(Written from Barton and Vicki's beautiful house, Santa Barbara, CA)
Miles biked: 57.3 (1,590.1 overall)
Time on bike: 5 hours, 5 minutes, 46 seconds
Maximum speed: 38.7 mph
Roads taken: SR 1 South, Ocean Avenue, SR 1, Morro Bay: Main Street ... South Bay Boulevard, Turri Road, Los Osos Valley Road, Foothill Road, San Luis Obispo: N. Chorro Street, Broad Street ... Price Canyon Road, Pismo Beach: Price Street, Stimson Avenue, Dolliver Street/SR 1 ... SR 1.
Places stopped: Morro Bay (for lunch at Mexican joint; I just had a Power Bar), bushes just north of San Luis Obispo (yes, I failed to unclip fast enough and fell into the bushes, as did Erica, who ended up beside me), Pismo Beach State Park (for the night).
This was one of those days that will be forgotten, but not because it wasn't enjoyable.
It was, simply, uneventful.
And easy. Very easy.
After taking on a handful of huge hills, not to mention 94.9 miles, the previous day, it was extremely nice to have an easy day on the bike.
Yet still rack up the miles.
The terrain was mostly flat, the wind was at our backs, and threatening clouds didn't burst open and pour on us. Instead, the weather was just about perfect. It was mild, as I rode the whole day with my long-sleeved Lakes of the Clouds shirt.
We would have gone farther than Oceano, but there weren't any campsites within some 30 to 40 miles of riding -- and getting there actually would have involved some climbing.
So Erica, Margot, Rusty and I pulled into Pismo Beach State Park around 3, ready to call it a day and do some serious relaxing.
The only problem I had with the day was the ridiculous price of campsites. Neither of the state parks in the area offered hiker/biker sites anymore, so we had to pay for a regular site -- which, really, is no better than a H/B site.
And, all of a sudden, campsites in this part of California are a ridiculous $25. They're no different from sites in the northern part of the state -- or Oregon or Washington, for that matter -- but they're extra expensive. We're talking about a small plot of land with a picnic table and a fire ring.
So that didn't make me happy.
Thankfully, I had three companions with whom to split the price. So, yes, the wallet survived.
It did much better than survive later that night when the parents, who are driving the coast as their kids bike it, treated me to a second straight dinner -- this time Little Caesars pizza, bradsticks and salad (by the way, Little Caesars has to be the best budget/tasting pizza out there; I'm not just saying that because I worked there for two months after high school).
I was very, very thankful for getting two quality dinners in a row and being able to keep my ramen noodles tucked away in one of my small panniers.
It was another night of good company, another enjoyable day.
Despite the ludicrous campsite price (and, no, it wasn't even on the beach).
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