North Bay up to Knights Landing ABC's, April 18

(co-rider and guest author, Joanne Gainen) Myron and I started out about 12:00, trip odometer about 66 We did not take the intercom on this trip, so I was a little concerned about being able to communicate with each other.
Headed up Lawrence, across 237 to 880 North. I thought we were headed to Oakland, but the bike headed unexpectedly off to I-80. At a shady spot on a side street in Berkeley, Myron stopped the bike and said, "We're here!" "Where?" "A place to take a little rest." 1:20PM.
We relaxed and stretched a bit, then headed back to the freeway. We missed the Tennessee Ave/Mare Island turn-off for Vallejo, so continued to American Canyon Road to pick up the Napa County fly-free sign. 1:55PM.
2:20PM. We backtracked on I-80 to pick up the Post Office at Vallejo, then returned to I-80 East and headed northward toward Vallejo.
2:05 PM. Fueled up in Vallejo at a Chevron gas station $2.739 a gallon for premium, 3.526 gallons, $9.66 total. Trip odometer at 151.9, reset to 0.0 From Vallejo, we sought out Elmira to get an interesting "E" photo (more challenging than "East Palo Alto," which is much closer to home).
Myron's view was blocked when we passed the warning sign for Elmira and he didn't catch my signal, so we were a couple of lanes over when the exit came up. I pointed it out to him and we took the next exit, which led nicely to a McDonald's where we had a late lunch. Checking the map, we found that the road we had turned off on, Allison Dr., would take us down to Elmira. Elmira Road took us through what I thought was the town, but then we were out on rural highway for a long stretch, I thought we had missed the Post Office. We reached what seemed like a dead end, I thought surely we had gone out of our way again.
3:30PM. But without a moment's hesitation, Myron followed a jog in the road and brought us to a stop in front of a small building clearly marked, Elmira Post Office.
We headed East again on 80, looking for 113 to head up to Woodland. We spotted a sign for 113 and took the exit and tried to go North on untitled roads. After about 5 miles, we found an Exxon gas station and asked for directions. Imagine, Myron, a man, asking for directions! Well, we were still in Dixon, we had to go further East on 80 to get 113 North. 4:35PM. In Woodland, we searched for the Yolo County Assessor's Office, but when we found the address, there was no visible sign we could use for a photo. Fortunately, I had spotted the Yolo County Public Guardian/Administrator Office earlier and we had taken a few photos there. It will have to suffice!
From Woodland, we went up Highway 5 to the city of Yolo to check off our "Y" city. It is so small that we took great pains to get lost there. Stopped beside the road in the middle of nowhere to look at the maps. Once we found Yolo, we drove around a bit. Lots of friendly people were outside to wave and cheer us on! 5:18PM. We finally found the fire station to get our "Y" photo. A couple of blocks later, we spotted the Post Office which also has a very nice sign. Maybe we'll come back next year. I noticed some very nice houses in Yolo, and thought, this must be why we hear about people retiring in this part of the State. You can probably get a lot of house for a reasonable amount of money. But living this far from civilization would not be my cup of tea! And I'm sure it gets very hot there in the summer.
5:40. Our farthest letter stop in the northern area was Knights Landing, which turned out to have a tiny post office with the town name painted on a glass door. I dropped my glove while checking the map a block away. Myron parked, then walked back to get it while I took three photos. Myron complimented a Mexican gentleman on the mural painted on his van, parked nearby. Although the language barrier kept them from fully understanding each other, it was a friendly and, I think, mutually admiring exchange.
From Knights Landing, we headed down 113 to Davis, 80 to 680 toward Contra Costa County and then home. 6:37 PM, Fueled up in Fairfield at a Valero gas station, $2.979 a gallon for premium, 3.472 gallons, $10.34 total. Trip odometer at 143.0, reset to 0.0
Myron suggested we call Rhea to see if she wanted to meet us for dinner or coffee in Martinez where we were to pick up Contra Costa County.
We agreed to call Rhea when we got there, which was about 7:15PM. We found few places to eat and NO coffee shops, although I think there may be one in the train station. We settled for Beau's, and Rhea met us there. (We probably should have gone for Thai, a couple of doors down, but that’s another story.) 8:22PM.
Myron - all business on the bike. Alert, drives with confidence but never bravado, friendly wave to other bikers, most of whom wave back. (We also wave at kids of all ages.) When we stopped at Beau's (Martinez) to meet my sister, we parked next to a bike parked out front. The owners turned out to be in the restaurant. When they left, Myron called out to them, "Nice paint!" They had a brief, friendly exchange; Myron is surprisingly outgoing when talking with other bikers! After dinner, we put on an extra layer of clothing, then took off in the darkness for the last 65 miles of our day. Shielded by Myron’s broad shoulders, I was comfortable and able to enjoy the night air and twinkling lights of the landscape along 680. We arrived home about 9:15 p.m., tired and a little stiff, but happy after a successful ride. When Myron asked me how far I thought we had traveled, I guessed 180-220 miles. I was surprised to learn that we had covered over 316 miles! I enjoyed every mile, and look forward to more tours together.

Home at about 9:15, trip odometer at 87. Totals are 316 miles in 9 hours and 15 minutes.	City Letters: E, K, V, Y County Letters: C, N, Y
Myron's 2005 ABC's

ABC's North Bay and North Valley April 17, 2005

ABC's North Bay and North Valley
April 17, 2005