Page 18 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2017

Cycling Chileno Valley – Ride #3
By David Abbott
When I started cycling in 1982,
I was a broke Air Force veteran in Tucson, Arizona using a bicycle as transportation because I could not a ord a car. In those days, all I needed was a pair of cuto s – it was the ’80s after all – and a backwards baseball cap or a bandana to take bike rides far into the shimmering desert. Or so I thought.
I often – and very stupidly – did not even take water on rides, usually depending on the kindness of strangers for survival.
It was not until my rst attempt to ride from Tucson to Phoenix, about 125 miles, that I learned the importance
of carrying su cient gear and water on the bike for long rides to remote locations. I set out that hot summer day with nothing but the desire to get to Phoenix, one 12-ounce water bottle, a patch kit and a borrowed pump that turned out to be broken.
Late in the afternoon, about 40 miles
into the ride, I pulled over for a break in the 100-plus- degree heat and wound up in a patch of goatheads that peppered my badly worn tires, leaving them in far worse shape than when I started.
freezing in a dense fog on the next.
Learning to x ats can also be a path to enlightenment,
Su ce it to say that before long, all the patches were gone, as was the water, and my tires were still at. My attitude was shot and I felt completely defeated, resigning myself to die out in the middle of the desert.
as one has to be in a good philosophical space to have that type of disruption and be exible enough to not let it spoil the rest of the ride. I like to look at roadside maintenance in a Zen-like manner and think of it as an opportunity to enjoy my surroundings while I hone my mechanical skills in less than optimal circumstances.
I began hitchhiking shortly before sunset and was fortunate to be picked up by an o -duty highway patrolman who volunteered in his o hours to drive the lonely roads north of Tucson to save unlucky or stupid people (I was de nitely in the latter category) who stranded themselves out in the desert.
Good maintenance and preparation go hand-in-hand,
so be sure to have a mechanically sound machine and the capacity to carry what you will need on the road, including snacks to avoid bonking – hitting the wall.
The importance of preparation
The Ride - This one is a trip southwest through the windswept coastal hills dotted with stands of eucalyptus trees, bay and Cypress, replete with dairy cattle and the occasional sights and sounds of the chicken coops that made this area the “egg basket of the world.”
I relate that story to emphasize the importance of being prepared when you are out on rides that take you far away from the comfort of what we think of as civilization. In modern society, we don’t often think beyond our cell phones, so cycling can be a good way to remind us of the fragility of the human condition beyond the thin veneer of civilization.
At times, the topography brings the landscapes of Ireland to mind, particularly on winter rides when it is green and damp, which is a lot more fun than it sounds.
It is a good idea to have su cient water, a few tools, with the ability to use them, and, in Sonoma County, extra layers for the inevitable microclimate shift that can have you sweating as you climb to the peak of one hill and
The occasional song of the Western Meadowlark punctuating the sound of the wind blowing through the trees calls to mind the rolling prairies of Kansas, my home state where the state bird is the meadowlark and not the Jayhawk.
RIDE #3 cont’d on page 19
18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/17