Day 7 – Upon Us All A Little Rain Must Fall - Led Zeppelin

We began our final day in Hales Grove. It was an hour drive from our hotel. There is nothing in Hales Grove except a guy selling a bunch of redwood slices. Dr B and Maureen couldn’t resist a small souvenir of Ian’s Ride 2020. Fortunately Edwin was available to carry the slice. The woodsman asked about our group and we filled him in. He kindly offered his bathroom if we needed it. This amused me since this crew of mine has done everything imaginable behind redwoods over the last week.

Invacare, the manufacturer of my wheelchair was the sponsor of the day. We all huddled up and posed for a few shots to thank them for supporting Ian’s Ride. Although we thought rain was in the forecast, our confidence was high because Jimmy told us it was not going to rain. We set off on our final start under rainfall that persisted for the next 3 1/2 hours and 20 miles.

For battery strategy we started well before the big descent that awaited us. We had about 5 miles of relative flat and then began the up and down. The traffic was mellow. The drivers passing us were attentive and even enthusiastic. We saw a big nest which was either osprey or eagle. There were gullies and rivulets that were emphasized by the continued rain. It was beautiful and wet.

The wet conditions were only doable because of good gear. The phones, jacket, canopy and rain chaps (which the crew now affectionately call my merman suit) are all waterproof. The fuzzy dice didn’t fare so well. Without all the proper gear I could not have endured the rain so long. I still had problems. The jacket/rain chaps junction was not properly sealed off. So I was wet in the groin, which thankfully I could not feel. I had water in my eyes and worse, I had water dripping down into my trach which caused occasional coughing. I had a couple moments of lost traction on the white stripe on the side of the road. Generally I prefer smooth asphalt roads, but they are not so friendly in the rain. Chip seal was much better.

The crew was a lot more wet than I. It turns out that Vans can really hold a lot of water. They were pouring water out of their shoes. Jimmy was upset that his Skittles got wet. Our support vehicle was

gone for 2 1/2 hours looking for lunch for the crew. We had no cover other than the trees.

This is not advisable in a power wheelchair

After the descent we hit the coastline which was slightly underwhelming due to the low clouds. The shoulders started to get really sparse, and the traffic started to increase both in volume and speed. Just past Westport I heard brakes squealing, a car sliding, a honk, and some loud expletives from Dr B. An impatient driver tried to pass a car that was slowly following us when an oncoming car approached. It was hella sketchy and put us all on edge. The support van, my mom, arrived with lunch just in time to see this close call. She was now on edge too.

I was cold. That water in my lap wasn’t helping. I was slightly bummed from the endless miles of rain. It was a sketchy part where we stopped and we would have to get back out in the same stuff. I rolled into the van to try and warm up and rest. After an hour and a half with little change, but ridiculous antics from the rogue theater group that is my crew, I agreed to carry on.

Some encouragement from the crew to get back on the road

We had 10 more miles to go before we could leave the highway for good. We went through a one lane construction zone and a beautiful grove of Monterey Cypress. We saw some socially distanced cows, the rugged coastline, and finally we saw the sun. Traffic continued to grow and we just fell into a pattern of pulling out when we could and using the crazy arm waving mama bear support vehicle in the back to slow the cars down that were speeding up behind us on blind curves. There were a couple more buttheads but we managed. That last stretch of the 101 was stressful and indicative of the entire ride.

At about the 30 mile mark, we left the highway for good, and rolled Into Mackerricher State Park. Jimmy’s family was waiting for us, and they hopped on bikes to join us on the final four miles on MSP Road. It was fun to have the girls and Leah along for the last bit. The MSP road is a multi use trail that is really just a decommissioned road. It was bumpy and uneven but we could finally relax a bit without all the cars whizzing by. The ride ended just across a trestle where we were joined by two of our gold sponsors, Dan from Diestco with his friend Pete, and Tim, from Safe Path Products with his friend Lori. Maureen’s parents, Fran and Eileen were also there along with my Mom and Edwin. The sun was setting, it was 7 pm. We were a bit emotional.

Nearing the finish line and repping Invacare

As mentioned, this was the most technical and difficult ride I’ve done. There were two good days, and the rest was sustained stress. There were moments of beauty and extreme laughter, and moments of nail biting concern. The challenges we experienced didn’t deter us from enjoying our time out on the open road, but it gave us an appreciation for the challenges of bike routes.

Thanks again to my amazing, entertaining and hardworking crew for always lifting me up.