A bit belated, but here is my faithful re-creation of a daily blog chronicaling our camping/cycling immersion vacation. It began on Saturday, July 24th. We started our first day of vacation by shopping, packing, driving, becoming lost, arriving at our campground (an hour and half late), unpacking, and ultimately enduring screaming children and 5 rotations of the hay ride that came around our site...
Here's a great shot of our fully packed uber wonderful Honda Element (named the "Phump" - a disintegration of the Element -->Elephant --> Elephlump).
Here's our campsite upon arrival (minus the screaming children and families who used the path to the right as a shortcut to the restrooms). We ended up blocking that path with weapons of mass entanglement (okay, a couple of ropes strung across the trees).
Here's our fun and funky Phlump "cabana" tent. And how cute is Jett in this shot? Back to the tent - we thought we were buying a full tent that sits on the ground that has a sleeve that attaches to the back of the open Honda Element. When we popped this open for the first time at camp, we had a surprise. I felt a little short-changed initially, but it actually worked out quite well. We had near perfect sleeping conditions in the Phlump as the cabana can be open during the day (as shown) and zipped up at night for warmth and privacy.
And truly one of my favorite moments of the day - any day really - is that first sip of coffee. I was treated to extra-loving camp coffee made by Jett every morning. Happy!
After our leisurely morning of coffee drinking and breakfast courtesy of Jett, our Ridgepark neighbor and fellow cyclist, Joe (whom we dubbed Andy Schleck for the day) arrived to join us for our virgin cycling ride for this trip. We dug his "Tuxedo Top" truck bed cover that rolls back to reveal the treasures within (or hide the mess).
We started our from the Casini Family Campground (in Monte Rio) at about 10:30 a.m. Our planned route was a 53-mile trip to Jenner and back - going up the scenic hills, filled with redwoods and gorgeous and charming country roads. The planned route would take us through 4700 feet of climbing. Hmmm. Bit os a problem as I have not been cycling much this last month due to work work work and too much work.In this shot, we are suited up and ready to roll. Joe (Schleck) took one for the team and wore high visibility yellow for those windy, narrow country roads.
Here we are taking a breather after that first, shockingly steep climb. I think Jett and I were thinking - "What the hell!" It turns out that Schleck is a wicked strong climber. I am a hill slug, alas.
Schleck and I are proudly wearing out (some would call dorky) rearview mirrors. These puppies cost $14 and are my must-have cycling accessory. I can see every speeding car behind me without turning turning my head. I feel lost and unsafe without them now. I say don't leave home without it! (If Lance were to start wearing these, then maybe the dork factor would go down. Must have a talk with him about this...)
There's Jett way up ahead and Joe in the foreground. We climbed endlessly on Fort Ross Road. Endless in this case means 18 miles. We had a couple of sections that were over 20% grade. And some nice breaks in flatter areas. But really it was mostly up and up and up. And at 81 degrees - hot! Back at camp when we first started out, we were freezing! Jett and I wore removable arm warmers and vests. I was wishing I wore shorts instead of capri-length tights at this point. It was murder. But very beautiful. Very few cars up there to deal with. And fun to ride with Schleck.
At the creast of a hill (how did I get there first???), I stopped and waited for Joe & Jett to fly past me on a short downhill. (Of course we had to climb back up to make up for that nice little descent.)
Finally the terrain begins to change and we just know the climbing is about to be over. We stope at a stunning rock outcropping for a photo op! Yeah! Climbing is about over!!
This photo doesn't really do justice to show how far up we've climbed. We're about done with the climbing!
But no. We had another good full mile of steady climbing on Fort Ross Road... Here's Jett making her way up to the final ascent. 
Here we are - alive and in one piece - on Highway 1.
Schleck and Jett! Big smiles!
My favorite view. One that the motorists could not stop and enjoy. hahahahahaha!
Here's Schleck on one of the rare shoulder areas. And here's how close the cars come. Most of Highway 1 gave us about 6 inches of asphalt on the other side of that white line...
Finally lunch at last in the coastal town of Jenner. Jett and I had teh best turkey burger ever! Following lunch, what with the exhaustion of climbing and the adrenalin rush of Highway 1, we decided to ditch the rest of the ride and take a shortcut back to camp. We bid adieu to our cycling buddy Joe, and showered, grocery-shopped, and settled down at camp for the remainder of the day. Overall, a great day and a great start to our cycling vacation!
Here we are taking a breather after that first, shockingly steep climb. I think Jett and I were thinking - "What the hell!" It turns out that Schleck is a wicked strong climber. I am a hill slug, alas.
Schleck and I are proudly wearing out (some would call dorky) rearview mirrors. These puppies cost $14 and are my must-have cycling accessory. I can see every speeding car behind me without turning turning my head. I feel lost and unsafe without them now. I say don't leave home without it! (If Lance were to start wearing these, then maybe the dork factor would go down. Must have a talk with him about this...)
There's Jett way up ahead and Joe in the foreground. We climbed endlessly on Fort Ross Road. Endless in this case means 18 miles. We had a couple of sections that were over 20% grade. And some nice breaks in flatter areas. But really it was mostly up and up and up. And at 81 degrees - hot! Back at camp when we first started out, we were freezing! Jett and I wore removable arm warmers and vests. I was wishing I wore shorts instead of capri-length tights at this point. It was murder. But very beautiful. Very few cars up there to deal with. And fun to ride with Schleck.
At the creast of a hill (how did I get there first???), I stopped and waited for Joe & Jett to fly past me on a short downhill. (Of course we had to climb back up to make up for that nice little descent.)
Finally the terrain begins to change and we just know the climbing is about to be over. We stope at a stunning rock outcropping for a photo op! Yeah! Climbing is about over!!
This photo doesn't really do justice to show how far up we've climbed. We're about done with the climbing!
But no. We had another good full mile of steady climbing on Fort Ross Road... Here's Jett making her way up to the final ascent.But after this, our peaceful ride became very interesting (and challenging) for very different reasons. After ? miles on Meyers Grade Road with posted signs of 18% downhill grade (sorry folks - no photos on that - I was too busy trying not to get killed), we turned south onto Highway 1, where we had to ride 5 treacherous miles with little or no shoulders and many many many Sunday afternoon cars, campers, trailers, motorcycles, and other large vehicles that do not appreciate the plight of the cyclist (nor do they think we belong on their roads). All 3 of us were a bit nervous starting out. Luckily we were one a steep windy downhill and soon caught up with a train of slow moving vehicles all stuck behind a huge RV going about 20 MPH around those hairpin curves. We tucked ourselves right into this convoy and rode several miles in complete safety. I could spy the gorgeous Pacific Ocean in my peripheral vision to my right, but could not take my eyes off the road to truly enjoy the view. But alas, the downhill became an uphill - we lost speed and could not keep up with the cars and had to ride along the narrow road edge (shoulders were few and far between here...)
We did pull off the road a few times when we found a narrow shoulder - to let cars by and to enjoy the stunning view. We had a unique vantage point as these areas were too small for motorists to pull off the road. Another advantage of travelling by bike!
Here we are - alive and in one piece - on Highway 1.
Schleck and Jett! Big smiles!
My favorite view. One that the motorists could not stop and enjoy. hahahahahaha!
Here's Schleck on one of the rare shoulder areas. And here's how close the cars come. Most of Highway 1 gave us about 6 inches of asphalt on the other side of that white line...
Finally lunch at last in the coastal town of Jenner. Jett and I had teh best turkey burger ever! Following lunch, what with the exhaustion of climbing and the adrenalin rush of Highway 1, we decided to ditch the rest of the ride and take a shortcut back to camp. We bid adieu to our cycling buddy Joe, and showered, grocery-shopped, and settled down at camp for the remainder of the day. Overall, a great day and a great start to our cycling vacation!
