Anyone For Abalone?

The wind that had ended the ride yesterday was gearing up again for today’s ride. Something I was very pleased to see. Perhaps that was the motivation to get started early today. Whatever it was, I was on the road by 7:45 and arrived in Westport by 8:00.

Jamie had done an extra trip into town last night in the hopes of find food for him and Tess. It was only a mildly successful endeavour as Westport is another town with very few services. Remarkably, WiFi is one of them. Not super fast WiFi but free WiFi – something that’s been quite the luxury item of late. I wasn’t about to pull out my laptop and start working but I was able to update my maps and check some e-mails.

The next major town along the route was Fort Bragg and it was full of services including a library. I was hoping for a library as I needed to do a bit of real work and I find libraries are good for that.

I ended up working away for about four hours at the library before I realized I once again had no plan for tonight. I turned my focus to the Warm Showers website in the hopes of a last minute availability. That didn’t exactly happen. I knew Jamie & Tess had manage to find a host about 45 km south of Fort Bragg and they suggested I might be able to stay there. I sent a request. I received no reply. I needed a new plan.

A search of campgrounds in the area revealed that Van Damme Campground had Hiker/Biker sites and was only 15 km away. I had a plan. However, there was also a pre-plan that I need to address. Food. Fortunately, there’s a Subway in Fort Bragg. And it’s a VERY busy place. I don’t know if the long weekend played a role, but it was definitely the busiest and noisiest Subway thus far. They had a full complement of Sandwich Artists whipping up subs at a truly impressive speed. Oh, and yes – they had sourdough bread.

I returned to the road with a tailwind at my back and the sun edging its way closer to the horizon. I still had lots of time to get to the campground and it made the views even more beautiful.

I stopped about 5 km from the campground to double-check I was getting close. I was. That’s when a strange thing happened. I received a text. Normally, that might not seem too strange; however, my only texting capabilities at the moment are strictly WiFi based. And I didn’t have a WiFi connection. That said, a text came in which read, “Yes, come join the party.” It was from Judy, a Warm Showers host. My 5 km ride to the campground was now a 35 km ride to Elk, CA.

The next 90 minutes were spent cycling along the California coast with the wind at my back and the sunsetting to my right. Yes, that’s about the happiest sounding sentence I’ve typed in a while.

There was a full house of people when I arrived at Judy’s. There was Judy and her dad, Rusty. There was Nick, Dan, Steve, Mark and a whole lot more but I’m sad to say i can’t remember all the names. It would seem it was a good time to arrive as a feast was being prepared and was, in fact, almost ready.

The feast included abalone (which I’d never heard of), potato salad, vegetables, and strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert. Much better than the bagels and peanut butter I had planned for myself had I been camping. The evening also included a singalong led by Judy and Rusty of various folk songs – most of which were of the amusing kind. Fortunately the cyclists were not forced to sing. I can’t speak for Jamie & Tess, but any singing attempts on my part would fall into the cruel and unusual punishment category.

Side note: the house we were in was very cool and it had the largest door I think I’ve ever seen on a house. Kind of makes me wonder why I didn’t take a photo. Well, trust me. It was big. I’m not kidding. The whole side wall of the house was a sliding door. Really.

I realized too late that I should’ve taken a group photo of everyone. Sadly, people started to leave and before I knew it the group photo option was gone. At least Judy, Rusty, and Nick were still there (plus Jamie & Tess). So, we ended up getting a mini-group photo.

The walk from the house to our accommodations revealed an unbelievably starry night. It was stunning. It made for a much slower walk and it was absolutely worth it.

My final task for the night, other than this update, was to finish off some cookies before bed. Not so much because I wanted them … well, I did want them … but I figured the fresh factor of said cookies would be gone if I left them until morning. So, I did the only responsible thing I could. I ate them all.
Cookies before bed. I can think of much worse ways to end a day. Fortunately, today I don’t have to.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 68.50 km
Ride time: 3:30:09
Average speed: 19.55 km/h
Maximum speed: 57.46 km/h