The Pacific Coast

Twelth day in a row today and our biggest mileage day of the trip.  Our challenge today was to ride into San Diego.   We had an hour delayed start because of heavy fog.  We did not think it would be safe to take on the busy highway 1 with limited visibility. Once we started, Beth joined us for the first 20 miles to San Onofre.  Julie joined us for the next segment through the Marine Base at camp Pendalton.  After 40 miles, we were feeling pretty hungry.   Fortunately, we spotted an angel on the seawall with a wonderful picnic lunch.T Rob and I were on our own for the rest of the trip into town.  It was 75 miles and the hill got big at the end.  We had one very steep hill at the very end.  Since Beth made the reservation at the B&B at the top of the hill, we named it Beth Hill.

Today we had the big ride across Los Angeles.  We headed down the coast on the haze from Santa Monica to Redondo Beach on the beachfront path.  We were treated to views of the ocean, surfers and volleyball players down the coast.  When we hit Torrence, we headed inland across Carson (where I worked from 1982 to 1984) and into Long Beach. We saw the Queen Mary in the still hazy sky as we headed along the beach.  Regretfully, we had a long day and were on a mission, so I did not take any pictures. Julie and Beth spent the day returning the Jucy camper, picking up our rental vanand driving through the city on a freeway with 8 lanes in each direction.  We had a far nicer day. After a quick lunch, Rob and I headed through all the Orange county beach communities of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport and finally Laguna Beach.  It is a fun to see the beach communities and did not hurt that we had a nice tailwind.

With a beautiful ride along the beach today. We Road from Point Mugu to Santa Monica right along the coast. We saw many iconic California beach locations like Malibu and Zuma Beach. For part of the ride we are close enough feel the mist from the breaking waves along the shore. It was Southern California and its best. The ride got pretty urban as we approach Santa Monica.  We have got the busy Southern California traffic. Julie and I stopped at a beach Cafe for a nice lunch. As we approached Santa Monica, Rob's bike had a catastrophic derailleur malfunction. Fortunately, he was able to find a very capable bike shop and mechanic to fix it quickly. Carlo the mechanic and Rob's destroyed derelliur  Finally, I must tell you that last night was our last night in the Jucy. We have spent eight nights cohabitating in this small converted minivan. It is worked out perfectly. Beth and Rob have occupied the penthouse for most of the trip. They have been good spo...

Today we had perfect Southern California weather for cycling. We woke this morning in the comfort of the Cabrillo Inn, a nice hotel in Santa Barbara. Once again we had a beautiful cycle along the coast in through the agricultural regions of California. Rob, Beth and I rode together in the morning. In the beach town of Carpinteria we stopped for a nice cup of coffee.  We continue down the coast within view of the beach for most of the morning. For lunch, we met Julie on the beach in Ventura. She had shopped and treated us with a baguette and various meats, cheeses and salads. After the 30-mile morning ride food never tasted so good. Julie came along for the afternoon ride. We rode through massive fields of strawberries and a little bit of urban sprawl near Ventura and Oxnard. After going around Vandenberg Air Force Base and Point Mugu Naval Base, we hit the coast again. From there, we had a short ride our campground. Beth met us on the beach and ...

Another wonderful day on the road.  We started the day with a 1000' climb. That was followed by a 1000' descent to the Pacific Ocean.  The next 30 miles into Santa Barbara were a nice rolling ride assisted by a pleasant tailwind. Julie joined us for the ride into Santa Barbara.  Beth found a great place on the ocean for a picnic lunch with Danish bakery treats purchased in Solvang. The weather remains perfect, at a pleasant 75 degrees. We completed section 4 of the Pacific Coast ride today..... 382.5 miles down and less than 300 to go.

We had a nice ride today from Pismo Beach to Lompoc California. We cycled through the rich agricultural land and saw cauliflower, strawberry's, brussel sprouts and all types of agriculture being grown and harvested. Beth joined us for the beginning of the day, then Julie and Beth went and toured a local mission. We had a wonderful Vietnamese meal in San Luis Obispo last night. The highlight, was being joined buy Jarred Pfeiffer and his friend Anna. Jarred is a very good friend of our son Daniel, going back to 4th grade. He is a professor of ceramics at a community college here in California. He was great to see him. We had a wonderful time in many laughs reliving childhood memories .