Pfaffing in Carmel.........

Yep we are still here. Our journey over Big Sur  and the wild coast  has been delayed by a day.
We briefed last night abput the next 90 miles which will take about 3 days. Di is nervous about cycling on roads without a bike lane or wide shoulder was apprehensive about the route. She had picked up information about busses to traverse the area in Monterey and spent much of last evening surfing the net reading blogs of folk who have cycled the route. I also looked at the blogs and some were skeptical about the shoulder and the safety of the route. However come morning there we were eager to start on a morning that promised rain. Off we went onto Highway one and down a big hill with a narrow shoulder.It started raining as we arrived at Safeway to pick up supplies. I looked after the bikes and after the shopping Pat mentioned that Di now wanted to hire a car.
No car hire in Carmel.
We have heard from Marlene & Jim and they have called it a day after 1500mls and returned to Canada. Di called Marlene to ask about the route. Marlene reassured Di that there was a shoulder most of the way. Having made the decision to stay in Carmel to sort out a car from Monterey we rebooked our rooms in the Comfort Inn - the forecaste for tomorrow is no rain. Di then decided to that she would cycle with us unless it was raining. So here we are pfaffing in Carmel !!
Gilly and I are alittle concerned that the trip is stalling a bit  but we still have about 5 days spare before we need to call it a day as we have flights to Las Vegas booked on 16th.
Lets hope for less pfaffing and more PMA to get us to the Mexican border.
What about Carmel I here you say - twee, full of arty farty shops for RAFA's to spend there money in and golf courses at 600 bucks a round - I guess you can tell my kind of place !!
P.S. When in Norway Pat and I were speaking to some locals about the seaplanes we saw near the islands as we got close to Oslo - he said they belonged to RAFO's - Rich Arsoles From Oslo - hence I use RAFA'swhen refering to Carmel.

Lucky to be alive.......

Underway again after a fantastic stay with Nigel & Elen. San Fran and Yosemite are now behind us. However we were in a Motel just outside the National Park - I believe it was called the Yosemite Motel. All was good until the meal - we were seated, our orders taken - the meal included soup and salad so off we go for soup - it was cold so the cooks helper said just 5 mins and it will be sorted. We got our salad and waited for the word. Another 10 mins we were told so we ate our salad. We wated and after another 10 mins we were told it was ready and this coinsided with the arrival of our main meal. Pat said to the serving lady that this was unacceptable and she replyed that there was no problem as the soup was now available. Pat ask what she was going to do about it and she said nothing as soup was now available. Customer service zero. We spoke to our waitress and eventually got a 20% discount.
So off we set on our last leg. We had gone but 15 miles and I was belting down a big hill - I think I was doing 34.9 mph when I had a rear wheel blowout - very exciting as I had cars overtaking at 60 mph and a very narrow shoulder. I managed to come to a halt and found the rim had split and was at right angles to the rest of the wheel. I guess I must have hit a stone.  We call  Jane who we were going to stay with the following night and she drpped everything and came to my rescue. She took me to Santa Cruz - new wheel and then returned me to camp with the rest of the gang.
Jane and Neville live on top of a hill and so when we arrived in Santa Cruz Jane and her friend Laurie picked us up in their big American cars and took us 10 miles inland and 1000ft up to Janes  house. A great view to the Monterey Peninsular over the hills. Great hospitality but we could not do the offered single malt justice as we were pedalling the next day.
We are now in Carmel in a Comfort Inn. The next 80 miles look remote and hilly. But it is meant to be a stunning ride.- the odo is 1428 mls and all's well.

Stuff and things.......

We have heard from Jim & Marlene and they are well and making good progress - maybe 150 or so miles ahead of us. I was musing while cycling and wondered what they thought when we met up.
Hi I am Sandy and I have dicky ticker so cannot go up hills very fast or in fact go anywhere fast.
Hi I am Pat and I have new knees, one of which won't bend too well and hampers my cycling
Hi I am Michael and I suffer from a hand problem so in the cold I cannot change gear or use my brakes.
Hi I am Di and I just do not want to be here.
Hi I am Gilly and I guess I just put up with these old  crocks.I just thought it interesting to look at it from there point of view.
From early in my life I lived by 3 very simple rules:
1. Never trust a man who does the top button of his shirt up without wearing a tie.

2. Never trust a man who tucks his vest (underdshirt in Yankee speak) into his underpants.
3. Never trust a man who wears socks with sandals.
I regret to say that when camping in Albion it was bitterly cold with a strong east wind. I resisted until I got frost bite in my toes but then had to put my sealskin socks on with my sandals. I then cycled about 10 miles with them on! Just think of my shame.
We have done a bit of tourosm - it amazing what they stick out of wondows around here.
Yosemite was spectacular - there were some climbers - just specks on the 3000ft rock face.
Our odo is 1308 mls. We have about 500 plus miles to go which sho

uld take us 16 days or so. Looking forward to getting on the road again tomorrow.

Resting in San Francisco ......

We are safely ensconced in Elen & Nigels house high up over Half Moon Bay. A fantastic oasis in which to mend our bikes, bodies and minds.
We cycled from Tomales (where's that you may ask)to Cortes Madera about 10 mls north of Golden Gate Bridge.It was a good day with continual , energy sapping up and down terrain giving way to flatter and more built up roads. We found a Budget Motel - boy was it budget! In our room the wall boiler had burnt out  we had two tv,s I guess just to fill the space, peeling pai t and just outside our room was a van withgraffitti all over it. But sheets were clean - I thinl!
We have had yest more punctures pn Pats bike  but it did get us here. Di sent his spare wheel (bought in Norway on our last trip when his previous Mavic wheel broke) to Half Moon  Bay and it is now on his bike. Gilly has a complete new rear mech to replace the one s

he had (jockey wheel fell off). I digress - we had an early start from Cortes Madera and immediately had a 500 ft hill to get over - quite a shock as it was not mentioned in the guide! We then had a climb of about 200 ft up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We were following the bike guide when a Lady said if I were you I would not go this way.After much discussion when she thought us much too thick to follow her directio s  - she said I will show you. Pow - she was off, up the hill, on her unloaded road bike  with Pat and Gilly wallowing in her wake - I was left to follow the hot rubber marks on the road.Kind lady.
The Bridge was shrouded in fog - the cold California Current starts in the arctic and sweeps down the west coast of the States, the warm interior drags air in and across the currant cooling the air causing fog.  We cycled through this, the air was very cold and we saw very little. Once across we had 3 more very chalenging hills before Half Moon Bay plus we had got the milage wrong when planning the day - we had an extra 10 mls we had not bargained for. All in all a hard day.
We met our hosts in a cafe by the harbpur and they gave us a lift to their abode. Their road is steep man  a couple of miles pushing bikes would not hVe been welcome.
Di was also there to meet us flush with success from her golf. We are now 4

We have done some tourism in SF a d we are off to Yosemite today.

Tomales - where the heck is that? ....

We have baled out of 85°F/30°C plus heat and hills way to steep for over weight ancient cyclists. Northeren California is littered with one horse towns and off-beat people.  Tomales is one of those towns - you can almost see Clint Eastward mossying into town over the parched rang land and hitching his horse to a rail out side our hotel.   We are about 6 miles short of our intended destination and 60 miles north of San Fran'. Our odo is 1227.9.
Although the going is tiring the coastline is fantastic.
The cycling Gods are not shining on us at present, yesterday Pat got a puncture - we could not find the cause - the hole in the innertube was on the rim side not the outside. After 2 more punctures we found that the rim of his back tyre is split. We have made temporary repairs and hope it will survive until SF. The cause we think was gping over a step after have lunch in a closed State Park.
Last night , because of the bike problems we were late arriving in Jenner so opted for  a lodge. The other half was occupied by 2 oldish (maybe65) women. As I was parking up my bike on the balcony  one of the ladies wandered out  and had clearly had a gin & tonic too many, she came forward talking about Scotland and then realised she had invaded our living area and my personal space so backed off.
She came forward again and stumbled all over the place. Idiot. Pat then pointed out that she had an anti Obama bumper sticker - she was a supported of the Republican idiots who have shut down the Government - it explained a lot.
I was not going to mention this but as she was rude to Pat here it is. Wemet a couple of older cyclists going our way - they turned out to be Swiss. They had well laden bikes and went ahead of us while we had morning coffee. We saw them at lunch and as Pat parked his bike near them she said 'have you been sleeping' meaning that we must be slow.Well we are slow - 1200 miles without an overtake. But it is a bit rude to tell us. She was probably the least glamourous cyclist we have seen, ladies of a certain age should probly where support where it is most needed- so if you see someone cycling near you with large pendulous breats - unsupported it could be her.

Where's a mechanic when you need one .......

The terrain does not get any easier. When you have big hills and big downs it seems so much easier than the continual ups and downs - and boy are some of the little ups steep. It is energy sapping and it looks likely to continue for the next 3 or 4 days.
Last night we stopped in a small place - Point Arenas - we turned off out of town to the coast to a fantastic Inn - The Wharfside - the only place in town. It is on top of a steep drive so Pat was despatched to check it out and negociate. $99 was the best price for the basic room. Gilly and I were summoned and once in the lobby our hostess had decided to upgrade us to the honeymoon suits - jaccusi - bath candles and four posters - fantastic. My partner is away , she said so I have put you next to the lobby Patrick  and what a lovely name.  Oh Patrick would you like me to do your washing? Oh Patrick Iam sure you can get Wifi in your room.Oh Patrick is there  anything else I can do? Jesting aside it was a fantastic deal and they are very welcoming to cyclists.
After a good breakfast we climbed back up to rpute 1 and on our way - 5 miles later and 6 hills Gilly ground to a halt - my bike won,t work. The bolts holding her jockey wheels in place had come loose and one had come out. Aspecial washer had been lost and it looked like her ream mech was stuffed. Acouple of lady cyclist stopped and gave the message to Pat who was 2 hills and 1 mile down the road. The nearest bike shop was San Fransisco 120 miles away. We were buggered. A carstopped and out jumped Mark who wantwd a P. What's the problem - he was the coach of the local triathelete team - here is the number of our mechanic - Pat calls - yep no problem and 30 minute later he is with us - fixed and away. Fantastic - just like the African bush - 100 miles from nowhere, you break down and suddenly there is a croud. Gilly will need new jockey wheels in SF. Lucky that the coach needed a pee - lucky the mechanic, Brian, was at home, lucky that he was happy to make a 30 mile round trip and lucky he could fix it or we would be in the back of a pick-up somewhere seeking help.
We are in Gualala (pronounce that if you can) in a motel well short of our intended camp spot. Early start tomorrow as we are looking forward to SF. Odo 1162.5

Garbage & Hills......

It's been a while - we have been and still are in remote country. No wifi for days and no phone signal. Tonight we are in a a valley bottom campste by an inlet in a small town called Albany - our odo reads 1117.5 miles.
We cycled along 'The avenue of giants'for 25 miles  through a vast forest of towering redwoods - amazing. We camped in the forest under these huge trees that go straight up for over 300 ft.  We are well over half our journey now and although the skys are clear it iscold out of the sun.The wind has plenty of north in it which helps us on the hills.California has legalised the growing of marijuana and although some communities have passed local laws to prohibit this others have not.
We cycled into Garberville to pick up supplies (we were camping in a State park that night) - what a place - hippies and the suchlike everywhere. Human detritious from Washingto, Oregon and California had sunk into this hick town. IT was frightening.I looked after the bikes while Gilly and Pat were in 'Ray's Market' -I have never seen so many dropouts all being harassed by the market staff to move on. There was one guy with an axe hanging from his belt who was stopped by the market staff for shop lifting who refused to be detained and along camethe Sherriff.Most folk carried knives. These folk are looking for work as it is harvest time. I wish I had taken some pics but I though best to keep a low profile - at least we escaped with our lives. But that night a load of people descended on our campsite and played that dull thudding off beat music that druggies like most of the night. We have cycled over the highest hill on route - 2000ft and we are in a very hilly part of the coast. There are various groups of cyclists - a group of 4 - a Sotish lad who had met  a lass from Chicargo on route and she was all over him like a rash- we keep seeing these 2 middle aged men who seem to be showing off to each other - we guess they are batting for the otherside.
We are making some hard yards - down to about 30 miles a day any more and it would be a core. We should be in San Fransisco in about 5 days. Di rejoins us there - she won her golf tournament that she went home for - well done and many congrats.

If it's not a thousand feet .......

The Cresent City hills are behind us. - a couple of 10000footer plus giants  mainly on route101 with not very good shoulders. A good welcome back for Gilly!! We are now in Eureka - a large town with all facilities.
Our first 1000+ hill was a heart starter, I struggled most of the day being hung ovee from a great meal with Michael & Donna the previous night - we also celebrated Gilly's birthday all be it 2 days early.
 This was the day of our first Redwoods - big or what. We stopped at Trees of Mystery  and learnt all about them - worth the stop. It was just a few miles further to Klamath - a small town in the Yaruk Indian Reservation. We were given bad local advice about camping and ended up in a motel. Fed in a small town bar - great food but obviously the no smoking laws dp not apply on Indian land.
Another 1000 footer through big rewoods with the intention of camping at Patricks Point - stopped at Orick and picked up supplies and we were accosted by a lady who wanted to know about purple sprouting broccoli - very odd and when she left us she thanked for keeping the purple sprouting alive!! The more folk we meet the odder they get. Just like the lady at the campsite we wanted to stay at - we were knackered but she said she had no sites. It looked half empty and said the site 4 miles along the road should have some. Is it Hilly asked Pat - no she replied. It was the hilliest 4 miles we had ridden all day. Still we campedunder towering redwoods - great. We also saw our first Elks.
Pat has new gloves - keeps showing them off - he like a little kid!!

We are nearing halfway - odo 948.7

As one leaves another joins ......

The last couple of days have been fantastic - chalenging riding with hills and dales but yet more fantastic views. This coast is stunning. We stayed in a campsite in Gold Beach - good site but cold. Pat's old compant - the Weather Chanel, has not covered it's self in glory this tripI would suggest the folk in the glass tower look out of the window every so often to see what the weather is doing. We seem to get mpre rain on clear days than rainy ones. Camping with 0% chance of rain we got off lightly with just an hours heavy down pour!!
Early start to Brookings where Michael was leaving.Had to get to the bike shop before closing. No probs Our  legs are now like machines with bums made of steel.
Gilly is back - met up with Donna, Michaels wife, in Portland, picked up her bike in Crescent City and then joined us all in Brookings for supper.
So Michael has departed, it was fun having him with us and if I can cycle like him at 76 I will be very happy. His main problem was cold hands and you will have seen the pic in the last blog - Mr Clean gloves (Marigolds in rhe UK) as overgloves - keeps his hands dry.
Once there was 7, then 5 reduced to 3 and for this morning we were back to the 'daring duo' the original 2 just Pat and me. Gilly cycled out of Crescent City and met us and escorted us to our Best Wester - now we are 3 again.

Michaels parting words of wisdom were - firstly never take restaurant advice from a taxi driver - secondly do not take route advice from a lean cyclist with an unladen road bike. The last we spoke to tried to direct usoff a good flatish road over a 2000ft pass - we rejected his advice.
Odo863.9 the sun is shining and all is well.

Sun- hurray...

The rain has stopped and the sun has come out and life is fine.
Our last evening holed up in Lakeside was interesting - we went for friedchicken in the restaurant and were served/waited on by a young lass, she was either the result of interbreeding  (it was a bit like that around there) or she was on something. She took a shine to Pat and was all giggly and silly around him. In bar were 3 or 4 folk and one rotund lass(30ish) was swearing like trooper and had a sweatshirt on with 'do I look like fxxkxxx people person' blazened across the front. Halfway through our meal on of the guys from the bar plonked himself down at our table and put a plump red chilli on the table - he had great difficulty getting his words out ,his lips were totally pissed. When he did

 get 2 words out consecutivly we gathered he wanted one of us to eat the chilli - he must have thought we were nuts whereas
we thought them all off their trollies.
We set off for a short day into 20mph winds andmade Coos Bay and Motel 6. we are in Gold Beach after 2 days of hard riding - it is like a roller coaster up, down,up but very rarely flat. The coastline in amazing, rocky out crops, crashing surf and no people. The sun came out yesterday lunch time after a morning of down pours. We are in  RV park just about to cycle to supper.  Brookings tomorrow where Michael leaves us and Gilly rejoins in 2 days. Odo 801 and all is well.