In Winters
On Saturday, Denise and decided to take our first Fall bike ride. The ride was actually my first in nearly a year and something I had been looking forward to for a long time. We felt we could make the 18+ mile ride into the small city of Winters and back, for a nearly 40 mile ride. We left Vacaville at 10am and as luck would have it, we suffered our first flat tire just outside of Vacaville, near I505. I had never changed a flat tire on a road bike, so this was a good learning experience for me, although I can honestly report my mood wasn’t the most pleasant at that point.
I got the tire patched and repaired in short order and we rode on northward. The fall weather was great for riding and as we got about 2 miles outside of Winters, Denise suffered a flat tire. Our second of the day! Seems like I might have angered the biking gods somehow this day. Nevertheless, we pulled over into a nearby walnut tree orchard and I repaired my second tire of the day. By this time it was getting into the early afternoon and neither Denise and I were in the mood any longer for the ride back. So we stopped into a local Winters coffee shop, called a close friend (Sara D.) and were graciously taxied back to Vacaville. We got in a solid 18 mile ride and for my first lengthly bike ride post-treatment, I think I did pretty well. Although when I got back home, the tidal wave of hurt and fatigue came over me, pretty much keeping me out of action for the remainder of the day. If anyone has any road tire advice, feel free to let me know!
Next time (hopefully soon), I’ll pre-load more calories and we’ll make the ride there and back. Can’t wait!
Mt. Shasta
Well after a 5 1/2 hour drive back into Vacaville on Tuesday, we finally made it home. Just in time to attend Elizabeth’s 4H awards event in Vallejo. Yeah, I know..more driving. Actually the drive home was very relaxing and beautiful as we drove through the rest of southern Oregon and into some scenic mountainous country of northern California. I always love driving past
Shasta and seeing it looming in the distance. However it was a little disappointing driving past Lake Shasta as the water line was quite low. I can’t imagine how low the boat launches must be to get boats into such low water. I was also amazed to feel the change in temperature from Ashland (46°) into Red Bluff (82°). Quite dramatic!
Elizabeth's 4H Award
The 4H awards event was pretty long at just about 2 hours, but it was great to see all the 4H’ers and their various awards. 4H is a very well run organization and takes good care of all it’s members who in turn work very hard. Elizabeth won an award for her presentations for her rabbits.
 The Hood Canal |
 In Ashland, OR |
 At Safeco Field |
 Wine in Woodinville |
We’re having such a great time on this 1+ week vacation to Seattle and our trip back through Oregon and into California. We had originally intended on flying back, but the lure of a nice drive back home was much too strong for Denise and I. So on Sunday, we took the ferry into Seattle with my parents and rented a car from Avis for the return journey home.
With no agenda whatsoever, we began our drive south through Washington, hoping to make it to at least Roseburg, OR before nightfall. Denise thought it would be nice to stop in a visit her friend Julie B. in Vancouver as we passed through. Julie and her family had moved from Vacaville to Vancouver only the week before, so we’d be seeing her family’s new home here in WA. We spent about an hour’s visit in Vancouver and headed south, driving through some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen. I typically fall in love with places we visit pretty easily, and seeing WA and OR was no exception. I’d move up here in a heartbeat. Cooler temps, more rain and beautiful scenery make for a great place to live and work. And with the economy tanking, house prices with acreage are amazingly affordable.
We pulled into Roseburg at about 9:30pm and promptly had a nice dinner at a local steakhouse. After a restful night’s sleep, we were off once again, trying to get to Medford and Ashland for the next night. It was foggy and cold most of the trip and when we arrived in Ashland, it was still very cold. Probably in the high 40’s. We did some shopping in this picturesque little town and found a nice B&B named the Lithia Springs Resort. Ashland is known for its Shakespeare festival and we were hoping to catch a show, but all the stages are dark on this particular Monday. So we went out to listen to some live music at a local bar/cafe and then found our way back to the B&B for the night. Brrrrr, it’s cold up here when the sun goes down.
There are a lot more pictures here.
