At San Francisco, been to the baseball

It comes time when we have to part and go our separate ways. But first we had to catch a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf.






Before that we had to present Ferdi with the Yellow Jersey for his magnificent riding throughout the tour. Of course he wanted to wear it out to dinner and do a lap of honour around downtown. While 'red' was relieved to be off the bike and out of the pouch.





Last night we went to the baseball at AT&T Stadium where the San Francisco Giants where playing the Philadelphia Phillies. We got there early so we could do a lap of the stadium and then found our seats that seemed to be just below the light towers. There's Mike about to start his baseball pilgrimage.






Lucky that our seats where high up but also protected from the savagely cold wind that was blowing in from the sea. You would have thought this would give the Giants an advantage but alas the Phillies came out hot and tonked two homers early on to set up an easy win.






here is the view from our seats






Then it was time to walk up the hill just like leaving the footy but even the Giants supporters where happy even through they had just been FLOGGED by a far better team. (Just like Richmond matches really).






We stopped in town at a 24 hr Diner for Pecan pie and Hienekin which turned out to be the perfect pre slumber combination as we slept soundly thereafter.

Today is Friday and we have gone our separate ways, me to Seattle and Alaska via Walnut Creek, Mike 2 to baseball Mecca at Giants Stadium and the others are on a road trip in their new rental car headed for Carson City via Tahoe and then off to recreate the 'hangover' with a couple of days at Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

So no more blog updates for now

Cheers thanks for reading

Pw
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Location:Post St,San Francisco,United States

The tour is over, now the fun and recriminations begin

For once today went to plan. We left Occidental early and had a great ride through to Tomales to highway 1. Here we are at morning tea at Pt Reyes Station, best pancakes so far



Then we rode past an inlet on a fast bending and lumpy road with about 30 km of new hot mix surface. Then there is Goose defending yellow before we arrived at Stinson Beach.






Then there where two big climbs to Sausalito and just before the climb there was an old lady hitchhiking so we offered her a lift and Barb gave me some local knowledge to get through to Sausalito.



Thanks to Barb for this group shot before we rolled into San Francisco at the top of the last hill.



Sausalito is a small town where we parked the van and then rode as a group up the road to the bridge. While it was sunny in Sausalito it was colder and very windy on the way to and over the bridge. There go the boys heading for the finish.



The bridge ride was probably one of the more riskier things we did as we were riding against a hundred or so tourists on rental MTBs and as many pedestrians, plus going as fast as possible where the local bike riders in some sort of courage run.



Anyway we made it!!!!


The final sprint finish was won by Ferdi who having won the two climbs for the day was easily able to seize the yellow jersey when it counts.
Final points were:
Ferdi 729
Wighty. 643
Pedals. 625
M2 606
Goose 585
Rocket 501

Our individual highlights
Ferdi. Glacier Point at Yosemite
Wighty the climb along the Pacific coast to Big Sur
Pedals. The barmaid at Parkfield
M2 the descent down from Mt Hamilton
Goose the Big Sur bender, as much as he can remember
Rocket. El Capitan revisited

Tonight we had clam chowder at Fisherman's Wharf and caught a cable car to get there and a stretch limmo to get back.

Tomorrow it's time to pack the bikes and take in the baseball.

-posted by pw from ipad

Location:Post St,San Francisco,United States

Singing: whoa oh oh Bodega Bay

Rest day today from Occidental which involved a ride to Bodega Bay and back (50 km) over a steep climb with a compensating downhill.

First we woke to a very misty morning with thick due, I must say that Occidental is a lovely village nestled in a valley on a ridge surrounded by mature redwood trees, it has that euro feel. Apparently mountain lions roam here.
So woke up to this today and we crossed the road for breakfast at Howards Cafe.



From there it was an out of uniform day to ride to the coast, Goose and Rocket took the sag wagon. The climb was quite steep in parts but our new level of fitness saw effortless riding. Here are some of the redwoods, in some parts the forest it still was dark and wet.



Then we got our first view of the Pacific Ocean again. Weather as usual low 20s sun that doesn't really produce sunburn, slight northerly tailwind.



Then it was a short hop to Bodega Bay for lunch at the wharf, even the seagulls are bigger in the US.



Rocket ordered Nachos and this is what showed up, we are on about a one in three rate of guessing correctly what we have ordered.



At lunch we could watch the sea lions patrol for food morsels



On the way back via the town of Bodega we road through this eucalypt avenue, smelt very much like back home.



So it's now time we got ready for our last day. Goose is in yellow and Rocket has regained 'red'. The points are very close with anyone a chance to claim yellow at that final sprint on the Golden Gate bridge. the route suggests we will ride 114 km tomorrow mostly down hwy 1 which has a reasonable shoulder and low volume traffic.

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Napa wine trail then to occidental

We decided to change the route to ride the full length of the Napa Valley and then head west to Occidental This turned out to be a very good decision as the Napa Valley is very suited to bike riding and the Bike Lane is very good. We set off at good pace with cool air ultimately riding 110km with a long lunch at Calistoga.

Today we saw two snakes here is the first one which pedals may have run over. Anyone know what type it is?



From there we changed to route 29 as we wanted to stop at the Castello De Amorosa which was towards the end of the valley. Only trouble was the driveway was about 400 m long but had a gradient of 17% at it's worst!
The castle is a winery which has been 30 years in the making and is built largely to authentic Italian design (as distinct from the Hearst Castle). Goose stopped for a tasting.



Here is the Duke in yellow with two of his loyal guards.




It is all made with stone blocks


The lunch sprint was at Calistoga where M2 beat everyone including the sag wagon. He must have been hungry. Thanks to the guy at the Calistoga Bike Shop for advice on the route as we were then able to ride along nice country roads and keep away from the busy main roads.



This is a quiet climb for points see pedals hitting the crank to ward off the yellow jersey


A water stop at Chalk Hill road



And the near the end Ferdi had another flat, 3 in two days and not the same thorn.



we are now tucked up at Occidental with our rest day tomorrow involving a ride to Bodega Bay. Goose is back in Yellow for the ultimate stage which should see fierce competition for our last riding day as the points are close. rocket once again has 'red' in his safe possession.
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Location:Silverado Trail,Napa,United States

Rio vista to Napa

Today was interesting for a number of reasons. The wind and condition of Hwy 12 made it not at all conducive to bicycle traffic so we packed up and drove the 60 km to Napa. Arrived about 11 am and we were able to check in to one room.

We were back to perfect riding weather with temps in the low 20s and not too much wind with no clouds in the blue and sunny sky.

Then it was off to ride the Napa Valley which is a small but long valley situated on the Napa River with a gentle slope. There was a very good bicycle path for the length of the valley. There are lots of wineries and they are very close together which makes it quite easy to do a bit of wine tasting. We ended up riding just under 50 km for the day which is now but a warm up as we long for those challenging hill climbs of last week.

Here is a bunch sprint along the bike lane with M2 leading Pedals and Goose.


From there we made for the Goose Cross winery, say no more.



While I admired the roadside flowers



Next was lunch at Yountville, burgers for a change



On the way back Ferdi scored a flat which allowed me to sneak a stage win as most of the others where still tasting wine at the Andretti Winery






Tomorrow it's back to the coast to Bodega Bay and then a rest day before we storm over the Golden Gate.
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Location:Silverado Trail,Napa,United States

Day 11 Oakhurst to Rio Vista

We left the cowboy land behind us and headed for the Delta. Here is the bunch in tight formation


Closely followed by a sighting of Bicen



After few km of riding through flat farmland where all varieties if fruit and vegetables seemed to be growing they started to look a bit better



Then we stopped at a cross road for some buffalo jerky to pick up our spirits



Then it was on into the Delta which is where the Sacramento River flows into the Bay and we could once again see Mt Diablo. See how Goose is setting a cracking pace in front.




There where numerous bridges to cross and we rode into a moderate head wind for once. There goes the sag wagon.



While at Rio Vista we took the opportunity to visit Al the Wops for a steak sandwich. Cheap and cheerful with American bar out front. As we arrived Pedals was immediately captured by one of the female patrons and launched onto the dance floor, luckily he escaped after the song finished. The town of Locke was about a 100 years old and very authentic in it's antiquity and made of wood and about 3 m below the level of the canal.



Today we head for Napa and I expect we will stop at a couple if wineries along the way.

Ferdy is back in yellow somehow. This morning the wind was really strong and the route had little shoulder so we abandoned the ride and have commuted to Napa where we will now take on a leisurely wine tour for the rest of the day.

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Location:California 121,Napa,United States

Groveland to Oakdale

'i think we spent more time in the bar than on the bike today' said Ferdy just as I write the blog at the House of Beef in Oakdale, complete with own butchery. the waitress wants to order a yellow jersey as it has 'Oakdale' on the front.
We woke early at the RV park and then had to ride to Groveland proper for breakfast. First a flock of turkeys came through








After breakfast we had a 3000ft descend on highway 120 which finished beside Lake Pedro. Even after the rest day our legs still felt less than 100 per cent especially with the long descent not allowing a warm up. As the weather was to get to 34C today We decided to stick to hwy 120 and make it a quick sprint to Oakdale of 76 km to avoid the heat. It would also allow us to have a relaxing swim and do our washing.
This is Hwy 120 which had good shoulder all the way and mostly a tail wind.




Then we had a big hill climb where Rocket took off in a bold attempt to win the stage. Seen here preparing himself by the lake before the climb.




Here is the road on the way to Oakdale where I started to run out of water, note how dry the grass is, it doesn't rain for 3 months. About here I ran into a young guy on a bmx who was riding past Oakdale but had run out of water too. I gave him half of what I had left and when I caught up to the van we left two bottles of water and a banana with a note. I hope he got it.








M2 won the stage to Oakdale while the Kom points were worth lots and bonus points helped to put rocket into yellow and M2 now has 'red'.
Points are bunching up as we get to the business end of the Tour.
Rocket. 427
Ferdy 419
Wighty 412
Goose 400
Pedals 395
M2 348
As we had some spare time we paid a visit to the Cow Track which was a nice authentic bar (like in mo's in the simpsons)and then to the western outfitters for some hattage.




Thats all cow pokes tomorrow we head for dinner at Al the Wops near Rio Vista and we may also do some cycling.
Ps thanks to pedals for making a really nice tuna avocado tomato sandwich on italian bread.
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Yosemite photos

Here are some shots from our day at Yosemite
First El Capitan a 3000 foot rock



Then we walked under the Bridal Veil waterfall, close enough to get wet.



Then it was a long drive of an hour plus drive to Mariposa Grove to walk amongst the giant sequoia trees. This was a three km walk up the hill and back






Then it was off to Glacier Point which was about 6000 ft plus above the Yosemite valley where we took in magnificent clear views of the valley (3000ft below) and the granite walls






Tomorrow we have a long downhill ride to Oakdale as we leave the mountains and turn back for the coast
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