Today we finally had the opportunity to
start riding with only 1 layer of clothing, however I didn't trust it
and so I also wore my jacket on top. By the 7th mile I was
quick to remove it, as it was starting to make me boil. I guess,
starting tomorrow, I will be willing to dress lighter than the usual
amount, for the last 2 weeks.
Today was to be a short cycling day, as
far as mileage is concerned, however we certainly took our time
riding the 42 miles into Solvang. Baltimore Mark, Joe and I targeted
3 wineries that we wanted to sample some wine at, that were mostly
along the way. As we made our way out of Santa Maria, we passed more
crop fields growing various vegetables, including green and red
peppers.
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| Green and red peppers |
Along the route, some others saw large
tarantulas crossing the street. Joe and I were at the front of the
riders, and we never came across any, much to my dismay. However,
Toronto Mark and Baltimore Mark came across a really fast one
crossing the road. They stopped for a picture and lay down near it in
this street, to get a good look. They didn't realize that these large
tarantulas are really fast and can also jump quite far. Phyllis came
along and warned them, probably just in time. Once at the SAG stop,
they shared their exciting tale with the rest of the group, just as
we saw a wild boar go running across the street into the adjacent
field. This boar must have been about 300 pounds, and was quite fast.
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| Baltimore Mark getting a bit close to the Tarantula (photo credit Toronto Mark) |
After the SAG, we continued with the
climbing that had started some miles earlier. The top came after a
few more miles, with a nice downhill run. Along the downhill, I came
across the Fess Parker Winery and stopped for a visit. Baltimore Mark
and Joe came up a bit later and stopped too. We went inside with one
goal in mind for the day: to see if we can talk our way into getting
a free sample, instead of paying the tasting fee these wineries
normally charge. We weren't interested in trying several wines as we
had to ride many more miles. Our schmoozing seemed to work on Jack,
the Fess Parker Winery server, and he let us choose a wine to be
sampled. By this time, Toronto Mark and “The Duchess” came in and
participated in our clever schmoozing strategy.
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| At Fess Parker Winery - Jack on the right serving us a sample |
After our free sample, we headed off to
the next winery on our list, the Curtis Winery. When the 3 of us
arrived, we saw Toronto Mark and “The Duchess” already heading
out. It was way too fast for them to have tried any wines. The sign
outside said closed, but Joe did some investigation and found that it
really was open. It was only the sign that was wrong. We went inside
and tried our schmoozing strategy once again, as we were starting to
feel like we were becoming good at this. Nancy, the Curtis Winery
server, fell victim to our clever talk, and also poured us a free
sample too.
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| Nancy at Curtis Winery serving us a free sample |
The 3 stooges were on a roll, so we
were then off to out next victim – um winery, Firestone. The
Firestone Winery was about a mile off the route, so we were hopeful
this ride wouldn't be in vain. We did the climb up to the main
building and went inside, feeling that we could be successful once
again. I'm sad to say, that schmoozing does not work at Firestone and
we left empty handed and kind of bummed out, saying “I guess we
won't be buying any Firestone wine anymore”. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't
so bad.
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| Firestone Winery, the cheapskates |
As the sadness of the last rejection
hit us, we cycled in towards Solvang, a town in California that has
Danish roots and is another of the many tourist traps awaiting any
visitors to California. Although it is very quaint and a pretty
place, I've been to Copenhagen a couple of times and this looks
nothing like it.
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| Quaint stores in Solvang |
Baltimore Mark, Joe and I headed out
for lunch after quickly changing into street clothes. We walked along
a couple of the main streets and saw a few of the stores.
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| Typical building along Mission Drive (the main street) in Solvang |
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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