Day 12: Red Bluff, Super 8-Chico, Heritage Inn

Start: Red Bluff Super 8

Finish: Chico Heritage Express Inn

Miles: 50.7

Elevation: 285

Avg Speed: 11.8

Ride Time: 4 hours, 18 minutes

Calories Burned: 1222

Weather: Pleasant sunny day mid-90's.

Route: Hiway 99W south to a series of farmroads, east on 32 into Chico.

Cool Stuff:

1. It was nice knowing that we were going to finally have a day off after 12 straight days of riding.
2. Exploring Chico and getting a great haircut and beard trim.  I opted to not get my head shaved, but it is cut really short.
3. Going to a Chico Outlaws bb game and watching the fireworks display.  David was a good sport.  Can’t say I’ve encountered a Brit who enjoys baseball.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. It's good to have accomodations waiting.  Thanks to David and Rose, we ended up in a nice motel at an affordable rate.
2. Otherwise, an uneventful day.

Palaver: We have rerouted ourselves out of Chico using Google maps; we might be able to finish in three more days of riding.  Part of the plan is to ride BART from Pittsburg to Walnut Creek.  I'll need to check in with Eldred and learn more about BART logistics.

Day 11: KOA, Shingletown-Red Bluff, Super 8

Start: Shingletown KOA

Finish: Motel 8, Red Bluff

Miles: 50.1

Elevation: 819'

Avg Speed: 13.1

Ride Time: 3 hours 49 minutes

Calories Burned: 903

Weather: Temp range: 57 degrees to 127 degress, it was very warm, true air temperature was ~103 degrees but the bike thermometer was reading very warm in the direct sun.

Route: Route 44 West, Dersch Road, Jelly's Ferry road, 2 miles on I-5, S on Main Street, E on Antelope to Super 8.

Cool Stuff:

1. A 4000+ foot descent including an inadvertent pee upon my front panniers.  See the “best of’s” for the details.
2. The ridge that climbed up to Table Mountain and led up to I-5.
3. Sharing a pint of Jameson Irish whiskey with David and solving the world's problems.
4. Luigi's Pasta and Pizza house.

Lesson’s Learned: It was an uneventful day, just hot.

Palaver: A smooth ride down from the mountains into the Sacremento Valley.  We are now entering the fruit and produce section of America.  Because the heat is so intense, we have decided to start our ride very early.  This morning we were on the road by 6:30.  Tomorrow we plan on getting out the door at 5:15, eating at the neighborhood Denny's, and on the road by 6:30.  We will see if we can do it.

Day 10: Cave CG-KOA, Shingletown

Start: Old Station, Cave CG

Finish: KOA 4 miles east of Shingletown.

Miles: 28.1

Elevation: 1565

Avg Speed: 10.0

Ride Time: 2 hours 47 minutes

Calories Burned: 926

Weather: Today started off much cooler.  It was 53 degrees at 700 am.  We climbed to Eskimo Summit (5933') under cloudy skies.  It was 75 degrees at the summit.  Here at the KOA at 200 pm it is low 90's.  Good deal to be off the road, in camp, showered, and sitting in the shade.

Route: 13 miles climb up 89 to Eskimo Summit (5933'); turn right onto 89 and head west down 89 toward Shingletown.  A big climb and a great descent.

Cool Stuff:

1. A short and relatively easy day.
2. Staying in a very nice KOA.
3. Finishing before the heat and wind became too intense.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. Start early.
2. Fuel up hearty in the morning.

Palaver: This is the first time in 10 days with total relaxation.  It feels just fine.  It has been lots of fun so far.  We've riden ourselves into pretty decent form.  The big stuff is over; regrettably we are leaving the coolness of the mountains and heading down to the scorching flats.  Mt. Lassen was wisely avoided.  Neither of us was very keen on the climb and 32 south sounds like a very dangerous road, particularly with 4^th of July traffic.  So, the plan is to scoot into Red Bluff as early as possible tomorrow, work out way over to Chico, and then follow the Chico-Oakland routes I found on the internet.  More route finding issues will ensue I'm sure.  We'd like to get into Chico on the 3rd and layup over the 4th.

Day 9: Beiber-Cave CG, Old Station

Start: Beiber, dumpy motel

Finish: Old Station, USFS Cave CG

Miles: 58.6

Elevation: 2572

Avg Speed:10.1

Ride Time: 5 hours 46 minutes

Calories Burned: 2000

Weather: mid-90's, modest cross wind.

Route: Hwy 299 to Fall River; Cassell Falls cutoff to 89; south to Old Station.  The Cassell Fall cutoff is gorgeous, I'd recommend this segment as a great dayride.

Cool Stuff:

1. We were fixing a flat at the Cassell Pacific Gas & Electric CG and were invited in for lunch by 2 couples from Gilroy.  Nice folks and a much appreciated lunch of Costco seafood salad and crackers.
2. Got to ride the Cassell Falls cutoff this time.  I sagged the same segment a few years ago for the boys (Todd, Byron, and Ron).
3. Met some good old boys at the campground and had fun explaining what we were up to.  They were moving their monster 5th wheel and luxury motorhome into our campground and planned on leaving them until the 4th.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. We got an early start and it payed off.  I think David is convinced that early starts are a good thing.
2. Ask locals the same route/road question and you'll get a different answer almost everytime.  Accurate maps are definitely worth toting along.

Palaver: We've done 3 consecutive ~ 60 mile days with about 5700' of climbing and we are getting fitter.  Our spirits are high tonight.  Our diet may very well be responsible for a painless asphixiation in our sleep.  Lots of grease and it sure tastes good.  Tomorrow we will be in Shingletown.

Day 8: Lava Beds-the dump in Beiber

Start: Lava Beds

Finish: Bieber, the dumpiest motel I’ve ever patronized

Miles: 60.1

Elevation: 1495

Avg Speed: 10.7

Ride Time: 5 hours- 42 minutes

Calories Burned: 2387

Weather: No clouds, high 90's, nasty 10-20 mph crosswind/headwind for most of the day.  

Route: Out of Lava Beds to Tionesta, 12 miles on 299, south on Lookout road into Bieber.

Cool Stuff:

1. The scenery coming down from the Lava Beds.
2. getting water from the fruit inspection station.
3. watching a raptor land on the road 100' from us and grab something.
4. We stopped at the Lookout, CA postoffice and offloaded cool weather gear.  I mailed about 8.5 lbs of stuff to Eldred.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. Eat more, I bonked for the first time in several years.
2. Otherwise, a demanding but uneventful day.

Palaver: Today's ride started late and we really paid a price with excessive heat and major headwinds.  We have to hit the road much earlier.  Our lodging choices were the Bieber city park, assuming to local police would allow it or a very dumpy motel.  David and I decided the mozzys (Brit speak for mosquito) would consume us if we stayed in the park.  David looks like he has been in red paint ball war he has so many bites.  So, it was a no brainer, we hit the dumpy motel.  The sign behind the front desk cautioned patrons there would be a $10 fee for cleaning game or fish in the room.  I was so grossed out by the filth I slept in my bag on top of the bedcover.

Day 7: Klamath Falls-Lava Beds National Monument

Start: Klamath Falls

Finish: Lava Beds National Monument CG

Miles: 65.1

Elevation: 1635

Avg Speed: 10.8

Ride Time: 6 hours 2 minutes

Calories Burned: 2653

Weather: High 80's-low 90's,  northernly tailwind, no clouds, very dry.

Route: see Klamath County AAA map for route out of K-Falls.  Backroads to Merill and then into the Lava Beds.

Cool Stuff:

1. Got to watch a barrel race competition outside of Merill.
2. Had an excellent burrito for lunch along side a bunch of local hispanics.
3. The Hammer Gel and Nuun got me up the last pitch.
4. The best washroom sink shower ever at the Visitor Center.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. Good day, hard work, no mishaps or issues.

Palaver: The rest in K-Falls seems to have worked.  We both rode quite well today.  Because water supplies were questionable I ended up carrying an extra 5 liters in the MSR Dromedary and David's extra platypus bladder.  I think we may have cracked the Mt. Lassen problem.  If worse comes to worse we decided we could pay someone to haul us to the summit.

Day 6: Rocky Point Resort-Klamath Falls

Start: Rocky Point CG, Upper Klamath Lake

Finish: Klamath Falls

Miles: 32.1

Elevation: 1226

Avg Speed: 10.7

Ride Time: 3 hours

Calories Burned: 1146

Weather: mid-80's

Route: down west side of Upper Klamath Lake into K-Falls.

Cool Stuff:

1. We are in a motel, still recovering.
2. Good Vietnamese meal.
3. Nice guy at the bike shop who gave us directions out of town.

Lesson’s Learned:

1. Mr Tuffys suck.  I will never ever use them again.  Yet another pinch flat from the seam.  It  happened on the way into K-Falls near a public park.  There was a hot-rod rally/car show underway.
2. Better check over bike shop repairs before paying.  David had some bad luck with repairs to his brakes.  I had better luck with a headset adjustment and rear wheel bearing replacement.
3. K-Falls in a mighty rough town, don't go out of your way to see it.  The surrounding countryside is very beautiful.

Palaver: Do we really want to climb Lassen?   That's the big question.  Time will answer the question I am sure.