Day 17

Morro Bay to Lompoc
75.3 miles
3,116 elevation gain
13.5 mph average speed


Today started in typical fashion-cool temps and overcast skies. Morro Bay through Los Osos, on to San Luis Obispo. Our morning coffee break was in SLO at a little coffee place on Higuera Street. Back on the road towards Pismo Beach, we paid tribute to my mother at a big sign directing us to "Old Edna". A photo honoring my mother can be seen in the pix Alan posted for today. I'm sure my mom appreciates our tribute to her.

The miles flew by on the level terrain, and we stopped for an early afternoon break near Nipomo where we met up with Janet, Jo, Gene, Carol and Janet's great uncle Herman and great aunt Rachel. Herman is about 90years old, and very interested in how our tires were doing. Rachel is a total delight, and it was good to visit with them for a half hour or so. We had lunch in the small town of Guadalupe at a place called "King Falafel". Alan had a garden burger, I had a cheese burger.

Back on the road again with a favorable tailwind soon we were at the base of the major climb of the day-the Harris Grade into Lompoc. This climb was about 3 miles at 6 to 8%, and gained 700 feet or so. We felt great up this climb. The descent down to Lompoc was fun. It started off fairly steeply, with many tight technical switchbacks near the top-way fun. Soon we were at the motel in town where we met up with Janet and Jo again. Today was a laundry day, so we took care of that and then went to dinner at a local Italian restuarant.

The food was good, but the highlight was Mama Catarina-the owner of the restaurant. She was a fat short Italian lady who was singing Louie Prima songs as she walked through thr restaurant, Her English wasn't too good in spite of living in the US for 40 years. But she sure was having fun.

Day 16

Big Sur to Morro Bay
94.5 miles
5,182 elevation gain
13 mph average speed

Today began with a fairly big climb from our campground at Pfieffer-Big Sur. The fog was thick, but traffic was Sunday morning light. The day didn't start off too well for me-perhaps not enough breakfast, maybe some effect from the dense forest of poison oak that surrounded our campsite, but the 24 miles from camp to Lucia was pretty tough. Lots of elevation gain, and somewhat scary descents in the thick fog and around 11:30 we stopped for lunch at the hamlet of Lucia. Janet and Jo we hanging around pretty close, as they said I wasn' t looking too good. I certainly wasn't feeling too well either.

After fueling up at lunch, I felt much better, and the thick fog was lifting giving more views of the spectacular Big Sur coast. The SAG Team took off, but we ran into them again at Ragged Point, a tourist spot on the coast with regular gasoline $5.449 a gallon. We had a snack and a drink and took off towards Morro Bay. From Ragged Point the terrain levels out and the miles began to fly by. We saw Elephant Seals on the beach north of San Simeon. A stiff tail wind gave us a great boost in speed-sometimes we were flying at 26mph on the flats.

In Morro Bay we met up with Janet's mom and dad, and Alan's family from Templeton came down and they all went out to dinner. The SAG team, Gene and Carol and I "enjoyed" a delicious dinner at some place in Morro Bay, while Alan's family made a far better dining choice and we have listend to Alan raving about halibut cheeks ever since.

Day 15

Santa Cruz to Big Sur
78.5 miles
3,480 elevation gain
11.3 average speed


I'll post a full report later-it is 10pm and I am tired.

Day 14-

Mill Valley to Santa Cruz
93.2 miles
4,161 elevation gain
12 mph average speed

Today George joined us for our ride. The first challenge of the day was getting from Lisa's house up to the highway-the street was remarkably steep-probably 25% or more. I chose (wisely) to walk my bike the 50 yards or so, while Alan and George (foolishly) rode up the hill. A brisk downhill,a few miles and then breakfast a a little cafe in Sausalito with all our SAG support. After that, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

Crossing the bridge was quite the experience-not so much because of the view (it was so foggy) but because of the hordes of pedestrian traffic. Imagine riding your bike through Disneyland,and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it was like negotiating through the crowds of camera-toting tourists. The ACA maps did a good job of routing us through the residential streets of San Francisco, avoiding downtown entirely. Then, to the beach and points south.

Heading south, the fog was so dense that at one point we missed a crucial turn, and continued on Hwy 1 until it became a freeway with the "no bicycles" warning. We turned around, doubling back a mile or so and having needlessly climbing a couple hundred vertical feet. Once back on track, we ran into a local cyclist that gave us some good info on the upcoming major climb of the day-the Devil's Slide. We stopped for coffee in Pacifica, then took off for our climb.

Devil's Slide is about a 700' climb, through an area of twisty, no-shoulder roadway, with lots of traffic. Gradient is 8 to 10% and no real resting spots. It was on this climb that George began thinking of how attractive a triple crankset can be. After a fast descent, we were into more gentle terrain, and soon were in Half Moon Bay. Here, Alan assigned me the task of finding a Jamba Juice. Within minutes, I said "there's your Jamba Juice, right there". Alan was quite amazed with my abilities. A smoothie and a quick break, and back on the road.

After Half Moon Bay, the miles started to fly by, but George was workin' hard. At mile 60 he was nearly fully bonked, so I gave him some Hammer Gel, some electrolyte capsules, and some ibuprofen. This revitalized him, and Alan and I took turns pulling up front at 18 to 22 mph, and George hung on the remaining 30 miles to Santa Cruz.

The day finished at 93 miles and around 4,100' feet of climbing. George did a great job on a strenuous day. He hadn't spent much time on his bike for months, and was able to complete the day. He should be quite proud of himself.

Day 17 Photos

Day 16 Photos

Day 15 Photos