Friday, September 30, 2011

It Takes Three Bikes


Days 178 – 181, September 26 – 29, 2011 – It Takes Three Bikes

Route along River Road, Martinelli Road, and Hwy 116 – then South on Interstate 5 to Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego, CA with Ruby.



22 miles, averaging 14.3 mph - bicycling

Worst Moment – The realization that West County Revolution Bike Shop didn’t do a good job.  I had so wanted to like this small bike shop in Sebastopol, and will probably give them a chance to fix what was wrong, but I didn’t discover their faulty work until it was too late to do anything about it before the Ride In.

While riding around Sonoma County over the past few weeks, I began to notice small stress cracks in the Mavic rear wheel rim of the Cannondale.  This further attests to my belief that my road bikes aren’t built for cross-country riding.  (I had been using this bike since Erie, ND when the mud road disabled my touring bike.  I had made the appointment to get the touring bike fixed in Williston, ND the day of the Big Crash.)

I stopped at West County Revolution to hopefully get a new wheel set, or at the least a new rear wheel that would be compatible with the front wheel.  After a very long time of looking for a Mavic wheel that would be available before we left Guerneville, the bike technician, and the shop owner decided that it might be better to see what they had in stock.  The owner had a wheel that he hadn’t used much, it was true and the tech said that my cassette could be placed on the new rim.  Great!  We had some errands to run in Santa Rosa and could pick up the wheel in about an hour. Super!

I didn’t think too much about the quality of the work when I picked up the new rim and paid the $100, but knew I wanted to get in at least one ride before leaving Guerneville.  My hand had been fairly stiff and not riding seemed to be helping the swelling go down – so I haven’t been putting many miles in on two tires.  Plus there are a lot of things that needed to be done around the house like unpack boxes and take out our dock.

Finally on Tuesday, I was able to get away for a ride.  It was absolutely glorious to be on the bike again.  However there was an intermittent rattling sort of noise.  I checked the frame, the headset, the wheels, and finally the cassette.  The cassette that had just been installed by the bike shop was loose.  I wouldn’t be able to take it on the final ride of Bills Big Ride.  I brought out the Klein that has been my California bicycle for a number of years.  I will ride it on Sunday into Phoenix – my third bicycle of the Big Ride.

Best Moment – Riding and being able to use my left hand to shift again felt pretty good!

So during this trip I’ve been able to see some really super customer service and realized how it makes me as a customer feel.  Well, there are two incidents from our trip from Guerneville to San Diego that illustrate the difference between a WOW moment and an OKAY moment. 

First the WOW moment.  During our stay in Guerneville, we rented an economy car from Enterprise to get around and to help get things settled at home.  As I was returning the car, I mentioned that the front left tire was worn out and should be replaced.  The agent was so concerned and mentioned that we should have called when we noticed it and someone from Enterprise would have taken care of things – even if it meant bringing a new car to us.  I tried to let him know that it was no big deal since we weren’t going that far or planned to use the car a whole lot during the time we had it.  He told me that they were reducing the rate of the rental by 25% and here was a coupon for a free upgrade the next time we rented from Enterprise.  WOW, I wasn’t expecting anything and was very surprised at their concern and willingness to accommodate me.  Will I rent from Enterprise again?  You betcha!  Every chance I get!  Not only were they the low cost provider, and they had superior service.

The OKAY moment.  We stopped in Lebec, CA on our way to San Diego.  We saw a Motel 6 a bit further from the freeway and we thought it would be less noisy than the other choices.  It was quiet, but our room did not have hot water.  I called Mike at the front desk when we discovered it as we were getting ready to retire after a long day of driving Ruby.  (Neita had enough of Ruby for the day and didn’t want to have to try to find a campground and get set up.)  Mike agreed to put us in a different room, but that they would probably have the hot water fixed by morning.  We didn’t want to move at that time and said we’d check the water in the morning.

Well, as I was having coffee in the lobby, there were several other guests who mentioned that there was no hot water in their rooms.  The clerk apologized, but did nothing for these guests.  There were a few Motel 6 employees standing around and conversing about the problem with the boiler and why it would take so long to fix.  The problem wasn’t new and they knew about it.  Why book these rooms???  To make things even more of an only okay moment was that when I went back to the room, I checked for hot water again. No - only lukewarm.  I called the front desk and they sent down the maintenance guy to turn on our water and verify it was only lukewarm.  Then they opened a different room for us to shower in. 
Our luggage now

The big difference – Enterprise didn’t check to see that the front left tire was bad they believed me and did something positive at the moment. 

Please join me for the Billsbigride In on Sunday Oct 2.  Wear yellow – it is Livestrong Day.    If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Moving Out


Days 169 to 177, September 17 - 25, 2011 – Moving Out

Route from River Bend Campground to The Russian Bonita – Guerneville, CA

No bicycling

Worst Moment – No bicycling for over a week.  It seemed that the times I’ve tried to ride, have made my hand more swollen, so, I’ve not bicycled for over a week and I can’t really tell that this is helping things heal faster or not.  Of course, we’ve been moving and that probably hasn’t helped healing things.

Best Moment – The shower at home is the best of the entire trip.


Our Russian River home was rented through September 17, but you’d better believe that we were hear ready to start moving in at noon on Sunday – the check out time.   We’ve moved most of the stuff out of Ruby and stored her at an RV camp in Duncan’s Mills.  The River Bend Resort would charge us $20 a day to leave it there, while the other place is only $5 a day (or $50 a month.)





It was sort of disappointing to see the condition of our home.  The carpets were filthy, filthy, filthy.  We mentioned it to the cleaning person on duty Sunday, who agreed, but didn’t do anything to make it better.  When we mentioned it to the management company, they said that their head of housekeeping had told them to prepare us for the shock of the appalling condition of the flooring.  We had left Spot Shot for them to use, but the cans were still full.  Spot Shot really worked to get the worst of it looking better.  I still had to shampoo the carpets on Monday.

Chris had moved a load of boxes up here in June and I’ve been moving them from the basement to the kitchen where Neita is in charge of unpacking.  It is sort of amazing to see the stuff that we thought that we couldn’t live without, but haven’t missed for the last six months on the road.

This weekend is the Russian River Blues and Jazz Festival about a mile down river from us.  We can hear the music and get to watch the entertaining parade of boaters, rafters, and kayakers head down the river to get closer to the music.  Friday night there was an underpowered motorboat towing a barge downstream to be nearer where the action would be at Johnson’s Beach.  The barge had a huge bonfire burning on it with folks toasting marshmallows and themselves – all on the barge.  Every few hundred feet the boat would stall and the driver would curse, get it started again and continue slowly downstream. 

All things considered, it is good to be home.

Plans are in place for the “Ride-In” to where it all began on six months ago.  I will be riding 65 miles from Wickenburg to Paradise Valley on October 2 – exactly six months after the start.  I plan to arrive at 7815 N Ironwood, PV around 3 p.m.  It is fitting that October 2 is also Livestong Day and a day to wear yellow.  Please join me for the ride or consider joining us for a beer to celebrate this Big Ride. If you plan to join me for the ride, or just the post ride celebration, please drop me a line at billcomings@hotmail.com to let me know to expect you.   

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Not There Yet


Day 164 – 168, September 13 – 16, 2011, Not There, Yet

Route from campground to Duncan’s Mills, twice

54.7 miles, averaging 14.4 mph

Worst Moment – I’ve frequently thought about the stranger who bought my coffee in Shalotte, NC on day 60 of the Big Ride.  I wish that I could be more like her. 

I had the perfect opportunity today to provide a random act of kindness and didn’t take it.  At the bakery in Duncan’s Mills, the woman behind me in line was going to purchase one of their prepared sandwiches and presented her credit card for payment.  Well the bakery doesn’t take credit cards and the woman didn’t have cash.  They made her leave the sandwich on the counter.  I really should have offered to pay for her, and I even considered making the offer at the time, but I didn’t.  I realize that the kindness exhibited by the woman in North Carolina will take some work to nurture.  I am disappointed that I’m not there, yet. 

Best Moment – Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting at the Duncan’s Mills Bakery are amazing!

I didn’t ride for two days, hoping that my hand would start getting back to its normal size.  It still has a ways to go.  Then I did ride for two days and may have taken a step backwards.  Guess that healing things just take longer than I want to admit.  The good news is that I’m able to discern that there really are four knuckles on my left hand.  Also, typing two handedly is getting easier.  But it’s not there yet.

The road to Duncan’s Mills is wonderful.  Mostly flat, it follows the Russian River and provides wonderful views of the hills and homes on the river.  This really is a wonderful place!

Yesterday, I rode out by myself and took a detour up to Armstrong Woods – the state redwood preserve just outside of Guerneville.  Today, Neita joined me and we went to Duncan’s Mills and back.  As we rode closer to the coast around noon, we could see the fog waiting to pounce back into the river valley.  This happened both days and the temperature, which was just over 70 near Guerneville, plummeted to 59 at Duncan’s Mills.  To make things even more of a challenge, there was quite a headwind as we went west.  Then after our break, the wind seemed to be coming from the east.  Headwinds both coming and going – yuck.

The Big Ride into Phoenix is coming on October 2nd.  Stay tuned for details.   I will be riding from Wickenburg to where it all began in Paradise Valley, and would love for people to join me. 

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Wine Tasting


Day 163 & 164, September 11 & 12, 2011, Wine Tasting

Route – The Wine Road on Rocket and then to Healdsburg & back on bicycle



28.2 miles, averaging 14.7 mph

Worst Moment – Forgetting my camera for the winetasting on Sunday – I missed some really great shots.

Best Moment – Riding on Eastside Road into Healdsburg has to be one of the classic Sonoma County bike rides.  There’s very little traffic and beautiful views of the vineyards.

Neita and I took off on Rocket to check out some of the new wineries that have opened since we were last here for wine tasting a year ago.  On Westside Road alone, there were three new places and one with a new name. 

We checked all four out.  It was probably one of the most fun tastings that we’ve had.  We had four really great experiences – maybe this was because it was Sunday afternoon and things were sort of slow, or maybe it was the weather sort of cool and cloudy.  The staff seemed extra friendly and the guests talked to one another.  We even met some people who actually live in the area!

John Tyler was one of the wineries.  The “mom” – owner - who was in the tasting room, grew up at Korbel.  (Sort of a wonderful place to grow up.)  They had great wines too.  The tasting room had only been open 2 months. 

We went to VML – a winery that has had many different names since we’ve been coming up here.  Then we went to another new place Davero – they bottle and sell other winemakers wines, along with their own Italian varietals, but focus on olive oil production.  We tasted olive oil!  The last place we went to had been open barely one year and was closing this week.  Such is the nature of the business.

Today I thought I would try riding the loop on Eastside Road to Healdsburg and back on Westside Road.  While I loved the ride, my hand didn’t.  The pavement on Westside Road was very bumpy and there were a few tough hills.  I found that I’m not ready for longer rides.

Bills Big Ride In has been moved up to October 2.  I won’t be riding along any of the coast this time.  And while, this is very disappointing to me, I know neither my hand nor my psyche is ready for the challenges and traffic of Highway 1. I guess it is good to always have some challenge to look forward to in the future.   Who knows?

I do plan on bicycling into Phoenix from Wickenburg on October 2.  I would love to have anyone interested join me for all or part of the ride in.  And certainly join us for a celebration at the end of the adventure. So watch for the details to come. 

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Almost a Fist


Days 161 & 162, September 9 & 10, Almost a Fist

Route – from campground to Duncan’s Mills on River Road, then east on River Road to Martinelli Winery


47.3 miles, averaging 13.7 mph

Worst Moment – The bridge near Forestville is scary to ride across.

Best Moment – I was able to shift with the left hand.  I know that things are getting better. 

Even though I’ve been able to bicycle the past couple of days, my left hand is still pretty swollen, stiff, and sore.  It is uncomfortable to put too much pressure on the handlebars with it.  I am however nearly able to make a fist, so there is progress.

So the past few days, I’ve ridden around the area on fairly flat easy rides.  On Friday, I rode out to Duncan’s Mills, a very small town on the Russian River.  It used to have a railroad depot and lumber mill.  Now it has an RV Park, a few shops, a bakery, and the rodeo grounds.  It was a nice gentle ride along River Road, nearly to the ocean.  And while there weren’t lots of cars and trucks, what traffic there was, was quite unnerving.  I was glad to be able to ride on the much quieter Moscow Road (on the other side of the river) from Duncan’s Mills to Monte Rio.



Today, Neita and I decided to ride to Martinelli Winery.  This is one of our favorite tasting places.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic since it was Saturday.  The bridge over the river near Forestville has no shoulder to cycle on, nor does River Road for about half a mile after the bridge.  Again this was unnerving and very scary – especially for Neita. 


There is only one climb on the road, but it is a decent uphill.  This is where Neita’s gears stopped working.  After tasting some very delectable red wines, we were able to get Neita’s shifters to work properly and headed back to Ruby for some river time. 

Across the river from the RV Park, there are some gravely beaches where it is fun to view the canoeists, kayakers, and other river floaters from.  Duncan loves to retrieve his ball from the river as long as it is thrown up river, in an area where the current isn’t too swift, and the ball will float down to him. He is one tired puppy tonight.

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Interesting Camper Life


Day 159 & 160, September 7 & 8, Interesting Camper Life

Route – Around Guerneville & Armstrong Woods

17.7 miles, averaging 13.5 mph

Worst Moment – On Wednesday, Neita and I were going to cycle into Gureneville, when about 50 feet from the campground, Neita had a flat tire.  There was quite a lot of traffic in the area, so she decided to walk back to the campground and let me change her tire later when I got back.

Best Moment – I had been somewhat worried that with the broken hand, fixing flat tires would be difficult.  While never fun, I was able to fix Neita’s without too much difficulty.  Her tires are probably original to her bike and several years old.  Some road debris cut both tube and tire.  I patched her tube and put on a new tire.  Now she is ready to ride. 

Yesterday, I had a really great, albeit short ride into Guerneville.  It looks like there are a few new shops since we were here in March.  There is a new wine bar and other wine market.  Hopefully, the merchants in town had a good summer season.  I can only imagine what a struggle it must be for them the rest of the year.  There are tourists here much of the year, but in the winters, the focus is on the weekends at the wineries and the weather isn’t as wonderful as it is in summer.  The Russian River is a great place to kayak and canoe in summer, but not so wonderful after October or before June.

Today, was a really quiet day.  No bike ride.  I guess the biggest accomplishment of the day is that I fixed Ruby’s front door window.  With all of the bumps in the road, the caulking that kept the glass in place failed.  While the window didn’t fall out, it did slip and was always open about an inch.  After a trip to our local True Value Hardware Store in Guerneville on Rocket, I re-caulked the window and it looks like the seal is a good one.

We did take Rocket into town for dinner at our favorite in town place - Boon.  Now I understand why those motorcyclists I’ve seen are so bundled up with all of the clothing they wear.  Even though the temperatures were pleasant, the air was really chilly coming home in the early evening. 

We have seen some very interesting campers in our travels around the country, but there is one here, that wins for most unusual.  A couple arrived here in a big Mercedes and parked in one of the less shaded “tent sites.”   The woman got out of the car, opened two umbrellas and then positioned the open umbrellas in the tree near the site.  Later, they set up a tent and spent the night, though when I took Duncan for his evening walk, both people were sitting in the Mercedes with the headlights on.  The couple stayed two days in the site leaving during the day, taking the umbrellas with them, but repositioning them upon their return in the afternoon.   




If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

No More Splint


Day 157 & 158, September 5 & 6, 2011, No More Splint

Route from Reno, NV to River Bend Campground Resort, Guerneville, CA in Ruby and then to Healdsburg, CA via Rocket

Worst Moment – Driving over Donner’s Pass on Monday was terrible!  There was so much traffic, and the road was in ill repair or under construction.  I know that the driving really got to Neita – she was most happy to be close to our home in Guerneville.

Best Moment – Dr. Tomasin x-rayed my hand on Tuesday.  After looking at them, he told me that I no longer needed the splint and that I needed to start exercising the left hand to get back to being able to make a fist.  Yeah!!!

Leaving Reno on Monday probably wasn’t such a good idea.  The Burning Man was just concluding, there was the normal traffic and then all of the Labor Day traffic on top. The few miles from Reno to the California State Line were fine, but after the California Agriculture Inspection Station, the freeway was jammed with traffic.  In areas where there weren’t any cars entering the road, we moved okay, but when anyone needed to merge, the traffic stopped still.  It took us just over 5 hours to get here. And that was with a stop in Santa Rosa to resupply.

We are camped high above the Russian River, but can still look down the banks to see the water.  After everything was set up, I unloaded the bikes and Rocket.  I wanted to be sure that I could drive it in order to get Healdsburg today.  It was a bit difficult with the splint, but manageable.
    

I took Rocked out this morning early to be able to get to the doctor’s appointment by 10:30.  Riding along Westside Road into Healdsburg, I went past all of our favorite wineries.  There are a few new ones that we’ll need to visit.  The doctor, an ex-rugger, indicated that injuries like mine are a balance act – one doesn’t want to stay immobile for too long, or the rehabilitation becomes as much of an issue as the break.  My hand is still quite swollen and very stiff, but I am to work it to regain the ability to make a fist.  (I can even type using both hands now – sort of.)  He said that when I felt safe, it was okay to start bicycling again.  I’m probably going on an easy ride tomorrow to see how things go. 

The Rocket ride back to Forestville was a whole lot easier without the splint.  Neita and I went to Korbel’s for a celebratory champagne lunch!  I’m still hoping to be able to ride south from here on at least part of the coast. 


I’ll most likely not cycle all of the way back to Phoenix.  There are a few dates in place that will keep me from taking all of the time needed to cycle.  Mainly, when Neita agreed to come with me on this adventure, she agreed to the time from April 2nd to October 9th- no longer.  I need to finish the ride no later than that.    

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Monday, September 5, 2011

In Awe of Neita


Day 155 & 156, September 3 & 4, 2011, In Awe of Neita

Route from Jackson Hole Campground to Twin Falls, ID KOA and onto Reno, NV KOA

Worst Moment – It was more than a little disheartening to leave Jackson in Ruby instead of on a bicycle.  I’d been looking forward to either cycling into or out of Jackson, and as things turned out, I didn’t get to do either.

Best Moment – I am looking forward to getting to California tomorrow, doing some cycling and hopefully healing enough to be able to continue the ride from there.  (I could still complete 75% of the perimeter.)  I’ve always wanted to cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge – so I’ve got that to look forward to.

We got a bit of a late start leaving Jackson.  It seems that the hydraulic jacks that help stabilize Ruby and work to keep things level didn’t want to retract.  After a good spray of WD-40, they went right up.  Too bad that we didn’t try that sooner.  Neita had complained about how reluctant the jacks were in going up.

 Duncan's ready to travel

We drove along the Snake River all of the way to Twin Falls.  It was a very scenic drive, and not much longer than we would have driven had we decided to tackle Teton Pass.   The Snake flows into the Columbia River and provides Idaho with source of water for the irrigated farmlands that were ripe with wheat and full of the famous Idaho Spuds.


The Twin Falls KOA was amazing.  When I checked in, I was told that we could order dinner delivered to our site from their own cafe – who would have ever considered room service at a campground!?!?  (The special was meatloaf.)  They had lots of activity for families during the Labor Day weekend.  There was an opportunity to tie-dye t-shirts, go to an ice cream social, and even make s’mores at their campfire.  Pretty cool, but the ice cream in Hayward, WI was still much better.    


Today was a long day for Neita.  We drove nearly 500 miles from Twin Falls, ID to the KOA west of Reno, NV.  She drove Ruby through the construction zones, through the traffic in Sparks and Reno, on the Interstate, and on the narrow two-lane road.  She is a pro! The scenery was desert boring until the Reno area.

After such a long driving day, we took the campground’s shuttle to the Boomtown Casino for dinner at their steakhouse.  The dinner was great and there were lots of people to watch at the casino.  Fun.


Tomorrow’s Guerneville!!

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Last Night in Jackson


Day 153 & 154, September 1 & 2, 2011, Last Night in Jackson

Route around Wilson, WY, on Fish River and Fall River Roads.




24.8 miles, averaging 14.7 mph

Worst Moment – On the incredibly beautiful Fall River Road, just west of Wilson, I realized that I really need to have this hand healed before I can consider any serious cycling.  The road had a fair amount of hills so it would have been nice to be able to shift and brake with my left hand, but even worse is that I don’t have the stability on the bike because of the splint and my inability to put weight on the left hand.

Best Moment – Thursday evening, Neita and I had another wonderful dinner at the Snake River Grill in Jackson.  I had the blackberry pie with caramel ice cream for dessert.

While looking for bicycle paths around Jackson, I saw that there was a road that sort of followed the Snake River on its north side for several miles before the pavement ended.  It was a recommended bicycle path.  On Thursday, I decided to give it a try.  The photos don’t even come close to showing the beauty of the area.  I would have certainly followed the road to the end had I not been wary about my ability to adequately control the bike on the hills both up and down. 

It is really starting to get cold in Jackson.  This morning it was 32 when I woke up and similar temperatures are forecast for tonight.  Seems like there was a switch thrown somewhere at the end of August.  Even the daytime temperatures, which had been in the eighties, are now in the low 70’s and even the 60’s.

I washed the red, lower part of Ruby this afternoon.  This was the first time since leaving Phoenix in April that Ruby has had a bath.  The white upper part doesn’t show the dirt as much, but the red was a different story.  Wow, it looks almost new!

Tomorrow we head for Twin Falls, Id and then on to Reno, NV before arriving in Guerneville, CA on Monday.  We’ll be in an RV park on the river until we are able to actually have our house starting on September 18th.   I have an appointment with another orthopedic doctor on Tuesday for evaluation to see how the breaks are healing.  Hopefully, I’ll be out of his cast soon and can start retraining for the Big Ride to continue – at least from Guerneville down the coast.

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.