A road bike tour

Iris, age 66,

Road bike Tour to California

Review of the bike Tour to California

The author of this review: Iris from Austria - now retired

I started my tour on March 16^th at South San Francisco.

Using, as usual, the service of the Cal train. Travelling to Sunnyvale (saves energy, time and nerves).

Heading to Saratoga gap.

Luckily as I was, there was sunshine…

I made it to Marina. Night at Marina’s Motel 6.

But to continue the tour has been difficult.

Hwy 1 was blocked by a rockslide.

The tour with the local buses: a nightmare. Cheap, but time consuming.

I made it until King City…

But stranded again.

The local bus service has send me up to Fort Hunter Ligget. But the connection bus didn’t stop.

So back to King City.

Needless to say: King City has never seen a king…

My Californian friends saved me by picking up by car...

Having been welcome in my friends home at Pismo Beach, I have been riding the back country roads: Lake Lopez, Hwy 46 and Old Creek Road, Los Osos Valley Road, Hamony, Old Edna Winery etc.

Not knowing, how sick I went (Flue and a hard cuffing), we went down to Havasu City. Via Ridgecrest, we hit Death Valley and Las Vegas.

So, I have been riding Death Valley.

I should mention the Western Town Oatman/Arizona.

Just wonderful (the old Route 66).

This gave me the cahnce for a good downhill ride to Havasu City.

That's what Wiki says:

London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States, that is based on the 1831 London Bridge that spanned the River Thames in London, England until it was dismantled in 1967. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, that was bought by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America, in order to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971 along with a canal, and links an island in the lake with the main part of Lake Havasu City.

I should mention my very good exercising tour: Pismo Beach to Goleta via Harris grade. Total: round 100 miles.

Back to Pismo Beach by Amtrak.

I had some good beers with a gentleman riding on the same train “my grandfather has been German – I will retire in Germany”, he said…

Beer is the right drink after a long ride...

A long way back home…

THANK YOU !

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