The Bribe - Day 47

We talked with a couple in the hiker/biker campground this morning from France, Mike & Sue, who are riding their bikes from Vancouver to San Diego and then back to Los Angeles where their daughter lives. We actually had previously met them at a pull-off along the road. They have done a lot of bike touring all over the world. 

After 4 nights camping, Sharla was telling Ed it was about time for a motel. The only campgrounds were 26 miles away or 70 miles away. Ed suggested we could either go the 26 miles and stay in a campground or go 65 miles to Lompoc and stay in a motel. Sharla chose going for the motel which ended up being a 70 mile ride since the motel was on the other side of town. This is a new record for the distance travelled in one day. We traveled on a lot of flatter, agricultural terrain which was inland and not particularly scenic but we did have a 950' elevation gain mountain pass to cross near the end of the day. The wind was favorable and on some of the stretches we were cruising up to 20 mph. At the motel we got the laundry done and ordered to have a pizza delivered.

Hearst Castle - Day 46

We were surprised to see David this morning--he arrived in camp after dark. We had a schedule to keep this morning. Be out of camp by 8, back track 2 miles to restaurant for breakfast, and then back track another 3 miles to the entrance for the Hearst Castle tour. There were lockers where we locked up our panniers and a place to lock our bikes so we felt safe leaving them. We watched a 40 min. IMAX movie on William Randolph Hearst and then got on the bus for our ride to the top of a mountain for our tour of the Hearst Castle. After the tour, they let you roam around the outside as long as you want seeing gardens, fountains, swimming pools and tennis courts. We felt the tour was very well done and worth the $25 charge.

At 2 p.m. we were on Highway 1 again traveling south. We had a tail wind again which helped carry us down the road. At one point Sharla was amazed as she was going 24 mph on flat terrain without pedaling. The scenery shifted from majestic cliffs to flat, sandy beaches that attracted a lot of kite surfers--it's easier to pedal too. Had another perfect temperature day. We can better understand why so many people choose to live in central and southern California coastal areas because of their weather. 

Wind at our Back - Day 45

Woke to another beautiful, California morning and had a chance to talk to David (we've camped 3 nights in a row with him) and found out he's a retired physician. He's feeling the pressure to complete his trip so we may not see him again. After a couple, gradual but moderate climbs (800' elevation gains), we had lunch at Ragged Point where we saw 11 Shelby Cobras who were on a rally to Carmel. We recommend this as a place to stop as they have reasonably priced food unlike a number of other small places we had stopped at. Further down the road just before Hearst Castle, we pulled off at Piedras Blancas, along with lots of other people in cars to watch hundreds of elephant seals basking in the sun on the sandy beach. They were quite active flipping the sand on themselves, going in and out of the water, and sparring with each other.  Apparently these are all young seals but some of them are quite large as an adult male can be 16' long and weigh 5000 lbs. If you want to see a live web cam of the elephant seals on the beach, you can go to www.elephantseal.org. We stopped at Hearst Castle to see if we could go on a tour but they were booked today so we scheduled a tour for in the morning.  We went on down the road 5 miles to San Simeon State Beach. The young couple, Tom & Brittany were also at this camp who we have seen on and off for probably the last month. They are also traveling from Canada to Mexico.  It seems that the car of choice for the last 2 days in this area has been Mustang convertibles.  The afternoon ride had a pleasant tail wind to help us along as well as the terrain was flatter so more enjoyable. We rode 36 1/2 miles today.

Scenic Day - Day 44

The day began with a couple of nice climbs (including the one we partially did yesterday). It was a good day for riding with no wind but a slightly overcast sky for most of the day. It was a picturesque ride along the coast with many magnificent views. Sharla encountered some knee pains which hopefully won't continue to be a  hindrance. We rode 34 miles and stayed at Plaskett Creek Campground.

Almost a Dream Day - Day 43

After a few days off the bikes, Ed was so excited to ride around Monterey Bay and through Carmel. It was a beautiful day with clear, blue sky. The ride around Monterey Bay on the bike path was phenomenal and we saw lots of birds, sea lions and deer. A perfect day for riding. We continued on to Carmel along the "17 Mile Drive". This drive is free for bikes and passes by several famous golf courses including Pebble Beach and many luxurious homes along this coastal drive. After a wonderful morning of riding, we got back on Highway 1 heading south. For only the second time on our journey, we had a quite strong headwind. This wind in conjunction with several sizable climbs was very tiring. Sometimes we even had to peddle downhill to keep moving forward. Along the way we kept leap-frogging with David from upstate New York. David is also on a journey from Canada to Mexico but he couldn't talk his wife into joining him.  Besides the extra work of the wind, we travelled a mile uphill past the campground because the park sign indicated lodging (there was a lodge there) but didn't list camping. Sharla was not too happy with Ed for not stopping and checking our guide book. These events kept it from being a perfect dream day. We rode 49 miles and stayed at Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park.

Down Time - Days 41 & 42

Ed had to fly to Colorado for a 1 day meeting while Sharla stayed in a motel in Monterey. Sharla spent the down time looking through  Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, a couple antique malls, swimming pool time and even a much needed haircut. (She also did the laundry and some grocery shopping so it wasn't all down time.)

Monteray - Day 40

After waking up to a gorgeous, clear blue sky, we rode our bikes 2 1/2 miles to get from the camp to the motel.  You may ask why we didn't get the motel for last night? We would have been charged an extra $25 to book the motel for a Saturday night.  Much cheaper to pay $12 for a campsite.  Between having lunch and dinner on Fisherman's Wharf, we spent time at the Monteray Aquarium.  It is the best aquarium we have been to and all the animals were healthy and active. We are reminded of God's creativity in the variety of sea life He created. His handiwork is seen in the many varieties of jellyfish,  seahorses, sea mammals, and fishes. It was fun to see lobsters climbing over eels and using their tentacles to keep them away.