Day 19. Getting there

Surprisingly it was another clear day. More surprisingly the weatherman got it right! Although it was clear and sunny, the wind being in my face all day was a little irritating. I'm having to be a bit careeful with these last couple of stops into San Francisco as, although there are quite alot of little towns and places to stay along the way, it appears as though I am in honeymoonville in terms of the actual accomodations... and most of the habitations are priced accordingly.


The 2 campsites I had checked out are both closed for the season(!), and to be honest as much as it has been sunny for the last few days, the nights have got very very cold. So I didn't want to camp anyway. Not yet.

The other thing about cycling down the coast, and I should have realised this after I spent most of Oregon on the coastal roads, is they are quite hilly! Although none of them big hills like the one outside Leggett, the constant up and down and having to get up the winding gradients is extremely tiring. The view is lovely, especially on a bright clear day, but again, it's just the same as it was outside Westport, and the same as it was outside Fort Bragg.. and similar to what it was outside all those little towns I stayed in in Oregon. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice. But I've just got my sights on San Francisco now and a couple of days rest. Hopefully in two days I'll be riding across the golden gate bridge.

Actually while I think about it that's another thing I'm going to have to be careful about - my American Cycling Association map tells me that I have to check the day I want to as to whether I am allowed to cycle over the bridge. I presume that is due to the weather conditions but it could pose an interesting quandry if I arrive there and am unable to. I'll worry about that one on Sunday though, as if all goes well that should be when I arrive. Fingers crossed. Tonight I am in Gualala, for another brief stay in another seaside town somewhere on the pacific coast of the US. 58.23 on the speedo. No rain. No punctures. I'm going for another biggie tomorrow to try and get to Point Reyes, which is about 75 miles down the road. If I can do that then it's only a further 35 miles or so to San Francisco. Getting there, slowly but surely I'm getting there.