We had French toast for breakfast then went for a quick walk to the beach through the dunes as the sun came up. Sections were very sandy but we were the only ones around and it was very scenic. We saw many birds at the beach, including two pelicans.
After the hike we hit the road along highway 1. The highway went inland as it cut through various hills. It was a beautiful sunny day again and the temperature quickly rose as we headed inland. At one point we were overheating! The last time we had overheated was probably back in Northern Ontario. We stopped at the general store in Valley Ford for a quick snack break. We met a cyclist from Santa Rosa who was out for the day. We also met another gentlemen who was interested in our trip. It turns out he is an American originally from San Diego, now living in Mexico and France. He said that we were cycling during the right time. Fall is apparently one of the nicest times of year in California. Finally we were cycling in the right direction during the right time! No more comments from people saying we were going the wrong way or cycling a little bit late in the season! How exciting!
We continued to cycle through beautiful scenery. We stayed on Highway 1 as it became a rural country road. At one point we got passed by the same ruggedly old RV that we had passed the day before. The road then followed along Tomalis Bay, a beautiful estuary. There were many small climbs through this section.
We finally arrived at Point Reyes Station for lunch around 1PM. We found a beautiful picnic area beside an Organic Grocery Store. There we met a couple originally from Japan now living in the Napa Valley in California. We had a nice chat about the area. They were on a day trip for some fresh oysters. We saw many oyester bars but unfortunately neither of us are a big fan of oysters. Too bad because I’m sure they are great when they are so fresh!
We stopped for about an hour and a half and had lunch and loaded up on groceries and fuel for our stove. We got off highway 1 and cycled a few more miles towards Samuel P Taylor State Park. While ascending a long hill we saw two touring cyclists come down the hill very quickly. They gave us a wave and encouraged us up the hill. We then got off the road completely onto a paved bike path along a river and Redwoods. It took us all the way to the campground through a damp cool path. Quite a change from the day’s ride. The State Park was where the first paper mill was built along the pacific coast.
We had over an hour of sunlight left and were able to cook and eat our food in the daylight. At the hiker biker site we met Murray, who has been hiking around California and the surrounding area for 5 and a half months. He showed me a bear proof food container that he had. Basically a round plastic cylinder. Brilliant idea, especially when you are hiking in the back country,
Tomorrow we have a short 30mile ride to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. It will involve navigation through many city streets so it will likely take up a good part of the day. We reserved a campsite in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, as there are a very limited number of sites, and they can only be occupied with a reservation. They are all rustic sites with no water or showers, but they are supposed to have a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco. We will be in San Francisco very shortly. We are very excited!
There have been quite a few raccoons that have come visited our picnic table while we are lying in our tent, but thankfully we’ve been able to store all of our food and cooking equipment in the supplied food cabinet. Right now we are falling asleep to the sound of a generator from afar from the ruggedly old RV that also decided to camp here tonight!
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