Kirsten’s Notes: 

Our day began on a quiet, one-land segment of Route 1 through the same type of arid rolling hills we’ve been seeing over the past few days with little greenery. Birds soared ahead looking for breakfast and Dad and I could ride close to each other and have small chats without the noise of cars. We entered the valley of a canyon back out to the coast where the exposed rock towering on both sides of the road was a welcome change of scenery. The beauty came at a price though with one of the most terrifying shoulders I have experienced yet (and we’ve had quite a few by this point!). There was a rest stop that was closed down by Las Cruces and the already small 2-3 foot shoulder turned into effectively 1 with the rest of it blocked by traffic cones…all we could do was take a deep breath, look straight ahead. keep pedaling and hope the drivers whose air you feel rushing by you hold their line.

Unlike other oceanfront areas, the inland facing views on the way to Santa Barbara were more compelling on the Los Padres National Forest coast because there were rugged, multi-colored stone cliffs on the rocks. The marine layer was thick and we were on relatively level ground without much of an overlook view so there wasn’t much special about looking west. 

About halfway into our ride we arrived in Santa Barbara Country and felt very relieved to finally get to ride side roads and appreciative to have good bike infrastructure. UCSB campus was beautifully landscaped and had a convenient, flat bike path all the way through all made of smooth concrete and equipped with roundabouts to manage traffic. It’s hard to imagine this type of college bike commute especially when compared to the hilly roads that could only be described as poorly maintained at Tufts.

Somewhere along this bike path we intersected my friend from college Chris and he rode our last 20 miles to Carpinteria with us, navigating us through Santa Barbara so we could see more of the bustling downtown strip that has been closed to cars since 2020 and lined with restaurants and bars that made cute outdoor seating arrangements. He’s been a cyclist since before I met him through my coed Tufts fraternity and I’ve only recently picked it up so it was particularly fun that he was able and willing to join us. My tire went flat for the 3rd day in 4 and Chris’ suggestion for a tire liner and hookup for it came in clutch when he picked me up one from the bike shop he volunteers as a mechanic at. Even though our visit together was short, Chris and I were able to catch up with each other riding on slower roads with views from beautiful palm tree and magenta flower-lined boardwalks and of the sailboat covered Pacific. The 3 of us were able to regroup and briefly hang out with my mom after some traffic and face-planting passerby delays. We continued an eventful day into the evening and met up with Kay, one of my best friends and 5 year housemate’s lovely, kind and generous mother, for dinner before settling into her home for the night.