October 10, 2015 – Sunny, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 33

Miles to Date: 8,331

States to Date: 25

Every so often I have a yen to see the ocean, and I am always glad to make the trip. Santa Rosa was foggy this morning, and my warmshowers family was great fun, so I lingered awhile and indulged in my hosts’ morning habits – a wheat grass pill and green smoothie laced with ginger followed by a cabbage/sauerkraut/avocado/flax oil salad. The children gobbled it up, and I found it pretty tasty myself. Aaron rode me out of town and got me on the bike path to Sebastopol.

Sebastopol is a hippie place gone upscale. How else can you describe a town whose main supermarket is Whole Foods? I stopped by the Luther Burbank experimental farm on the outskirts of town, and stopped by a wood lathe artist’s shop participating in Sonoma County Open Arts Festival. Continuing west, the scent of the sea grew strong, as did the wind.

I stopped by Wild Flour Bakery in Freestone, after at least four people recommended it. The place was packed at 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, and for good reason. The cinnamon bun was a meal, and I got a loaf of fragrant bread to bring my evening’s host, who was the first person to tip me off to this wood fired gem.

Fueled by raw vegan energy and a giant baked sweet (a dietary conflict of the highest order) I began my serious climb to the coast along Bohemian Highway to Occidental. Coleman Valley Road is ten miles of cycling bliss with steep climbs, dark forests, and hairpin switchbacks that eventually lead to a broad heath of tall grass bent to the strong north wind. Jane Eyre would be at home here. I smelled the ocean for miles before I actually saw it. The road rose to false peak after false peak until, finally, the Pacific glistened before me. I descended to Highway One and had an hour to enjoy the surf crashing into Arch Rock. My host gave me a wonderful dinner and good conversation in exchange for one stipulation – no interviewing. I took a Saturday night vacation from conversing with a pad and pen in my hand.