Vuelta Pacifica: Stage 9

Today was our final stage of the Vuelta Pacifica! And what better way to end a ride from Portland to San Francisco than riding across the Golden Gate Bridge on the 4th of July? We got off to a cold start! I had on every possible layer that I could! Not a surprise for me, I know, but this time everyone else bundled up too! But, as usual, once the sun came out we were able to shed a few of those layers. We didn't ride very long today-we did about 62 miles, but we took a break for some ice cream in Sausilito. They have an ice cream shop with some delicious flavors.

Then we decided to take some pictures before we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge at one of our favorite photo spots. Here are some of the pics:

The guy on the left of the first picture asked if he could be in a photo with us when we were done taking our pictures. I guess he hasn't seen many people that ride bikes in spandex! Then off we went to cross the Golden Gate Bridge! It was tough to ride in formation across the bridge because there were a lot of tourists that had rented bikes to ride on the bridge as well! Quite a popular destination! But we crossed and were greeted by a fan club of sorts, and we were excited to be done!

When we got everything loaded up, most of us headed back to Addi's and Blake's, where Addi had made a wonderful spread for us to eat! She even made us a patriotic cake that was absolutely delicious! When we got finished with dinner and showers, we headed off to the wharf to see the fireworks over the bay! Although it was freezing, a nice cup of steamed milk took the edge off. The fireworks didn't disappoint, and it was nice to be able to sit on a blanket and relax! What a great end to the Vuelta Pacifica 2009! It was awesome to have that many days in a row to do nothing but ride along one of the most beautiful stretches of the U.S. Not knowing what was over the next hill was an amazing experience. We can't think of a better group to have gone with! Now on to planning another ride for next summer! Thanks everyone!

Vuelta Pacifica: Stage 8

Unfortunately, today we had to leave without one of our crew. Chris got called back to work, so he had to cut his ride short. He was able to go across the Golden Gate Bridge before his flight home, but we were definitely bummed to have him leave. We decided that today we were going to do a short day because we were getting tired! We cut our miles down to about 46. I'll be honest, most of our motivation was because we were going to stay in a hotel at the end of the day! And the hotels had hot tubs! We were eager to soak our sore muscles in some warm bubbly water. Andy, Jesse and I drove so we didn't have to come back and pick up a truck. We drove on a very windy road by the coast-SO many turns and hills on that stretch of road! But by this time during the trip, we were in pretty good climbing form! Here's some pictures of the climbers.

Since we had some time to kill while everyone rode, we decided to check out some of the famous light houses along the coast! And we promised Jesse that we would post pictures of them for his mom. So here they are!

After everyone arrived at the truck, we had some serious organizing to do! Evan had to take the other truck to take Chris to the airport, so we had all of us to fit in the truck, along with all of our gear and bikes in the trailer! It took about an hour and a bunch of bungee cords to get everything situated, but we finally did and stuffed all seven of us into the truck. It's a good thing we didn't get pulled over! Off we drove to Santa Rosa.

We didn't waste any time getting into the hot tub. It was so nice! Sorry no scandalous hot tub pics. But if there were, you would see some major tan lines! After a nice soak, we went to dinner at In-N-Out Burger (of course!) and it did not disappoint. Even though we had planned on another soak in the hot tub after dinner, we didn't get back until too late, so we just went to bed and got some sleep for our last day of the Vuelta Pacifica!

Vuelta Pacifica: Stage 7

Today was a rough day! We said our good-byes to the Redwoods and we were off to a lot of difficult hills! There was a lot of construction today and it made some of the roads a little sketchy, but we made it off the 101 for the rest of the trip. We stopped for lunch in Leggett at a combined elementary/junior/high school for some yummy hot dogs! They were delicious. I think the population of Legget doubled while we were there. After that, I pooped out and the rest of the crew went up the infamous Leggett's Hill, which is basically 10 miles of pure pain. When looking at the elevation profile of the ride on our map, Legget's hill looks like Mt. Everest. We had been worrying about it for days. We all mentally prepared at lunch...except for Chris. For all you bikers out there, here is a tip: do not eat more than 4 hot dogs before the most difficult ride of your life, or you may not keep your lunch! If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Chris.

Here are some pictures of the crew's triumphant arrivals at the top of Leggett's!

Chris was a little warm when he reached the top of the hill, so he decided to proceed without his jersey. Bibs are beautiful, aren't they? Following the long ascent, the riders were rewarded with a long, curvy down-hill. Because of the slower traffic they had to slow down and wait for the cars ahead of them. They were flying!

Since today was such a tough one, we planned on a few less miles than other days. We set up camp at Russian Gulch State Park and went for a FANTASTIC dinner at a restaurant! It was nice to not have to make anything! It was called the Pizza Factory, but isn't like ours. It was so good! I don't think that I have ever eaten that much pizza. Our resident vegan, Jesse (along with Chris), passed the time while our pizza was being made by playing a "Deer Hunter U.S.A." arcade game. Does anyone else find it ironic that he doesn't eat meat but has mad skills hunting Bambi in a video game? Appearently he was pretty good. If you ever stop by the Fort Bragg California Pizza Factory, look for his name in the high scores. We got off to bed early, which was wonderful. A hard day but a good one!

Vuelta Pacifica: Stage 6

Today, we woke up to a strange sight! During the night, we had some sneaky little critters come into our camp and take half of our eggs and (!Gasp!) a Diet Coke. Those racoons have amazing skill at getting into coolers and bottles of soda! Luckily we had a lot of oatmeal, and the racoons left us six of our eggs so we could make some french toast! We learned our lesson-always put something heavy on top of coolers if you leave them out! We had a quick breakfast, took down camp, and got on those bikes again for a long day! Andy and I did our first century today! Yet another momentous occasion! And what a great day to have to ride 100 miles-we rode through the Redwoods! But first, we had to get our first and only flat tire out of the way. I thought someone was shooting at us, it was so loud! I'm glad that it was only a tire. We had some excellent bike mechanics on hand, so we were able to get back on our bikes in no time!

It was ridiculously cold today, so we had to stop and add some more layers on after the first couple of miles! I had on every possible layer I could, and still I was not even close to a comfortable temperature! It's crazy how cold that fog can make it! But we couldn't delay very long--we had a long day ahead of us! We rode about 45 miles or so and stopped for lunch in a tiny town. We were lucky enough to stop at a park that was hosting a camp for overweight children. We ate lunch to the tunes of Michael Jackson and Jack Johnson. Chris got an old man to teach him how to play Bacci and dashed his dreams when he beat him twice! He's a natural. He was very lucky today! He and Andy bet on kids that were playing in a game, and Chris' kid won. I think Andy still owes Chris a Dr. Pepper, actually...

After lunch, we were off to the Avenue of the Giants in the Redwoods! It's a good thing that the ride was so pretty because I needed the distraction! Here are some pictures.

As we approached the 100 mile mark, we were definitely racing the daylight! We made it to 100 just as the sun had gone down--not a moment too soon!

Jesse came to pick us up because it was about 15 more miles to our camp site in Richardson Grove State Park. We got Kara, Chris and Tony and went to set up camp, and went straight to bed after dinner! What a great, long day!