Tour of The California Coast

Day 2
June7, 2010
Monterey to San Luis Obispo
144.8 miles

The jewel of the journey.

The morning fog added to the mystique.

We got out early enough to beat the tour buses and the RV's

Tim is probably saying "Look, Jenny! Sea Otter!"

I'm trying not to blow away.

It was really gusty going across Bixby bridge.

After crossing the bridge it's a long down hill. The wind gusts were stronger that I have ever felt before. They were a bit tricky, but I felt "one with my bike". I was glad not the have the rack/pack to act like a sail. After the long beautiful decent the fog lifted. The wind changed and we had tail wind galore into Big Sur.

In Big Sur we stopped at the Big Sur General Store. The stops from Monterey to San Simeon are few and far between. *This is the biggest store around for quite some time and please note they did not have Starbucks in a can.* I realize the improtance of caffeine and made sure each filled a waterbottle with "Rockstar." The thought of my father in law drinking a beverage called "Rockstar" is about as funny as picturing him listening to Britney Spears.

It was my goal to soak up as much of the experience I could.

The ride went up, down, and around fun corners. It didn't seem like the mileage signs to San Luis Obispo were going down too fast. I didn't worry about it. I hummed Bob Marley tunes and thought about how grand my life was at this very moment. I feel very fortunate to do what I love with the person I love most in the whole world .

The Big Sur General Store had a deli and they made "killer breakfast burritos." We bought one for each of us.

 

Good old Tim lugged the burritos until we could find the perfect spot for a picnic.

There certainly weren't any complaints out of Bruce and he is a connoisseur of good times.

We hit the road again.We felt good but hoped for an afternoon coffee.

Tim spotted the coolest coffee bar ever.....Whale Watchers Espresso.

Bruce treated us to foamy cappucinos. Yum. The others in line may have became jealous when the barrista discounted our coffee since we "worked harder" getting there. I'm not sure that's a true statement, for me being strapped in to a car when I could be riding is beyond work. It's torture.

After that it was up and down, not what I would call rollers. Better than rollers. Real climbs, with real descents for dessert. Switch backs that make the climb easy enough to spin and enjoy but not too tight of turns to force braking on the downhill. The switchbacks and banking of the road flowed perfectly. I'm sounding like Goldilocks. Not too hot, not too warm, just right. Soon we rolled past Ragged Point and I felt a little bit sad. I knew this signaled the end of this type of terrain and beauty. It would have been harder to part with if I wasn't on mile 94 with 50 more miles to go. We passed the Hearst Castle with rip roaring speed.

We stopped for a brief moment in San Simeon to see the elephant seals. It was pretty cool. It was so windy I could barely stand still. It was undeniably a tailwind. The tailwind made me feel a little guilty, but if the powers that be so choose to bless me with a tailwind at mile 100, who am I to question. Besides we had our headwind the night before. A phone call from Tim's brother Seth confirmed we were in the day's last leg.

Seth was riding from home in San Luis Obispo to meet us and ride us in. Bruce told us to go ahead and catch Seth at this point. Even after over 200 miles in two days Tim will still spar with Seth in a sprint until you crump finish.  Just after we rolled through Harmony (town of 16) we met Seth. He took us on a long -short cut or a short long cut. It added 5 miles and cut off the busy road/stupid highway. We rolled through pastures and vineyards and over rolling hills on the way to Seth's and Val's home. Upon arrival the computer said we hadn't done too poorly for a days work.

We smugly tolld Seth to get the car and SAG Bruce. It had been two long days of riding and Bruce wasn't in his 30's anymore. He'd be tired and it would be hard to navigate San Luis Obispo. Just as the words rolled out of our mouths Bruce rolled into the driveway looking fresh as a flower.