8 hours on the bike.
11 hours on the road.
All of it very windy.
First, the highlights (pix included): Seals, could've been sea lions, on a dock in Moss Landing. Riding thru vineyards in Central Coast wine country. Soledad Mission, founded in 1791 by Father Junipero Serra.
I didn't get out of camp as early as i'd hoped, and I got back later than anticipated. But who cares? This ride is not about "making" good time. It's about raising awareness, helping those in need and HAVING a good time.
Again with the fog. I don't know how these NoCal folks deal. There's a reason I live in SoCal. Sun! The early part of the day was cold, damp and windy. The rest was just windy. The sun finally came out around lunchtime.
Our first stop of the day was a beach (dunno which one) 14 miles south of Santa Cruz. It was beautiful. On to the second stop, a few hills, then a fabulous long, slow descent into Salinas for lunch. Again, I don't remember what I ate for lunch, nut it was good and hit the spot. So far, all the food has been great!
Then a long, winding and WINDY ride thru the Salinas valley. Tailwinds are a cyclist's best friend. And we had plenty today. There were also some ferocious headwinds we had to fight for several miles. But nothing is as bad as the crosswinds. I almost went down a couple times.
I can't tell you much about rest stops 3 and 4, but between the two we had a water stop Soledad Mission. What a delightful, charming, tiny little Mission. Out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but agricultural fields (lots of strawberries, radishes, lettuce and onions) and blowing dirt. Damned wind!
The whole day was just beautiful. The last 20 miles or so were one rolling hill after another, tailwinds pushing, thru some of the most picturesque country I've seen. Living in the city, it's do easy to forget that these places still exist in California.
Got back to camp ready fir a shower. Any guesses on how many times you have to scrub to get 4 layers of sunscreen and 11 hours of sweat and grime off? More than you think. My cyclist's tan is coming along nicely. It actually looks like I'm wearing tan thigh-high stockings. The line is that pronounced.
Dinner was excellent - grilled chicken and BBQ steak (yes, I had both!), corn on the cob, baked potato, corn bread and salad. Mmm.
It was a long, tiring day and I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. It was also a fun, exhilarating day. And after 107 miles, I'm tired, but not whooped. That being said, I am looking forward to the short 66 mile day to Paso Robles tomorrow.
More tomorrow from camp 3.
G'night.
Ami
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