California Tour: Day 2 and 3

What can I say, we've been so busy doing stuff the last two days we haven't had a chance to stop and write about it!

The second day of our tour was spent in the beautiful town of Monterey.  I really fell in love with this place, and I think Joy would have too, except the temperatures stayed just a little too much on the cold side.  I'm pretty sure the high got up to about 65, but when the clouds roll in and it became overcast, it felt downright chilly!  Anyway, we started off with an early lunch at a hole in the wall sandwich shop, with some delicious chicken salad sandwiches.  Then down to Fisherman's Wharf, where the day's bike ride began.

 Here's our route for today:  a great bike path along the coast and the 17 Mile Drive. 

Sites seen along the way include, a group of sea lions;

Pebble Beach, if you're into that kinda thing;

and miles and miles of beautiful shore line!

There were also lots of multi-million dollar homes perched on the edge of cliffs, with spectacular views--but they're all gonna slide off into the ocean eventually, right?  No sense wasting good film on them.

We finished off the ride and headed back to town for dinner-Sushi, of course!-and a tour of historic Cannery Row.

This ride was a very relaxing 30 mile trip, with just over 1400 feet of climbing. 

Our third day of the trip we took a break from the bikes, as the PCH got VERY narrow with no shoulder and bad roads--there were several sections washed away earlier this year by rock slides still under repair.  We managed to hit no less than 4 state parks today, all with some hiking/trail running.  We started off the day in Point Lobos State Park, and I think we could have spent the entire day there!  The trails and views were absolutely amazing!

We found this secluded little beach where another group of sea lions were molting--this guy looked so comfy!

Next up, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.  A couple of miles of hiking through the redwoods-

-and on to State Park #3-Pfeiffer Burns State Park

A short hike to the waterfall viewing area, and then back to the car.  A few more miles of driving along the side of the mountains, several hundred feet above sea level, (where no good road should ever find itself, according to Joy)

and we round a corner to see a beautiful waterfall off to the left.  Here's how the next 1.7 seconds play out:  'Should we stop?' 'Yes!'- mirrors checked, brakes slammed, car swerved across traffic into the gravel lot safely.

Another short hike yields another spectacular view:

And despite what the following video shows, I swear that once upon a time I was somewhat graceful :-)

And of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without learning something new.  Like, say, for instance, that zebras are indigenous to Central Califonia??

Until next time kiddies!

California Tour: Day 1

Friday our tour started with another 6am start.  After wolfing down some breakfast, we packed up and headed out to the car...to 58 degree temps and a slight misting/light rain.  Hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago we were FIFTY degrees hotter and baking under a cloudless sky.

Five hours and roughly 350 miles later brought us to Half Moon Bay, a cute little seaside town 45min SW of San Francisco on Highway 1.  We parked at the beach, changed, and headed out on our bikes.  It was still kind of overcast, with the temperature hovering in the mid 60's.  The first 10 miles consisted of gently rolling hills with a gradual trend upward.  After one long climb and descent we were back at sea level and the riding was fairly level until we reached our destination-Ano Nuevo State Park.

We rode into the park, dropped the bikes and changed into our trail shoes for the 3 mile round trip hike to see the parks main attraction:  elephant seals!

The seals will be here for a few more weeks before they split up:  the males head to the Aleutian Islands, and the females to Hawaii.

The ride back from the park was definitely quicker, as we had a tail wind, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees.  Plus, we had a dinner date!

After loading the bikes, we grabbed our gear, took quick showers, and headed into town to meet Laura and Steve for dinner and drinks.

The food was amazing, but as my wife is by far the better storyteller, I'll leave the details up to her :-)

I'll try to give the ride stats at the end of each day.  For those of you that follow cycling on Versus, as you read these imagine Phil Liggett's voice telling the story instead of me :-)
Total distance: 56 miles
Terrain:  rolling flats with two Category 4(??) climbs
Total elevation gain: 2300 feet

 

Until next time!

California Tour: Prologue

Yesterday: was a travel day: 14 hours and 860 miles in the car.  UGH.  I think the highlight was watching the temperature gauge all afternoon.  Joy was certain it would hit 110;  it hovered at 109 for most of the afternoon, but never topped it.  Who knows, maybe my car won't read out above 109?? 

Anyway, made it all the past LA to Santa Clarita, pulled off, found a hotel directly across from our new favorite fast food joint, In N Out Burger!  Joy walked over to grab our dinner while I unloaded the bikes and such.  Burgers, a glass of wine, and Late Night with Conan; what a way to end the day!

Today the trip REALLY begins, as we have about 5 more hours of driving to Half Moon Bay State Park just outside of SF; from there we'll bike to Ano Nuevo State Park and back.   Then its dinner and drinks with Laura and Steve :-) 

Stay tuned, hope to have lots of pics from today's ride!