SIERRA TO THE SEA
JUNE 2001
by Ricki McGlashan
June 16: San Jose to Columbia
It was up
and at 'em early in San Jose where we stood around waiting for the buses. It
was like summer camp opening day scoping out all my fellow campers. Who would
I sit with? Who would I ride with? We got to Columbia by noon and it was HOT
- a portent of days to come! I got off the bus eager to stake out my tent
site - I got a fine one and then realized that it didn't matter at all since
we would always be jam packed in together! This knowledge gave a bit of
freedom . . . I went into town twice (just a half mile walk), each time with
a different little group. The more folks I met, the better I felt. We just
relaxed until announcements, introductions and dinner at 6.
June 17: Columbia to Jackson (55 miles)
After
a surprisingly delicious and generous breakfast, we took off. It was chilly
zooming down to the Stanislaus River - a glorious, smooth downhill where I
found myself going 35 mph without even being aware of speed. The jackets all
came off (not to be worn again for several days.) It immediately got hot. In
Murphy's at 8:30 am it was 89º. At first I thought the rest stops were
surprisingly close together, but each stop was so welcome in the heat.
Dogtown Road was a beautiful road, but the pavement was horrible, and I
worried about my bike shaking apart. Grateful not to have chosen the longer
route, I was tired/hot enough by the time we got to St. Sava's mission (we
think at least 100º). I quickly put up the tent and went with Vern Faats,
Lando and Ken Bonnem from Salem for an ice cream in town. Then I went on to
get shoes to replace my original camp shoes that had given me blisters the
very first night. The store clerk heard what we were doing and warned me to
be careful in San Francisco because "it isn't what it used to be!"
Then on my way out, someone yelled at me, "GET OUTTA THE WAY!" I
guess Jackson isn't what it used to be, either. Back in camp, I had a quick
shower, a leisurely swim and then a shower again. We sat outside the dining
room buying each other beer until dinner was served.
June 18: Jackson to Folsom (80 miles)
It
was easy to choose the longer route today: part of the description included
the words "fantastic descent," and that it was. It was an unbeatable
morning, up a much vaunted but not THAT hard a climb to Volcano and beyond. On
the way down the hill, we could see the Sacramento Valley and the Rancho Seco
cooling towers. For the first time I had a sense of making progress across
the state. A convivial lunch in Plymouth after the wonderful morning ride made
me see, "THIS is why I came on this ride!" That afternoon was not
nearly so pleasant. In fact, it was the low point of the whole trip. It was
WAY too hot and exposed and steep and long. It was beautiful, but the heat
really was too much. Ponderosa Road approaching the little town of Rescue
gave a respite and even a view of the snow capped Sierras to the east. But my
goal toward the end was to make it there without throwing up and the extra 6
miles not described on the route sheet seemed like a cruel trick! Following
Meg Burns and Betsy, I limped in and felt better immediately. My lips began to
really feel bad-there was just nothing I could do to keep them from feeling
worse from the sun. Zinc Oxide is the treatment of the day, but even that
doesn't seem to be preventing it from getting worse daily.
June 19: Folsom to Winters (70 flat miles)
Despite
the posted speed limits, I set a new personal best of 17 mph for the 2 (all
level!) hours into Old Town. Both Ed and Pete gave me very useful and
appreciated tips on drafting. It took all my concentration at first but
gradually became much more natural. We later learned that one of us actually
got a speeding ticket on that same route . . . After breakfast at the Holiday
Inn, we three sped out of town again (across a dreary levy adjacent to the
freeway) and kept up an unsustainable pace (for me) into Davis. Riding with
anyone, there is always a trade off: the promise of company is balanced by
either going faster or slower than you might really want. I was going to cut
Ed and Pete free and go more slowly alone, but we all joined some others, and
with a little encouragement and rest, I stayed up with them. Riding along, I
practiced drafting and had to be reminded to look up to see the abundant
sunflowers for miles. The ice cream stop in Winters was welcome, and then we
were on to a cold beer in the camp ground at Lake Solano. Ride to eat and eat
to ride! Steve Kramer was doing massages all week, and I indulged in a
one-hour treatment in the open air under the trees listening to incessant
peacocks and cows. Hearing the peacocks at 9 pm in my tent, I took a sleeping
pill and had a good night's rest.
June 20: Winters to Calistoga (48 miles)
I
did the shorter route with Paula Turk and Yvonne Bates so I could get into
Calistoga in time to have more time with husband Doug who came for the night.
It was still raging hot, so the mornings and evenings were the best. I
thought the downhill on Pope Valley road was the best yet. Fantastic scenery,
good smooth/banked roadbed so we could sight see and ride at the same time.
The Silverado trail into Calistoga was hot and dry and we were bummed to find
NO cafes at all. Just 5 miles from the end, we gave up and ate our Power
Bars. We did later have a great deli lunch while we waited (forever!) for our
rooms to be available and for our bags to arrive.
June 21: Calistoga to Casini Ranch in Duncans Mills (66
miles)
Yvonne, Ed and I had a great day through wine country and
then up into the redwoods. We stopped for coffee at the Jimtown Store, a
sandwich in the Dry Creek Valley (which we three ate in a hotel/resort's
beautiful cool garden around a fountain) and ice cream at a store in
Guerneville where we rejoined lots of others. The last hop to the campground
was short and sweet. The weather had taken a clear turn for the better. I was
happy as a clam to need long pants and long sleeves! Many had bought a bottle
of wine to contribute to the wine and cheese party, and we managed to consume
35 bottles (and this was after an afternoon of drinking beer . . .). It was a
fun gathering because by now we knew lots of people and so the atmosphere was
congenial but not rowdy.
June 22: Duncans Mills to Olema (60 miles)
We
had a shorter than usual first "leg" because we stopped just a mile
from camp to have coffee and toast at the Cape Fear Café in Duncan
Mills. We needed sustenance to go the 2-plus hours down to the coast (we
reached the SEA! yea!) and then up Coleman Valley Road (another candidate for
best spot on the tour) to a substantial breakfast in Occidental where the
restaurant was swarming with colorful jerseys and a loud buzz of conversation.
We had been in the redwoods, on the coast and back in the redwoods. Amazing.
Paula, Marylou Avanzino, Yvonne and I sat outside in perfect temperature for
as- good-as-predicted food. Then we appreciated the downhill to the coast
again, stopping occasionally for a picture and to comment how nice it was to
go our own pace with no pressure to keep up with any stronger riders. I set a
personal best speed of 40 mph on one of the coast rollers. Now I don't have to
try to top that ever. The area right before the water stop (in the middle of
nowhere) felt quite remote, and we were relieved to see the SAG van and others
in our group. Of course, our next stop was a bakery-this time in Tomales
where, again, lots of riders were lingering. Betsy joined our hearty girl
gang. We skipped the oyster stop on Tomales Bay and made it to the Bovine
Bakery in Pt. Reyes Station for a final stop of the day before the Olema
Campground just a few miles beyond. This day took the prize for the most
stops/eating per hour! After posing for a group picture and final
announcements, the entire group enjoyed the best-yet dinner. It was hard to
go to sleep knowing that it was our last night. As cars drove by, the
headlights projected images of bicycles on my tent. I thought I was dreaming
with my eyes open . . . I was SO GLAD not to have had a flat tire, nor to even
be riding with anyone who got a flat. How could that be with all those miles
of riding? Knock on wood for the last stretch.
June 23: Olema to San Francisco (33 miles)
We
couldn't keep ourselves in our tents past our accustomed 5:30 am even though
we had plenty of time to get to San Francisco (before the bus gathered folks
up for the return trip to San Jose.) With waves of excitement alternating
with last-day melancholy, we gathered at the camp store for coffee to tide us
over the 14 miles to Stinson Beach for a real breakfast. The first two hours
of every single day were the best with the early morning light, cool
temperatures and refreshed muscles. I decided to try to keep up with some
faster riders and mostly did. I did ask them all to stop near Bolinas for a
picture in front of the misty bay. We flooded the café the minute it
opened. They served us all relatively cheerfully if not promptly, and we were
on our way UP the road to Mt. Tam. We had the Double Dipsea runners to
distract us on this last serious hill of the whole week. Then we regrouped
again at Starbucks in Mill Valley, and a fairly large group joined together to
go over the Golden Gate and home to the Presidio. The bridge was undoubtedly
the most harrowing stretch of the entire route. I watched 4 near crashes in
that short distance. But we all made it, and fresh and clean new ACTC staff
members greeted us with smiles of congratulations and a hearty lunch. I tried
to have one last Sierra Nevada beer, but it just wasn't the same with no tents
scattered all around. What a superb experience! After looking forward to this
event for so long and having it go so well on all fronts (except @#!!* heat
and sore lips) - from getting to know great folks to seeing beautiful new
places to having NO mechanical problems- it's hard to just go back to business
as usual. For me it was a total of 413 miles, about 390 of which I really
loved!