We awaken to cool temperatures and overcast skies. Hmmm, this seems a bit like France…..
We’re our usual bumbling selves as we have breakfast and then pack the van for the day. As expected, we get going late. We finally get the whole morning-pack process down by the end of the trip, but we bumble, stumble, and trip over each other for an hour. Dave sags in the morning.
About 4 KM into the day’s ride club rolls onto our path and rides in front of us. No one chases so I guess it’s up to me to bring them back. I hammer for about 2 KM and finally catch them. A few of them notice that I had caught them but it’s bad form to latch onto a club ride without asking before the ride so I backed off and waited for my group.
Then about 1 KM after Terry, Robin and Dick catch me – Boom! I picked up a piece of metal and it whipped around my rear wheel until I skidded to a stop before the tire fell off. This was our first flat in four trips with the gang. I quickly changed the flat and used a new tube. That evening I tried to fix the tube that had flatted but it was trashed. I usually like to ride a new tube for than a week before trashing it. Bummer.
At 11:15 we stopped and chatted and decided to take a diversion up Geysers Rd. We rode along with another gentleman for a few miles and he mentioned that the back side of Geysers Rd is rather bad so we planned on riding up as far as we could for 45 minutes and then return back down.
Terry, Robin and I actually made it to the top right at noon and descended back down to meet Dave at the bottom of the hill. It was a short (6 KM) climb but rather steep on the second half. Robin measured 13 – 15% gradient in some sections. It sure felt like it, especially in the hot sun.
Dick took over sag duties for the remainder of the day. Dave and Robin make a bee-line to the lunch spot at Lake Sonoma. Terry decided he needed a few more miles so I followed him further up the Hwy 101 frontage road and double back on the west side and meet the boys 30 minutes later.
The day turned out to be rather warm. Bank thermometers were reading 92 degrees in the hot sun, and we had another 80 KM to go and another good climb between Cloverdale and Hopland. Cloverdale was having some summer festival and the downtown was closed to vehicle traffic but we wound our way through the crowds.
Nasty hot. Terry, Robin and I drop Dave and meet Dick in Hopland for a water break. Dave is about 30 minutes behind us. All we had to do was cross Hwy 101 onto Hwy 175 and take the back roads to Ukiah.
Unfortunately, we all missed the turn off and continue up Hwy 101 for a few kilometers. Nasty road. I stopped Robin and Terry and ask if we were supposed to be on 101 for that long and they didn’t think so but there was no turn off for another mile. We’re lost. On Hwy 101. On bicycles. Crap.
By this time Dave had caught Dick and re-hydrated and continued on the correct road to Ukiah. In the meantime the three of us tried to find a way off Hwy 101 and onto the back road. All we had to do is cross a dried up river and then onto the road. But nothing.
I finally flagged down a gentlemen driving a pickup truck out of a winery and talked to him.
Me, “we’re lost.”
Him, “what do you mean, you’re on Hwy 101, you can’t be lost.”
Me, “well, we screwed up, we’re supposed to be on Old River Road, but we missed the turn-off.”
Him, “Old River Road is just through those trees and over that dried up river bed.”
Me, “but we’re on bicycles and in cycling clothes.”
Him, “You’re lost.”
I asked for a ride back to Hopland. He obliged but had to drop some equipment off from the back of his truck and would return in 10 minutes. We waited…. Robin called and called and called and finally contacted Dave who finally made to Dick with the van. He convinced Dick to drive up and get him and take him back to Hopland.
In the meantime, Dave trudges on from Hopland on the correct route. The gentleman with the pickup truck returned and Terry and I loaded our bikes into the back and climbed into the front. As we returned to Hopland, we met Dick who retrieved Robin. All three of us gathered back at Hopland and took off for Ukiah – on the correct road.
I led the group on a fast pace; we already had 80 miles in for the day, most of it in 90+ degree heat. Terry dropped off after a few miles due to leg cramps and then Robin. I made it to Ukiah and waited for Robin and Terry. The three of us trudged slowly to the hotel where David had been waiting for about 30 minutes.
We were beat. 100 miles, 5700 ft climbing, 90+ temps. Morale was pretty low, and on the first day. Ouch. Fortunately, we found a good brewpub in Ukiah that served good food and had interesting clientele. It seemed like the hangout for the counter culture – of all ages. It was good to see 60ish hippies hanging out with the 20-something Bohemians in the same setting.
We drank and ate our fill and left as some local band was setting up to play and put a damper on any conversation.
Day totals:
Start: Santa Rosa
End: Ukiah
Distance: 98 miles
Climbs: Geysers Rd, Mountain House Rd.
Total gain: 5738 ft.
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