Another great cycling day was
accomplished today. We started out from Solvang, a Danish style town
in Central California. Last night for dinner, we had a smörgåsbord,
which I liked. Some of the other riders were not too thrilled, but
you can't please everyone all of the time.
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| Leaving Solvang |
Today we started out with a long climb
starting after a few warm-up miles. This was to be one of the last
real climbs of the trip, as we only have 2 days left and I think we
will be mostly riding along the coast. Joe and I rode the day
together and near the start of the climb, we saw our first tarantula
crossing the road. We had to stop and get a photo. They are quite
fast and can jump, so we didn't dare get too close.
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| Tarantula sighting |
We continued up the long climb and I
went on a bit ahead. I missed the turn that takes us off the main
road to the closed road that we were supposed to take. Joe yelled at
me and also called my cellphone, but I never heard either. The limits
of friendship can be defined by whether one is willing to chase the
lost soul up a long hill of climbing. Joe drew the line there. There
would be no chasing me down. I have to admit, I wouldn't have chased
Joe up the climb either if the situation was reversed. I noticed that
I missed the turn after about 1/3 mile and rode back down to the
correct turnout.
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| Still climbing |
After a few more miles of climbing on
the closed road, Joe and I reached the top. The descent was supposed
to be steep and very technical, with lots of turns along the way. It
turns out that the descent was broken into 3 parts, that got us into
the outskirts of Santa Barbara. The 1st part was steep and
only about a mile. We had to be braking hard the whole way down this
part, as the road was poor. Once we made the turn to the 2nd
part, we were on a busy road, but able to cruise along at 40 mph
until we hit the 3rd and final part.
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| Standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking the roads to Santa Barbara |
The 3rd part of the descent
was incredible. The twists and turns were extreme, with some 270
degree turns. There were road signs that said 5 mph maximum and they
meant it.
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| One of the many steep turns on the descent |
These turns were on sharp slopes that
would have been over 30% down. The views along the route were
outstanding. All in all, it was a memorable descent.
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| View from the descent |
Joe and I then rode through the streets
to get us onto the bike path that helps to get us partway into Santa
Barbara. It's a pretty city with lots to do and has a beach. The
water temperature here, is the starting point where it is acceptable.
This is where the warm water that flows up from the south and the
cold water that flows down from the north meet. Anything south of
here is swim-worthy.
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| Along Cabrillo Blvd, in Santa Barbara |
After riding along Cabrillo Blvd, which
runs along the ocean through Santa Barbara, Joe and I caught up to
Toronto Mark (who left Solvang 45 minutes early), “The Duchess”
(who rode in the truck until the climb was almost over) and Karen
Bauer (who works for ABB). Karen joined Joe and me and we headed off
at a quick pace. We came across the Santa Barbara Polo Club, which
was hosting a polo match, so we stopped and talked with the locals who were eager to explain the game.
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| Watching a polo match |
After leaving the polo game, Karen, Joe
and I rode to the 2nd SAG and refueled. By this time we
were in Carpinteria. Joe and I headed out and found that part of the
ride was along the bike lane of the busy highway 101 itself. It was
noisy as the cars and trucks sped along beside us.
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| Bike lane along the busy Highway 101 South |
It wasn't long before Joe and I were
back on the much more quiet Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast
Highway. Along this route, many camper trailers like to line up and
park there for days or even weeks at a time. It is unofficially known
as Redneck Riviera. You could smell the burgers cooking as you rode
by.
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| Redneck Riviera |
One item on my wish list for this ride
was to eat at In-N-Out Burger at least once. It's been a 1300 mile
search, but we finally found one when we were entering Santa Barbara.
However, it was too early to eat, so Joe and I skipped it. I was
hoping that we would find another one sometime, as they are kind of
rare. As we entered the main strip in Ventura, Joe yelled out and
sure enough, we saw it in front of us. I had the Double-double with
cheese and a chocolate shake. The wish was satisfied as was my now
full stomach.
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| Finally -- yumm |
After this well received lunch, we rode
the last 12 miles to the hotel in Oxnard.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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