We returned home from California yesterday. My body is here, but my heart and head are still there. Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula to be exact, where we spent the last few days after our bike tour ended. We rented bikes for the days we were in Pacific Grove, just basic hybrid type bikes to get those daily rides in for 30daysofbiking and to tool around the area and see the sights. Words cannot describe the breathtaking beauty, maybe some of my shots can.
I will write a brief summary of my rides of April 25-30th and then I’ll do a separate blog for our Central Coast California Tour. Just one post instead of my typical blogs of each day. Thanks for following along!~ Susan
Day 25 – 30 Days of Biking:
The reason I quit blogging about the tour from Day 25 on, was dinner the evening of Day 24. We had dinner at a seemingly nice restaurant in Santa Ynez that served Mexican food and I got food poisoning! Of course with food poisoning you don’t know there is a problem until many hours later.
Day 25 started out great. Our ride was a loop around Santa Ynez through Happy Canyon and an optional climb of “The Fig”. The Fig is Mount Figueroa, a legendary climb in Santa Barbara county. I hadn’t decided whether I was going to do the climb or not, I would decide at the base, depending on how I felt. Although I wasn’t sick yet, I didn’t feel great and made the very wise decision to not attempt it. I did ride 1 1/2 miles of the road that takes you to the base of the climb and even it was steep. Beautiful too.
The Garmin pic shows how steep it was. I haven’t downloaded all the Garmin information but I recall in that 1.6 miles I climbed around 475 feet.
The plan on Day 25 was to ride back through Happy Canyon (love that name) and Santa Ynez and Los Olivos past Neverland Ranch (yep) and to wait for the two riders and support van to come down the descent of The Fig. I made it to that point, but was so dizzy and nauseous that I did something I have never done. I got into the support van and quit. I have never quit a ride, but I couldn’t go on. Once I got back to the Santa Ynez Inn it went downhill from there. If you have ever had food poisoning, you know. If you haven’t you don’t want to know. I was able to get Phenergan from my local Doc which helped a lot. We missed our final dinner with our group which we were both disappointed about.
35 miles for the day.
Day 26 – 30 Days of Biking:
Against my husband’s advice I rode the next morning. It was an out and back ride from the Santa Ynez Inn to Topanga State Park. It was a fairly easy 21 miles but it took all I had to do it. We said goodbye to our tour-horts, picked up a rental car and headed to Pacific Grove driving on Highway 1 through Big Sur. In many people’s minds, the prettiest drive in California and what I saw of it was breathtaking but mostly I slept. It took a full day, plus 12 more hours of sleep before I felt decent.
21 miles for the day.
Day 27 – 30 Days of Biking:
We picked up our rental bikes, a 7 speed Breezer from Adventures by the Sea in the morning and rode north along the beach on paved bike trails. We rode through Monterey all the way to Marina on the Monterey Coastal Trail. The trail is wonderful, wide and well-maintained – and surrounded by endless beauty. Can you imagine being able to bike there regularly?
It was cold and cloudy so we stopped at a Starbucks for coffee before heading back. The sights were beautiful, so many interesting and beautiful plants and wildlife all with the backdrop of the Pacific. Gorgeous and I will tell you these pictures don’t begin to do it justice.
26.2 miles for the day.
Day 28/30 Days of Biking:
On today’s ride we rode the trail along the coastline, but this time heading south. We also rode the infamous 17 mile drive to Pebble Beach, henceforth known as the 17 mile ride to Pebble Beach.
When I think of our 11 day trip, the first place I go in my mind and see in my mind’s eye is here. We saw and biked mile after beautiful mile in California. All so pretty that it probably isn’t fair to pick one place over another, but for me this was the best. It is gorgeous anyway as you ride along the coast on the Monterey Peninsula, watching and hearing the waves, birds, sea otters, but add to that the fact that it was spring and there were miles of gorgeous pink, purple, yellow, peach flowers – it is enough to take your breath away and forever make you long to see it all again and ride it.
28 miles for the day.
Day 29/30 Days of Biking:
After the beauty we saw on the ride the day before, we headed right back to the same area. Because of time constraints we couldn’t ride the Pebble Beach *ride* but we did ride to the entrance. This was the first sunny morning we had and the water was a brilliant blue. We rode 12 miles in total and tried to take in and savor all that was around us.
Day 30/30 Days of Biking
I managed to ride every single day in April. Some days were tricky, slike the day I was in San Jose with no bike so test rode a Virtue mixtee to get a ride in. Several of the days were rainy and cold, but I learned I can ride in the rain and even enjoy it. Obviously the days in California were the best but I believe I enjoyed something about every single ride. I learned too that it is fairly easy or at least possible to ride most every day.
Today’s ride was a 5 mile ride through the neighborhood.
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