Starting out in the hills west of Williams, I packed up my gear and rode the 22 miles to town on minimal breakfast and water. Hungry, I rolled into Williams about 10 minutes before the annual town parade was to be held. On I pedaled through main street, the unassuming pre-parade curiosity. All the littlest kids on the curb and oldest citizens in lawn chairs seemed to think I was fun to see while everyone at ages in between looked mostly bewildered. I didn't stick around for the rest of the parade.
Next, in Colusa, I headed north on CA 45, straight into the brisk north wind, which incidentally was headed the opposite direction as my research had indicated would be seasonally appropriate for the area. This was alright, it just meant I'd be going 12 mph rather than 20 like I was expecting.
A fiasco of a flat tire incident in front of the Glenn post office, replete with a barking dog, ants crawling into all my panniers, and noisy wind that made it hard to find the holes to patch in my tubes. Oh, did I mention that the first spare tube I tried to use EXPLODED and sounded like a gunshot? ...a first for me.
...and that was just the back wheel. The front tire had a slow leak in it, too, which I've yet to find.
Wind and those tire problems made my day's goal of Chico mostly unattainable. Plus, I was low on food (again, foolishly) and a little...frustrated. It was 7 PM and I still had at least 20 miles to go. Lo and behold, miles from nowhere, there was a sign that read "Hoppy's River Glenn Bar and Grill." I pulled into what turned out to be a very small trailer park thinking I'd grab a quick burger and fries and get back on the road, fortified with bar food.
When I sat down at a table, though, I noticed there were nice cloth napkins and the menu had maybe half a dozen entres listed, all coming with a fixed menu 5 course routine. Soup of the day, the salad with homemade dressing, a SORBET course (remember, we're in a trailer park in the middle of rice fields and almond orchards), the main course, and then homemade desert. I ordered the famous pork chops, which were easily bigger than my head. One of these things was the biggest hunk of pork chop I'd ever seen (and I'm from Iowa, mind you) and there were TWO of them. Delicious, classy meal.
It had gotten late and I was running out of daylight so I inquired about a safe place to camp. The waitress (Jessie, the owner's granddaughter) let me know that I could camp right there in the park or they'd even let me sleep in an otherwise unoccupied travel trailer that was next door. Sue, the cook, was awfully kind and hooked up both the water and electricity for me that night in the trailer and I had a great night's sleep.
In the morning, I planned to leave early, but Bill Hopkins, the owner (and former dirt track late model/modified/sprint car driver...a lot like my dad back in Iowa) ordered me inside the restaraunt for coffee. Within 10 minutes, Bill's regular crew of 8 farmers and locals showed up drink coffee, have a quick chat, and roll dice to see who'd buy the coffee for the morning. All this took place on a Sunday morning at 7:15. Now, the place isn't open to the public for breakfast--these are just the old regulars that Bill puts on a pot of coffee for each day.
If you're EVER in the Chico area and are looking for a giant delicious meal, head down to River Glenn. Looks from the outside can be deceiving as this place is high class, gastronomically speaking.
After coffee and good conversation with Bill, George, and Richard, I took off for Chico on the Ord Ferry Road, about 3 miles north of River Glenn on Hwy 45. Bill and his dog Ben reminded me quite a bit of my dad Emory and his dog Jake, inseparable and loyal. Bill did take my card to keep in contact, but wouldn't take my money for the morning's coffee.
20 miles to Chico, and I made it just in time to be welcomed into the Chico Quaker Friends meeting by Peter and Emily, which was a nice way to start my first offical "day off" during this summer-long vacation. After that, I ate a giant breakfast at Jack's Restaurant, which was secretly paid for by a kind couple I talked to about my trip while there. Then I checked into the Thunderbird Lodge downtown, had my first shower in 4 days, and relaxed, spending much of the late afternoon at Empire Coffee, a cool little place that is a converted train car where they serve good espresso and have good music.
Today, I'm off to a late start headed toward Lassen Volcanic National Park and some big climbing to get there. I've been told the pass is at an elevation very high; I shudder to even mention that number now.
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