Day 23 - Fort Ross to Windsor, CA

It’s been a 1250 mile journey from Vancouver, BC back to my doorstep in Windsor, CA. Cutting inland 30 miles to visit home was not part of the original route, but a couple of issues arose in the past week. My intent was to meet family along the route just north of San Francisco somewhere in Marin County. Due to the breakdown after the Lost Coast fiasco it became hard to gauge which days would be best to book the campsite, and now after waiting too long everything is booked solid due to the holiday weekend. Secondly, I made a regretful decision a few mornings ago that ruined my contact lenses. I have hard lenses, a bit different from normal soft lenses, that are supposed to last a year or two before replacement with proper care. Each morning the lenses go in my eyes, and then the container gets rinsed with hot water then thoroughly dried. Well the other morning I was at a place that had no hot water and so I decided to fill the lense holder with hand-cleaner thinking I’d remember that evening to rinse it out before putting the lenses and lense solution in. Of course I forgot about the hand-cleaner and ended up mixing that with the contact solution. I remembered the next morning when I went to put the lenses in my eyes and they burned like hell. After rinsing them off and trying again I discovered the combination of fluids caused some sort of chemical reaction that rendered the contacts useless.

So arriving in Windsor around 11 this morning my first stop was to my optometrist so we could get a new set ordered. I didn’t write about the first issue I had with contact lenses in which on my very first day of this trip one popped out while riding and couldn’t be found. I hadn’t even made it out of Canada at that point! I had a new one shipped to me in Astoria for $200, and now I’m at a grand total of $600 in vision fees for the ride. That more than sucks ass, but I see so much better with those over my glasses. Anyway, that’s my rantish bit for the day. I’ve still got 2000 miles to go on this trip! After a rest day, or maybe two, here in a familiar bed I’m gonna “cheat” about 50 miles by getting driven to the Golden Gate to continue on from there. I’m a big proponent of “ride continuity” and so this decision didn’t come lightly. However, if you have a medical or mechanical issue that needs attention you need to mind it instead of adding unnecessary stress to the ride. Of course having lived out here going on a year I’ve also already seen the next 50 miles many times. So that’s the plan for now - rest up, see friends and family, wash these vile articles of clothing, and then set off towards LA in a day or two.