Day 13: GOLD!

Day 13: Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco about 110 km

Distance for the day: 243.3 km

Cumulative distance: 2,558.4 km

Top speed: 112 kph

Moving average: 59 kph

Temperature: 19.2 - 31.4

A relatively short day distance-wise but it was a long time on the bike because we were riding though really twisty terraine as we navigated our way down the coast. 

The view from the Bodega Harbour Inn

We got a late start, not because we were laying around in bed but rather, I was trying to solve some logistical challenges. One: I had to figure out how to pay a road toll coming later in the morning. It has been a few years since it was possible to pay a toll with cash by dropping the money into a bowl while going through a gate. Now, payment is made by subscription and regular users get a tag that is scanned as vehicles pass by a sensor or, for users who use the toll less frequently, their license plate is scanned. ONE time users, like me, can pay in advance by registering a license plate and then driving through the gate where the plate gets read. Payment is made online of course, and I can tell you, it is somewhat of a challenge to find the place for out-of-country users to register a license plate. Especially as the section for users to register a license plate has a drop down box allowing users to choose any of the 49 other states than California. Seems they overlooked a choice for non-American users, even though the website makes it clear that foreigners have an obligation, too. I phoned to try to get it resolved and I was just told that they wil send the invoice in the mail, (with a penalty), even out of country. That was one time-waster. Then, we had to figure out where we were going for the day. Found a pretty good budget flea-bag with good reviews in Salinas but they don't seem too inclined to answer their phone or emails. We ultimately decided we would take off and figure it out when we get there, wherever "there" is located. We had an 11:30 departure from Bodega Bay.

It was twisty, twisty, twisty and it was relentless. But today, not only was the road twisty, it

was up and down and when it twisted, there was often a 1,000 foot drop off the edge of the road. I have to say that it was somewhat unnerving. Riding the hard curves is no place to be glancing around but to be that high up with effectively no bottom had me gripping the handlebars extra tight. Even Nan couldn't look away; at the time she said to me that she was just holding the camera out and taking pictures with one had while the other was firmly gripping my jacket.

This went on for an hour and a half ( about a hundred kilometres) as we rode down the

coast, eventually coming to Muir Beach and then the road turning inland. I had remembered from the map that that turning point was going to take us to San Francisco and probably some freeway to get us there though I had misremembered how little travel time there would be so before I knew it, we were on the freeway just outside of Sausalito.

We then crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. This was a "moment" for me because I never thought I would be riding over such an iconic landmark. There was a fairly strong crosswind so I couldn't look around too much but Nan, as is most often the case, took lots of pictures so that I could see later what I rode earlier in the day. 

We ended up riding through San Francisco mostly on Highway 1, which skirts the busy part of the city so we didn't have to ride a freeway or through the busy part of the city. Still, we did have a few challenges. Even though this was identified in the GPS (which I ignored) Highway 1 (The Great Highway) is closed in one section of San Francisco. This

doesn't seem to be temporary, like with road repair or something as there were sand dunes accumulating on the road. Apparently, the city has long foreseen the eventual permanent closure of the road to build up the terrain to combat rising sea levels and protect the city. Sand encroaching on the road is an ongoing problem.

By the time we reached Pacifica, we had gone too long without food and were desperate to kill something. Fortunately, after turning off the freeway, the town yielded up many possibilities for lunch. We stopped at a kebab place in a strip mall and ended up having a really good meal.  It was mid afternoon so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we were the only ones in there but it seemed weird, especially given how much we enjoyed the food. We told the gal working there that we were from Canada and she told us she was from Turkey, so I was able to relate to her how much I had loved Turkey when I was there in 1982 as a kid hitch hiking around the world, particularly as the people had been so kind to me.

The coastal highway south of San Francisco is a different ball of wax than what we have been riding for the past week. Not so dramatic, distances between communities was much shorter and much of the land is farm or ranch land. Still pretty in its own right but a little anti-climatic after taking our lives in our hands riding on cliff edges. 

Our intended target for the day had been Salinas but by the time we got to Santa Cruz around 4:30, we felt like we had had enough and, after riding around bit, picked a motel. I have noticed that the further south we go, the prices go up. We weren't married to the idea of Salinas, particularly as we hadn't been able to successfully reach what I thought would be our motel. We also wanted to see the Oilers game which had a 5:30 start.