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