We were rested after a night camping in the redwoods. I was worried that my knee might be too sore for the challenging climb up Big Sur that begins right at the campground entrance. We shared a triple latte at the Big Sur Lodge and then packed up. In a vote of reality, Alan gave me my crocs to carry...in case I had to walk sections of the climb. We'll see.
We packed up and then set off, I mean we set UP. It is hard to realize how much work UP is when you have lead legs and a heavy load of gear. But we set off in the sun -- very promising. At the top, well, there was the fog and we would not see sun or anything other than gray for 2 days. Blah. I was ready to give those crocs back to Alan: I'm doing this whole ride!
The route was up and down; 1 lane at times with Caltrans traffic control out; bridges clinging to the hillside. This stretch is devoid of services so we were optimistic we would have no break downs.
There were many view turnouts; the tourists all seemed to stop and look around and then continue on. Maybe they hope the fog is thinner at the view points? But one Japanese tourist clapped for Alan as he rode in and stopped. A very honest and heartfelt acknowledgement that not everyone wants to ride this coast on a bike or could make it happen.
Sudden we were in Lucia and sucking down cold drinks. Lucia is a 1 store town.
On and on the road went--past a few campgrounds until we arrived at Plaskett Creek, a National Forest Campground within Los Padres National Forest. Green lawns and spacious sites. No showers. Cold fog. We walked to the beach. Ate dinner and rewarded ourselves with Blue Berry Cheesecake from a backpacker's food source. Very fine! Then to the sleeping bags and rest.
SO...who else is out there doing human powered travel up and down the coast? Because everyone within the traveller community is doing it THEIR WAY! Our favorites:
a. 2 "old guys in their 70s" going from Portland to San Diego staying in motels and eating in restaurants. A few stretches require long days but both seemed in great shape and spirits. One had done a cross country ride with his wife on a tandem a few years ago.
b. 2 "really young guys" were skateboarding & hitchhiking from San Francisco to San Diego. They carried packs; one had a frying pan hanging off the back. They hitchhike up the hills; skateboard down! They caught a ride south of Big Sur and waved to us as they went on down the road.
c. Dieter, the smoking German, who was riding from Los Angeles to Bodega Bay and then back. He was carrying 60 lbs in 5 bags. He had done whale watching in Monterey and was staying over in Big Sur to hike.
d. Paul, the Michigan man, was going from Reno to Crater Lake to Portland to San Luis Obispo to Sequoia National Park to Yosemite to Reno. He figured it would take him 5 weeks! Given all the conditions he was facing, his load was also about 60 lbs. He had planned to use Amtrak from Michigan to Reno and back but they called 2 days before scheduled departure and said "sorry, the train derailed" so he drove out nonstop! I think he was riding 90+ miles a day.
e. Steve, the smoking Canadian, was riding from Vancouver to San Diego to work on an organic farm. Organic tobacco we figure. Then he wanted to ride to the east coast over the winter; maybe he will figure out that Arizona in the winter is not so warm. His rig included a third wheel on his bike to carry his load.
f. 2 "young guys", a team from New York City and New Zealand. They get my heart award. Somehow they met up in San Francisco, bought matching 5 speed bikes with 24" tires (small) and some camping gear. They carried backpacks and had gear strung in plastic bags over their handle bars. They ate meals out. No bike gear was seen. The Kiwi wore basketball shorts, magenta gloves, and flo orange T-shirt. They may have walked most of the hills, but they cheerfully showed up in camp, pitched the tent and then watched movies on their laptop.
 |
| Get Ready to Ride |
 |
| Sneak Peak Along the Coast |
 |
| Plaskett Creek was a Great Milestone for me |
No comments:
Post a Comment