Monday, June 15, 2009

And the people you meet.

Right now, it is 7:34pm at the Wilkes family home and we are living the life, but before we get to that we will do a recap of the goings on since Aunt Susies.




After leaving Aunt Susie's house with a full stomach of cookout food, chips, salsa, and guac, we made our way from Senoma to Napa. Wine country was absolutely beautiful, but Napa had other great surprises in store... Inn'n'out Burgers!!! After filling our stomachs and getting some more supplies we headed towards the campsite which was less than a mile up the road. Good thing, since the burgers did not make the greatest cycling food. They were delicious though. No regrets. The lady at the Skyline RV Park cut us a deal and gave us a key to use the showers, a right that is reserved normally for RV owners. After cleaning ourselves up and setting up camp we headed to bed to get up early for the hard day that was ahead of us.In the morning, none of us were looking forward to the hard climbs that were ahead of us, but we ate our breakfast and headed out. About 6 miles up the road, right before the hills were to start, we met two schoolteachers named John and Doug who were riding their recumbent bicycles. They asked us where we were headed, and when we told them Davis, they seemed flabbergasted that we would attempt to go the way we were planning and guided us out of town on another route that would bypass the mountains and remain relatively flat. This added a lot of miles to our day, but we were thankful for the help. At the edge of Napa, we said our fairwells to John and Doug and headed toward Davis.


On route, we ran into a young lady named Alena who was on her way to Oregon to meet up with some friends where she was going to have cross country bike ride. She was on her way to Davis tonight as well, and had absolutely no idea how to get there. We told her to tag along, and four became five. Right after we picked up Alena we had some major technical difficulties again. Ross' rear rack fell off. Once we had solved the rack problem, we broke the valve off of his tube while trying to put more air in the tire. Later on in the day, we realized that Ross' bike troubles had unbalanced his tires and his brakes were rubbing, so we had to work on that as well. Later on we met a gentleman named Wayne who was from England and was biking across the country as well to raise money for two different charities. Once he got to New York he was going to fly out to Spain, through France, and into his homeland. You can read more about his epic adventure at http://www.thecharityride.com/. Wayne was also rather lost, and he asked to tag along into Davis. He was on his way into Sacramento. After biking with us and Alena for a while he decided that he would be quicker on his own and sped off. In Davis we ran into him again asking for directions.
Once we got to the Wilkes residence we were welcomed with open arms by Dr. Mike Wilkes, his wife Maggie, and their daughter Abbie. They had a spread of delicious appetizers that we demolished. Salmon, cheese, crackers, chips, salsa, and guac. Needless to say, we laid waste to it. We then took a dip in their beautiful pool and had an amazing dinner of grilled chicken, pasta, salad, and Beer. It was great, and much needed after the long day. The Wilkes also let us use their laundry and internet. They have been incredibly generous and have given us a great place to relax at the end of the day. Right now we are going to go do some bicycle surgery and probably head to bed rather early. Peace.
Total Miles: 73, Average speed:13mph

4 comments:

Dr. Tucker said...

You guys are doing great! Ross, I would tell you how jealous I am, but you already know. Good luck with all of your bike probs, man.

Dr. Tucker said...

You guys are doing great! Ross, I would tell you how jealous I am, but you already know. What's with all of the mechanical problems on Ross's bike??

PapaRegis said...

Hey,
Talked to you on the Amerian River Bike Trail today! Best of luck as you trek back to UCON. Hope you found a good place to eat in Placerville! You are on a great adventure for a great cause! Enjoy the ride!

Elizabeth Artrip said...

for real ross - what's the deal with your bike?? not cool. doesn't it know what an honor it is to carry you on such a noble cause? well. i hope you whip it into shape!

doing great guys - keep it up. we're rootin for you on the homefront!