Pacific Coast Tour – Day 35 – 37; Salt Point State Park to Bodega Bay – Russian River Detour

Day: 35
August 21, 2021

Distance: 45 miles (1425 total)
Salt Point State Park to Healdsburg

My great aunt Cacilia lives in Healdsburg, CA. Once we realized it would be the easiest flattest detour up the Russian River Valley to add a visit, there was no way we could pass up the opportunity to swing by. But before we could enjoy that nice flat valley riding we had to tackle another monster of a hill along the coast.

We climbed up into a fog of almost white out conditions (and still there were cars without headlights on!). It was really eerily beautiful riding up the Sonoma Coast. We occasionally got views of the ocean down below to our right, but mostly enjoyed the trees and changing scenery through the fog to our left.

Once we finally peaked over the main crest of the hill we had a view down into the valley and could appreciate how far we’d climbed. Mostly because we could see the road winding it’s way back down, and annoyingly ending with another, at least smaller, uphill.

When we finally rolled into Jenner we were able to catch back up with our friends Tom and Shreya, and two other local riders we had met at camp last night. Everyone had stopped for lunch at Cafe Aquatica in Jenner. The food was really good with fresh vegetables and delicious breads (I had an avocado and beet toast, Andrew their rainbow sandwich).

We also chatted up with some curious vacationers awaiting their group to go kayaking in the river. One kid who was particularly impressed with our journey asked what we do beside riding. While scarfing down dried mangoes and trail mix, Andrew and I both replied “eat”.

Jenner is located at the mouth of the Russian River, so that was where we separated from everyone. Even though we’ll be coming back the same way it was so nice looking at the hill the others had to climb out of town, and compare it with the beautiful flat we got to enjoy. We were able to go so much faster without those pesky hills!

As we got deeper into the valley, grape vineyards started popping up all over the place letting us know we had entered wine country. It was really cool to see how many and how big the vineyards are. And the grapes were basically at peak ripeness – we later found out the “crush” is in a couple of days.

We made it to my aunt’s house in the early afternoon, so we had plenty of time to clean up and chat. She showed us around her farm and cooked dinner for us. Afterwards Andrew and I went out to pick some peaches from her trees so we could all make a peach cobbler.

Day: 36
August 22, 2021

Distance: 0 miles (1425 total) Rest Day
Healdsburg

Ah the wonders of indoors. After a restful evening inside and in a real bed Cacilia treated us to some German pancakes (similar to crepes). We had an uneventful morning with some admiring of the farm animals and some much deserved “vegging out”. Oh and the ever important laundry!

My parents were in the San Jose area for vacation/visiting other family, so one thing lead to another and apparently our rest day also included a family reunion. It was really nice to meet / reunite with the family. Andrew and I were basically celebrities thanks to our trip (and this blog) but we also found other things to talk about, including some great stories about terrible drivers. Moral of the story: Everyone should just ride bikes! 😉

Day: 37
August 23, 2021

Distance: 34 miles (1459 total)
Healdsburg to Bodega Dunes Campground

Inertia: things at rest like to remain at rest. Apparently it applies to rest days as well. Our ride today was very lethargic out of the Russian River Valley.

We had a fairly quick morning. Cacilia made us fresh egg omelets to get us fueled up for the day. We packed up our things, said our goodbyes, and we were on our way. We mostly rode back to the coast in contemplative silence; Thinking about our future home, jobs, projects, ethics, and beans. Andrew’s knee has started hurting so we were taking it pretty easy today. With the pace and the fog no wonder we were sleepy all day!

Based on the campground distances, we had already planned a relatively short day, which turned out to be even shorter thanks to rounding errors. We’re okay with that. We got in around 2 giving us time to wander through the dunes a bit. I was pretty sleepy today, so I decided to call it an early night and go to sleep after dinner.

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