Back in Babylon

First let me apologize to all of you that were starting to follow this blog. I tried to keep posting as long as I could, but save for San Francisco, I was in areas of California that had zilch cell service. I did not have an internet connection for long stretches let alone the bandwith to to upload pictures. Forget about videos. Combine that with the fact that at the end of the day, after riding 50+ miles, I was dog tired and the thought of going through the travail of trying to post the day's events became labor and not love. But after 645 miles I did learn some things:

• Trying to do everything I would do on a desktop or laptop computer on only a cell phone is crazy. Typing on a cell phone is not made for those of us with Sasquatch fingers. 
  
• Technology is great, but I am a slave to batteries. I carried a solar charger which worked good when the sun was out. But when it was raining or I was under the canopy of the redwoods, that didn't work. I charged my cell phone batteries wherever I could.
• I learned how to decipher a map. I learned that squiggly road lines meant the road went up or down. Often it meant that there was some pass that I had to go over. Rivers that cross topo lines perpendicular also mean a sharp climb. 
• I learned that having a touring bike would have made the trip much easier. I had taken my old road bike and set it up as a touring bike, which was a compromise at best. I did not have low enough gears for some of those uphills.
• I learned you cannot prepare for all mechanical problems. You can prepare for most but not all. 
• I learned that in addition to the more common bike tools, if I had duct tape, wire, glue, and zip ties, I could fix almost anything.
• I learned that I am not 30 any more. I was tired at the end of the day, and mountain passes could be a pain.
  
• Setting up camp wasn't so bad. Breaking camp was always a pain.
• I learned that the one thing I really needed at the time, was always at the bottom of my bags.
• Why the hell could I not remember which pocket I put that little widget?
• I came to really appreciate well stocked grocery stores as few and far between as they were. A lot of times the local ma and pa store had a limited selection. So a 3 dollar can of chili it was.
• Steep decents an a fully loaded bike are exhilarating one minute, and scary the next. I could really fly down those hills, but always kept in the back of my mind that what goes down has to go up. The steeper the downhill, the more I knew I would have to pay going back up.
• The undeveloped northern Calif. coast is spectacular, and I am glad I got to see it from a bicycle.
• Same goes for the Redwood Forests.
• As good as technology is sometimes Google Maps navigation cannot be trusted.
• San Francisco is like no other city. Bay to Breakers Run....need I say more?
• I didn't realize how much I missed my friend Steve Toole. It has been a long time since we saw each other and spending time with him was a high point of this trip.
• If you have a choice of taking the bus or the train, always go for the train.
  
  
  
  
  
   
    
   
   
   
   
  
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