Day 3,4,5 and 6 -placerville, Ca to Fallon, Nv

Day 3 

Day 3 began like any other, on a construction site in a rural suburb of a far out town. We packed up camp as it was our first night under the stars, then tucked into a hearty breakfast of bread, jam and peanut butter. 

On our previous blog we missed out a crucial bit about a cycling companion we picked up along the way. We met Peter while having lunch in Folsom and rode with him for a couple of days. He taught us a lot about touring cycling, not least how to rough camp.  However, it was his relaxed way of life that rubbed off on most I think.

Now back to the story...

We left before the builders turned up and headed along the highway. It was at this point we began to climb. We started the day at 1100ft and the climbs were fairly steep to start with with good twisty roads through heavily wooded valleys. There were a few quick, hair raising fast descents but these were followed always by a lot more climbing. We then we told by a local chap to go via a road called 'Slug Gulch', he said it attracted many cyclists to it so we thought we must give it a go. The reason for its popularity was the fact that it was two miles of road I believe to average about 12% (brutally steep!) This took us about 30-40 minutes to power over but when we got to the top to an extremely strange selection of houses on this ridge with incredible views, and we had lunch. 

Next came the magnificent Eldorado Forest, with an insanely huge expanse of coniferous trees going for many many miles. By now, we were so far from the beaten track that it was peaceful and relaxing for all of us. Bearing in mind we are still climbing on a much gentler gradient if about 4-6% (still uphill, but slot easier than the 12% from the morning). The best moment of the day was arriving at a sign just before Cooks Station that told us we had just passed 5000ft. Another great achievement for us and we were on course for celebrations but bad news arrived in the form of a shut shop, no food being served and getting charged $15 a pitch for our tents. We had a mad rush in our panniers to lump all the food together we had that came to a couple of packets of rasins, some penut butter and 1 slice of bread, and a slice of salami left over from lunch. We settled in for a long hungry night but as soon as we had finished our 'light supper' the owner of the shop turned up and let us run riot, buying what felt like the whole shop out of food. So in the end we weren't too hungry but it's fair to say its lesson learnt. 

FAA 

However, it wasn't the lack of food wasn't the most of our problems that night. Here are Sams thoughts of what wasn't his best nights sleep: 

We are on the undercover eating area outside, no tents just camped together with Peter outside at the rest stop, it's going well. I woke up at 2 and haven't got back to sleep yet it's 4, when hearing this loud banging in the bins just down the hill at 330. We had be forewarned of the bears around these parts but to hear it was bloody terrifying as we were offered the option of camping anywhere down the hill where this bear now was. I am still sat here sat two hours later and anxious about the thought of this bear getting onto the veranda, but no worries people Sale is the closest to the entrance, sound asleep so I should hear his scream and be able to scarper. - Sam

Day 4 

Woke up at 630 in Cooks Station for breakfast that was called 'the monster lumberjack', a vast amount of eggs, bacon, ham, hash brown, toast and sausages. Having fuelled up we began to climb and climb and climb. We were covering about 1100 feet vertically an hour which was a lot with 20-25kg on the panniers. It was made much worse with the fog that made the views disappear so quite unfortunate but still getting to Carson's Pass was an unbelievable feeling as it's the highest point in the Sierra Nevada's. 

The decent off the top was fast with Sale clocking 48 mph (76 kph) without pedalling. We didn't touch the breaks for the whole way down as it was such an open road. Although lorries passing at 70mph was fairly nerve racking. 

The views were spectacular as seen from the photos just incredibly large spaces. The pass over to the Tahoe Basin was awesome and the six miles downhill made the day worth it completely.

We went to a music festival in the evening which was great as the sunset down over the mountains. The got some beers and headed to the beach where we slept for the night. Just another unbelievable experience waking up to the sun over a lake and on the beach. 

Today we relax, running errands to prepare for the real mountains which begin shortly.

Day 4 

Woke up at 630 in Cooks Station for breakfast that was called 'the monster lumberjack', a vast amount of eggs, bacon, ham, hash brown, toast and sausages. Having fuelled up we began to climb and climb and climb. We were covering about 1100 feet vertically an hour which was a lot with 20-25kg on the panniers. It was made much worse with the fog, rain, wind and sub 5 degree temperatures. Moreover, the views were non existent in the fog which was a shame as we climbed over Carson's Pass at 8700 feet. Nonetheless, it was an unbelievable feeling as it's the highest point in the Sierra Nevada's. 

The decent off the top was fast and VERY COLD with Sale clocking 52 mph without pedalling. We didn't touch the breaks for the whole way down as it was such an open road. Although lorries passing at 70mph+ was fairly nerve racking. 

The views were spectacular as seen from the photos just incredibly large spaces. The pass over to the Tahoe Basin was awesome and the six miles downhill made the day completely worthwhile. 

With a day off tomorrow, We grabbed some beers and went to a sundowner music festival by the side of the lake.  As the festival finished, we realized that we didn't have a place tof stsy for the night so decided to crash on the beach for the night. Just another unbelievable experience waking up to the sun over a lake and on the beach. 

Today we relax, running errands to prepare for the real mountains which begin shortly.

Day 5 

This morning waking up on South Lake Tahoe beach to a look at the millpond in front if us with the sun coming up over the hills was just spectacular. We lay there for an hour or so just taking it all in and realising how awesome the last few days had been. 

Getting up we ventured into a breakfast place called The Big Bear which was great again having an great avocado, bacon and mushroom omelette topped off with some real English tea, which has taken me so long to find. The Americans love to drink weak teas which just doesn't cut it at all. So back the Bear we were just sat for a couple of hours eating, drinking tea/ coffee for the others. Sale was very keen to plan the route for the eight days ahead as the profile looks pretty horrific and services than we have had to this point so far. 

After that we went and bought a cooker as hot meals are a very appealing thing to look forward to each day when camping. It was then off to the beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun with a 'lake recovery session' in the middle. It's been about 25C today which was just ideal for all of us, back now a our hosts house trying to work the washing machine which has confused us all, google saved us and we now have fresh kit for tomorrow. 

We are probably out of signal for eight days but may get the odd hotspot about the place so the posts will become fairly scarce. 

Day 6: 

We rolled out of Tahoe at 6am today and hit highway 50, known as the longest road in America and our home for the next 1000 miles or so and as soon as we did that we the California/Nevada border...1 state down, 8 to go!

We said goodbye to Lake Tahoe and climbed gently out of the bowl that we had descended into two days beforehand and down into Carson city and intot the desert! We had expected it to hot but the realization of how hot was extremely daunting so we found the closest diner and demolished a plate a pancakes each. 

Into the desert we went, sun creamed up to the eyeballs and laden with water. We rode hard for a couple of hours before swinging into a pizza place and demolishing a rather large pizza before sitting out the hottest part of ther day trying to plan Sams future amongst other things.

Out we went again at 4 and by now it was really really hot! The mirage of the road was almost hollywoodesque, as were the dried out lakes we cycled past. However after a long snd rather slow 25 miles we arrived at our hosts for the evening, (another courtesy of warm showers) brad and Stacy were very freindly indeed with a welcome beer before taking us off to the rodeo for the evening. Unfortunately, there was no rodeo but it was a good fun none the less. A couple more beers back at brads house with bob his buddy sent to us to sleep well before things get basic for the next 7 days or so living out our panniers. Also wifi won't be too freely available in the middle of the desert so it's over and out for a couple more days. 

Day 1 and first half of day 2

Having arrived at San Francisco at roughly 3 in the afternoon I was faced with the challenge of cheaply getting to the Twin Peaks hotel where Sam and Charles already were. I duly gave up and spent fifty dollars on a taxi. All I have to say about the hotel is that my room smelt like wacky backs but luckily I got the room opposite Sam and Charles. After reassembling my bike we all went on search for the ore ride dinner. It is safe to say that the burrito we had was definitely the best meal I have ever eaten, only made more entertaining by a sing off between two men in the restaurant!

We woke up bright and early at 7am and headed on over to the Golden Gate Bridge, the starting point for our journey. After taking a few snaps of us in all our charity gear we shot down to Fisherman's wharf to catch the ferry to Vallejo. From Vallejo we had 50 miles to our destination in Davis. It is fair to say there were moments in that 50 miles where I was doubting my ability to actually complete this journey, mainly because of Jet lag and also the severe heat. We did stop in a place called Winters so I could sleep in a bar and that was about 10 miles from  Davis. 

In Davis we were greeted by an amazing couple Katherine and John, who I genuinely think are our guardian Angels! A huge shout out to them as hosts if anyone is cycling through Davis you won't find a better place to stay. We all had a cold shower outside, which may sound awful to some of you reading this but it was absolutely stunning considering the heat that day! Dinner was sausages and pasta with a couple of beers, exactly what the doctor ordered. At that point we had no energy left so Sam and Charles shared the bed and I offered to camp on the floor with my sleeping mat and sleeping bag because it was a better option than sleeping with Charles and Sam. All in all a really tough day but I think it's made us all really exited for the rest of the trip.

Day 2 started even earlier than day 1 and we were away by 6 40 ish. Of course after Katherine and John had treated us to pancakes and coffee to send us on our way, ready and prepared. First stop was Sacramento, and it didn't go too well. At the traffic lights somehow Sam ended up flying off his bike and on the road, luckily all of the damage was easily fixable and Sam only had a small graze on his leg. At Sacramento we took a few pictures with the Capitol Building and headed towards the river trail, which we followed all the way to Folsom, I don't think more cyclists have been in one place but it was a really great scenic ride. Writing this blog we are just sitting in an Irish pub avoiding the midday heat and Sam and I got our hair shaved off... Oops, not a good look. Until next time! - JH

A week in San Francisco

San Francisco Day 1:

Still feeling the effects of the eight hour time difference, Sam and I were up at 6 (the earliest I have been up for a VERY long time! ) and ready to explore. First though was breakfast, and what a 
breakfast it was, pankankes, eggs, bacon, sausages all drowned in maple syrup! That wasn't the best part though, that prize goes to the AMOUNT! It all bodes well for the rest of the trip!

Then within three minutes of leaving the diner a man who had clearly been inspired by Breaking Bad, started yelling at us using the full range of the English language. This was fairly scary but we blanked him and moved swiftly on. However a run in like this so early on in the trip has really opened our eyes and it was certainly a very large shock to the system to receive within three minutes of being on the street.

The rest of the day passed without incident with Sam and I merrily exploring Downtown San Francisco! On our tour, a park warden decided to give us a history lesson on San Francisco and it's military defenses which was very intresting if slightly random. On the way back to the hostel, we did get very excited over the display of the Americas Cup winning boat from 2003 as well as the Monaco style sailing boats that were also bobbing around in the marina.

Civic Centre

San Francisco Cathedral 

Lombard Street

Alcatraz

Bay Bridge

Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Bridge

With the drinking age being 21, we returned early to the hostel and put our bikes together from their disassembled state ready to use tomorrow.

Day 2:

Again, Sam and I set off early for somewhere for breakfast. Just as we were cycling down the road an English bloke who had cycled from Fort Lauderdale in Florida swung by. We got chatting and picked his brains on cycling across the USA, it was fair to say he was jealous of our route after he flogged his way through 120 degrees Fahrenheit of heat every day for three months. We don't think we are mad for cycling 4000 miles, but cycling 4000 miles in scorching heat is!

Breakfast was another big affair with free refills of any drink that you have order. Only two days in and I am beginning to see why most Americans are larger than they should be. With very full 
tummies Sam and I set off towards the most famous landmark on the west coast of America, the Golden Gate Bridge. After we had mucked around taking the usual touristy photos including a couple of cheeky selfies we set off across the bridge. Slaloming through psdedtrians was the order of the day and by the end of the bridge 1.7 miles later we were bloody good at it, weaving left then right round tourists from all over the world. They probably all told us to do the same thing...

After crossing the bridge we had a cycling moment. Seeing a road winding upwards sharply along the side of a cliff face, with no reason not to go up, we just decided that we would cycle up this hill, a hill that turned out to be a lot longer and steeper than we had both expected. We wondered over supper what it was inside of us that told us to cycle up that hill would be fun, probably the same part that told us to cycle across America was also going to be fun. Either way, whatever told us to go up the hill was right, the views from the top were simply incredible (seen photos).

The afternoon consisted of exploring down town San Francisco is a very haphazard way that neither 
of us really understood, but thanks to the genius of building a city of a grid system we got home.

Sam now worn out from this activity, went for a lie done while I nipped downstairs to the babours. Anyone that knows me and has seen me recently will agree that during my time in Sri Lanka I did not come face to face with any scissors. However as we will be facing temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius in the next two months or so things had to change. Off came ALL my hair! Next its Sam's turn for a stream lined hair cut.

Tomorrow should be a great day as I have booked some tickets to go and watch Oakland Athletic play baseball vs Boston Red Sox. anyone that has seen or read the book Moneyball will know what I'm talking about.

Day 3:

We woke up early again on Thursday and decided that we should head to Golden Gate Park for the day. It's a big park about five miles long by half a mile wide. So we cycled off there and went to explore the various features it had to offer. On arrival we found the Japanese Tea Garden but decided to avoid that as it was too busy. There was a huge modern museum called the De Yong so we had a quick scan at a few paintings but again this was too expensive for our $35 a day budget so we spent the time exploring golden gate park. 

Lunch, again, was a highlight as we found a small sandwich bar that did the best burgers and steak sandwiches we have ever had! Theses things were incredible and we took them to the brilliantly named Shakespeare Gardens where we had a man juggling for our lunch break entertainment. There's always something to look st in San Francisco we have found!

On the way back we had another "cycling moment" and managed to find the steepest hill in the city with a gradient of 32%. As it was pre ceded by five streets all with increasing gradient up to the 32%, it was brutal!

In the evening we got on the BART which is a limited version of the London Underground to Oakland across the bay to watch Oakland Athletics play. The Boston Red Sox were 'in town' so we it was a big game. We had a fantastic time, chatting to the locals with a couple of beers and bigger hot dogs than you could ever imagine! In the end the 'Oakland A's' won 4-2 which was a good result I suppose, not that we had got to grips properly with the rules!

Oakland Athletics Stadium: Coliseum 

Day 4:

After a late night at the baseball, we had a relaxed morning in our hotel watching the World Cup relaying messages to our parents that we were still alive etc before heading out to lunch with the OU contact on the West Coast of America, Will Cazalet. It was great to reminisce about Uppingham and especially Lorne House, comparing stories and hearing hoe the place changed over The 20 years before we arrived. 

Next was another meeting with another ex Uppingham and Lorne house boy. However, this time it was George Jackson who was in our year and whom we both know very well. Coninsidently, George and his dad where in San Francisco at the same time as us for 50's birthday partyfter having driven a ford mustang down the coast from Oregon, stopping off to surf along the way. It was greets to see George as we wandered through down town San Francisco checking out all the very expensive designer shops.

Supper was another meal with one of our contacts in California Peter Muray who had just completed a trip of his own from Denver, Colorado to Las Vegas through the Rockies on Harley Davidsons. I'm sure by the time we have finished we will have as many stories as we heard having dinner! These stories combined with the fact that although the drinking age is 21, it's a lot easier than one would think to get served.

Day 5: 

Feeling worn out after a busy few days we wandered back to the same creperie as the morning before and Sam ordered the largest breakfast I have every seen. It was a crepe filled with an omelette a huge portion of potatoes. Also tried the 'English Breakfast' tea which was the worst cup of tea I have ever had. The Americans just don't do tea! 
We then met George again and decided to try to get to the Academy of Sciences which meant we got incredibly lost about three miles from it but getting on and off various buses we got there. Only to find that it was $35 each to go in and we couldn't justify that sort of cost just for a look around a museum. 

We then crossed the bay to alameda to go to supper with George's godfathers partner, at his birthday party which was great and very kind of them to invite us. We were introduced as 'The cyclists' and everyone was very supportive of outer idea and plan. They did however think that we were completely barking mad! After a top evening Sam and returned home, knowing that we would be three, a full team and ready to move out the next evening.

Day 6:

The thought of a lie in was a very nice one considering the amount of early starts we are about to have so Sam and I wrote th e morning off in our hotel rooms before heading back to alameda for round two of the party, a lunch cooked by George. T be fair to him, he nailed it and it was delicious! 

We said our goodbyes and thank you's and returned to the hotel where we were greeted by the third, slightly bleary eyed member of our team, Jamie. Surprisingly he wasn't too jet lagged and he managed to re assemble his bike and come out for a bite to eat with us before getting some much needed sleep. This gave Sam and myself the time to pack, make sure everything fits in our panniers before we head off tomorrow!