Bike Touring Day 9: Pt. Mugu to Los Angeles

When you  are on the last day, you let yourself think about all the nice things you are going to enjoy when you get home.  You suppress these thoughts during the trip because you don't want to torture yourself - it messes with your mind.  Once the trip is almost finished, however, you start thinking about the people you've missed, being able to cook in a kitchen, having running water and a sink to wash dishes, sleeping in a soft bed, and taking a warm shower without wearing flip flops.  (We were happy to have showers, but I had no problem letting these guys be a part of my past).

Even though we were looking forward to the modern conveniences of home, we knew we'd miss some things too.  We'd miss the great views of the countryside and ocean, the simplicity of life on the road, and being on our bikes together.  Although it is convenient to get places quickly in a car, we love the slower, more interesting way of travel.  So as you can see, the last day would have its ups and downs - much like our trip.

We did our usual morning routine and cleared the campsite.

I rode with the guys to the entrance of the park and waved goodbye.  My wife arrived only minutes after they left.  The guys would be rolling through Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, and Redondo Beach.  Then they would take surface streets for the last 20+ miles to get home.

They suffered through lunch at Chipotle in Venice without me.  From what I hear, the last day went well.  I think Payton managed to get one more flat, but otherwise they were able to keep a good pace.

In talking to Rob after the trip, he also mentioned having more aches and pains than in past tours.  The knee pain was probably from our IT bands tightening up and getting more use than usual.  We trained before the trip, but our 40 year old bodies needed more than we gave them.  (The boys had no complaints :)

Other than some strain on the body, the trip was a great experience.  The boys were proud of their accomplishment and excited to tell their friends about it at school.  God blessed us with 500 miles of fun times, beautiful views, and safety.  Amazing.

Bike Touring Day 8: Santa Barbara to Pt. Mugu

Rob and I woke up to the sound of sprinklers.  Uh-oh, was our tent about to get soaked?  Thankfully it was only the sprinklers for the bushes and plants - nothing to worry about.  We were now wide awake, however, so we got dressed and started making coffee and breakfast.  We ate, packed, said goodbye, and made our way out of the beautiful town.  It was another cool, overcast morning.

As you might guess, we encounter restrooms of all shapes, smells, and sizes.  We aren't picky when touring, but a clean and well ventilated restroom is always a nice surprise. 

We often meet other cyclists at restroom and food stops.  In Ventura we met a couple of guys who were doing a similar trip to our own.  They were college roommates twenty years ago, and plan cycling adventures each summer.  I believe one of them lives in California and the other in Minnesota.

The guys also stayed at the same campground at Pt. Mugu that night, so we got to visit with them during the evening as well.








The day went pretty much as planned.  We stopped for lunch in Oxnard and pedaled around the point and into the campground in time to put up our tents and hang out at the beach before dinner.

 Late in the afternoon a young guy - probably in his late teens or early 20's - started setting up camp near us in the hiker/biker group site.  He was a nice guy, but he was acting a little strange.  While we were finishing dinner a Ranger came buy to ask him some questions.  At first it appeared as though he was going to make him leave.  I'm not sure what the situation was, but the Ranger let him stay the night.  

After hanging out with the two guys we'd met in Ventura, we called it a night.  I was a little disappointed to be picked up in the morning.  It felt funny to leave Rob with the three boys. 

Bike Touring Day 7: Lompoc to Santa Barbara

Before going to bed the night before, we talked about how cool it would be to do a time lapse video of our morning.  Dal is our gadget guy, and he knew exactly what to do.  His iPhone app would take a picture every 3 or 4 seconds and then compile them into a video.  Sounds like fun, don't you think?  Well, let's see if we can get a link for it.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2783543/BikeTripWakeUp2013.mov

It might take a while to load, but I think you will enjoy the wait.

So... back to our 7th day of riding.  Lompoc to Santa Barbara is a fun ride because it includes several neat things.  You first ride through the country and roll along over some hills.  There is a gradual and steady climb, however, that sets you up for a great downhill on Hwy 101.  The sweet downhill is also great because it brings you back to the beautiful coastline.  No matter how many times I see the ocean, it still amazes me.  Finally, we knew the day would take us into Santa Barbara - home of some nice bike paths.  One of the paths leads through the UC Santa Barbara campus, a second path brings you further into Santa Barbara.  If that weren't enough, we also have a tradition of stopping at a really good ice cream shop once we get to the main part of town.  So now you know what to include on your next bike trip ;)

The day went much as planned.  After some oatmeal and coffee we stowed away our damp tents, loaded the bikes, and said goodbye to our campground neighbors.  About midway through the morning we met up with Grant and Larry (see previous posts) who were heading the same direction.  We stopped at the "summit" to take a picture and have a snack before coasting to the coast.

We stopped for lunch at the gorgeous Refugio State Beach.  It's one of those places you want to spend the whole day - palm trees blowing in the wind, lots of sun-soaked sand, and ocean as far as the eye can see.  Maybe some day we'll stay there over night.  Dal, aka Diet Coke, got a soda for each of us to enjoy with our lunch.  After a little R&R we were back on the bikes.  Santa Barbara or Bust!

 The rest of the ride to Santa Barbara went well. We took Hwy 101 for about ten miles, side roads for a few more, and then road through the UC Santa Barbara Campus.

We always get a kick out of the cool campus bike paths, roundabouts, signage, and the bike racks.  I wonder how many bikes are locked up when classes are in full swing?  If I'm not mistaken, I believe I saw a bike pump fastened to a rack so that students could fill up their tires.  Amazing.









  
After pedaling through campus we rode on another bike/horse/walking path towards downtown.  Before long we were on Mission Street looking for Mc Connell's ice cream shop.  The place is always busy, but we managed to pick out some awesome flavors and find a place to sit inside.   (air conditioning:)

One bit of bad news was that Dal was going to meet his wife in Santa Barbara so that they could drive home the following day.   He and Carol were planning to attend a church camping event and he needed to get home in time to make it all happen.  We had considered trying to get the trip completed in one less day, but it would be too difficult.

(I came to realize that I was probably going to need to cut the trip one day short myself and would need to get picked up at Pt. Mugu.  I'll get to more of that later).

Anyway, after we enjoyed a cold creamy treat, we meandered through Santa Barbara on our way to Rob's cousin's house.  Bruce and Dori hosted us the year before, so we were happy to camp out in their back yard again.  The uphill climb to their house wasn't severe, but enough to remind me that my knee wasn't getting any better.

 We unloaded our gear, the boys set up the tents, and Rob and I went to Trader Joe's to pick up food for dinner.  We had pasta with alfredo sauce and grilled chicken, raw carrots, salad, and focaccia bread.  Not a bad meal for bike touring!

After dinner we had a nice visit with Bruce and Dori.  Then it was off to the sleeping bags in preparations for another day.