Good morning everyone, I feel pretty cooked. I slept pretty good that night, having gone to bed around 8pm and waking up at 6:30am. Kass told me the day before that their achilles was feeling strained and that they were gonna ride to San Luis Obispo and take the train home. I was feeling tired and considering it, especially since the last 3 days were so impactful on me mentally. I was considering doing the same but I knew that I could just rest for a day and take it easy. The marine layer dumped all this dew on everything so my bivy and quilt were all soaked in both that and condensation. Having not ever dealt with soaking sleep gear and a wet bivy, I just stuffed everything in the sack and decided to dry it out when I find a hot sunny area next.
We packed up and rode together to Cambria, where we parted ways. Growing up, my family would occasionally go to Cambria for weekend getaways. We would always pay a visit to Linns Restaurant for breakfast which is known for their olallieberry jams and other products. I fondly remember their pancakes to be really good so since this was a rest day, I headed over for a meal.
Linns is such a classically great breakfast spot and trust me, I love breakfast spots just like this one. I ordered a big stack of pancakes with a side of bacon, sausage, and eggs. This is typically my order I get elsewhere since it’s my way of deciding if a breakfast spot is worthy of existence. Lins has a big history of cycling since the founder and his kids all race. The place is decorated with vintage bikes on all the walls and makes a good mention of the races and accolades of the owners. Very soon the owner, Aaron Linn, came to my table to compliment my bike! We talked for what seemed like 10 minutes about bike touring and different rides we’ve done. My catalog wasn’t as filled as his so he gave me some rides I could do one day. I told him my plans on riding highway 166 out to New Cuyama and he mentioned that that’s one of his all time favorite rides which gave me assurance that it was gonna be as dope as I have been hyping up to be. As I was finishing my meal, Aaron gave me a complimentary bag of house made olallieberry granola bars!
The road towards Morro Bay was foggy but wonderful. The scenery begins to reveal huge volcanic boulders that fell down from the nearby long dormant volcanos. This, mixed with the rolling hills was a unique sight. After Morro Bay, I took Turri Road as per Aaron’s recommendation. This road is quite narrow but winds up through some more green hills before meeting Los Osos Valley Road. At last, I made it to a motel in San Luis Obispo!
After a long shower and a long nap, I contemplated whether or not I’d want to continue riding after a rest day, or if I’d just call it and take the train home. The trip to that point was spectacular and life changing but I had some weird pains in my knees and mentally I was feeling weird.
I woke up Sunday morning after sleeping 13 hours and felt pretty fucking great! My plans that day were to hit the local bike shop to buy some shammy cream which I just learned existed and to cop my first cycling cap. I specifically went to Foothill Cyclery who were also very generous to lend me a rag and some lube for me to clean my chain. At my motel, I researched the weather for the New Cuyama section and it was gonna be pretty hot, maybe reaching 85F with a light tailwind.
My plan on Monday was to ride from the motel to this random spot off 166, almost halfway between Santa Maria and New Cuyama where I’d stay the night to then ride through Cuyama, up 33 then down to Ventura where I’d figure out the rest back home. It was very ambitious, especially since the 166 would be very hot with no water sources or any kind of businesses for a 55 mile stretch. I guess my plan to camp at the halfway point made some sense if I carried an extra liter on top of the 3 liters in my riding bottles but the whole route would also be my first time seeing everything. There was a fire station somewhat close to that camp spot which I called a few weeks earlier asking if they could give me water. They said that if their gate was open, I could come in and refill. If not, I’d just have to conserve my water. All in all, I felt up for the challenge and if the gate was closed I'd just push on and ask some farmer for some water or something.
That night, I decided to continue the tour in the morning and not give up. I looked forward for extra credit #2, especially due to the rare traffic of cyclists riding the road except for the TDLP people. I knew it was gonna probably be the hardest mental ride so I went to bed early and fully sober to prepare.
SF to Ventura: Days 4 & 5 - Recovery
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Matthew
- Supercaff
- Posts: 657
- Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:25 am
- Location: Pasadena
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stoke is high
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Sean
- Cucamonga
- Posts: 4450
- Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:32 pm
Thanks for the report and photos. You need one of those body suits from Dune that recycle sweat and piss into drinking water. Then you won't have to rely on unreliable fire stations and random farmers.
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Matthew
- Supercaff
- Posts: 657
- Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:25 am
- Location: Pasadena
Good idea! I'll start drinking everyone's pee on the next group hike
stoke is high