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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
|