Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 13:57:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Zander
Subject: RoadKill Repot 22May98

RoadKill Report 22May98

Once again, hello everyone and welcome to the newest recipients of this piece of sh**. Today's report comes to you straight from Lanette and Jon's place in sunny Monterey and covers the last three days of my adventures. I traveled from Porterville (they never heard of Yuengling!) to Monterey; stopping off in Madera (see an alcohol theme here?) and Los Banos (no relation to Los Lobos whose music I detest anyway).
In rereading my last report, I found it unorganized and confusing at times. Well, deal with it. I was writing under time constraints and wanted to get it all in there. I'll try to be more organized hereafter.
So, without further ado….

18May98
Place: Porterville

This was my first "rest day" - the day I sent out the first report. A lot of firsts on this day… I found out from a lady in the Post Office that the General's Highway - the road which would go through the majority of the sequoias was closed due to snow (!) So, I decided that I'd had enough freezing nights and enough cold days and headed for the coast on the 19th.
I wanted to add a note of very special thanks to Vern at "The Computer Zone" for hooking me up big time to write my last report. He's got a great connection and awesome eye candy on his machines. Although his prices for internet access are double what the local library charges, at better than twice the speed, he's the best bet for you if you ever get to Porterville. And, you can even talk to the precocious kids of one of his employees…. Fascinating conversation…..
The day ended for me at a Chinese restaurant - good food, cheap prices and best of all, lots of rice!

19May98
Place: Porterville to Madera, CA
Distance: 125.21 miles, 606 total
Time: 11 hours, 25 minutes (includes all breaks like lunch, etc.)
Max. speed: 23.3mph
Avg. speed: 14.93mph

I'll start including the stats above from here on out for those who may be interested. "Time" means I start the timer on my computer when I start in the morning and don't turn it off until I'm at wherever I plan to be in the evening. Max. Speed is just what it says. The maximum speed I attained during the day, usually on a downhill…. Average speed is the average rolling speed - this function doesn't count times when Jezebel is sitting while I am eating or sitting, or whatever.

Woke up early (no alarm, just happened to) so I could get an early start - today was going to be a long one and I was a little worried about making it to Madera before it got dark if I left at my "usual" 10am.
Got going around 8:30am. Today was rather uneventful - a tour of orchards and fields. Like I said before, now I know where all of our california produce comes from. Being in the San Joaquin Valley (don't even ask me how to pronounce this one! It's far worse than La Jolla) is a lot like being in central Thailand (I know, not many of you have been there either) - it's flat, the roads are flat and straight and very, very boring.
Let's see here… Took 65 North back to town (Porterville) then 190 West to where it ends in booming Tipton. There wasn't even a traffic light here! From there I took 43 north past Corcoran which bills itself as something like the produce capital of America… I guess we all have goals in this world. Personally, one of mine isn't to live anywhere near the produce capital of the world….
I wanted to head west to Guernsey but missed the turn 'cause it wasn't marked. No big deal b/c all the roads run basically on a grid so any old road would do…
When I got to Hanford I decided to stop for lunch and turned into town. Found a pizzeria and had a good hamburger. I was the only customer in the place the whole time I was there. Go figure…
After lunch I headed west into town to 10th street and hung a right. 10th street took me north out of town and back to highway 43. A few more miles down the road and I hung a left towards Laton, which isn't really a town. It's more a collection of about six farmhouses. Before I knoew it, I was at Highway 41.
I was beginning to feel the day at this point - it was hot, I was getting tired and the wind was slowly picking up. (a headwind, of course) I made the turn west towards Caruthers and in town - yes, this one actually looked like a real town. A small one, but a town. At the biggest intersection in town I thought I should go NW but wasn't 100% sure so I crossed the intersection and asked a cop there who happened to be giving a guy a ticket. I apologized for interrupting such a solemn affair and asked if that road went to Raisin City (I'll give you three guesses as to what the major crop is around there. Hint - Sun Maid has a HUGE packing plant nearby…). The cop replied with an accusatory "Why do you want to go there?"
Thinking I must look pretty dangerous with my day-glo orange pennant (minivan avoidance system) and bike shorts, I explained that I figured that by going through Raisin City I could avoid Interstate 99 and it would be the fastest way to Madera from here.
The guy getting the ticket said yes, that is the best way. He put "Sir" at the end of all his sentences. Maybe it had something to do with the cop?? The cop agreed and the ticketee made a sigh of relief…. I wished the poor guy good luck, even though I don't think the cop let him off, and thanked the surly cop for his help (he looked like he'd eaten 1 or two donuts too many) and headed towards Raisin.
Speaking of donuts, I don't know about the rest of California but donut shops are wildly popular here. About as popular as steak joints are in Philadelphia. And, those of you from that great city know I'm NOT talking about T-Bone or even sirloin here. I'm talking about good, greasy chopped steak on a good crusty roll served with an addytude! I succumbed to the temptation in Madera and ordered a "Philly Cheesesteak". Never again will I assault my palete with such worthless crap!! The roll was like a long hot dog roll, the meat tasted like hamburger and the place didn't have any ketchup. If I wasn't ravenous, I would have shoved it in their face and said "yo, you don no shit bout steaks!"
So, I must go without my steaks until returning to the city of brotherly love…

Ah, I digress…. I made it to Raisin with no problem. Sometimes I feel like a beta-tester for triple-A. In raisin the triple-A map is wrong. Second error I've found so far… I wanted to head north to 180W and then go north on 145. Well, after asking some locals who were very nice - the one who knew the roads I wanted spoke only Spanish so her friend, who is perfectly bi-lingual translated - I headed west and ended up on 145 about 10 miles south of Kerman,
After riding into Kerman (no relation to Kermit-the-frog), I was really beat and beginning to question why I wanted to do this ride at all. My moral swings wildly when I get tired so I knew to keep slogging away and at the end of the day I'd feel good about what I did. I stopped to eat in Kerman at a chinese place called Hong Kong. The food sucked but I got my rice fix…
Then I rode the last 18 miles north on 145 into the wind which was continuing to increase and seemed almost gale force at times. Arriving at the campground in Madera I met the manager, a really nice guy who was very helpful in informing me they have a hot tub (!!!) only problem was it was 7:45 and the hot tub closed at 8. Sigh. I was too tired to do anything but set up my tent, shower and sleep, which I did in that order.
Throughout the night the wind was "howling like a Banshee" but I "slept like a baby".

20May98
Place: Madera to San Luis Reservoir (Los Banos) CA
Distance: 68.92 miles, 675 total
Time: 9 hours, 13 minutes (includes all breaks like lunch, etc.)
Max. speed: 17.8mph
Avg. speed: 12.35mph

Woke up at 6am to a howling wind. Woke up much earlier than I expected but, I didn't feel tired so I got moving. I talked to the manager and his friend about a more direct way to Los Banos from Maderea than what my triple-A map shows. They pulled out a county map and let me study it for a while. Just like the rest of this flat vally, most all roads run north-south or east-west.
I rode about a 1/2 mile south and ate breakfast first so didn't actually get going 'til almost 10am. From there, headed west on 14th avenue for a few miles then went north to 16th avenue, headed west on that for a few miles until that road ended then went north to 18-1/2 avenue (yes, they even have 1/4 avenues here which has no relation to the size of the road. It must be a California thing)
I was able to follow 18 1/2 avenue almost all the way out to Red Top which is on Route 152 W. of Chowchilla. Surprisingly my legs felt better today than yesterday, maybe they were a bit stiff yesterday from the day off? But, had a heavy headwind all day today. Ugh.
Hmmm… let's see today, according to my journal I saw Walnut orchards, orange orchards and alfalfa, grapes, lettuce, brocoli, etc. etc. Rabbits here must either all be dead or too fat to move. All the rivers and irrigation canals (it's hard to tell the difference in this manicured countryside) are running high - must be the rain/snow from last week and el ninio…
After riding west on 152 for about 12 miles my bottom bracket, which has been periodically making minor noises for a long, long time (read: several years) made one loud "clang!" and suddenly became difficult to pedal at all. I suspected a bearing had disintegrated. I tried pedalling and it was like being in high gear with all the force it took… I decided to hitchhike to Los Banos, it being the closest town that would probably have a bike shop.
After 15 minutes of sitting with my thumb out, I got antsy and decided to try riding, figuring I could at least make some headway while I hitched. Lo-and-behold, no noise, no difficulty pedaling…. Now I suspected that the race (it's a little metal cage that holds the bearings, you don't actually need it but many bike parts that use bearings have 'em) had disintegrated and the metal pieces were getting caught in the bearings. My guess would prove true but that's a story for tomorrow.
So, I rode into Los Banos without incident. Now, it was only about 2pm and I had only 12 more miles to go to the state park where I was going to spend the night. Thinking I should try to find a bike shop to solve this problem (even though it wasn't a problem at the moment, I know: animals heal, machines don't), I asked a guy at a gas station for directions to a bike shop in town. He was real helpful, told me it was on sixth street.
I rode down to sixth street and hung a right, just like he said and totally missed the bike shop. I stopped and asked a guy and his wife in a jewelry store where it might be. They recommended I go to a friend of their's around the corner first but, the bike shop in question was a few doors down.
Doing like they told me, I left their shop to find a person (described to me as a "local loon") admiring my bike. He was on a modified mountain bike which was obviously lovingly maintained. He had all kinds of advice for me as to how to "improve" my bike. Most of his advice would have improved the comfort but drastically reduced my speed. I'm riding a racing bike for a reason. If I want comfort, I'd have bought a mountain bike and crawled across America…
It took quite a while to get him to leave me alone while still being polite to him. Everyone who saw us riding through town together kind of rolled their eyes in sympathy towards me. Interesting. The local loon seemed harmless but drove me crazy…
After I got to the bike shop "around the corner" the guy said he doesn't really do bikes but, he has the tools if I can get the bearings. He found a bearing shop in the phone book and suggested I try the other shop first and, if they can't help, come back and he'll see what he can do.
I rode the 2 blocks back to the other shop and finally lost the loon.
Upon entering the shop I got weird looks from the people there (it's also an aquarium shop) and an attitude. When I enquired about help with my bike, they gave me more attitude and said that the guy who does all that is out and won't be back until 5.
Pissed off at their attitude, I went to eat (one whole pizza, 1 liter of soda). Feeling better and with a full stomach, I decided since Jezebel wasn't making any noises right now, I'd press my luck and try to get her fixed in Monterey. I headed out of town, into the headwind.
After about 6 miles (of a 12 mile ride from town) I FINALLY hit hills again. Not big ones; small, rolling hills but, after nearly three days of riding on flat, flat terrain, I was happy to be back into hills!
A further few miles and I was at the campground - the "San Luis Reservoir State Park" There was no ranger at the entrance so I self-registered (hiker/biker - $3) and went down to the campground and settled in for the evening. Interesting thing about this campground was that even though the wind was really honking up at the entrance (same level as the reservoir), in the little valley of the campground, there was almost no wind. Made for a nice respite from the day of fighting the wind.
Only one more day then I'd be at the coast again!!

21May98
Place: San Luis Reservoir (Los Banos) to Monterey, CA
Distance: 75.39 miles, 751 total
Time: 9 hours, 2 minutes (includes all breaks like lunch, etc.)
Max. speed: 35.7mph
Avg. speed: 12.57mph

Woke up early again, at sunrise (just before 6). Took a shower and relaxed in the morning chill as my tarp (goes under the tent to keep the tent, me and my stuff dry) dried in the sun.
I could hear the wind howling in the trees above me but it was quite calm in the campground. Nice.
The first 10 miles or so were spent fighting the wind up a hill to Panoche Pass - elevation 1,1xx feet. After the mountains of a few days ago, this was nothing. Nice wide road with a wide shoulder….
Near the peak I saw a windmill farm off in the distance so I guess this area is usually windy. Next time I ride across America (not! Once is enough) I'll be sure to be eastbound herre instead of westbound.
From the peak it was mostly all downhill for the following 10 miles - nice except with the wind, it felt like I was riding level instead of downhill.
Stopped in Bells Station for lunch #1. According to a historic marker there, this "town" (it consists of a single restaurant) is "probably the last place in California named after a stagecoach station, not a RR station." Oh Boy. Glad to hear that. I can see the tourists flocking here. "Gertrude, do you think they should put this place on the endangered species list? It is the last of it's kind…"
Well, the town may be dinky (there's a town in CA. Called Dinky - I saw it on the map!) but the restaurant looms large in my memory (things associated with food usually do). Run by a nice woman (?40's?) and helped out by a friend of hers (guy, about my age) the food was great and they were very friendly. The restaurant was neat, too.
Well feuled for the next leg of my days journey, I continued west on 152 to the junction with 156. At the junction there was road construction for about 3/4 of a mile - resurfacing the road. They let me go through the constuction over the hot asphalt. Yuk. Took 10 miles before it all came off my tires! The steamroller driver made a joke by gesturing that he was going to flatten me like a pancake. All the workers and I laughed at this but I kept an eye on that steamroller!
B/c of the constuction holding up traffic, traffic was light all the way into Hollister. Here I stopped for luch #2, about six donuts and assorted pastries. Gotta love it!
I continued west on 156 to where it merges with route 101, Here it was more like a freeway but bikes were still allowed on the road. Nice wide shoulder but trucks whizzing by at 65mph kept me alert. The terrain was still rolling hills with some of the biggest eucalyptus trees I've ever seen. I wonder if these groves were planted or are "natural". (As I understand, eucalyptus are an introduced tree but have spread widely)
After about 10 miles of freeway I exited back onto 156 west. I wanted to but had to also - there was a sigh right in front of me that said "No bicycles,…beyond this point" So, I continued on to 156 west for a few more miles. Found a HUGE traffic backup - about three miles long! Being a bike, I just kept on riding, mentally giving all the cars rasberries and thinking "one less car"
The traffic jam was caused by more resurfacing. After a quick glance for migrating steamrollers (and errant minivans), I rode right on through.
Again having to exit from this road, I wondered how I'd get to Monterey from here - the map sucks at this point - I found a bike path at the top of the exit ramp.
Here I decided to stop for a moment and try to call Lanette. I'd tried to call her the night before from the campground but the phone didn't work - I could hear her saying "hello? Hello?" but the mouthpiece didn't work so I couldn't talk. I bet a lot of you wish all my phones were that way! :-)
Well, only the answering machine. Mai-bpen-rai, neh? (that's thai for "no worries!")
I asked a guy who was sweeping outside of his shop if he knew where the bike path led to - he said it led straight to Monterey! Yipee!
14 more miles and I was in Monterey. I tried to call Lanette again and got the answering machine again but, when I hung up, I happened to glance across the street.
Glaring me in the face was a REAL bicycle shop! Jezebel had been good to me all day - not making too many noises and not braking down so I figured I owed it to her… I went to the back door instead of the front and met Jack the manager of the store. I explained my problem and said I could do the work and all but I didn't have the wrenches needed (figuring I'd never have problems with my bottom bracket, they are the only wrenches I didn't bring with me on this trip!). He said he couldn't let me do the work in the shop - he'd get in trouble, he loaned me the wrenches and let me do it right there, just outside. He also mentioned I had only an hour b/c they were closing at 6 to go mountain biking.
Quickly I took the load off of Jezebel and got the bottom bracket apart - as I suspected, the race was all chewed up and pieces of it were everywhere and, a few of the bearings were partially ground flat!
I cleaned the cup out and picked all the loose pieces of metal out of the bracket, greased it up, put in the new bearings, put it all back together and was good to go!
I finished about 10 to six.
I thanked Jack and asked him how much I owed him. He replied "Hey, no problem. You're on a Quest." Cool, neh?
I then talked to him a a few of his buddies for a little while - they asked where I was going. When I told them it was either my friend's or the campground they asked where my friend lives. I told them the street and they said I was like a 1/2 mile from there! Good luck! I said good bye to them and headed up here.
Lanette wasn't home and it was about 6:45 when I arrived. I figured I'd wait 'til about 8. If she didn't arrive by then (Jon is back in NYC) I'd head to the campground. I sat around eating (I always keep plenty of things to eat in my bags), writing in my journal and stuff.
At about 5 to eight I decided I'd better get going. Just as I decided this, Lanette pulls into the driveway! Yippee! A nice flat floor to sleep on! Now, I can sleep anywhere and don't mind the tent but, it's nice to be in a house too….
So, we talked a bit, met Lanette and Jon's roomate, Bob, had dinner and that's about it for the day.

22May98
Place: Monterey CA
Distance: 0 miles, 606 total
Time: 0
Max. speed: 0mph
Avg. speed: 0mph
Rest day today. Doing laundry, washing my bike shoes (they smell so incredibly horrid!) and writing this. If I have time, I'll head out to see some of Monterey. I'll probably take tomorrow off too and then head north on Sunday.

That's all for now folks!

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