Big miles in Big Sur

What does it like like when I go on vacation? A little bit like this:

A city park. And a bikepacker's bike.

So what is riding through Big Sur like? Kind of like this picture suggests:

Looks like we are on the scenic route!

And, even though this is significantly south of anything you could call Big Sur, it was like this, too. In that there were fog and clouds, and it was basically riding on a highway...

 

After 4 days of riding, we hadn't had enough, so we continued south to Santa Barbara. Which is much less wild, but scenic nonetheless. The very first picture of this post is in a park in Santa Barbara, too, but I feel like this picture captures the feel of the town a little better:

So-Cal style beach.

Of course, it takes some calories to get from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara. So we spent some time in this joint before heading out:

Organic coffee and everything!

And even though it was only two days out of five, the hundred mile stretch from San Simeon to Carmel was what my vacation was about. I say two days because we rode it south to north one day, then north to south the next.

yep.

I'm not a big fan of Lompoc, but apparently Lompoc is a big fan of me. Look at the sign they erected for my arrival:

The trip was not all wilderness and camping. There was a train, a train station, and downtown Los Angeles involved...

Some of the ride felt like this:

Long miles

And some of it felt like this:

There was camping and campgrounds and stretches of night:

And Thai food and cows and a guy with a skateboard who thought my load was too light:

San Luis Obispo and Moro Bay

Mannuel's phone ate all his pictures, so these Instagram collages are all that he has left:

This is the bike Mannuel brought:

And even though it was my ride, I can still say, "Wish I was there!"

 

Pacific Coast Bicentennial Bike Route

My bike wants to get on a train.

So I had a long weekend, the weather was hot, and it may have just been in my head, but I could swear I smelled smoke from the fire in Idyllwild. Not wanting to stay in town for any of that noise, I headed to Union Station to catch a train into Ventura with my bike for a ride up the coast.

She's got a ticket to ride...

...and a destination.

Back in 1975, a bicycle route was established that basically follows Highway 1 down the California coast with some detours for reasons of safety, legality, or scenery. I say "down" because south is the preferred direction of travel. Even without the tailwind, the views are better from the "cliffside of the trail." Though CalTrans stopped publishing maps for the route in 1982, the Adventure Cycling Association distributes a variant of the route, and perhaps others do too. Thus, summertime brings lots of bike tourists to the route I was following. Many of the "pannier crowd" are international tourists spending as many hours sightseeing and dining as riding. Domestic bikepackers seem to be a thriftier crowd. Many of them are on thousand mile (or more) journeys, doing the entire route, or doing their own route on a door-to-door loop. But no matter who you are, the $5 hiker/biker campsites at world class destinations like Morro Bay State Park are attractive. The warm shower alone is worth the price of admission.

You can't see Morro Rock because the fog won't lift for a while. Wait for a photo op? Ain't nobody got time for that!

One of the nice things about staying at a campground is that you get to talk to some of your peers. Talk naturally turns to routes, destinations, and gear. I was given directions to the grocery store and a recommendation of the best place for fish and chips. As I was starting to get cold, I opted for hot food. The best place was closed, so I went to the one next door. When I ordered fish and chips, they asked me if I wanted chips or fries!

You know that palm tree island with the long bridge, don't you?

But I'm making it sound like I went to Morro Bay. Nothing could be further from the truth. I went for a RIDE. I didn't know if I would make it that far. And going further was an option, too, if I wanted to get on a train in San Luis Obispo on the way back. One of the nice things about riding the coast is that the cell phone always seems to have reception. I was able to give updates of my progress (and my evolving plans) every place I stopped. Some other riders don't bring phones, relying instead on the internet at public libraries for email communication. I couldn't do that. I gots to have my Words With Friends while I'm waiting for that cheeseburger...

Nothing's showing.

And the Pacific Coast route doesn't just hug the coast, either. There is quite a lot of variety. Ranch land, farm land smelling of ripe strawberries, small towns, mossy trees, lone oaks dotting the grassy hillsides. My favorite views were the ones that simply couldn't be captured in a photograph.

Share the road.

I had never been to UCSB before, but I got the opportunity, as the route crosses the campus. Talk about a bike-friendly school! There were many, many bicycle parking lots scattered about. Some of them were huge! And bike paths criss-cross the campus. I don't think my picture does it justice, but here you go.

I've got to go back and see this school in the daylight...

Everybody loves a sunset.

On my last day, I called ahead to the SAG vehicle. Not to cut my ride short (I've done that before), but to extend it. "Hey, Babe. I don't want to get on the train in Ventura. If I ride down to Malibu, can you come pick me up?"

I am in the habit of waving to other cyclists going the opposite direction. On the 605 bike path, lots of people wave back. If you have ever ridden Ballona Creek, you know how some cyclists are too serious to be friendly. I was expecting the "west-side cold shoulder" in Malibu, but even the guys with aero-bars gave me a nod. That was a nice surprise.