Day 16: Wildflowers on the Cali Coast
Today’s ride was incredible. With a 20 mph tail wind, there’s a odd sense of stillness when cruising down the road matching the speed of the wind. There’s only the hum of the tires on the pavement, the creek of a chain that badly needs to be oiled, and the occasional splat of sweat hitting the frame of the bike. An amazingly beautiful day.
Packing up and getting out of Anchor Bay was a breeze. Under 25 minutes from wake up to rolling out of camp, which I think is pretty good. On the way out of camp I started talking with one of the campers. He told me that route 1 is “without a doubt” the most dangerous road in America. ... Yeah, I doubt that, but it did inspire my next idea for a podcast: Local History. A podcast that gives the local history of an area as told by people I meet at the bar. Facts? Maybe. But interesting tidbits, always.
Of course I stopped at the first coffee shop I could find to grab a hot chocolate with whipped cream (I still feel like I’m 4 ordering that) and some baked goods. They didn’t have any eggs or more substantial meals, but I figured I’d just stop at the next cafe for that! Which I did, and got an amazing breakfast burrito. At this point, I’m getting with in a day trip driving distance of SF, so I’m stopping all the little stops I find to see where I should come back too.
Highway 1 today was gorgeous. It’s my last day where I’m truly along the coast, and it was a beautiful day to do so. Even though I’ve lived in SF for over 2 years, I’ve never been north of Bodega Bay on highway 1. And that’s a real bummer, because I now think just North of Bodega Bay is the most beautiful part. Starting from Anchor Bay, the coast is rocky and beautiful, but only about 20-50 feet above the water.
It maintains that until Salt Point State Park, where the road begins to twist and turn more, and drops down to the ocean before heading back up to its previous height. Then, before Jenner, the road climbs to a few hundred feet above the water, and twists and turns along the coast there. That part is amazingly beautiful. I didn’t stop for pictures because stopping was super windy, but it was gorgeous.
After Jenner the road drops down to about 20 feet from the coast, and hugs the coast. This part has wild flowers everywhere, and was absolutely beautiful.
(With the cute dogs in the back of the truck)
I was stopping left and right just to admire this section of highway 1. If anyone in SF is looking for a weekend trip, I’d highly recommend it. The wildflowers are out, and it’s absolutely beautiful.
I finally arrived at Bodega Bay Campground. I’ve been here once before, but it was cloudy and misty. Today is incredibly windy, but sunny, so it makes the campground much more beautiful. I’ll definitely come back, it’s a nice campground.
A quick recap on meals, for those interested. Lunch was in a Cafe in Jenner. The food was alright, but it didn’t think it was amazing. I got a quick pre-lunch snack from “Two-fish” bakery in Stewart’s Point. That’s a way from SF, but I’ll try to get back there. Dinner was at a wine bar in Bodega Bay. It was nice! Would recommend.
Also, an update on “Just Mercy.” The book is heart breaking. The author represents people on death roll, and juveniles that have been sentenced to life without parole. And is filled with story after story of clients the author tries to defend. The stories are incredibly sad. A 13 year old tried as an adult in Florida, sentenced to life in prison. He is clearly mentally disabled, but didn’t have a good lawyer to start with, and never gets an appeal. (Eventually he does. But not until he’s 30.) At one point, the author describes talking with a defendant who is scheduled to be executed that day. The defendant has a speech impediment made worse by stress, but is trying his hardest to thank the author for trying to hard to reduce the sentence to life in prison. After hanging up the phone, the author is about ready to give up. Everything is broken, he figures, why even try. Then, he had an insight that I liked. He thought, he too was broken. He too had made mistakes, and maybe making mistakes is part of what binds humans, as we all make mistakes from time to time. Recognizing our mistakes helps us humanize others that have made mistakes, and connect with them. Additionally, even stronger, the ability to forgive after that realization is an even stronger bond. It was very elegantly written.
With that life lesson, I’m off to bed. Tomorrow I’m biking to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, where I’ll hang out with Mike for the night!! (Looking forward to it!) Then one more day back into the city! I’m almost sad it’s ending, it’s been an awesome trip.
Bonus last lesson for those that made it to the end! Did you know that the Russians had a fort in California until the 1850’s? I learned that today. Fort Ross. I toured the Fort, along with a bunch of kids that were on a field trip. I think they got to sleep in the fort! (They also were all dressed from the period, so I’m glad I didn’t have to do that.)
