Days 17-19: Three Spectacular Rides

Three great days of riding for Joe. And lots of exploring and nostalgia for Chris.

Today, a friend reached out and requested that the blog feature more about what Chris has been doing. I will say that I tried, but Chris was initially reluctant and didn't want me to write much about her. Our friend convinced Chris that we need to hear what she is doing.

Quick sidebar, have I mentioned what I mean by "wheeeees" and "ughs"? This is a carryover from my first blog on the cross-country trip. I think I had a formal definition there, but this is the basic idea. A "wheeee" is riding downhill with abandon, and "wheee" is what I yell when that happens. If you see more e's in a wheee, it usually means it was longer or more fun. It requires a climb (you have to earn a "wheee"), and you must be off the brakes all the way down, going fast (generally 30-40 mph). An "ugh" is basically a potential wheee,

Riding

Day 17: 63 miles, 2382 elevation (no whees and several ughs!)

This day had a little bit of every possible riding surface. Shortly after I started, I was on a sort of gnarly gravel road. Then I was thrown onto Highway 101 for a bit, but later moved to some rural roads. The rural roads had little traffic, but they were rough. About 25 miles out I got on a nice bike trail around Eureka. From there, the ACA route took me off of Highway 101 and on a rural route to a really cute Victorian town of Ferndale.

The Relive video shows a park with a rooftop garden, Victorian dollhouse, and other displays. I didn't show some of the Victorian architecture. Here is a picture from in town and the other from s a bit of the Ferndale area that didn't make it into the Relive video. Both pictures from the town.

The route ended in Scotia. This town has an interesting history. It was a company town built and owned (until 2008) by the Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO). Interested in learning more, read here.

Day 18: 51 miles, 2703 elevation (2 wheeeees!, no ughs)

This was a WOW day of riding. I rode 32 miles along the Avenue of the Giants. The traffic was very light. The roads were good. And the scenery was astounding. Those giant redwood trees are simply amazing.

After riding the Avenue, I was put on and off of Highway 101, which was busy and fast, but had a wide shoulder. Some of the off routes were worse, little traffic but ugly roads--sometimes bad gravel, others just roads that were not smooth and in desperate need for repair. Just as I was about to hop back onto Highway 101 for my last 10 miles, Chris rolled up. She said the last 10 miles into our stay for the night, Redwood River Resort, was not safe. The traffic was fast, one lane each direction, and almost no shoulder. So I put the bike on the back of the car and didn't ride those last 10 miles. I saw she was right. I don't want to dwell on that, let's dwell on the Avenue of the Giants. Something everyone should ride or drive at least once.

Day 19: 62 miles, 4639 elevation (2 wheees!, no ughs)

The whees on this ride were short. There were some long downhill stretches, but the roads were winding and I was on the brakes--though not enough to merit an ugh. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

Today started out great. Last night Chris planned to give me a ride for the first 7 miles into Leggett where I could get off of Highway 101 and onto State Hwy 1. But when I woke up this morning, I could hear very little traffic on 101 and told her I would ride the whole thing. I was glad I did and felt safe for the whole ride. The only high traffic area was the last 15 miles, heading into Fort Bragg and then onto Mendocino and our bed and breakfast, the Joshua Grindle Inn.

What has been keeping Chris busy these last few days?

I’ve mentioned before that Chris started her career at Eastman Kodak. Fresh out of college, at just 23 years old, she became a sales rep for Kodak’s consumer products—cameras, film, and Kodak processing. Her first territory was Northern California, stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to just past the Oregon border. For 18 months, more than 40 years ago, she called on accounts in small towns up and down Highway 101. Driving through that same territory today brings back a flood of memories—those early years when she was figuring out life and work, and when Kodak was still a household name.

In fact, around that time this was Kodak's advertising campaign (see below). Interesting how apropos it is for many of us today, especially Chris on this part of our journey.

This trip has given Chris the chance to revisit pieces of that past. She’s gone searching for the places where her customers once did business. Camera stores are mostly gone, but she found a ghost of one of her old accounts, Swanlunds in Eureka (see below, the former grand camera store is now a portrait studio and barber shop). She also stumbled on a restaurant in Trinidad where she once met one of her dad’s mentors, and she noticed how much the town itself has changed. One highlight was rediscovering Old Town Photo in Novato—not as a storefront, but as a Facebook page. She lingered there, remembering the people and energy that made it one of her favorite customers.

Chris has always been curious, and she still follows her nose when something catches her attention. A perfect example: decades ago, as she drove her sales route up Highway 101, she often passed the Benbow Historic Inn (see photo below) which she saw from the highway. It caught her imagination, but there was never a business reason to stop, so she didn’t. This time, she decided to finally pull in for lunch while I was riding. Lunch wasn’t being served that day, but instead she was rewarded with a personal tour and a bit of history. She noted how the inn has all but disappeared behind a wall of trees—you can’t even see it from the highway anymore.

While I’m out pedaling the miles, Chris is weaving her way back through time. She’s measuring decades, not miles, but both of us are exploring and rediscovering—just on different routes.