As soon as we left camp I was annoyed. My left pedal was clicking, something was rubbing on my back tire and my chain was creaking. Besides that I hadn't gotten a full night sleep since we were out so late the night before, and my mood was just generally poor. About two miles up the road James stopped to send off some extra weight he had been carrying and I stopped at the market next door to get a few snacks for the road and lube my chain. When it came time to get back on the bikes I was still feeling disconnected and had a hard time getting back on the bike. My rhythm still seemed to be off ever since San Francisco and I knew I had to do something to change it. I decided that I should listen to my iPod and pedal away the poison I was feeling.
For the next few hours James and I rode at our own individual paces, sometimes passing one another but mostly doing our own thing. Listening to my iPod on shuffle really helped keep my pace high. The route and day were both absolutely beautiful, and I felt so fortunate to be experiencing it all. This portion of the Central Coast had a lot of up and down, with a couple climbs that would reach around 1000ft elevation. I stopped to take pictures along the way and was really starting to enjoy the day, and felt as if I actually was pedaling the poison away.
At one point I was pretty far ahead of James, but only because there were so many great places for him to stop and take pictures. It was around that time when I came up on our slow and steady friend Austen again. There he was, trucking along. He had actually camped a few miles ahead of us the night before. That crazy guy gets a lot of night miles in. He was actually shooting for another 90+ mile day, as he was heading to Paso Robles to change course and go east. James soon caught up with us and we all rode together for a little longer. This would probably be the last part of the trip that we would ride together, unless we all happen to meet up in Flagstaff, AZ.
When James and I stopped to snack, Austen continued on and we didn't catch up with him again. After our 30 minute break I put my iPod back on and James shot ahead of me as his monstrous legs tend to allow him to do. There were a few more smaller climbs and then one big one with a false summit that drained my energy. It didn't hurt that the sun was beating down hard and the temperature had risen to 85F. At Ragged Point, which was a little more than 45 miles from our starting point, I stopped to eat something somewhat substantial, fill up on water and take a much needed rest. James was on the phone when I arrived, and had been waiting for me there for about 30minutes.
The sun was starting its descent, but I was glad to have made it so far, so early in the day. I consulted my phone and saw that San Simeon State Park was about 25 miles up the road and we both figured that would be a good spot to aim for. From then on we rode together, and I think we were both feeling a little fatigued from all the climbing of the the day. Luckily after Ragged Point it was downhill for a bit and then mostly flat. We were passing by Piedras Blancas Lighthouse when the sun finally set. It was an amazing sunset and we stopped several times to marvel in its splendor. It seemed as if every 10 pedal strokes I could look back and the sky was a different color. There was even a time when I looked across the horizon and the sky seemed to change from dark night to blue to fire red to orange and then it melt into the setting sun.
I noticed a bright light on the hill and wasn't sure what it was until we passed a sign pointing out that it was Hearst Castle. Even far away, from the highway at night it looked impressive. Not too far past "La Cuesta Encantada", the estate in which the Hearst Castle sits, was a beach full of burping seals. It was too dark to tell for sure, but I think they were Elephant Seals. I stopped for a bit to listen to their gurgling and grunting, but I could only barley make out their slug like shapes on the beach. From what I could hear, and see, there were a lot of them.
This last stretch of highway surprised us. As we pedaled on, we would pass through cool areas and warm areas. The warm pockets were very welcomed and the sudden change in temperature from time to time was interesting to experience. This was a good sign that we were getting farther south down the coast, and I was hoping that the warm night breeze was a sign of things to come.
At the park we were greeted by a ranger, who pointed us in the direction of the hiker/biker area. We stopped for warm showers (you gotta get them when you can) and then we cooked a pasta dinner. I was again able to set up my hammock and we went to bed at a decent hour. For the first time since San Francisco I felt as of I was back in the rhythm of the road. I had to to force myself into it a little, but it was worth it. It had been an amazing day, and this portion of the Central Coast was simply beautiful. It was yet another stretch of highway that I wouldn't mind riding over and over again.
Miles: 70 miles
RRD: a broken cell phone
-D
http://www.trackmytour.com/b5k7d
No comments:
Post a Comment