I'm up and ready to go before dawn but I hold back until its bright. I'm worried this road. Its so fast and dangerous I want the Sun to be up so that I'm as visible as possible to the motorists who will be flying past me.
Already its busy with commuters as I join the road. Everybody is heading to work down in Sacramento. They must have great jobs because by Jaysus, they aint hanging back. I'm pumped this morning. there's nerves and adrenalin flying. I push as fast as can along the hard shoulder. The rising sun is a fantastic orange ball as it rises but its too dangerous to stop and take a photo. I'm quite edgy on this road. This is the most dangerous road I've been on. I'm in alien territory here. I'm not welcome here and the motorists aren't slow to let me know. These are the most agressive drivers I've encountered. I try to ignore them and push, push, push to make as much ground as I can. The gas thing is I'm not even on the road. I'm well in on a wide hard shoulder. There's a lot of debris on the roadside and as moving as fast as I can I do well to avoid the broken glass and broken debris which will surely give me a dreaded puncture.
One driver tries to intimidate me by swerving towards me over the line and rumble strip. I'm too pumped with adrenalin to care. He merely infuriates me. I give him the 'salute'. Its not enjoyable at all. I'm nervous, my temper is on a hair trigger. I'm getting to Calistoga tonight and nothing is going to stop me. If any motorist wants to try it on with me I will be more than happy to put a rock through their windscreen. I'm totally defiant towards the motorists. In that frame of mind I was going to stand my ground to the end. Its scary to think thats what I was thinking but at that particular moment thats how I felt. It was weird. Its like I was a different person. Bottom line, I shouldn't have been on that road at all but on my map it was the only one showing. Plus, it wasn't an interstate so I felt I had every right to be there. I was only half-right. Technically I was right. In reality I was wrong
Towards Sacramento the traffic got heavier and heavier. I hated this road. Then I got a puncture. As I fixed the wheel a highway patrolman pulled alongside and asked what I was doing there. I replied that I'd stopped to take a leak!! (no I didn't, but I wanted to). I told him I was going to Calistoga. He said I wasn't allowed on this road and that he should be citing me for being on the road illegally. I told him I'd been following this highway for over 500 miles since I'd left Delta in Utah and that at no point did I see any signs saying I couldn't be on the road. I told him I'd stayed in Placerville last night and that when I joined the road this morning there was nothing at the junction to say bikes couldn't be there (which is the case when you join an interstate).
The patrolman was actually sound and he gave me directions to a cycle path into town which ran by a river and was a lot quieter than the road I was on. By comparison the cycle path, which ran through a public park was a quiet haven. I could relax in the leafy shade of the park. The only traffic now was fellow cycists, loads of them and runners. Twice more the rear wheel went flat, which riled me. Thankfully other cyclists would pull alongside to say hello and ask where I was going to. This pulled me out of my mood and lightened my temper.
One guy accompanied me the last few miles into town, happy to chat away. When he heard that I'd been at the start of the Pony Express in Missouri he brought me to get a photo of a memorial to the terminal of the route here. It happened to be slap bang in a beautiful, old historic centre of Sacramento. I was delighted. This was an unexpected bonus as, alone I would have cycled straight past and never known about this area. I stopped here for a break and explore the old streets and buildings of the Historic district which date back to the 1850's. I was happy now.
Sacramento is the state capital of California. I didn't know this. This where the 'Governator' Arnold Schwazenegger goes to work now. There were some good t-shirts dedicated to him. One black one showed his head as the Terminator with the logo 'say no to girlie men'. Its weird, you actually read that line in his accent!
By midday I had to get moving. The next 11 miles out of Sacramento to the next town, Davis, had to be done on a cycle path as the only road out was interstate 80. After crossing into West Sacramento the cycle path was easily found on the edge of town. I headed for Davis. The heat was up by now. Down at sea level the 40 degree heat feels a lot hotter than at 7,000ft. I was glad to get into the petrol station at Davis to cool down. I knocked back a litre of gatorade and bought another one for the road. By now, the water I was carrying was horribly warm.
I was cycling across the Sacramento valley which, at this point was a flat, hazy plain. The next town up was called Winters, about 13 miles away. Along the way mountains began to appear through the dusty haze. I wasn't expecting this. I knew there were hills beyond Winters but I wasn't expecting them to be so big, or at least, they appeared big. I didn't like the look of them at all.
Along this stretch of the valley there were a lot of fruit orchards. This was novel. Eventhough it felt hotter here in this valley, I'd definitely left the desrt behind. The heat began to get to me. It was one of those days I felt I was melting away. The heat just sucks away your energy. I had to stop to drink another bottle. I stood under a fruit tree to get some shelter but had to move on quickly as the sweat began to roll off me. A couple of miles further I stopped at a petrol station on the edge of Winters to get an ice sludge drink to try and cool down. I phoned Damian to let him know where I was as he was expecting me. I wondered would he like to meet me in the car......... perhaps....... maybe?? Damian said sure. He'd come out as soon as he finished up in the office. I pushed on for those hills.
From Winters the road began to rise wind its way into the hills. The scenery here was beautiful. The road narrowed as it followed a small river valley which flowed from the hills out onto the plain. There was no hard shoulder now and I had to share the road with fast moving traffic as the steep sided hills towered overhead. I had been warned about this road by the cyclists in Sacramento. It became slightly unnerving as cars flew up and down the road, many towing motorboats up to lake Berryessa, a resevoir, high up in the hills.
Soon the road rose sharply to make the climb up to lake Berryessa. There were a lot of blind bends here. After a few hundred meters and three close calls with speeding traffic I decided to go back to an RV campground I'd just passed. Knowing that Damian would be on the road soon I reckoned it would be a lot safer for both of us to meet there. I sat down by the campground, switched off and relaxed until Damian came along. It was great when he arrived. We hadn't seen each other for about 16yrs. A fellow sky blue fan, there he was in the latest Coventry City top. 'Hey, hey, go on the Sky Blues!! He hadn't changed at all since our youth, he'd filled out a wee bit, but nothing excessive. Cool car aswell. I would enter Calistoga in style. It didn't feel like 16yrs since we'd last seen each other and the conversation basically picked up again where it had left off in 199?
Beyond lake Berryessa grape vines began to appear either side of the road and we entered the famous Napa valley with its many wineries. Calistoga sits at the top of the valley. We cruised into town. With an overwhelming sense of relief I brought my gear into Damian's house. I don't think he realised just how relieved I was to be there. I don't think I did either, to be honest.
Only one more leg to the coast!!
Already its busy with commuters as I join the road. Everybody is heading to work down in Sacramento. They must have great jobs because by Jaysus, they aint hanging back. I'm pumped this morning. there's nerves and adrenalin flying. I push as fast as can along the hard shoulder. The rising sun is a fantastic orange ball as it rises but its too dangerous to stop and take a photo. I'm quite edgy on this road. This is the most dangerous road I've been on. I'm in alien territory here. I'm not welcome here and the motorists aren't slow to let me know. These are the most agressive drivers I've encountered. I try to ignore them and push, push, push to make as much ground as I can. The gas thing is I'm not even on the road. I'm well in on a wide hard shoulder. There's a lot of debris on the roadside and as moving as fast as I can I do well to avoid the broken glass and broken debris which will surely give me a dreaded puncture.
One driver tries to intimidate me by swerving towards me over the line and rumble strip. I'm too pumped with adrenalin to care. He merely infuriates me. I give him the 'salute'. Its not enjoyable at all. I'm nervous, my temper is on a hair trigger. I'm getting to Calistoga tonight and nothing is going to stop me. If any motorist wants to try it on with me I will be more than happy to put a rock through their windscreen. I'm totally defiant towards the motorists. In that frame of mind I was going to stand my ground to the end. Its scary to think thats what I was thinking but at that particular moment thats how I felt. It was weird. Its like I was a different person. Bottom line, I shouldn't have been on that road at all but on my map it was the only one showing. Plus, it wasn't an interstate so I felt I had every right to be there. I was only half-right. Technically I was right. In reality I was wrong
Towards Sacramento the traffic got heavier and heavier. I hated this road. Then I got a puncture. As I fixed the wheel a highway patrolman pulled alongside and asked what I was doing there. I replied that I'd stopped to take a leak!! (no I didn't, but I wanted to). I told him I was going to Calistoga. He said I wasn't allowed on this road and that he should be citing me for being on the road illegally. I told him I'd been following this highway for over 500 miles since I'd left Delta in Utah and that at no point did I see any signs saying I couldn't be on the road. I told him I'd stayed in Placerville last night and that when I joined the road this morning there was nothing at the junction to say bikes couldn't be there (which is the case when you join an interstate).
The patrolman was actually sound and he gave me directions to a cycle path into town which ran by a river and was a lot quieter than the road I was on. By comparison the cycle path, which ran through a public park was a quiet haven. I could relax in the leafy shade of the park. The only traffic now was fellow cycists, loads of them and runners. Twice more the rear wheel went flat, which riled me. Thankfully other cyclists would pull alongside to say hello and ask where I was going to. This pulled me out of my mood and lightened my temper.
One guy accompanied me the last few miles into town, happy to chat away. When he heard that I'd been at the start of the Pony Express in Missouri he brought me to get a photo of a memorial to the terminal of the route here. It happened to be slap bang in a beautiful, old historic centre of Sacramento. I was delighted. This was an unexpected bonus as, alone I would have cycled straight past and never known about this area. I stopped here for a break and explore the old streets and buildings of the Historic district which date back to the 1850's. I was happy now.
Sacramento is the state capital of California. I didn't know this. This where the 'Governator' Arnold Schwazenegger goes to work now. There were some good t-shirts dedicated to him. One black one showed his head as the Terminator with the logo 'say no to girlie men'. Its weird, you actually read that line in his accent!
By midday I had to get moving. The next 11 miles out of Sacramento to the next town, Davis, had to be done on a cycle path as the only road out was interstate 80. After crossing into West Sacramento the cycle path was easily found on the edge of town. I headed for Davis. The heat was up by now. Down at sea level the 40 degree heat feels a lot hotter than at 7,000ft. I was glad to get into the petrol station at Davis to cool down. I knocked back a litre of gatorade and bought another one for the road. By now, the water I was carrying was horribly warm.
I was cycling across the Sacramento valley which, at this point was a flat, hazy plain. The next town up was called Winters, about 13 miles away. Along the way mountains began to appear through the dusty haze. I wasn't expecting this. I knew there were hills beyond Winters but I wasn't expecting them to be so big, or at least, they appeared big. I didn't like the look of them at all.
Along this stretch of the valley there were a lot of fruit orchards. This was novel. Eventhough it felt hotter here in this valley, I'd definitely left the desrt behind. The heat began to get to me. It was one of those days I felt I was melting away. The heat just sucks away your energy. I had to stop to drink another bottle. I stood under a fruit tree to get some shelter but had to move on quickly as the sweat began to roll off me. A couple of miles further I stopped at a petrol station on the edge of Winters to get an ice sludge drink to try and cool down. I phoned Damian to let him know where I was as he was expecting me. I wondered would he like to meet me in the car......... perhaps....... maybe?? Damian said sure. He'd come out as soon as he finished up in the office. I pushed on for those hills.
From Winters the road began to rise wind its way into the hills. The scenery here was beautiful. The road narrowed as it followed a small river valley which flowed from the hills out onto the plain. There was no hard shoulder now and I had to share the road with fast moving traffic as the steep sided hills towered overhead. I had been warned about this road by the cyclists in Sacramento. It became slightly unnerving as cars flew up and down the road, many towing motorboats up to lake Berryessa, a resevoir, high up in the hills.
Soon the road rose sharply to make the climb up to lake Berryessa. There were a lot of blind bends here. After a few hundred meters and three close calls with speeding traffic I decided to go back to an RV campground I'd just passed. Knowing that Damian would be on the road soon I reckoned it would be a lot safer for both of us to meet there. I sat down by the campground, switched off and relaxed until Damian came along. It was great when he arrived. We hadn't seen each other for about 16yrs. A fellow sky blue fan, there he was in the latest Coventry City top. 'Hey, hey, go on the Sky Blues!! He hadn't changed at all since our youth, he'd filled out a wee bit, but nothing excessive. Cool car aswell. I would enter Calistoga in style. It didn't feel like 16yrs since we'd last seen each other and the conversation basically picked up again where it had left off in 199?
Beyond lake Berryessa grape vines began to appear either side of the road and we entered the famous Napa valley with its many wineries. Calistoga sits at the top of the valley. We cruised into town. With an overwhelming sense of relief I brought my gear into Damian's house. I don't think he realised just how relieved I was to be there. I don't think I did either, to be honest.
Only one more leg to the coast!!
Fran
ReplyDelete"He hadn't changed at all since our youth, he'd filled out a wee bit, but nothing excessive."
Filled out a wee bit? I'd prefer bulked out, musclebound, or similar :-)
Damian (Bigmac) Gilheaney