Bike California South (#7 - '19)

Turned south (of course) from Santa Maria, headed toward the "bike trail" alongside route 101, where we spent 80% of our day..  Best 2nd breakfast of the trip at well bread bakery in los alamos, sitting in the cool garden.  Rode by vineyards (Sideways filmed in this region), and more cattle farms. Weather in California has been perfect for cycling - 60s and 70s, not a cloud, and usually a tailwind.  Climbed 3 short passes today, the last through the coastal mountains into a brutal headwind approaching gaviota. Then turned east along the shore bluff until we were able to get on nice bike trail through marshy area between UCSB and the Mason Beach inn, our home for the night.  Santa Barbara is pretty much paradise - remind me why i live in boston? 78 miles, and 1 more flat.

Transitioned from northern to southern California today. After quality inn hot breakfast, rode to cayucos (old western architecture) for decent coffee and the farmers market.  Cranked miles to morro bay and along los osos valley parkway with great tailwind.  Mostly inland ranchland but temps stayed in 70s.  Ate at a whole foods, near san luis obospo, 40 miles under our belts.  Good stop at beach town of pismo then almost made it to nipomo - except for the catastrophic tire failure on big bertha. Tried changing it, with a dollar bill, to no avail so we split up - foody ubering to the bike shop in santa maria.  Stayed at cool old (1917) santa maria inn. 74 miles.

Woke up to fog in coastal mountains, and after big breakfast, headed south.  Whole day today on route 1, and didn't see one pothole.  Was 20 miles until the first "town" (i.e. a small shop) of Lucia.  Beautiful riding along ocean bluff, and fog burned off by around noon.  Swapped bikes after lunch in Gorda, with Frankel taking the back-to-back killer 1000' climbs today, right before ragged point.  The terrain changed to ranchland and picked up great tailwind inro san simeon.  Met up with some other cyclists today, and these beasts.  63 miles, plus 1 vertical.

Met up with thom foody and began the journey south via caltrain and Amtrak to Salinas, home to John Steinbeck where he wrote The Grapes of Wrath.  After a quick lunch, got on the bikes around 12.30 - one fully loaded aircraft carrier and one porsche.  Headed west to monterey, by the strawberrry, cabbage and cauliflower fields of Blanco, surely being picked by eager american workers at more than minimum wage.  Found some cool abandonded roads then got to a nice bike path along the water.  After carmel, the path ended and rode along a good shoulder on route 1 - and the climbing began.  Several 500+ ft climbs, followed by long screaming descents, alternately by the water or back in the sycamore trees.  We traded bikes (and shoes) about 2/3 of the miles into the day - and maybe 1/3 of the climbiing, arriving at the redwoods of big sur around 6pm.  One more killer climb up to 1000', then onto deetjens, an inn built in 1930s.   54 miles. ...