely trust his judgement in riding. When he is that cautious I know something is up. Also, I am sitting right over the back wheel so if something is wrong on my end of the bike I can usually tell right away. But because it was on the front, it was difficult to tell from my end. To sum up........It was 24 miles across to the coast and the downhill wasn't much fun. We got to the coast and broke out into a beautiful sunny vista right on the coastline. It was beautiful. We stopped at a vista to eat some peanut butter and bread. As we were stopped two guys got out of a car and started talking to us. The usual.....where ya goin...how far do you ride...etc...etc.... They were from Jamaica, so I need to add, "man" to my previous statement. Then one of them started to talk about the "natural" products that he sold.....that he called juices...they could cure anything...cancer...arthritis...heart disease....wow... can it fix our headset? OK enough already. They finally left after giving us a card with their phone numbers on it and a promise of a "free" glass of juice if we ever came to Jamaica (I don't think so!). This part of the coast road was spectacular. We were riding right along the water. The temperature must be in the 70's, maybe 80 degrees. What a beautiful ride. There were quite a few ups and downs and what we like to call "California Creek climbs". This is where the road turns inland goes down a steep sharp hill, makes a short turn and then heads back up the sharp, steep hill to the same point you were before. The first time that we rode this road back in "ot 86", Hap had been working over in England for several months before we left so was unable to exercise. We started the trip with him out of shape. As we were climbing one of these "CA creek climbs" he yelled "these stupid hills. Why don't they build bridges across these. If I was the engineer out here, I would build a bridge............." It was so funny. Today the hills didn't seem so bad. Traffic wasn't too bad until we were near the town of Fort Bragg our destination for the day. Although the roads were narrow everyone gave us plenty of room. But when we got near "the BIG CITY" things changed. Also, the wind started WHIPPING from the front! What's up with this? The prevailing winds are supposed to be from the north. That's what my book says! The last few miles into town were pretty exciting. Narrow roads, stupid drivers, whippy headwinds and a sore back. And of course all of that means that Hap forgot how to drive and needed lots of "help and encouragement" from the backseat. When we finally got into town we found the post office to pick up our mail. Thanks mailman George!! What would we do without our good friends at home, picking up mail, checking the house and basically making fun of us! You gotta love 'em. After picking up our mail, we went to a Rite Drug because I had seen on the internet that they had a GNC (General Nutrition Center) where I get my vitamins once/month. I have a Gold Card that gives you a 20% discount the first week of the month. Speaking of that some people want to know what vitamins we are taking. Here's the list for you. (Both of us) Multi Vitamin, Vitamin E, Fish Oil, CQ10 (Hap) Selenium, Saw Palmetto, (Diane) Calcium, Glucosamine, Vitamin B (for migraines). I went in and picked up my vitamins and went to check out. The lady at the counter had no idea what a gold card was. Mmmm....it's a card that GNC....I explained....she gets on the loud speaker (I love it when they do that!)....management to Aisle 4......(by now there is a big line behind me which by the way is the ONLY check out line).....no, sorry we don't participate in that plan.......mmmmm.....ok...never mind....see ya.... Now we head off to the grocery to buy dinner stuff. In the grocery store it was packed. I couldn't even walk without bumping into people, or standing where they wanted to stand. I got out of there as fast as possible. We headed back out onto Rt 101 to the campground that we had told Grant and Jenny that we would meet them. The wind was awful. We even had to peddle DOWN the hills. While we were at the post office, I had heard 2 ladies talking as they came out "Wow this is really bad,. It's never like this......................" Where have I heard that before? We got to the campground, Pomo RV Park. I went in and she said that will be $25 please. Do you have a tent site with electric? Yes, that will be $3 please. Mmm...ok.... We have some other bikers that will be coming, can we share a site? No, it will be $25 for them also, PLEASE!". Mmm ok....Oh, she said AND it is 50 cents for a 5 minute shower....PLEASE......... I love camping................By now I'm am getting ....frustrated (a nice way to put it....). We walk up to the Riff Raff section where they put the tents. And the first thing we see is that the "electric" is at the next campsite NOT ours! WHAT? That campsite is a RV site, you can't pitch a tent in it, it is all gravel. This wasn't shaping up to be the end of a good day for the home team. This was the last straw. We tried to call Grant and Jenny and tell them not to come here, but couldn't get them. So we walked back down to the office. And she said oh just use the electric at the next site. I said no, I don't think so (very politely). There are bushes between us and WE PAYED YOUR$3 EXTRA FOR ELECTRIC! Oh, she said how about if I give you an extension cord? What a concept. Do Ya think? As we are walking back to the campsite, I am trying to remain calm and appreciate the fact that at least we are off the road, out of the wind and have a place to stay. Thank you Lord. In just a little while Grant and Jenny showed up. We felt so bad about suggesting that they come and spend this much on a campsite. But they decided to stay anyway. When we went for our showers though I only put 50 cents in the machine. I wasn't about to give them anymore money. We all cooked dinner and chatted about cycling and life in general. After dinner Grant "interviewed" us for their weekly video they are doing for YOU TUBE. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/slowcoast They say that the video we will be Episode 6 starting September 17. We had fun watching Grant putting together "Derricks episode". Derrick is a Star Wars character that rides on Grant's handlebars. Derrick has all types of misadventures. Check out their website and you'll see what we mean. We all got into our tents, on another foggy, misty night on the coast.

The next day's ride to Manchester started out as another foggy one. I think you'll see a pattern here! Grant and Jenny got away before we did. We cooked our usual breakfast of oatmeal, bagels and peanut butter, packed up and headed back out on Rt 1. Today's ride was mostly done in the fog. We had our three flashing lights on the back of the bike. Traffic wasn't too bad today. We had a great ride today even with the fog. The route didn't seem as hilly as I had thought it was going to. But it was fairly chilly most of the day. We stopped in a little cafe in Elk and ran into Grant and Jenny as they were finishing up. They were headed for the KOA in Manchester. I think we were all hoping for a Kamping Kabin at the KOA. It had been a damp few days of riding. When we got there though we found that they were all taken. So we stayed in the hiker/biker site for $9/pp. After setting up the tent, we got in the hot tub and took a hot shower. They had a nice shelter with cooking facilities so we sat in there, cooked and ate our dinner. There was a big influx of people as all of the fisherman came in with their fresh fish, crabs and whatever to cook and eat. We had a packed house. We were sort of hoping they might throw us some of that fresh fish but no deal today. We had a good dinner anyway and crawled in our tent.

The next morning we got an early start, 8:30am. We rode to Bodega Bay today, planning to meet with a friend who was taking out for real food at a real restaurant. Once again we rode most of the day in fog and cool weather. We stopped in Anchor Bay for breakfast and had some of the best buckwheat pancakes either of us have ever had. The route today was another narrow stretch of Rt 1. There was alot of traffic on the road today, since this was a Saturday. Most of them gave us plenty of room. But the 10% rule was still in effect! A reminder of the 10% rule: On any given day, no matter how much traffic, 10% of the traffic will just be stupid (i.e. not paying attention or not wanting to part with any of their road especially to a cyclist). We stopped once today for a snack at a deli. There was one long climb today that was unexpected over Jenner Hill. It seemed like a long climb that was made even more interesting by one section that was underconstruction so they had it down to one lane with a traffic light. We had to make it through the single lane section which was all uphill. Thankfully no cars came while we were on the climb. We also had a bolt break on our front rack again right on one of those sharp corners with an uphill. Hap fixed it in a couple of minutes. The road today was very high off the water. Alot of times there was no shoulder, no guardrail and a long way down to the water. It would've been pretty if it wasn't so foggy. Traffic picked up as we got closer to Bodega Bay. We got to the state park, set up camp and called our friend who came and took us out to the nicest seafood restaurant. It was delicious and very much appreciated. We really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks Bobbi! When we got back to the tent, we had no trouble going to sleep!

This morning we didn't get away until about 10:30a and stopped in Bodega Bay for "brunch" of fish and chips. After eating my fish, I moved my cole slaw dish off of a cabbage (or some kind of leaf) and under it was a great big GREEN worm! I thought it was fake at first but it started moving. I called the waiter over and said, excuse me do you think you could take this away, I didn't order any WORMS today! Yuch...... The riding today wasn't that spectacular. Mostly we headed inland to San Rafael. We did ride along Tomales Bay for awhile. The traffic was pretty bad. There were lots and lots of motorcycles. You know I love motorcycles, have ridden since I was young and we both have them now. So I really don't understand when these motorcyclist would "buzz" us. Which means they would come zipping by us at a high rate of speed about a foot off our elbows. Very frustrating. I had called in the morning and reserved a room in San Rafael at the Travelodge so we had an endpoint to the day. We both agreed that we were tired of the damp, fog and ready for a dry hotel room. Tomorrow we'll be riding over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. Later.

Leggett, CA

In Eureka at the KOA we rented the movie Syriana and watched it in the tent on the computer. Isn't technology wonderful! Hap figured out a way to put the computer in the "loft" of our tent so we can lay down and just look up at the screen. Now all we need is a remote control! When we got up the next morning it was sunny and beautiful out. Temperatures were in the 80's. This was Labor Day so the campground had cleared out and was really empty. We have been staying away from KOA's because we haven't had good luck with them. But this one was really nice. It even had the hiker/biker rate ($16) - our 10% discount for our KOA card. They had a pool and hot tub too. We messed around in the morning and decided not to ride today because we figured everyone was driving home. I sat by the pool for awhile and Hap worked on the computer. Then Hap came over to the pool and we both looked at each other and realized we were bored. We didn't know what to do since we weren't riding. We could have ridden into town, maybe 5 miles or so on the highway but said no that doesn't sound like fun. We played cards for awhile and then another couple showed up on their bikes. They have the same tent at us so we need to be careful where we are sleeping! We enjoyed very much having other cyclists to talk to. For dinner we ordered pizza that was delivered. It was ok but alittle high priced.
During the night we woke up to a pretty steady rain shower. But by morning it had cleared up and was sunny and beautiful. We left the campground on Rt 101 south and rode into Eureka to a Crepe and Coffee houes. I had crepes with peanut butter and nutella. Hap had cheese and spinach crepes. While we were eating three other cyclists who were riding down the coast stopped and ate with us. We all left Eureka and headed south. Today's ride was mostly on the freeway of Rt 101. Your typical four lane highway. At least we had a nice berm to ride on. As we are heading south it is getting alittle hotter. We stopped in the little berg of Orick for some burgers and blizzards. I asked her to make me one as good as the ice cream shop in Ashville does. Of course it was peanut butter and chocolate! We both thought it was the best one we have ever had. It was great! Hap had a peaches and cream blizzard. A side road to Rt 101 is the Avenue of the Giants. We remembered this from our previous two trips on the coast. People often ask us what our favorite trip is. But I don't think we can decide. But we can say what some of our favorite places to ride are. And one of our favorites is the Avenue of the Giants. It is a 32 mile stretch of old Rt 101 that meanders through the giant redwoods. Picture riding through an alleyway of huge trees, with all types of ferns and vegetation around you. There isn't much traffic because it is more of a scenic road. It is just beautiful with the sun trying to peak through the tall trees. We did a fair amount of climbing today but nothing too bad. We stopped for the night at the town of Redcrest right in the heart of the Avenue of the Giants. It is a cute little town of maybe 100 people (don't quote me on that one!). We had stayed at this campground on our very first cycling tour in 1986. That was before we knew anything about touring! We didn't carry a stove or much equipment at all. On that trip our book said that there was a cafe in town so we were completely surprised to find that the cafe had burnt down when we got there. For dinner that night (21 yrs ago) we picked up cans of beef stew and green beans, built a little fire and cooked in the cans. They also had peacocks running lose around the campsites that going under our table while we were eating. It was a very funny night. So staying here again was really alot of fun. And made us realize that we have come a long way (or HAD WE?). While we were setting up a couple pulled up in a car and started getting soaking camping gear out of the car. They said they had been at Crater Lake and had a terrible storm. Everything was just dripping. As it turned out they were from Kentucky just on the other side of the Ohio River from Cinncinati. They asked if we had eaten and we said we are always EATON! I mean no we have not eaten yet. She brought over their two burner stove, a big pot and all the fixings for chilli and gave it to us. She said we have had this for two nights so you can have all the stuff, we aren't going to eat it. About that time another couple on bikes pulled up and set up their tent. We invited them over to help us eat all the chilli. It was a great evening.
This morning we walked across the street and ate breakfast at the cafe. They must have finally rebuilt it after the fire! Then took the tent down and headed south to continue our route on the Avenue of the Giants. It was perfect cycling weather today until about 3pm. We got off the Avenue about then and returned to Rt 101 which is still a four lane highway. We stopped at Garberville for lunch at a grocery store. Hap noticed that the front headset was lose again, so we went across the street to a gas station and borrowed a tool to tighten it with. After Garberville it got hotter. It was 93 degrees. There was alittle more climbing today which wasn't bad except for the heat. There were a couple of sections of Rt 101 that went into two lane and was very narrow. But thankfully they had alot of pullouts which we used alot. You never know Melvin might be driving in California now! (Melvin is the guy who hit me on my bike). We got to the Standish Hicky State Park. Across the street was a little store so we went in for some cold drinks. They had some fresh watermelons so of course we had to have one of those! When we got into camp it was pretty much desserted. We found the hiker/biker sites and set up camp. There were a couple of other cyclists that we asked for help from. We asked them to help us eat our watermelon. It took alto of arm twisting! For dinner we had mashed potatoes, peas, corn on the cob and cheese and crackers. A good dinner to end a good day. Until next time.

Eureka, CA

We had an interesting night at the RV park. We were sleeping away when both of us were suddenly awakened by very HEAVY foot steps right by our head. Hap must have yelled or something. I'm not sure because I was sort of sleeping. All I know was I heard footsteps, heard Hap yell and saw something large and brown run by the window of the tent and then stop a few feet from the tent. We could hear "it" stomping around and chewing! We thought it was either an elk or a deer but whatever it was it was very large, very close and very loud! We both peeked out the doors and about 6 feet from the tent was a large....brown.....horse! Hah hah....we started laughing. Then we wondered if a horse would step on a tent?? So we shooed it away and it walked across the road. But it came back so we shooed it away again. I got a picture of it just because I was afraid people wouldn't believe us. As you can see it was a horse of course! After we got back in the tent Hap said that while brushing his teeth outside the tent that night he saw what he was sure was a bear walk through the campground. He said he was afraid to tell me. But after we have taken our mountain bike tours throughout the various wilderness areas, I finally learned that a bear really isn't going to come into the tent and get me. Unless we do something stupid, like cook by the tent or take food inside. So when we are in bear country we usually cook away from the tent, hang all of our food and smelly things (we could include Hap's feet in this catagory!) and everything is fine. The next morning while I was in the restroom, I asked a lady if she had seen the horse? She said, oh did you see it too? I told my husband it was a horse. I said I have a picture of it if you need it. We rode into Crescent City for breakfast. It turned out not to be a good choice for breakfast but when you are riding everyday our motto is "food is food!" When we left Crescent City there was a surfing tournament going on. The beach was packed. It was cold and very foggy. It looks to me like surfing is mostly just waiting. But then I've never surfed .... yet! I hope to get the chance when we get down to southern california. We'll see. Leaving C City there was a huge hill to climb. I think Hap said it was 3-4 miles long. I am not sure all I know that my back said "hello and what do you think you are doing". We decided it wasn't a good day for the Home Team (Team Eaton). The fog was cold, the hills were long, my back was hurting and of course with this combination you all know what that means. Hap forgets how to drive, how to shift, how to brake...it's a pattern. We did have some incredible views though of the coast and the fog and occasionally water. We took alot of pictures even though both of us were not having the best day. It's funny because my niece Tiffany had asked me that morning if we ever got to the point when we were climbing a hill that we said "ya know this just isn't any fun." I guess we answered that question. Route 101 was sort of busy but not as bad as we expected on a holiday weekend. We still had the 10% rule in effect though. This means that whenever or wherever we ride 10% of the drivers will just be stupid! All in all I would say they weren't too bad though. We rode into the Redwood National Park and started seeing the giant redwoods. They sure are something. When we got to Klamath we stopped at a store to by supplies. (and a candy bar! just to get us through the day). We decided to ride on another 10 miles or so. But as we were leaving Klamath there was a really nice RV park by the river, with HOT showers and really nice grassy spots. After "some debate" (remember one of us was having a bad back day and one of us was having a bad fog day) we stopped for the night. We set up the tent, took a shower and I went to bed to read and just lay flat. A guy from the next campsite came over and offered Hap some fresh Cod that he had caught. He said it was delicious. I just wasn't hungry. Me and my TENS unit (portable electric stim unit for my back) were down for the count. But we got some much needed rest. Afterall the night before we had a stampede keeping us awake.
This morning we left Klamath about 10am, an early start for us. We cooked our oatmeal, coffee, tea, and had banana and peanut butter for breakfast. We are still on Rt 101 south. We started the day with about a three mile climb. But it was very sunny and warmer (70's) and no fog today. So Mr. Fogman was happier. And my back was feeling much better today. It must have needed a break. We climbed alot of rolling hills all day, and traffic wasn't bad. We stopped in Orick for lunch at a mexican restaurant. It was super. I am not a big fan of mexican food. Hap always says, so are you having a taco or an enchildada?? I branched out today and had a queasily. Hap had chorizon, egg something or other. They had a salsa bar with several different types of salsas. Today's ride was really fun. We spent alot of time either riding through giant redwoods or right along the ocean. When we got Orick we noticed alot of people sitting on the beach, watching the water. I saw some water spouts out in the water. We stopped to look and saw whales. I had read that the grey whales were migrating from north to south this time of year. It was really fun to watch them. When we got into the town of Trinidad we stopped to buy dinner supplies and take a break. We looked at our options of where we could stay and decided to ride onto Arcata. We had seen a RV park listed on our map. We stopped in Arcata at the RV park and went in. The sign on the window said come to site number 8 to register. We rode two laps around and finally asked someone where to go. They directed us to a trailer. The RV park looked very dirty and unkempt. When we finally found the owner we had pretty much decided not to stay there. But the guy said it is $20. We didn't want to tell him that we thought his place was too dirty. So I asked him if he took VISA he said cash only. I walked over to Hap (out of earshot of the guy) and said Hap you don't have any cash DO YOU? Oh, know I don't. I felt terrible telling him we didn't have any cash, it was a little white lie, but we just didn't feel comfortable there. As we left, we stopped and called a KOA in Eureka. They have hiker/biker sites so off we went. We are now on the freeway of Rt 101 again. Four lanes, lots of traffic. But we did have a nice wide berm. So it wasn't a problem. And we had flat ground, a tailwind and a destination with a hot tub! When we got there we sat in the hot tub for awhile, took a shower, I did laundry while Hap cooked (he got the short straw). While doing laundry we talked to a guy who lives out of his RV with his wife and two little girls. Sounds like all they do is travel around the west coast from Mexica to Canada. He looked like he was about 30 years old or so. Hap asked him if he was retired. He said no, he is retired from the wheel and the rat race of life. Mmmm....so what do you do? Or that's what I wanted to ask. He just said they travel around wherever they end up......... He was telling us that we should go down to Puerto Veurto (SP??) Mexico. On Sundays they party alot. They go to church and get their blessings (I have no idea why he was telling me this?????) and then they party. Hap asked him if he felt safe down there. He said oh sure it's not like what you hear. Then he told us about the time he and his brother were stopped by some Mexican policeman with ouzi's (some kind of gun) and they wanted to take his brother's bicycle. They bartered for his brother's bike but he wouldn't sale his. They rode the bike around in the dark for awhile, then they left! Sounds like a place I want to be. Signing off from the good Old U-S- of A.