The Incredible Boredom of Touring...

It is hard for me to equate touring the Pacific Coast by bike with boredom but that is where I am and I have figured out the reason. The allure of traveling by bike is the mystery of finding out what is over the next hill or around the next bend.

It doesn't all look like this.

Unfortunately, I have traveled up and down the coast so many times, there really is no surprise or wonder to be found. I know which campsites I want at pretty much every State Park on the coast. I know where the best breakfast can be found and the only mystery for me is whether or not my regular restaurants have changed their hours. Yes, it kind of sucks.

Added to this is that to avoid the south-facing wind machine that seems to be turned on between 10-noon each day, I have been finishing my rides by noon which leaves me sitting around a campsite staring at trees until it is time to sleep. While that may seem relaxing, that only works for a day or two. After that, it just gets boring. This in addition to many of the Hiker/Biker sites seem to be the congregating spots for the indigent population of California so you have to stay within sight of your gear to prevent them from walking off with your stuff. Fun.

I have also been harshly reminded of why I despise traveling during the summer and through the typical tourist areas by the "seasonal pricing" that has been in effect for most of the trip. In a car, this is no big deal as you can get away from the tourist traps pretty easily. On a bike you are entirely at their mercy. I paid $18 for a two-egg omelette and some greasy hash browns yesterday. And that wasn't the worst gouging I've seen.

Lagunitas General Store

Added to the other things that have kept me pretty pissed off since somewhere back around Half Moon Bay is that that seems to be right about the time that the shoulder seems to have disappeared and the ride has been a pretty continuous stream of RVs, Logging Trucks and fairly discourteous drivers. Instead of maybe one driver in twenty getting a little close, now I am surprised by the driver that actually gives more than a few inches when going by. And I know it doesn't get any better going North. Especially since this weekend is generally considered the beginning of tourist season. Did I mention that my morning rides on the shoulderless roads, dodging vehicles are also done in the fog? Yes, the fog seems to burn off right about when the wind starts.

So here's the deal. I know I started this trip with a goal of riding to Washington, but quite frankly I've already seen everything ahead of me to the North and the idea of seeing the same towns (and getting stuck in them) that I usually avoid and riding through one boring beach town tourist trap after another is not how I want to spend my summer. Now, if I was raising a crapload of money for R2R, I might keep this going, but the paltry amount that has been donated doesn't really motivate me to bore myself to death.

The morning fog.

So tomorrow I'm going to wake up and point my bike in whatever direction I want. I have three choices from where I'm at: North - takes me farther up the coast into more wind, more wet, more cold and more boredom; West - takes me to the furnace of the Central Valley; South - takes me back down the coast at possibly a slower pace with some stops in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz for some pleasure riding. That's right, get a campsite, stay a day or two and do some local riding.

Now, just to make sure you all don't think I'm done with touring, I should assure you that I really do like traveling by bike. This is just not the route for me and anyone who knows me knows that I'm not good at doing things that I don't enjoy. I'm still interested in the Maah Dah Hey, Katy Trail, C&O Canal Trail, Kokopelli, etc... if anyone is interested.

14 days - Irvine to Fort Bragg