Day 24 | one week to go
Distance
69.7 miles
Elevation Climbed
3,933 ft
Landscape
Rolling coastal mountain cliffs to dry farmland
Weather
Thick, chilly fog to sunny, 50-65 F
Lars’ Notes:
Yesterday was a day for bike maintenance. I needed to fix my gear cable and we needed to fix Kirsten’s tire and determine why she got the flat in the same tire two days in a row. There was a bike shop in Cambria that was remarkably open on Sunday. I got there when they opened and asked if they could help; the owner was very nice but, alas, announced that his bike mechanic was on vacation. He did offer, however, for me to bring the bike in and use the bike stand and any tools I may need. This was an amazing offer and I took him up on it. He also looked over my shoulder and we inspected together. One of his friends also came in and joined the party. They weren’t particularly helpful, but it was nice to bounce ideas and thoughts around with them. I had looked at several YouTube videos and had a sense of what was necessary, but none of the styles of levers on the videos matched my lever exactly. I eventually figured it out. One of the main issues was that the end of the broken cable that needed to be seated in the lever was jammed inside and very challenging to get out. After a while my newly found friends found more exciting things to do and left me to my own. After flipping the bike over and sideways, probing and coaxing, I got the old end out. After that, it was fairly simple to complete. My stress level just dropped significantly. I bought a Tee shirt and cable from the store and tipped the owner well for his kindness and compassion for my dilemma.
We also found a “Bike Kitchen”, a volunteer-run bike co-op. We brought Kirsten’s bike there, in case she needed a new tire, and were met by another amazingly kind and helpful gentleman who said we could use the fully equipped bike shop. As he spoke, he basically took over and changed Kirsten’s tube. He, Kirsten and I all carefully inspected the tire for any sharp objects left behind, but none of us could find any. Her tire was good. He was a wealth of knowledge, he loved to share and was a true pleasure to speak with. He was retired and volunteered at this co-op as support for bikers like us, but mostly to help young folks who can’t afford bicycles. They can either borrow bikes free of charge or they will give them away for those that can’t afford them. What a great Idea. We left them a big donation, and left feeling confident that we were back in business and our bikes were road ready again! We rested and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Monday’s ride started 12 miles farther north than originally planned and required us to drive about 1-½ hour to our starting point. The first 25 or so of the ride was the last section of the dramatic coastline and included 5 of 6 of the day’s climbs. The climbs were long, but Kirsten and I managed with relative ease. The views were…fog. We couldn’t see much due to the fog, but visibility was OK and allowed us to ride with a relatively strong confidence that it would be safe. Last night, I had a dream that my brake cable broke (I wonder why bike cables were on my mind?) on a descent, so I approached each descent with a bit more caution and apprehension at first. (I had also carefully inspected them before riding!) After the first few catastrophe free descents, I was relaxed and enjoyed the fast, hairpin turns that we have experienced before.
Once out of the rugged portion of the coastline, the terrain became a gentle rolling landscape. There was a gentle tailwind to help us along. We stopped at an observation point that was a protected area for Elephant Seals; we watched and observed them for a while as we rested our legs. Another few miles to Cambria, where we spent two nights already. We were about 25 miles away from Morro Bay, our end point. This last section was awesome, not so much for its unique beauty but for the wide shoulder, sunshine, smooth road surface and tailwind. We arrived at Morro Bay to our best support person ever and had a beer and some dinner to complete the day.
Kirsten’s Notes:
After an early recovery day and some bike repairs we continued our journey through Big Sur, although this time in a cloud. Like the first part there were rolling hills and swiggling hairpin turns that were very fun to go down. Nothing feels as good as nailing the turns with the perfect amount of speed to maintain clean arcs until the straightaway (and usually next hill). The temperature was constantly shifting during this first leg – hot and humid mixed in with very cool gusts We worked up a sweat Towards the end of the