Day 42 - Flats and the not so flat

Plaskett Creek, CA to Morro Bay, CA - 62 miles

As we were leaving the campsite this morning, Stephen realized he had a flat tire.  At about 11:30, he had another.  At 3:00 this afternoon, Tanner got his first flat.  In terms of tires, it was a flat day.  In other respects, it wasn't such a flat day.  We climbed to the top of 2 - 1000 foot peaks before we finished the coastal cliffs south of Big Sur.

We passed Hearst Castle today.  I think I have now passed Hearst Castle 3 times in my life, but still have yet to go inside.  You have to take 3 separate tours if you want to see the whole castle.  I think it would be awesome to do someday, but $225 for all of us to see the whole castle was a bit much for now, not to mention the time commitment.  It's a good thing we passed up the castle tours though because when we got to our first campsite option for the evening just down the road, there were no showers.  We promised the boys real showers this evening, so we decided to go to the next park.

We stopped to watch the Elephant Seals today and met a woman who is running the length of California.  She started at the Oregon border and is running all the way to Mexico.  She runs 40 miles every day, that's more than a full marathon and a half...daily.  I know quite a few people who have run marathons and I think they are amazing.  Once I ran 11 miles without stopping and that was intense for me.  Biking is so much easier on the knees!

Day 41 - Long wind(ed)

Big Sur, CA to Plaskett Creek, CA - 36 miles

My childhood was peppered with trips to Southern California to visit family.  I have great memories of those trips!  My siblings and I became very familiar with the route and our typical stops.  On one trip, my parents decided to spice it up by cutting across California and driving down the coast.

I remember the following conversation near Big Sur between my parents and one of my siblings:

Sibling: Mom, turn around and look at this.
Mom: I can't.  I'm watching the road.
Sibling: But Dad's driving.
Mom: I know.
Dad: OK, I'll look then.
Mom: Don't you dare take your eyes off the road!

I don't remember the specifics of the journey, but that conversation always conjures up images of narrow, winding roads, swift-moving traffic, no shoulder and steep cliffs.  I was a bit nervous about this part of the trip with the boys, but I needn't have worried.  We had plenty of space to ride and turnouts to rest.  Besides, 4 bicycles and 2 bright yellow trailers are quite conspicuous.  We tend to stand out like conservatives in Garberville.

Did I mention Garberville?  We drove through there about 10 days ago.  How should I describe Garberville?... I've got it!  At my High School senior awards assembly, there was a special award given.  After the typical awards "Most popular," "Most Athletic," etc., the Juniors presented an award to the "Most Grunge-Dressing, Long-Hair-Wearing, Frisbee-Hucking Hippee in the School."  That is the phrase that comes to my mind when I think of Garberville, CA.  It was a bit too free-spirited for my conservative nature.

It's fitting that today's post is long-winded because today was long and windy!  At one point, Stephen asked me if I wanted to ride all the way to Argentina.  I told him that was like asking a woman in labor if she wanted to have another baby.  While Big Sur on a bicycle in a head wind is a beautiful experience, it's also a brutal one.

Tonight we are staying at a National Park.  The only difference between a State Park and a National Park is one thing: showers.  National Parks don't have them.  I knew it was a possibility on this trip that we may stay at a campground without showers, so I had a plan.  I would warm up water on the stove and at least towel myself clean and put on clean clothes before going to bed.  There's no way I'm climbing into a sleeping bag covered in sweat and dirt from the day!  What I wasn't prepared for was the boys' reaction to no showers.  "WORST CAMPSITE EVER!"  It warms my heart that they're so concerned about personal hygiene.  We each took a bath with a pan of hot water and a towel, and I didn't hear any more complaints after that.

Day 40 - No Disneyland! Say it aint so!

Monterey, CA to Big Sur, CA - 34 miles

Before getting too far out of Monterey, we stopped to visit Point Lobos.  We weren't disappointed.  The waters were a beautiful aquamarine and the crashing surf was mesmerizing.  Tan looked out at the ocean and said, "This world is amazing!"

We only had 30ish miles to go today, but they were tough with the wind.  We maintained 3 - 4 miles per hour going uphill, and at one point we had to pedal to go downhill.

Stephen and I were considering topping this trip off with a visit to Disneyland.  We thought it would be fun for the boys to spend a day at the Magic Kingdom in celebration of finishing the ride.  Today, Stephen rode up next to me and said, "I just talked myself out of Disneyland."  He concluded (and I agree) that if we finish a bike tour of the Pacific Coast with one day at Disneyland, then when people ask the boys how the trip went, they will talk about Disneyland.  We want them to rave about the 8 weeks they spend biking and all the amazing things they saw and did, not the 12 hours they spent at Disneyland.  We have loved our previous visits and we may go again sometime in the future, but for now we don't want Disneyland to share the limelight with a great accomplishment.

Day 39 - Earrings

Day of rest in Monterey CA - 0 miles

I was wrong about our route to church. We didn't have to go down the big hill. We had to go further up it. Oh well. This morning at church we met a man named John. He and his family moved to Monterey, CA to be near a place called Point Lobos. He is an oil painter and loves to paint the coastal landscape and the Cypress trees of this area. We plan to check out Point Lobos tomorrow. You can check out his work at:

www.burtonartstudios.com

The day of rest was much needed, but we didn't know what to do with ourselves towards the end of the day. We are excited to ride again tomorrow and finish the last stretch of this ride. We still have almost 2 weeks, but it feels like we're on the home stretch.

We met a couple in Half Moon Bay that we ran into again this evening. They are doing the same ride that we are, only they split the ride every day. He rides half while she drives it, they meet for lunch, then she rides half while he drives it. They were at our camp this evening and she gave me a pair of the earrings she makes out of bicycle tubes.

Day 38 - Fresas (Strawberries)

Santa Cruz, CA to Monterey, CA - 48 miles

Yesterday was pumpkin day and today was strawberries. It's not hard to see how California could supply strawberries for the entire United States. There were "strawberry fields forever." I wonder if this place was Simon and Garfunkle's inspiration. The strawberry fields were amazing to look at and even more wonderful to smell. We passed by some field workers packing strawberries near the fence and asked if they would sell us a flat. We bought 8 pounds of strawberries for $10 and didn't even mind the extra weight on our trailers.

The campground in Monterey is right in the city limits. The only problem is that it's up the side of a mountain. It was killer to climb! The only bad thing about taking tomorrow off to attend church is that we have to go down the hill then back up it. 

I am continually amazed at all the different people we are meeting from around the world. To date we have met cyclists from Australia, England, Singapore, Germany, Thailand, Canada, Spain, France, Russia and from all over the United States.

Day 37 - Pumpkins Galore

Half Moon Bay, CA to Santa Cruz, CA - 59 Miles

We struggled to get out this morning.  We have been trying to break camp by 8:30 am, but today we didn't get out until 9:40.  Before we were even out of the state campground, one of the bike trailers got a flat tire.  We don't have any extra tubes for the trailers, so we took the time to patch it, rather than just changing the tube and patching later like we do with the bike tires.  Then, we still had to stop at the store.  Yikes!

We knew we had a long ride today, so we had to make up the time.  Luckily, the weather was great, overcast most of the day, then pleasantly sunny towards afternoon.  We were able to maintain over 11 mph the whole day even with hills.

Our route was along the coast, but ocean wasn't the only sight that dominated our view.  Brussel sprouts and pumpkins are everywhere!  Nearly every city I've ever lived in has at least one pumpkin patch in the fall (hay maze, corn maze, pick-a-pumpkin, etc.), sometimes even a handful of them.  We saw dozens between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz!  Half Moon Bay even has it's own Pumpkin Festival.  This year at the festival they are showing a documentary about the 2013 world's largest pumpkin competition (check it out at www.riseofthegiantsmovie.com).

We stopped at a produce stand for some brussel sprouts, but decided to forgo the pumpkin for now.  Hopefully we'll finish this ride in time to carve at least one before Halloween.

Day 36 - Golden Gate Bridge!

San Rafael, CA to Half Moon Bay, CA - 54 Miles

There have been a few days on this trip that were truly significant.  By significant I mean that it really sunk in for me just how far we have come on our bikes.  The first such day was in Newport, OR.  For some reason, arriving at a place I have been before in a car and realizing that I am now there on a bicycle made the experience more significant.

Today was one of those days.  We made it to San Francisco!  We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge!  We have come 1200 miles without our car!  Compared to other bridges we have crossed on bikes, the Golden Gate was a piece of cake.  Although I've been to San Francisco before, I never crossed the bridge before today.  There is a dedicated lane, separated from motorist traffic, for cyclists and pedestrians.  Very nice!

Lets back up.  Here's a conversation from last night:

Me: We're going to see someone we know in San Francisco tomorrow.

Bins: Who is it?

Me: Her name is Cindy.  She's a friend of your MaJu.  She met you when you were a baby.

Bins: Sidnee?

Me: Cindy.

Bins: Sandy?

Me: Cindy.

Bins: City.  Cindy.

Me: Good job.

Bins was very proud of himself that he remembered and said her name correctly when we saw her today.  Cindy was on the Golden Gate Bridge to take pictures of us when we neared the other side.  The last time she saw Bins he was 2 days away from his 1st Birthday and she held him on her lap.  Now, 8 1/2 years later, they look each other in the eye; he's tall, she's not so tall.

Cindy picked us up at our campsite in Half Moon Bay this evening and took us out to dinner.  When she asked us earlier in the day what we wanted to eat, Tanner said, "Macaroni and Cheese."  She found a great restaurant with fresh sea food, local produce and...homemade mac and cheese.  Thanks Cindy!  You are wonderful!