Leaving Carpinteria we were riding on through pleasant neighborhoods and a bird refuge on a lake towards Santa Barbara. At the pier we stopped and were looking for dolphins, seals and (someone really told us) sharks. We were only lucky enough to see a pelican, but this at least from very close. It was Easter Saturday and along the beach children with their parents were preparing for the Easter Parade. A bit further on, there was an athletic tournament of different colleges going on. It was striking how much emphasize people were laying on doing sports around Santa Barbara! Various cyclists in groups passed us – it seems to be the thing to do on Saturdays here. Since conditions were so good (basically no wind, sunny, but not hot) we decided to skip lunch break and continue through to our next stop at Refugio State Beach. We passed some buildings of the university campus of Santa Barbara when soon enough the bike lane ended and directly lead us to the freeway. As we had no other option, we entered the Fwy with mixed feelings. We didn’t know whether bikes were allowed on it. However, we gained speed quite fast and car drivers passed us carefully. Then we suddenly saw the highway patrol waiting on the shoulder. However, when we passed them they only smiled and waved at us, so we definitely knew that it was a usual thing for cyclists to use the freeway. In the early afternoon we arrived at Refugio State Beach Campground directly at the beach. After a hearty lunch with pasta and dessert we enjoyed the beach and watched the surfers. The water is still very cold and only the brave and the ones with neoprene suits dare going into it. In the evening, Matthias, who cycles south from Seattle to L.A. arrived at the campground. While talking to him and getting to know that our next planned route was feasible, suddenly Lee from the campsite across to ours arrived with hot sausages and dog buns! Apparently it is common practice on hike and bike campgrounds to feed the starving cyclists. Soon after, John from the next site also came over and invited us for „s’mores“ at the bonfire. In return, they all got to know the story of the two cyclists from Switzerland who plan to cycle all the way up to Alaska :-). The next day (Easter Sunday!) we started early, as we had a long route in front of us. The next campgrounds were 130 km away in Oceano/Pismo Beach and we knew from Matthias that it would take us through hilly areas. The morning was chilly and the wind started to blow stronger. While continuing on the highway we first had to pedal through a tunnel. Various signs announced it well ahead and before entering it, we could even press a button to flash a signal that cyclist were in the tunnel. We prepared for a few miles in the dark. However, after 500 m the tunnel ended already... We were leaving highway 101 and entered state highway 1 towards Lompoc. We were now in the so called „rural California“. It was beautiful with yellow raps, a sort of orange poppy seed flowers and blue lupines blossoming on the hills. After a first very steep ascent we were in for some power bars. Luckily enough, we didn’t know yet how many will follow :-). At lunch time we arrived at Lompoc where we stocked up on our reserves and had lunch after shopping. A few shoppers passed by while we were picknicking and assured us that the way towards Pismo Beach is mostly flat or downhill. Full of motivation we cycled on, ensured that we would make it to the campground by the evening and that there was no need for starting looking for a motel. A few miles out of town, a very hilly highway started. The locals didn’t lie to us, it went always downhill – after you had reached uphill! Well, we guessed, the story looked a bit different from sitting inside a big car. What bothered us more was the heavy wind that was hitting in from the coast. Bad weather was building up and gusty winds blew strongly over the fields. We met another cyclist, Pierce from Los Angeles, who was cycling up to San Francisco in his spring break to meet friends. We paired up with him and took turns in cycling against the wind. Near Guadelupe we said bye to him again and fought on for the last miles towards Oceano/Pismo Beach. Looking down from the hills to the beach, we could see sandy dunes. After 6 pm (and after 7:20 h on the bikes) we arrived at the campground and were happy that hot showers were for free and not coin operated! We enjoyed dinner with Swiss Easter chocolate for dessert and decided to rest the coming day and visit San Luis Obispo by train – the Amtrak Surfliner had its station close to the campground.
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We drove along Sunset Boulevard into Beverly Hills and all along Santa Monica Boulevard to the coast. Cycling in Los Angeles seemed much easier than we expected it to be (there are even bike lanes downtown!): we perceived all drivers as much less aggressive than we were used to from Switzerland. That was a promising start! From Santa Monica we continued along Highway 101 to Malibu, where we were enjoying lunch directly on the beach. Weather was beautiful and around 25 °C – it feels like holidays to us :-). However, we soon made our first lesson learnt: the wind is only your friend when you are travelling with it! Meaning, sunny weather in California comes with strong coastal wind (North to South) in the afternoon. So we were in for some extra training on our bikes for the last 10km... and they felt very long! Finally we arrived at the first campground for tents at Sycamore Canyon Point Mugu State Park. RV campgrounds not necessarily accept tents or even don’t have designated space for it (nor showers or even water). Here we were up to our second lesson: if the campground is marked full, this does not apply for hikers and bikers. Good for us! And luckily the Californians are very friendly and easy to approach: everyone was giving us advice and just came over for a short talk. We met Andrew from San Luis Obispo who is driving South to Orange County during his spring break. Next morning we were excited to realize that the wind was gone. Full of energy we pedaled on towards Oxnard. After the first 10km (double the speed than we had the afternoon before!) we arrived at the freeway: prohibited for bicycles. Our learning number 3: just continue a few meters on the freeway and there will be an exit sign for bikers (no joke!). So we made an interesting detour through huge strawberry, kale and celeriac fields, where mostly Mexicans were working. Every now and then a huge truck was passing by, carrying the produce into the harbor in Oxnard. We continued pedaling through to Ventura (after all, we knew that the wind will come back in the afternoon...) and enjoyed lunch at the beach again. The Pacific Coast bike lane was always very well signaled out and separated from the highway – a really scenic drive along the beach! In the late afternoon we arrived at Carpinteria Campground, that also has a separate space for Hike & Bike. The campground is fantastic, right at the beach and we decided to spend two nights here. This allowed us some time to visit the small town, write our first blog entry J and relax. We met Laurie and Jeff from South California who used there spring break to test their bikes and equipment for their big planned tour in summer: the Transamerica. Good luck and safe travels! We received a very warm welcome in Los Angeles: our flight was long but pleasant and immigration into the US went smoothly. The FlyAway bus took us directly into Hollywood where our hotel was located only 50 m next to the bus station (this is essential, because we needed to carry our bikes in the cardboard boxes...) and around the corner to Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame. Of course we shortly checked out the famous stars on the very same evening before sinking into bed! We started the next day with donuts and coffee and then took the metro into Downtown and visited the Disney Concert Hall building. Afterwards we drove to Santa Monica by bus (it literally took > 1 hour) and enjoyed lunch at the beach and a tour on the pier. At REI (Recreational Equipment International) store we bought our bear vaults, which we will need only further north, but we prefer getting accustomed to using it already from the beginning. Back at the hotel it was time to assemble our bikes and to our most pleasant surprise, all equipment made it safely over the Atlantic – we are ready to go! It meant the world to us to see all our beloved family and friends together once more before leaving for our journey. Thank you for an unforgettable evening, all the good wishes, endearing and encouraging words, untiring help and support and of course the delicious desserts and salads! |
Blog Archive
September 2016
CountersKilometers pedalled
Hours on the bike
Meters cycled uphill
Flat tires
Burgers eaten
Bears sighted
Day by day statisticsFor those interested in our day by day activities and statistics, please download the following document.
World Clock
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