This updated maps showes where we camped (green camping icon) where we hit up a motel (red bed icon) and where we stayed with relatives (yellow house icon).
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109894115411202227411.0004566942a58f7bd7c9e&ll=42.081917,-122.096558&spn=2.800728,5.20752&z=8
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
SAN DIEGO!!!!
Well, WE MADE IT!!!! After about 1,140 miles of biking, almost a full month of camping mixed in with a few motels and family visits, we made it to San Diego!!!
The ending was pretty weird for me. We took 3 days off In Brea CA visiting Dan's Grandma which was very nice, but removed us from the biking portion of the trip!!! Which was very good for our soar muscles, but kinda made me forget about all the biking we did and the little portion we had to go!
But that didn't matter, we took off from Brea Tuesday with a little help from Dan's Aunt Shannon and cousin Jenny, how made the trek to Newport beach much easier (thank youu!!!!) Tuesday we biked to San Clemente, a nice short day of biking. But we had one more big day to go!
Wednesday was an interesting last day, we got an early start because believe it or not we had to bike through Camp Pendleton (the marine corps base). It was either that of bike on The 5 (big freeway out here...no thanks!) So camp Pendleton opened at 9, we biked 10 miles to get there on time and rode through the base. Very desolate, weird we saw tank crossing signs and we actually some groups practicing and could hear guns firing. So we got throught the camp and rode on towards San Diego. We thought we had plently of time so midday when I saw a smoothie sign I had to stop! We got a good last lunch, sandwhiches complete with Avacado (had to get a couple more in while in CA!!!)
So we had one more hill that thank goodness we heard about through other people, not to to bad probably about a 2 mi climb up. Nothing horrible, but it wa sooooo hot out so it took a little out of the body! So the time ticked by we were supposed to meet Dan's aunts at Hotel Del at 5. Well at about 4:45 we hit the bike ferry (we had to take that from San Diego to Cornado) long story short we took the ferry and the aunts picked us up at the other side! Super nice, we didn't actuall know we weere done biking until we talked to them on the ferry (nice surprise)
They treated us to a fantastic Mexican dinner in Old San Diego. We started our trip with Mexican, ended Laura's with Mexican then finally ours!!! They also made us shirts that say Crescent city to Cornado 2008 (Laura we have one for you that says to San Louis!!!) They are so nice
So we are done, my bike is apart and in a box to accompany me back on the plane tomorrow. I don't feel like we are done, but I was ready. MY butt was bothering me, my neck and shoulders and two of my fingers have been numb for the last month. But other than that it was a blast and I would do it again in a second! Except I'd try to tell CA they need wider shoulders on the rodes in some parts and deffinitly get a comfier seat and higher up hnadle bars haha! but besides that we all had a good time!
Oh and today, our last day in CA I finally had IN and Out burger for the first and I am happy to say hopefully not the last time! (yes laura I fianlly tried it!!!) It was acutally good, espcially the milk shake. Who knew they made neopolitan milk shakes?!?!
So we are packing up getting ready to go. Tonight we have Dan's grandmas bday celebration to attend which should be lots of fun with all of the Delaney fam.
We head back tomorrow, lots of pictures to come!
Liz
ps- no i don't proof read my blog entries so just sound out the words....i've always been horrible at spelling
The ending was pretty weird for me. We took 3 days off In Brea CA visiting Dan's Grandma which was very nice, but removed us from the biking portion of the trip!!! Which was very good for our soar muscles, but kinda made me forget about all the biking we did and the little portion we had to go!
But that didn't matter, we took off from Brea Tuesday with a little help from Dan's Aunt Shannon and cousin Jenny, how made the trek to Newport beach much easier (thank youu!!!!) Tuesday we biked to San Clemente, a nice short day of biking. But we had one more big day to go!
Wednesday was an interesting last day, we got an early start because believe it or not we had to bike through Camp Pendleton (the marine corps base). It was either that of bike on The 5 (big freeway out here...no thanks!) So camp Pendleton opened at 9, we biked 10 miles to get there on time and rode through the base. Very desolate, weird we saw tank crossing signs and we actually some groups practicing and could hear guns firing. So we got throught the camp and rode on towards San Diego. We thought we had plently of time so midday when I saw a smoothie sign I had to stop! We got a good last lunch, sandwhiches complete with Avacado (had to get a couple more in while in CA!!!)
So we had one more hill that thank goodness we heard about through other people, not to to bad probably about a 2 mi climb up. Nothing horrible, but it wa sooooo hot out so it took a little out of the body! So the time ticked by we were supposed to meet Dan's aunts at Hotel Del at 5. Well at about 4:45 we hit the bike ferry (we had to take that from San Diego to Cornado) long story short we took the ferry and the aunts picked us up at the other side! Super nice, we didn't actuall know we weere done biking until we talked to them on the ferry (nice surprise)
They treated us to a fantastic Mexican dinner in Old San Diego. We started our trip with Mexican, ended Laura's with Mexican then finally ours!!! They also made us shirts that say Crescent city to Cornado 2008 (Laura we have one for you that says to San Louis!!!) They are so nice
So we are done, my bike is apart and in a box to accompany me back on the plane tomorrow. I don't feel like we are done, but I was ready. MY butt was bothering me, my neck and shoulders and two of my fingers have been numb for the last month. But other than that it was a blast and I would do it again in a second! Except I'd try to tell CA they need wider shoulders on the rodes in some parts and deffinitly get a comfier seat and higher up hnadle bars haha! but besides that we all had a good time!
Oh and today, our last day in CA I finally had IN and Out burger for the first and I am happy to say hopefully not the last time! (yes laura I fianlly tried it!!!) It was acutally good, espcially the milk shake. Who knew they made neopolitan milk shakes?!?!
So we are packing up getting ready to go. Tonight we have Dan's grandmas bday celebration to attend which should be lots of fun with all of the Delaney fam.
We head back tomorrow, lots of pictures to come!
Liz
ps- no i don't proof read my blog entries so just sound out the words....i've always been horrible at spelling
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Manhattan Beach
Well we had a nice rest day here in CA! I had my first California beach experience and I thought I was going to drown in those monster waves. But I made it.....barely in and out of the ocean haha. We had a great day around the city, went out for a nice lunch. I had a sandwich with pineapple and avocado on it so I thought that was pretty exciting! Had a great dinner with Dan's aunt and uncle's family. First home cooked meal in awhile and it was delicious!
So back on the road tomorrow. I am praying that I'll make it...haha...no but seriously I am hurting. Surprisingly my legs are fine, it is totaly my back and neck. But we have Dan's Grandma's to look forward to tomorrow night, so it'll be great to have a home destination!
We plan on taking a few days off in Brea. Hopefully we will meet up with my cousins! Lots more of Dan's family, hit El Farlito for some delicious Mexican food I have been hearing about and if we have it planned right hit Disney Land on Monday...yayyy!
Tuesday and Wednesday we plan to finish the ride. I think we might get a little lazy and ship our camping stuff home and motel it the night in between.....sounds good to me!
So tomorrow we are off again....biking....as long as I can get out of bed in the morning...
Liz
So back on the road tomorrow. I am praying that I'll make it...haha...no but seriously I am hurting. Surprisingly my legs are fine, it is totaly my back and neck. But we have Dan's Grandma's to look forward to tomorrow night, so it'll be great to have a home destination!
We plan on taking a few days off in Brea. Hopefully we will meet up with my cousins! Lots more of Dan's family, hit El Farlito for some delicious Mexican food I have been hearing about and if we have it planned right hit Disney Land on Monday...yayyy!
Tuesday and Wednesday we plan to finish the ride. I think we might get a little lazy and ship our camping stuff home and motel it the night in between.....sounds good to me!
So tomorrow we are off again....biking....as long as I can get out of bed in the morning...
Liz
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
We have reached LA!
Alrightie so Dan and I have had quite an adventure since we departed San Louis Obispo without Laura :(.
So we left Laura on Monday. Ridding without her was weird, we felt like we had lost our mother hen. But we had a big day ahead of us so we rode on. Monday was the first of what I like to call the Lompoc Twins.....aka the two big hills we had left. The ride started our great through more fields of vegtables. We made it to Guadalope before noon with more than 30 mi under our belts. But we still had the big hill to come! Either we got in better shape or the hill wasen't to big, because it wasn't that bad. The worst parts of it were; my butt was killing me (guess I didn't put enough cream on), it was super hot, and it was super curvy! After the hill we sailed downhill and got to our second motel in a row by 2:30. The rest was needed. We imediatly found a grocery store, bought a couple bags of chips, drinks, and sat on the curb and ate.....hahaha! This was followed by italian ordered out from down the street and monday night football, my favorite part about this was that the game is on earlier since we are on the west coast.
Alright so Tuesday, now this was a day! We had our last major uphill aka the second Lompoc Twin in the morning, again not so bad....just hotttt....which lead Dan to bike without a shirt, a little blinding but I guess it helped him ventalate. So after a rural morning we hit the highway, yes the highway. We even got to stop at a rest stop! We were on the highway for 24 mi! It wasen't that bad, there was a huge shoulder, just lots of glass and whizzing cars. So we made it by the highway, made it through Ventura and hit the beach in Santa Cruz. Actually we just hit the beach bike path because we had more miles to go. We made a decision at about 4 o'clock with 67 miles under our belt and at our prjected campsite to keep going. So we hit the highway again, this time at rush hour but no worries there was a bike lane....on the highway who would have thought!?? Anyways we ended up doing about 95 miles and camped at okay hike and bike site in Mcgrath.
So apparently I was hide awake from the ride all day because I could not sleep last night! But more biking was to be done today. Since we biked extra far yesterday we were going to hit Dan's Aunt and Uncles early...aka today! It was enough to power me through the day.....well atleast for the first 50 miles the last 20 I was dying hahaha. My neck hurt, my butt hurt, my arms hurt....pretty much everything but my legs but in the end those joined the party. It was an okay day of biking, I got my first flat tire of the trip...booo. We rode through Malibu, huge houses but right on route 1...???? no thanks! There were also a few more hills in Malibu than I thought thered be. Then once again we hit the beach on a nice bike path, but it made for slow curvy riding, espcially since I was dogging it. I was super tired, actually I still am....but i am excited for a real bed!
So we made it to the LA area, just 3 more days of biking left. We are spending tomorrow here on Manhattan beach relaxing (hopefully) then I think we are hitting Dan's Grandma's Friday. Not sure when we will finish our last two days of biking to San Diego but It will have to be before next Friday!
Liz
ps- We miss you Laura!!! Thanks for the super long update, I wrote one here for ya hahah!
So we left Laura on Monday. Ridding without her was weird, we felt like we had lost our mother hen. But we had a big day ahead of us so we rode on. Monday was the first of what I like to call the Lompoc Twins.....aka the two big hills we had left. The ride started our great through more fields of vegtables. We made it to Guadalope before noon with more than 30 mi under our belts. But we still had the big hill to come! Either we got in better shape or the hill wasen't to big, because it wasn't that bad. The worst parts of it were; my butt was killing me (guess I didn't put enough cream on), it was super hot, and it was super curvy! After the hill we sailed downhill and got to our second motel in a row by 2:30. The rest was needed. We imediatly found a grocery store, bought a couple bags of chips, drinks, and sat on the curb and ate.....hahaha! This was followed by italian ordered out from down the street and monday night football, my favorite part about this was that the game is on earlier since we are on the west coast.
Alright so Tuesday, now this was a day! We had our last major uphill aka the second Lompoc Twin in the morning, again not so bad....just hotttt....which lead Dan to bike without a shirt, a little blinding but I guess it helped him ventalate. So after a rural morning we hit the highway, yes the highway. We even got to stop at a rest stop! We were on the highway for 24 mi! It wasen't that bad, there was a huge shoulder, just lots of glass and whizzing cars. So we made it by the highway, made it through Ventura and hit the beach in Santa Cruz. Actually we just hit the beach bike path because we had more miles to go. We made a decision at about 4 o'clock with 67 miles under our belt and at our prjected campsite to keep going. So we hit the highway again, this time at rush hour but no worries there was a bike lane....on the highway who would have thought!?? Anyways we ended up doing about 95 miles and camped at okay hike and bike site in Mcgrath.
So apparently I was hide awake from the ride all day because I could not sleep last night! But more biking was to be done today. Since we biked extra far yesterday we were going to hit Dan's Aunt and Uncles early...aka today! It was enough to power me through the day.....well atleast for the first 50 miles the last 20 I was dying hahaha. My neck hurt, my butt hurt, my arms hurt....pretty much everything but my legs but in the end those joined the party. It was an okay day of biking, I got my first flat tire of the trip...booo. We rode through Malibu, huge houses but right on route 1...???? no thanks! There were also a few more hills in Malibu than I thought thered be. Then once again we hit the beach on a nice bike path, but it made for slow curvy riding, espcially since I was dogging it. I was super tired, actually I still am....but i am excited for a real bed!
So we made it to the LA area, just 3 more days of biking left. We are spending tomorrow here on Manhattan beach relaxing (hopefully) then I think we are hitting Dan's Grandma's Friday. Not sure when we will finish our last two days of biking to San Diego but It will have to be before next Friday!
Liz
ps- We miss you Laura!!! Thanks for the super long update, I wrote one here for ya hahah!
Monday, September 29, 2008
End of the Road for Laura
Today Dan and Liz continued on their journey to San Diego. I have reached my destination of San Luis Obispo. To get her I traveled 724 miles ~ mostly by pedaling a bicycle ~ sometimes by pushing a bicycle.
We started our trip at a small family owned Mexican restaurant in Crescent City and decide to end our trip together by doing the same.
Our highlights of the trip was the redwood forests in Northern California. We could think of no better way to experience the grandness, the smells, the quietness these forests give than on a bicycle.
The other highlight was the day spent getting over Big Sur. Dan and Liz opted to add the famous "17 mile" drive of Pebble Beach. They cycled through famous golf courses, beautiful homes and amazing ocean scenery.
We all cycled Big Sur at our own pace. We were lucky that the fog lifted that day, giving us beautiful views of the Pacific ocean on our right and the San Lucia mountain on our left.
Our least favorite experience was the bicycle shop at For Bragg. The shop owner, Mark, was able to take care of our needs. His approach left you wondering if he would be able to get the task done. His demeanor was that we were a bother and an annoyance. (Other bikers we talked to told the same story).
Our highlights of our stop over in San Francisco was the accommodations provided by Rose, dinner and city tour by Doug and Pam Barry, and our history lesson and Napa wine tour and tasting by Tom.
Rose's swanky downtown apartment put us in the heart of the city ~ giving us a real pulse of the city. A small (open a garage door small) coffee "cafe" named the Blue Bottle is directly across the street. Its claim to fame is individual drip coffee. Which is very good. We are still scratching our heads at it s apparent success. People wait outside in line for 20+ minutes to drink the coffee. There is no seating. There are a dozen other designer coffee shops. You literally walk up to an open garage door.
Doug and Pam Barry (Go UConn!!) took us through China town, down the most crooked street, up to twin peaks, down the "docks", by the ball park, dinner at a local brewery and ice cream at the famed Ghriadalldi (sp?) chocolate factory. Great time, greater company.
Tom's wine tour was outstanding. Unpretentious and down to earth. We all learned so much and have a new apprecitation. Lots of local stories to make the all day experience memorable.
After San Fran, we continued on through Devil's Slide ~ an area known for its narrow winding road through rock slide prone areas. With a clear night we were able to see the sunset over the ocean at Half Moon Dunes State Beach.
Wednesday, September 24th we made our way through Santa Cruz. Along the way we went through acres of artichokes, strawberries, and lettuce. Pelicans are a pretty common sight when we are near the coast. We stop at Pigeon Point Lighthouse for a break and to admire the view. We have another great sunset from our campsite just outside Aptos. Today we broke the 5600 mile mark.
Thursday, Sept 25. We have our usual breakfast of instant oatmeal. Our destination will be Monterey. We travel through more farmlands. We like farmlands because they are flat. Dan has become our "spokesperson". He talks to anyone and everyone. Liz and I listen and quietly double over with laughter at his conversations. You would think he is a harden pro at this to listen to him. Today his BS skills hit pay dirt. On a long bike path to Monterey, he had a cycling conversation with Andy on a recumbent bicycle. Andy turned out to be a local Monterey resident with tickets to the Aquarium. Andy met up with us latter and gave us three ticket to the aquarium. You go Dan!
Friday, Sept 26. This is the day we split up. Dan & Liz did the 17 mile drive and Big Sur ~ making this their longest cycling day yet at close to 80 miles. We all agreed that today was one of the best. We also break the 600 mile mark.
Saturday, Sept 27. Today is my last big climb over Ragged Point. Because of the fog we could not see the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs. At the bottom of the hill was a sandy beach crowded with elephant seals sunning themselves. What a life! On to Sam Simeon each where I choose to sit by the beach while Dan & Liz played tourist and went to the Hearst Castle. Last campsite for me! Last time to set up the tent, blow up the sleeping pad, put quarters in a shower, eat a one pot meal, listen to raccoons fight just outside the tent. How will I ever adjust to civilization?
Sunday, Sept. 28. Final destination; San Luis Obispo! Master map reader Dan only screw up so far. He sailed by a turn we were to make in the middle of nowhere. Luckily trustworthy sweeper position caught the error, sprinted up the unnecessary hill, turned the troops around and saved the day! The missed turn was an awesome road that cut through the mountains.
Travelodge Motel never looked so good. I adjusted to civilization in all of five minutes.
Miscellaneous stuff: Over bidder we talked about some stuff we observed along the way. Here goes......
Coffee was really good in northern California and got better up to and including San Fran. After San Fran it nose dived to "gas station" quality.
Campsights. The stat run sites were the best although they were variations in cost and amenities between them. The federal national park campsite (now privatized) was bad. Blame it on the republicans.
We kept an informal pint system of Dan's tourist and biker conversations. He got the most points for the shoe/pedal demonstration. Had he dared to demonstrate the benefits of his gel shorts ~ Liz and I were leaving him.
Another daily observation was Liz's unusual digestive track system. I'll leave that alone. Those that know her will understand.
We all have bike tans. Short lines, white hands, tan faces except for sun glass and helmet whiteness.
There were two flat tires. Two bike spills.
We were in the saddle fifteen days. We camped eleven nights. We moteled it for four.
And finally ~ the thigh/calf results
Start Finish
Dan thigh 22.00 22.00
Dan calf 14.50 14.50
Liz thigh 20.00 20.25
Liz calf 13.75 13.50
Laura thigh 21.75 22.50
Laura calf 16.00 15.00
We started our trip at a small family owned Mexican restaurant in Crescent City and decide to end our trip together by doing the same.
Our highlights of the trip was the redwood forests in Northern California. We could think of no better way to experience the grandness, the smells, the quietness these forests give than on a bicycle.
The other highlight was the day spent getting over Big Sur. Dan and Liz opted to add the famous "17 mile" drive of Pebble Beach. They cycled through famous golf courses, beautiful homes and amazing ocean scenery.
We all cycled Big Sur at our own pace. We were lucky that the fog lifted that day, giving us beautiful views of the Pacific ocean on our right and the San Lucia mountain on our left.
Our least favorite experience was the bicycle shop at For Bragg. The shop owner, Mark, was able to take care of our needs. His approach left you wondering if he would be able to get the task done. His demeanor was that we were a bother and an annoyance. (Other bikers we talked to told the same story).
Our highlights of our stop over in San Francisco was the accommodations provided by Rose, dinner and city tour by Doug and Pam Barry, and our history lesson and Napa wine tour and tasting by Tom.
Rose's swanky downtown apartment put us in the heart of the city ~ giving us a real pulse of the city. A small (open a garage door small) coffee "cafe" named the Blue Bottle is directly across the street. Its claim to fame is individual drip coffee. Which is very good. We are still scratching our heads at it s apparent success. People wait outside in line for 20+ minutes to drink the coffee. There is no seating. There are a dozen other designer coffee shops. You literally walk up to an open garage door.
Doug and Pam Barry (Go UConn!!) took us through China town, down the most crooked street, up to twin peaks, down the "docks", by the ball park, dinner at a local brewery and ice cream at the famed Ghriadalldi (sp?) chocolate factory. Great time, greater company.
Tom's wine tour was outstanding. Unpretentious and down to earth. We all learned so much and have a new apprecitation. Lots of local stories to make the all day experience memorable.
After San Fran, we continued on through Devil's Slide ~ an area known for its narrow winding road through rock slide prone areas. With a clear night we were able to see the sunset over the ocean at Half Moon Dunes State Beach.
Wednesday, September 24th we made our way through Santa Cruz. Along the way we went through acres of artichokes, strawberries, and lettuce. Pelicans are a pretty common sight when we are near the coast. We stop at Pigeon Point Lighthouse for a break and to admire the view. We have another great sunset from our campsite just outside Aptos. Today we broke the 5600 mile mark.
Thursday, Sept 25. We have our usual breakfast of instant oatmeal. Our destination will be Monterey. We travel through more farmlands. We like farmlands because they are flat. Dan has become our "spokesperson". He talks to anyone and everyone. Liz and I listen and quietly double over with laughter at his conversations. You would think he is a harden pro at this to listen to him. Today his BS skills hit pay dirt. On a long bike path to Monterey, he had a cycling conversation with Andy on a recumbent bicycle. Andy turned out to be a local Monterey resident with tickets to the Aquarium. Andy met up with us latter and gave us three ticket to the aquarium. You go Dan!
Friday, Sept 26. This is the day we split up. Dan & Liz did the 17 mile drive and Big Sur ~ making this their longest cycling day yet at close to 80 miles. We all agreed that today was one of the best. We also break the 600 mile mark.
Saturday, Sept 27. Today is my last big climb over Ragged Point. Because of the fog we could not see the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs. At the bottom of the hill was a sandy beach crowded with elephant seals sunning themselves. What a life! On to Sam Simeon each where I choose to sit by the beach while Dan & Liz played tourist and went to the Hearst Castle. Last campsite for me! Last time to set up the tent, blow up the sleeping pad, put quarters in a shower, eat a one pot meal, listen to raccoons fight just outside the tent. How will I ever adjust to civilization?
Sunday, Sept. 28. Final destination; San Luis Obispo! Master map reader Dan only screw up so far. He sailed by a turn we were to make in the middle of nowhere. Luckily trustworthy sweeper position caught the error, sprinted up the unnecessary hill, turned the troops around and saved the day! The missed turn was an awesome road that cut through the mountains.
Travelodge Motel never looked so good. I adjusted to civilization in all of five minutes.
Miscellaneous stuff: Over bidder we talked about some stuff we observed along the way. Here goes......
Coffee was really good in northern California and got better up to and including San Fran. After San Fran it nose dived to "gas station" quality.
Campsights. The stat run sites were the best although they were variations in cost and amenities between them. The federal national park campsite (now privatized) was bad. Blame it on the republicans.
We kept an informal pint system of Dan's tourist and biker conversations. He got the most points for the shoe/pedal demonstration. Had he dared to demonstrate the benefits of his gel shorts ~ Liz and I were leaving him.
Another daily observation was Liz's unusual digestive track system. I'll leave that alone. Those that know her will understand.
We all have bike tans. Short lines, white hands, tan faces except for sun glass and helmet whiteness.
There were two flat tires. Two bike spills.
We were in the saddle fifteen days. We camped eleven nights. We moteled it for four.
And finally ~ the thigh/calf results
Start Finish
Dan thigh 22.00 22.00
Dan calf 14.50 14.50
Liz thigh 20.00 20.25
Liz calf 13.75 13.50
Laura thigh 21.75 22.50
Laura calf 16.00 15.00
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
MEASUREMENTS!!
So we forgot to update you guys on our measurements....
The first night we measured our thighs and calves
Dan came in with the biggest measurements, but to date he has lots in his thighs and gained in his calves...
Laura had a measurement error along the way which we all got pretty excited about because we thought she grew some massive muscles, but she has stayed about the same just losing a little in the calf
Liz has pretty much stayed exactly the same, although I happen to think my two massive ice cream sundae's are going to help me in the long run with some muscle build up!!!
The first night we measured our thighs and calves
Dan came in with the biggest measurements, but to date he has lots in his thighs and gained in his calves...
Laura had a measurement error along the way which we all got pretty excited about because we thought she grew some massive muscles, but she has stayed about the same just losing a little in the calf
Liz has pretty much stayed exactly the same, although I happen to think my two massive ice cream sundae's are going to help me in the long run with some muscle build up!!!
Can't wait to get on that road again....
Today was the wine tour with Dan's Uncle Tom. It was great! Tom was super nice and gave us the royal treatment. He took us out to Napa Valley, told us lots of awesome stories and we went to 4 different wineries. I guess I didn't fully appreciate the wine, but I did appreciate the cheese and bread!!! Anyways it was a beautiful day, Tom really loves what he does so it was great to hear his stories and see the sights. When we went in the wineries everyone knew him and we got special treatment!!
So tomorrow we are back on the road, we just went out to a great Italian mean with Rose. Now we have the final laundry load in and we are looking at the maps.
So here is the tentative schdeul:
Day 1 (9/23) 31.5mi Half Moon
Day 2 (9/24) 57 Santa Cruz
Day 3 (9/25) 37-42 Monteryl carmel
Day 4 (9/26) 32 Big Sur + the 15 mi pebble bike ride
Day 5 (927) 48.5 Ragged point
Day 6 (9/28) 42 Morro Bay
Day 7 (9/29) 17 San Luis Obispo (Laura Departs)
That is what we have planned for now! Hopefully we are blessed with good weather, roads, and muscles!
Liz
So tomorrow we are back on the road, we just went out to a great Italian mean with Rose. Now we have the final laundry load in and we are looking at the maps.
So here is the tentative schdeul:
Day 1 (9/23) 31.5mi Half Moon
Day 2 (9/24) 57 Santa Cruz
Day 3 (9/25) 37-42 Monteryl carmel
Day 4 (9/26) 32 Big Sur + the 15 mi pebble bike ride
Day 5 (927) 48.5 Ragged point
Day 6 (9/28) 42 Morro Bay
Day 7 (9/29) 17 San Luis Obispo (Laura Departs)
That is what we have planned for now! Hopefully we are blessed with good weather, roads, and muscles!
Liz
Monday, September 22, 2008
San Fran
Well we are having a great time in San Fran. The city is really nice. I think we have pretty much seen most of it. Lets see Saturday we walked all around the park in the city, saw some bison, a x-c meet, sat by a lake and watched people play music. Then we went out to dinner with Doug and Pam Barry, UConn alumns. It was a great time, they drove us all around the city. We went out to a great dinner followed by an even better desert at Gheridelli (sp??) Oh my it was good, so good we went back again yesterday with Rose! She took us to Chrissy Field and we walked around. Dan and I got a ton of National Park stamps for our book! We went to a sourdough bread factory for lunch and I had my first bread bowl....delicious! The night was capped off with a tour of Alcatraz, which was actually very entertaining and we got another stamp. The tour was mostly and audio tour, so you put on your own set of headphones and listened as you walked through the old prision. I thought that was pretty unique. We stayed extra long to go to a privite lecture about the escape from Alcatraz. They guy was so into it and it was pretty creepy being in the prision with not to many peopl in there!
Today we have the wine tour with Dan's uncle! It should be a lot of fun. He is bring us up to the Napa valley to visit a couple of different vinyards.
Tomorrow we are off on our bikes again! I am ready to get moving again, I miss riding and traveling to a new place each night (i know probably 5 min after I am on my bike I'll be thinking something different!)
I'll try and get some pics up here before we leave San Fran!
Liz
Today we have the wine tour with Dan's uncle! It should be a lot of fun. He is bring us up to the Napa valley to visit a couple of different vinyards.
Tomorrow we are off on our bikes again! I am ready to get moving again, I miss riding and traveling to a new place each night (i know probably 5 min after I am on my bike I'll be thinking something different!)
I'll try and get some pics up here before we leave San Fran!
Liz
Saturday, September 20, 2008
More Pics
Alrightie so this is a picture of the road we climbed! super narrow and hilly, to your left is another shot of the narrow winding hills we have traveled
This Bottom one was our awesome campsite at Samuel Taylor State park. They have this really neat thing called "Hike and Bike" It is only 3$ per person to stay. We put our tents in a circle of Redwoods!
CA Picture update
Hey Guys we are going to upload our pictures onto a slideshow as soon as possible, here are a few for now. Paul Bunyon is on the side, with the three of us. Here we have a tire change going on after a HUGEEEE uphill. Uptop we have our first campsite, it was sooo misty and foggy it was almost like a rainforest. The upper right is after we crossed over the bridge! This is Laura's camera thats why they are all of me and Dan! I am going over to get a memory card for my camera now so we will post most of Laura to come!!
Friday, September 19, 2008
SAN FRAN!
We'll we made it to San Fran!! We have biked well over 400 mi and we are ready for a little break. My (liz) butt is a little soar and i am super excited to do some laundry haha and eat some peanut butter (which ive already done thanks mom!!) So we made it to San Fran today, biked over the bridge, i was real apprehensive about doing that but we made it! So many people were on the bridge though it was hard to manvuer by them. So we biked around the city alittle bit, very hilly. Now we are staying at Dans cousin's roses apartment which is right in San Fran and realllly nice. Tomorrow we are sight seeing and hopefully going out to dinner with an UConn alum, Sun is acaltrax tour and monday is our wine tour! This is just a quick update before we go out to dinner, but pictures are to come!
The trip has been awesome. We have seen so many people touring the CA coast. Today we met this guy going from Alaska all the way down to the South America tip. His bike was LOADED!!!! I have a new appreciation for biking with weight, it is a lot harder. I have only fallen once, but it is hard to steer around these tight CA curves.
So we are real happy to be indoors in a house tonight, we have had some wild camping experiances, neighbors one night, racoons the next (we well post more on that later!) but for now we are inside at Rose's!!
We will update pictures and post more later!
Liz
The trip has been awesome. We have seen so many people touring the CA coast. Today we met this guy going from Alaska all the way down to the South America tip. His bike was LOADED!!!! I have a new appreciation for biking with weight, it is a lot harder. I have only fallen once, but it is hard to steer around these tight CA curves.
So we are real happy to be indoors in a house tonight, we have had some wild camping experiances, neighbors one night, racoons the next (we well post more on that later!) but for now we are inside at Rose's!!
We will update pictures and post more later!
Liz
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Today we reached Bodega Bay! We are about 70 miles out of San Francisco and very psyched to get to the city! Yesterday we biked 70 miles - including the steepest part of the California coastline. Today we just did 30 miles - a little bit of a recovery day. The roads are very curvy. A typical road is a downhill curve with a "U" turn around a river or the coast at the bottom and then back uphill again. The weather is still chilly but not as foggy. We understand the weather should be improving soon. Hopefully we can post some pictures when we get to San Francisco.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Oh Boy, CA here we come!!!
Well, the trip is finally approaching!!! I (Liz) leave my house tomorrow to make the trip down to Wilton. Then Dan and I will fly out of JFK Wed. morning. So the packing process was interesting. I had pretty much taken over a room in my house with all my biking stuff this summer so it was all in one place, the funny part was fitting it in my 4$ thrift shop bag. Lets just say I'll have to be carrying on my tent.
So I am getting a little nervous about the biking. I am just hoping my butt, back, and neck hold up throughout the trip and I don't eat my bike or anything....you never know with me.
I think everyone well be pretty happy to know that I found a small flexible measuring tape that will be accompanying me on the ride so we can make muscle measurements. I am guessing we will either do something tomorrow or Wed, it's gotta be before Thursday!!! I head we have some hills the first day, so there may be some major thigh gainage!
Hopefully we can post lots on the way!!!
So I am getting a little nervous about the biking. I am just hoping my butt, back, and neck hold up throughout the trip and I don't eat my bike or anything....you never know with me.
I think everyone well be pretty happy to know that I found a small flexible measuring tape that will be accompanying me on the ride so we can make muscle measurements. I am guessing we will either do something tomorrow or Wed, it's gotta be before Thursday!!! I head we have some hills the first day, so there may be some major thigh gainage!
Hopefully we can post lots on the way!!!
Tracking Via Google Maps!
I think I have found a way to track our progress via google maps. It will only update when we get to an internet connection or public library of course but if all goes correctly we will be able to post some pictures and you can see the route we took :)
We will see how it works!
-Dan "the [thigh] man" Delaney
SEE THE MAP HERE
.
We will see how it works!
-Dan "the [thigh] man" Delaney
SEE THE MAP HERE
.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Cape Cod Trial Run
Our Cape Cod ride was a success (except for maybe a little chaffing!!!) We woke up early Sunday Morning, picked up Laura and headed up to Plymouth. After a little sight seeing of the rodes in Plymouth we found our route and headed out to the Cape.
The ride was great, not to hilly and I didn't fall over on my bike (yeah I was kind of thinking of that because of the weight) The walk over the bridge was awesome, I even found a dime, but didn't pick it up because I was a little nervous of the whole falling into oncoming traffic!
We ended up riding 55 miles Sunday and at the end of the day by butt was a little soar. We took our time, of course stopping for lots of snack breaks which included some delicious ice cream called purple cow (black rasberry with white and chocolate chips!) yummm
We stayed at a nice campsite, the only dissapointing part was not finding the pool, and maybe the blinding whiteness of Dan walking around without a shirt to try and conserve on his clothing usage.....oh lord can't wait for CA......bt we whipped up some delicious macaroni and hit the hay
Laura was up at the crack of dawn the next day, she even woke up before me which is kinda hard to do! We packed up, Laura headed to the aunts, Dan and I headed to P-Town. We hooked up with the rail trail for awhile, got some bfast, then headed out on the roades toward Trorro and Ptown, great day and the rain held off until we were loading up on the Ferry!
So we are pretty pumped for CA, and I am even more pumped to get my leg muscles measure pre-trip....hahaha...I'll have to eat some more that day to bulk them up so I can beat out my two partners...
We are still trying to come up for a name for our group...any suggestions are welcome!
The ride was great, not to hilly and I didn't fall over on my bike (yeah I was kind of thinking of that because of the weight) The walk over the bridge was awesome, I even found a dime, but didn't pick it up because I was a little nervous of the whole falling into oncoming traffic!
We ended up riding 55 miles Sunday and at the end of the day by butt was a little soar. We took our time, of course stopping for lots of snack breaks which included some delicious ice cream called purple cow (black rasberry with white and chocolate chips!) yummm
We stayed at a nice campsite, the only dissapointing part was not finding the pool, and maybe the blinding whiteness of Dan walking around without a shirt to try and conserve on his clothing usage.....oh lord can't wait for CA......bt we whipped up some delicious macaroni and hit the hay
Laura was up at the crack of dawn the next day, she even woke up before me which is kinda hard to do! We packed up, Laura headed to the aunts, Dan and I headed to P-Town. We hooked up with the rail trail for awhile, got some bfast, then headed out on the roades toward Trorro and Ptown, great day and the rain held off until we were loading up on the Ferry!
So we are pretty pumped for CA, and I am even more pumped to get my leg muscles measure pre-trip....hahaha...I'll have to eat some more that day to bulk them up so I can beat out my two partners...
We are still trying to come up for a name for our group...any suggestions are welcome!
Cali here we come!
We are three University of Connecticut graduates (of different years..haha) biking the Coast of California! We are starting in Northern CA (Crescent Bay City) biking all the way to San Diego (hopefully!) We are going to try post some updates and pics along the way. Hope you enjoy our adventure tails!!
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