Gypsy General, Pacific Coast Bicycle Route

Pacific Coast Bicycle Route – Day 36- Pedaling to Point Reyes

Leaving Bodega Bay after our coffee and pastry breakfast, we heard barking sea lions as we passed by the fish house.

Sea lions hiding under fish house, Bodega Bay
Sea lions hiding under fish house, Bodega Bay, very low tide

With the very low tide we thought we could see him, but he must have been under the pilings. A few miles outside of Bodega Bay, we were stopped for awhile for a road paving job. While the lead pickup truck passed through the ending checkpoint, we didn’t make it through and evidently the lady holding the stop and go sign didn’t notify the fellow on the far end. So we’re cycling through with traffic coming at us. Construction workers had us cycle on the wrong side of the road that had not been paved yet, to avoid the oncoming traffic. We made it safely to the open road and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

We left the ocean cliff riding for a day of rolling ranch country.

Rolling down the hill, more fun
Rolling down the hill, more fun
Rolling ranches outside of Valley Ford, CA
Rolling ranches outside of Valley Ford, CA
Ducks in the pond, and you can't see the pigs, chickens and cows, just like Old McDonald
Ducks in the pond, and you can’t see the pigs, chickens and cows, just like Old McDonald

It is amazing to see this beautiful ranch country just on the other side of the rocky, coastal region. We can see why the pioneers fell in love with this part of the country – except for droughts – oh and earthquakes and tsunamis, on second thought…

After passing through Tomales, the road widened a little and followed Keys Creek through the hillsides, arriving at the edge of Tomales Bay.

Keys Creek, outside of Tomales, Ca
Keys Creek, outside of Tomales, Ca

We followed the Bay for the rest of the ride into Point Reyes Station. Tomales Bay is bordered by the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay

With the cloud cover and the fog hanging on the mountains to the west, we could have been in Scotland. In fact, across the bay the town was called Inverness. Guess others thought the same of the topography.

Fog descends on Inverness - Scotland?
Fog descends on Inverness – Scotland?

As we were climbing the last hill into Point Reyes Station, I heard a funny noise and felt a sliding of my seat. I stopped, Bill checked the saddle and the rail had broken.

Bummer!
Bummer!

He managed a temporary repair until we could find a bike shop. Luckily, there was a shop in Point Reyes Station.

Thank goodness for this bike shop in Point Reyes!
Thank goodness for this bike shop in Point Reyes!

And, double luck, they had a similar bike seat. Bill is complaining to the bike seat company. I’m just happy to have a seat that works. Riding that bike seat-less would be unacceptable.

Since our lodging was a few miles outside of town, we decided to have lunch after the bike shop stop. We brought a light dinner back with us to the B and B. Tomorrow we have a short ride to Mill Valley and then the next day, The Golden Gate!