Jul
14
River Soap
by Maxim Tags: Bike Tour, California, interview, North Coast
We went to check our PO Box last night and in it we found a gift from our dear friend Harvey. Harvey was one of the voices on KGGV 95.1 “The Bridge” – We were in Jenner, CA at a wonderful cafe when we started talking to a lady about our project. She introduced us to David “The Rivermouth” Kenly. After hearing about our project he invited us to come on air the next day for an interview. We spent an hour on air and talked to callers. One caller had both parents struck with Alzheimer’s. It was a great experience.
Harvey told us that he was going to give us a gift of artisan soaps, perfect for traveling. That gift arrived yesterday. Thanks Harvey!
http://riversoap.com
www.kggvfm.org
David "The Rivermouth", Harvey and Max
Jun
16
Conversations with strangers
by Emily Tags: North Coast
Between pit stops at cafes and campsites, we’ve encountered a number of people. It’s almost always a mutual exchange of information, or sometimes a good fortune.
The State Parks make it easy to meet other travelers. There’s a hiker/biker camping section that’s $4 a person in Oregon and just $3 a person in California. Steal! We had our first hiker/biker experience in Florence. That’s where we met Brad, a Californian who dropped his car off with his daughter in Eugene and was biking back to San Jose in 2 weeks. He was pushing 80 miles a day.
Max and Brad
As we rode from Crescent City through the Redwoods, we kept bumping into a couple riding in the same direction. They had a slightly lighter load, using buckets as saddle bags and a tarp as a tent. They were the hare and we were the tortoise, and after a number of run-ins we decided to camp together. Their names were Lucy and Emil, and turns out they just moved from Bellingham to Olympia.
Max, Emil and Lucy
When we rolled into Ferndale, we planned to camp at the fairgrounds but got distracted by a guitar playing from across the street. That’s how we met Reuben and Mallory. They offered a place to crash that night. Mallory fixed us up an amazing breakfast the next day.
Mallory and Emily
The morning of our biggest climb near Leggett, we ate some breakfast at the Peg House. We chatted with Gary, the owner, about Spoke Your Mind. He donated a freshly baked brownie and cookie for the cause, and the sugar helped us up the 4-mile hill. We need to go back to Peg House because they are rumored to have the best burgers in all of America.
After 60 miles of physical challenge, we soaked in a hot tub in Mendocino. That’s where we met Frank and Suzie, residents of Fort Bragg. Frank used to be an anchor and Suzie is a social worker. Now Frank is trying to connect us with a woman who works for public radio.
The other night we met two Veterans at the hiker/biker camp. At first we thought these two were a pair, but turns out they’re just both wanderers and we were graced with both their presence that night. Arthur (Art) had been traveling for 30 years around the U.S. and was now 73 and finally ready to return to society now that the Republicans are out of office. Ed left from Seattle on a customized bike to hold his cane and coffee mug with a Bob Trailer to carry his load. He has no end date yet. Ed enjoys meeting other bikers and seeing what they use- and he was certain we had the biggest load of any he’s seen yet.
We stayed up listening to the two tell endless stories about the wars they served, the way it used to be, and so forth. Both had drastic attitudes about the world- Art thought we were progressing forward with human rights and Ed thought the government was out to track us all down. We learned a lot from these two. Art told us about land squatting and Ed said you need to read history to find out where gold was lost- and his plan is to go find some in Nevada somewhere. When we got a chance to speak, we told them about our project. Well, Art said his batteries burnt out a while back- enough to light a whole city- but now he’s back and senility is just a part of aging. And Ed told us to use the old methods, because if they worked for hundreds of years then they must be right.
Last night we bumped into Ed again at the next campsite. He was happy to see us and gave me a turkey feather. Sweet man.
Ed and Emily
But before reaching camp last night, we stopped at a cafe to email. We met a local named Harrison, who was a jazz musician and told us about a project called Jazzheimer’s. A San Francisco woman started Jazzheimer’s to play music in different homes for Alzheimer’s patients. We’re going to try to hook up with them while we’re in town. Small world indeed.