Dolly's Bike Blog

Quick post tonight as we have an early morning and long day tomorrow – our last!!

We wandered out of Pismo Beach into Arroyo Grande this morning, before riding onto SR 1 at mile 8.  There was sufficient shoulder and generally reasonable traffic into Guadalupe, where we enjoyed our first sag stop.  Along the way, we saw numerous green fields and were able to identify strawberries, broccoli and cabbage.  Sometimes on the opposite side of the road were arid grasslands.  And instead of waves of the ocean, we had the shine of plastic covering crops already growing or preparing the earth for future planting.

At mile 28, SR 1 was joined by SR 135 and suddenly it was considered a freeway, 2 lanes of traffic each way. This continued for 4 miles before we turned off on Harris Grade Road, and the climbing began.  There were a few sections with 5-8% grade, otherwise it was quite manageable at my slow and steady pace.  The uphill was 3 1/2 miles, the downhill 4 1/2 miles before we rejoined SR 1 into Lompoc.  Luckily we had early access to our rooms.

Barbara and I changed out of biking clothes and went walking for lunch and to see the reputed murals in the older downtown area.  For lunch we were joined by KJ and Marilyn at Scratch Kitchen, then May joined us as we wandered among the murals.

Our last dinner prepared by Emily:  pork loin, quinoa salad, corn on the cob, brownies.  And the dishwashers got to enjoy a celebratory margarita after all of the dishes were done.

Garmin:  44.46 miles, 11.42 mph, 2411.4 ascent

Relive:  https://www.relive.cc/view/1238066741

It was a beautiful Central Coast day – until 3:30 pm today.

We left Cambria around 8:30 am and traveled 12 miles on Route 1.  Our first “detour” was in Cayucos, where we discovered the Brown Butter Cookie Company:  “Life’s Short, Eat Cookies”.

Back on Route 1, we continued into Morro Bay, a beautiful seaside town, except for the utility chimneys that spoiled the scenic views.  Our sag was just at the entry into Morro Bay State Park.

To keep us off Route 1, we cycled around Los Osos, into the arid foothills, with a few ranches and only a small herd or two of cattle.  For a while, we had a wonderful tailwind and I was moving along at 18+ mph.

Intermittently we saw very green fields, including one where they were planting cabbage.  Around mile 35 we came into San Luis Obispo, a college town (California Polytechnic University), also a mission dating from 1772, established by Brother Juniper Serra.  The historic downtown is alive, with plenty of restaurants and national & local retail establishments.

For 7+ miles, we paralleled Route 101, before arriving in Pismo Beach, a pleasant seaside town.  I wandered briefly near the wharf, which is being reconstructed after years of decay.   Our hotel was back close to the highway, but I stopped first for a snack and a manicure before cycling into the Oxford Suites Hotel.

I was so relaxed after the manicure and hand massage, that I decided to head into the whirlpool with my cycling clothes on – and my phone in the back pocket!  Thus began the horrors of the day:  quick exit from the hot tub, dry off the phone, put into rice, ultimately connect with Apple Support, make an appointment at the Genius Bar back in San Luis Obispo, have Fran, one of the sag drivers, take me by car into SLO, ultimately replace my phone (thank goodness for Apple Care Plus) – I’m pretty much back in business.

Garmin:  53.94 miles, 12.49 mph, 2185 ft ascent.

Relive:  https://www.relive.cc/view/1236753951

All photos from today are lost, though I am sure I can/will “borrow” some from others.

As previously noted, today was not a biking day.  Instead, we loaded 27 bikes, 27 riders and guides, and lots of luggage onto the trailer, van, sag wagon, and bus for the 4 hour trip.  The route took us north to Carmel, then inland to Salinas, where we  joined US 101, past Paso Robles, then back toward the shore to Cambria.  The ride was 4+ hours.

Some people chose to ride after we got to Cambria, heading up the coast to San Simeon, past Hearst Castle and onto a location for elephant seal viewing.  I chose to wander into Cambria and do laundry.

Our dinner in the parking lot tonight was discrete – no charcoal, instead delicious fish chowder prepared inside the trailer, salad and pumpkin pie.  We gathered in several riders’ rooms, rather than in our circle of camp chairs.

Back on the saddle tomorrow…