Day 6: San Simeon

Cale, our impromptu camp guest, looked at our bike in the morning. We were having a couple issues. The bike did work a little better. We all left around the same time, Cale sprinting up the hill to Hwy 1 while we walked up the steep hill. This was the first time we have walked up a hill! Cale's bike was steel frame but had thin tires and only twenty spokes. He carried all his gear in front panniers. He was breaking spokes. Luckily he rides a lot and has lots of bikes so he knew what to do. Next time I think he will change his set up. Riding day after day carrying gear puts a lot of stress on the bike (and our bodies). Wide tires, deep rims and 48 spokes on our rear wheel. Haven't had a flat yet.

Our first stop was Gorda. Cale was there having breakfast with another bike tourist, Cat. She was riding alone from SF to SLO after rock climbing in Yosemite in between grad schools. We had coffee and goodies.

After Gorda we had two big, long, steep climbs. Our hardest to date. Slow and steady we stopped only once each hill. Imagine we used to stop at the top of Rancho Vista out of breath. That "hill" is barely a bump in the road compared to this trip.

Ragged Point

We lunched at Ragged Point. We had some cell service so I called the office. Gave them encouragement to handle all the issues that have come up.











We had to stop and watch the elephant seals at Point Piedras Blancas.  Mostly young adult males fighting for fun.

Waiting for Jan at our prime campsite

We got to San Simeon State Park before Jan so we picked out a great site and lounged around until she showed up. It was pretty windy so after cooking the steaks we all ate in the camper. Cosy but nice. Funny, we have been together a week but still have things to talk and laugh about. After dinner we walked around the park and then sat around the fire until bedtime (9PM).

Day 5: Limekiln, Big Sur coast

The ride into Limekiln at the southern end of Big Sur was just as scenic as the first half. We had a hard, three mile climb first thing in the morning. It was nice to get it over with right away while we were still relatively fresh. We did have to stop part way up to stretch my back.  We stopped at the Coastal Gallery for coffee and a sweet. The gallery had the coolest bird houses painted in bright colors with steep tin roofs and things like bent spoons, door knobs, or water faucets just under the hole for birds to land on. We bought a beautiful birds-eye maple travel size cribbage board at the gallery. The guy laughed when I said he could keep the box & didn't need a bag - too much extra bulk & weight to carry.  We did a side trip to Julia Pfeiffer-Burns SP for a hike overlooking a waterfall that spills onto the beach below. There are a few walk-in tent sites on the bluff nearby. We made note of them for a future trip.  The last major climb of the day ended just past Lucia. We stopped for our ice cream there and also found a sticker with "I survived Hwy 1" on it. Bought it for our bike tool chest. Everything was expensive at Lucia. Our two ice cream bars & the sticker were over $12; Jan bought us a 6-pack of beer there for $14. It tasted great by the time we found her.  Limekiln campground is on the chopping block next week due to the state budget problems. There were only a few spaces available near the beach when Jan got there. Three fourths of the campground - the part in the redwoods - was already closed. We did get to hike a bit and saw the limekilns for which the park is named. Rob & I crisscrossed the creek a few times to go see an amazing waterfall. We did the same hike with Kendal several years ago.  After dinner (yummy shrimp scampi) another cyclist came by looking for a campsite. We offered him a place to pitch his tent for the night and heard stories of his travels. Cale is much younger than us & is doing the same trip in just one week. We watched the sunset on the beach before returning to our campfire for s'mores. 

Day 4: Pfeiffer Big Sur

Wonderful ride today! Awful climb up out of the campground & a short stint on the freeway but quickly made our way into Carmel. Once again the weather was perfect.  We took a side trip to Point Lobos State Reserve - probably the most beautiful section of the California coast we have seen so far.  Highway 1 into Big Sur was narrow and windy. The first sign said windy road next 90 miles. A bit up the road another sign said "hills and curves next 63 miles". We had some climbs but the biggest hills are still ahead. The wind pushed us up and down the hills. I offered to unzip my jacket to make a sail at one point.  We stopped at the town of Big Sur for a snack which we had sitting on chairs in the middle of the river.  Once in camp, we road to the nature center for a hike up to Pfeiffer Falls. Decided to take an extra side hike to a vista point overlooking the valley.  Sitting in camp now by a warm fire. Have showered & had dinner. Talking about the ride tomorrow.  We are posting lots of photos and waypoints via Track My Tour. Click on the link to see where we are. 

Day 3 - Ride to Monterey

Day 3: Santa Cruz to Monterey. Jan was supposed to race ahead and grab a campsite for it was first come first serve. Well one tire on the camper was low so she beat us out of camp and went to Costco. Two hours later she was back on the road. Stressed that we would not get a site she "raced" to Monterey. Plenty of spots. No problem. She spent the day in Cannery Row and went to the  aquarium.  Strawberries are not all grown in Oxnard! We rode past miles of strawberries, artichokes and Brussels sprouts. It hurt my back seeing all the farm workers bent over gathering each crop. We were on Hwy 1 for awhile even when it was a freeway. Soon after Castroville we finished the rest of ride on bike paths! There were a couple of small climbs but most of the day was constant rollers until the end.  We ate in Moss Landing at Haute Enchilada. Funky place with great food. We had artichoke soup and split a steamed artichoke with sundried tomato tapanade as appetizers.  We met up with Jan, had ice cream and then headed to the laundromat while she and Doug went shopping. After laundry we headed up to Vets Memorial Park. Up is an understatement. Over a mile climb with some sections around 10%. Granny gear all the way. We only stopped once to take our jackets off. Big Sur here we come! No fire tonight but we could BBQ. We are all cold so we are off to bed.  (the weather today was again amazing)

Day 1 (Half Moon Bay) & Day 2 (New Brighton Beach)

Day 1: We said goodbye to Ken & headed up to Golden Gate Park. Deborah came with us to navigate. The Bridge parking area was packed! We finally found two spots, unloaded the bikes, and took the requisite photos with the bridge in the background. We were a bit concerned about fog, but the sky was blue & beautiful. Jan, Kendal, & Deborah headed to China Town for tea tasting & dim sum; the three of us (Rob, Evelyn, & Doug) turned south toward Half Moon Bay. It was a fairly short ride (33 miles)with only one trecherous climb. We stopped for beer & nachos at Half Moon Bay Brewery when we called Jan & found out she was still in China Town. The state beach campground was full so we made reservations at Cameron's Pub RV resort. After dinner we went to the pub for black & tans and ice cream sundaes We rode just under 60 miles today. Sitting in front of the fire, showered, hydrated while dinner is going. Today was beautiful, blue skies and a stiff breeze at our backs. We stopped four times at state parks or beaches. We saw lighthouses, tide pools and seals. The Nor Cal coast is wonderful. Jan met us for lunch at Ana Nuevo where we made our own sandwiches. We toured the interpretive center and watched the movie but did not hike the two miles to see the elephant seals. Davenport was our fist official ice cream stop. Ev had ollilaberry and honey. We made it into Santa Cruz riding on the bike path ending up at Boardwalk. We were off the map and then tried to find our way to the campground using the map, the book and Google maps. We made it but we probably added 5 extra miles. Tomorrow is 40 relatively flat miles into Monterey.

Packing Completed

Several people have asked about what we take on a trip like this. As I double-checked our list and put things in their places I snapped a few photos. We have a three-page checklist that seems to change every time I look at it.

Our Kitchen
From left to right (sort of), fuel, dishes, cook set, utensils, dish towel, coffee supplies, cutting board, foil & paper towels, dishwasher supplies (cat not included).

The Bathroom
Shower, shaving, dental, hair supplies, towels, shower shoes, etc. Nelson never likes to see us go and is always in the middle of packing:)

Accommodations
We carry two sleeping bags (in the blue & gold  [Go Bruins!] stuff sacks), two blow-up pillows, two insulated blow-up mattresses (in the green stuff sack), tent poles, tent, ground cloth, and rain fly. All the tent gear fits in that black packing tube on the right.

Clothing
The rain gear is on the left. We will send the rain pants home with Jan & Doug when they leave us in Solvang. Our new riding gloves are at the bottom of the photo. The rest are mostly Rob's clothes - hiking pants, riding jerseys, etc., and my new Patagonia skirt and top from REI. I didn't get my clothes packed before this photo, so double the amount of riding gear to get an idea of what we take combined.

Miscellaneous Other Stuff
First aid kit, bike repair kit, tent repair kit, maps, 2 Buffs, sun block, straps, head lamps, a Stick, and our security system - two bear bells (plus a cable lock).

All of this stuff fits into our two panniers, a handle-bar bag, and strapped on the back rack of the bike. We leave the handle-bar bag and one pocket of the panniers pretty empty so we have a place to carry food and a bottle of beer or wine we pick up for dinner at the end of each day.

Three more days before we start.

We took the bike to Block Bikes this afternoon for a tune up. We really like Rich and his new shop; he has a whole new crew and the shop has a different and positive vibe. We showed up around noon (Wednesday) and the place was packed! We got new rear disc brake pads and they adjusted the entire drive train. They also replaced the front derailleur cable. We took a spin around the parking lot and wow, what a difference! The brakes felt firm and it shifted great. We ran up and down all the gear combinations, even ones that cross the chain and it was solid. Tomorrow we plan to ride early and then ride the Block social ride tomorrow night.

Ev is again going through all the gear tonight. Looks like Doug's wife, Jan will be joining us. She will sag so we get to bring a little more gear, food and wine at least for the first week. It kinda feels like cheating - not carrying all our gear - but oh well. Most still think we are crazy.

We normally eat oatmeal for every breakfast at the campsite. On our own, we usually eat out for lunch and then buy dinner makings before we get into camp. Jan will probably get picnic supplies for lunches which does save money and some time. She will also get dinner makings. All should be good. Last trip Doug was vegetarian. This trip he's Paleo. Go figure? Jan is also gluten free. Ev and I just eat whatever we want as long as it's mostly fresh. I don't think Paleo does ice cream nor chocolate milk. How does one ride without daily ice cream? Sometimes you just need chocolate milk to avoid bonking on hot days. Sorry Doug but we must eat our ice cream. You ride over 50 miles a day and you deserve it!

Ev is about finished. She took pictures of all our gear in groups (cooking, first aid, sleeping etc.) She'll post these photos tonight or tomorrow.

Oh, Ev's passport came in the mail today! Now we have to really decide if we are going into Mexico the last two days.

T minus 5 days

We leave for the Bay Area this Friday and start our ride on Saturday at the Golden Gate Bridge. We spent last weekend going through all our gear and packing. Took us over four hours.That's all our gear on the guest room bed. Not the LA pillow and the plastic bin is temporary storage for the small stuff, but everything else. All fits on the bike and that's all we need for our two week trip.

 I want to get new brake pads for the rear disc brake and Ev is already stressing about all that needs to get done this week. Have to get in some riding too!