We have another early start at 7 am but 14 miles in, its wine tasting time. We put in a stop at Moshin Vineyards. This is not just an organic winery, they use gravity-flow in their wine making process and solar power to provide the energy. Alas we had to be rather judicious in our sampling of their wares lest we impair our ability to operate a vehicle. But we could purchase their finest and have the bottles transported back to camp for us; plus 10% of our purchase price went to Climate Ride.
We picnicked under the oak trees at Ragle Ranch Regional Park outside of Sebastopol. I had a partner to ride with today. Abby Young (of Century fame in my last blog) decided to take it easy today and ride at my pace for most of the ride. It was nice to have company for a change, rather than just hearing “on your left” and “you go Wendi!” as the sole source of conversation while riding. I have developed a sort of cheering section as people are beginning to recognize my plodding but steady pace as they zoom by me.
As we turned back towards the coast again, we were greeted by the same heavy winds of the previous day. We had to fight to pedal our way towards Tomales. I was grateful every time the route turned us to a cross wind. The hills were almost blessed as they blocked the wind. But then we hit Tomales Bay.
Riding away from the town of Tomales I was hit by a head wind so strong it literally stopped my bike and almost blew me into the road. I sat there for a minute trying to decide what to do. I could turn back and catch a ride through to Point Reyes. After all, I’ve done this ride before so it’s not like I’d miss anything. But then I got back on the bike and tried again. A few yards later another gust of wind hit me like a freight train. I stopped again weighing my options. We love the wind. We promote wind power. Should I run from the wind? A metaphor struck me. The wind was like the climate deniers pushing us back. It’s the Koch Brothers with their millions of dollars of propaganda trying to convince us that we should give up and just let the planet boil. Getting back on my bike was an act of defiance. I refuse to back down and get in a fossil fuel vehicle. Call me stubborn; call it a pipe dream, but I believe that ultimately we will prevail. The way of life we promote is not just more environmentally friendly, it’s more human friendly, more community minded, saves money and saves the planet. If someone like me, can bike 300 miles, then surely other people can bike the 2 miles that is the average trip in America.
As it turned out, just around the bend, the Eucalyptus trees blocked the wind, as they were intended to do. I didn’t have any more problems on the road. We stopped at Hog Island for some yummy oysters and the glorious views of Tomales Bay. Out-of-towners on the ride were struck breathless with the beauty of our region. I never forget how lucky I am to live here. Our day ended at the Olema Campgrounds, just a hop, skip and a big hill away from my home. I could have continued on for a hot bath, a comfortable bed and an easy ride to SF in the morning. But I opted to stay with my fellow riders.
I’m glad I did. That night we heard from Jeremy Madsen of Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area’s leading smart growth and land conservation advocacy organization. They have saved well over a million acres of Bay Area farms and natural areas and help to shape good development plans for the region’s large and small cities. Then we were bowled over by AshEl Eldridge of Alliance for Climate Education. He brought us to our feet rapping and singing as he told the story he tells to the inner city youth about Climate Change. He works to empower low-income youth from urban communities combining art, music and community healing with ecological sustainability. These youth relevant videos are inspiring tens of thousands of inner city youth to change their eating and energy habits.
www.climateride.org
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