Day 30 - Santa Barbara, CA 95km

...And they are finished!

"We have arrived in Santa Barbara ( 95k) through some pretty interesting inland countryside.  Climbed a long way on a gentle slope out of Lompoc - all under somber skies. Then descended into sun as we approached the coast again.  Gorgeous vistas all the way to Santa Barbara.  The city has a wonderful bike path that conveyed us all the way to our hotel at water side downtown.  The picture is along Cabrillo St towards our Ala Mar motel where we will for 2 nights before travelling to the airport - in Tug's case to meet Claudia and in Kevin's and Gary's cases to fly home. We immediately began to gather information about shipping the bikes and getting boxes.  Seems that FedEx shipments and acquiring bike boxes more of a challenge than we thought they would be.  But we seem to be getting it under control, but a beer or 2 may be required!"

Day 30 - Last Day

Great trip guys, looking forward to hearing all the stories when you get home!

Day 29 - Lompoc, CA 89km

Day 29 Lompoc

The ride is coming to an end.  One more day and they will be in Santa Barbara where they will get off their bikes, box them up for shipping back home, and morph themselves into tourists until they fly back to Nova Scotia.

Gone is the forest vegetation as the ride today was through ranch and crop land - not nearly as interesting apparently especially when the whole day was overcast and dreary.

The highlight of the day though, was the camaraderie with other cyclists they are meeting along the way as seen in these pictures.

 "Another chance meeting of cyclists along the way south; we were backed up by road construction and a flagman, so had a chance - albeit brief - to become aquainted."

"One of them rode along with us - up the only climb of the day - and it was a big hill.  Here we are at the crest looking out over Lompoc with Bill from Maryland".

They will stay the night at the Roadway Inn in Lompoc before their last ride (on this trip!) into Santa Barbara.

Posted by Janet, comments from Gary.

Day 28 - San Luis Obispo, CA. 94km

Day 28 Route to San Luis Obispo

As they left Ragged Point this morning, they left the hills behind and rode out onto flat land and it stayed that way right to San Luis Obispo. 

Elephant Seals lolling around near Ragged Point

Today was an enjoyable day, highlighted by meeting up with yet another group of cyclists.  This time it was Team Medicare, a group of like-minded cyclists who invited them to join up for a stop at a local bakery. 

Sharing stories, enjoying muffins.

Don't mess with Team Medicare!

All these cyclists they are meeting are sharing info on places to stay and roads to ride and roads to avoid.  And the road to avoid is the one going into LA so they have changed their cycling end point to Santa Barbara, 2 days away.  An earlier end will give them time to look around and do some sightseeing - all part of stopping to smell the roses!

Posted by Janet

Day 27 - Ragged Point, CA. 79km

Day 27 Route

Sunday night was an 'out of cell service' night so didn't hear about their day until this evening but by all accounts they were having a great time, meeting lots of other cyclists and found a great place to spend the night.

On Saturday evening the guys got chatting with the manager of the Pfeiffer Big Sur Park Lodge during their meal and noticed a large group of cyclists also staying at the park.  In the morning they headed for breakfast and were invited by the manager to share the buffet spread put out for the cyclists. 

Breakfast Buffet

Needing no second invitation they soon started talking to the cyclists,  and discovered they were the  Fireflies West (supporting City of Hope, the same charity the group they met on the Prairies 3 yrs ago were riding for).  The Fireflies West is group of 50 cyclists riding to raise money for leukemia research.  Gary says, "They were very welcoming and we joined them for a buffet breakfast with a kind invitation from the Lodge manager and then spent the morning riding and mingling with them as we proceeded south.  Brian Farhy, the event leader, his support staff, and  the riders were most kind, sharing their food and water and best wishes at stops or along the road as they passed us on road bikes."

Fireflies amassing

Fireflies getting ready to ride

Apparently, Gary got so caught up in the group he didn't realize Tug and Kevin had stopped for lunch in Gordo until the Fireflies support van driver passed him with a message they had stopped!

Tug and Kevin cresting one of big long hills.

The ride, despite the convivial company, was a day of lot of big hills but the expected traffic didn't materialize as they had feared. When you have 50+riders on the road it tends to slow everyone down as the vehicles have to wait for safe places to pass clumps of riders.  Also, a single-lane construction area kept the cars coming in spurts, so there were lots of car free periods on the road and the day turned out to be a much safer day than they were expecting.

Vista along the route

They ended their day at Ragged Point Inn and Restaurant, "a real gem...the grounds and vistas were stunning. Hummingbirds were everywhere." And the food was good too!

Ragged Point Inn gardens

Tug contemplating the view

Posted by Janet

Day 26 - Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. CA 55km

Day 26 Route

They guys left Monterey in the fog but a short 10km from Monterey came to another state nature reserve that Gary was keen to explore.  Point Lobos State Natural Reserve was photographed extensively by both Ansel Adams and Edwin Weston, two photographers whose work has inspired Gary over the years.  Since they only planned to cover 55km today they took some time and roamed around in the park for a while.  Unfortunately, they didn't have wifi when they stopped for the day so we will have to wait for their pictures of the park.

Gary soaking in ambience of Point Lobos State Nature Reserve

Camping for the night

They set up camp for the night in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in an area set aside for hiker/bikers, which is a good thing since the rest of the park (and nearby motels) was fully booked.  They are finding weekends are especially busy in the parks and on the roads so they are only too happy to be off the roads early in the day.  Their campsite is among the redwoods with a number of picnic tables for them to choose from and a nearby lodge where they can get their supper.  Sounds pretty nice, actually.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is planned to be another short day so they are once again off the road before the traffic picks up with everyone returning home after a weekend in the country. 

Posted by Janet

Day 25 - Monterey, CA. 50km +16km

Day 25 Route

Watsonville will be remembered for a great Mexican meal at Jalisco's Mexican Cuisine that came highly recommended and lived up to it's billing.  Good meals, great scenery and good sleep are all bench marks for a memorable trip! Today's ride from Watsonville to Monterey was an easy jaunt along the ocean that had them checking into a Travelodge by 11am.  They were originally heading for Carmel but were advised by other cyclists that the motels they were looking for were in Monterey.

 Along the way they are seeing a change in land use.  Gone are the forests of the north, replaced by cropland that bring with is a stark reminder of where the produce we see in our grocery stores starts out. Gary writes, "Yesterday and today we saw lot of fields filled with monoculture crops being worked by itinerant workers.  It brought to mind Steinbeck's, Grapes of Wrath.  Even though I know that conditions have changed for the better, the sight of these people bent over as they harvested strawberries made me cringe at the thought of spending one day doing that work, let alone doing it day after day.  And the site of tractors equipped with spray equipment driven by young men with faces covered by chemical masks - and the  helicopter doing aerial spraying - was not at all reassuring."

Fog shrouded field

Backbreaking work

Once they reached Monterey, they dropped their paniers in their room and got back on the bikes for another 16km and headed for one of Kevin's must see destinations. 

Kevin's Destination

 Gary writes "Kevin stroked one off his bucket list today.  After signing into our Travelodge Hotel in Monterey we rode out to Pebble Beach Golf Club and spent some time looking around.  Kevin enjoyed soaking up the ambience of the place and getting some souvenirs.  We enjoyed a drink in the Lodge Great Room overlooking the 18th hole and the ocean beyond."  Apparently, that drink was some Arnold Palmer wine!

Kevin & Tug enjoying the moment

And for those who ever wondered how they keep pigeons from overtaking the golf course. Here's how it's done.

The owl - on the handler's glove - is used to discourage pigeons and other birds around the clubhouse.

A relaxed evening is planned with Big Sur as tomorrow's destination - another short ride before a big jump to Cambria the next day.

Posted by Janet

Day 24 - Watsonville, CA. 117km

Day 24 Route

The plan today was to stop in Aptos but there was no affordable accommodation (and they figured a $300+/night resort on the beach probably wouldn't fly back home!) so they flagged down a cyclist coming their way and got directions to a Comfort Inn in Watsonville. 


As usual they started the day in the fog - there must be one huge fog bank over the Pacific, and we thought the south shore of Nova Scotia was foggy! Still even in the fog the temperature is noticeably warmer as they go south. The ride though was fairly flat with few hills so they were able to enjoy the view of the ocean as they rode along.

There are not many operating lighthouses any more so when we came upon this tall one at Pigeon Point, we had to stop to take photos and see it up close.  It was midmorning and it was operating in the fog.  Luckily the fog horn was not on.

Their hotel breakfast was just enough to take the hunger pangs off but not enough to fuel their day so their first goal was a good breakfast.  Little did they know they would find it in a most unlikely place. 

Breakfast Advertisement

Gary writes "Would you stop here?  Good thing we did because the snack and coffee/tea was wonderful.  The Swanton Berryfarm at Davenport  offered strawberry shortcake and individual blackberry pies - that we devoured!  They used a honor payment system - you made your own change!  And the decor was a colourful trip through local history." 

All smiles

Apparently, they were riding along when a young fellow saw them and started cheerfully waving them in to this place. He then proceeded to rave about the food and they wouldn't regret it and they loved cyclists - even giving them 10% off!  He was so enthusiastic and charming they thought 'why not?' and in they went.  The smiles tell the results!

They are noting the change in topography and land use as they move from hilly ranch like farming to the flat land crop farms.  There are lots of itinerant workers now seen starting to harvest the crops that now make up the farming land.

The sun came out after their lunch stop in Santa Cruz and the jackets came off for the rest of the ride into Watsonville.

Posted by Janet with commentary by Gary

Day 23 - Half Moon Bay, CA 58km

Day 23 Route

Today was a short ride to get them set strategically to connect with Big Sur a couple of days down the road but it gave them lots of time to look around along the way.  It was overcast when they left San Francisco and a bit cool with a high fog overhead.  Getting out of San Francisco was not nearly as hilly as they expected and as a result it was relatively easy to leave the city especially since they didn't get detoured to this landmark island.

"As we crossed, the bridge was shrouded in blowing fog coming off the Pacific.  That was during the early morning commute and along with the many cars one would expect, we saw a large number of cyclists using the bike lanes - easily over a hundred between our hotel in north Sausalito and the south side of the Bridge where we  veered away to the coast"

"Kevin crosses the Golden Gate bridge as we continue our trip southward"

They are still riding along Hwy 1 which is busy and noisy as the cars go whooshing by so it's hard to hear much else but road noises even. The bike path comes and goes but there are no buses, trucks or RV's on the road and tourists are mostly gone so as they go further from San Francisco they are hoping the traffic will thin out as well.  But there is still plenty of opportunity to stop and admire the views.

"Tug admiring the scenery at Pacific with fog looming over the ridge that extends inland from Point San Pedro.  It may be hard to see them, but there 50 plus surfers in the water when the shot was made.  The swells were creating 3-4 meter waves that broke a long way out and provided ideal conditions. "

Surf at Half Moon Bay

After arriving at Half Moon Bay and checking into another America's Best Value motel, they took a bike tour of the town to check out eating places and to soak up the sounds of the surf breaking on the beach.  Sounds like the Mongolian BBQ was one of the option for supper tonight, although it would seem that beating the clam spaghetti and fava bean ravioli suppers they had at the Buckeye Roadhouse in Sausalito is not going to be easy! 

Day 22 - San Francisco 0km

The guys traded their bikes for a sight-seeing double decker bus on Tuesday.  Then for  2 1/2 hrs they were taken to some of the more iconic areas of the city learning about the history and absorbing the sights. 

Here's Kevin and Gary at Fisherman's Wharf, one of the must see sites of the city.  They wanted to take the ferry across so walked from their hotel to the termninal - about 3 miles, only to find that the next sailing was hours away.  Fortunately, they were directed to the bus terminal nearby and hopped on the No 4 that took them right to Fisherman's Wharf.  

And just to prove they are still taking time to 'smell the roses',  here's Tug and Kevin smelling the flowers although they are not roses....

They snacked at Boudin cafe and museum (tea, coffees, and great sweets), then took a great 2.5 hour, open-top double-decker bus tour that covered a lot of ground thought most of the downtown areas.  Very enjoyable and informative.

Here's the infamous Haight- Ashbury - the epicentre of hippies in the 1960s - not so much now it would seem.

Each agreed that the Golden Gate bridge - in the sun and fog - was the most dramatic, but there were many places that one could return to explore at a more leisurely pace

"We took the No 4 bus back to hotel, again with advice from another helpful person, this time a lady who heard us talking about where to catch the bus.  She was going on our bus and explained everything we needed to know and told us about another restaurant as well.  Even in cities, we still meet great people who make our day"

And talking about restaurants, they have been taking time to search out 'healthy' food along the way.  For instance they enjoyed a great kabob downtown that they ate beside a health food store so they figured they must have absorbed extra nutrition emanating from the health food store.   The  also enjoyed some great pasta at an Italian restaurant near their hotel last night along with some local beers and wines.  Kevin and Tug even got a special wine tasting after they got chatting with a fellow at the bar who was a wine merchant from Italy there to sell the owner his Italian wine, which he then shared with them. 

So all in all they had a very enjoyable day but also agreed that for now they will continue their ride toward LA and plan their return trip for another day.
Posted by Janet

Day 21 - Mill Valley, CA. 99km

It's Monday and they have found their place for a few days of sight seeing in San Fransisco.  They are staying at an America Best Value Motel in Mill Valley a short ferry ride from Fisherman's Wharf where they will head for their first day of sightseeing on Tuesday.
The ride today was another pleasant ride of rolling hills in good weather (they didn't see the fog until after their midmorning snack when they climbed up into it).

the guy stopped to consult their calendars - to clarify when they would see their wives next - before deciding whether to eat at this place in Marshall CA on Highway 1.

It was a no-go on the oyster, so they decided to stop for a snack at a bakery - best muffins and scones of the trip so far - in Point Reyes Station, a very nice little town at the northern access to the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Here a huge colony of seals hauled out on a sand bar visible from Highway 1 just south of the Point Reyes National Seashore boundary.  We all took photos.

Kevin comes over the top of one of the three steep, long hills we climbed (and descended) to end our day at a hotel in Marin City (just north of Sausalito and the Golden Gate bridge).

Posted by Janet with colour commentary by Gary

Day 20 - Bodega Bay, CA. 82 km

Day 20 Route

 Day 20 was Sunday and the roads were very busy as the city folk returned from their weekend away.  It didn't take the guys long to figure out they should get off the road early and so when they came to Bodega Bay they quickly opted for the night at the Bodega Bay Coast Inn.
Apart from the traffic the ride was very pleasant. The sun was out all day and they had good tailwinds.  The ride was up and down all day; you can see the cars descending in the near distance and the road winding back up and going away in the far background.

Winding Roads

Coastal view and vegetation

The ecology of the coast has changed dramatically in recent days. The big trees are gone, replaced by a mix of smaller evergreens and lots of dried grass. In the water, the kelp beds have grown dramatically. The coastal climate is very dry, tinder dry in fact.

The Sonoma coast is like the other coasts in its beauty.  Pictures capture only a small part but it's the vast panorama that stretches before your eyes that is so impressive but hard to capture.

Tomorrow they should make it to San Fransisco so they are scouting out places to stay for a couple of day.  It's looking like Sausalito might be their destination.

Day 19 - Gualala, CA 98km

Day 19 Route

Gualala River Redwood Park

Tug's all set for the night.

Good ribs!

They are back in the redwoods at Gualala River Redwood Park campground.  Today's ride was fairly flat but punctuated by a series of sharp hills.  The omnipresent fog was with them for most of the day keeping them bundled up and focused on the road ahead.  When the sun did come out in the afternoon they were greeted by a return of beautiful coastal scenery that has been the hallmark of their trip.  They rode back into town to find their supper at the Bones Roadhouse, where they stuffed them selves with ribs as they enjoyed their "ocean view dining".