Last biking day: Lompoc, 44 miles.

We had a nice biking day with one hill that was 3 miles but not as bad as we expected. We were biking in farming areas most of the day.  The agricultural workers seemed to enjoy waving to us. Drivers were courteous.

We were less than 5 miles from our destination when we had our first flat tire.

We had decided to stop in Lompoc because from there the route was mostly freeway.  We will take transit to Santa Barbara tomorrow. My sister, Helen, will pick us up on Wed.  Our total miles ridden this trip is 910. Thanks for following along with us. Thank you to those who faithfully pray for our safety. We were blessed!

We have a visit with Helen and her husband  in San Clemente and then fly home July 2.

Sunday, 6/23: Morro Bay to Oceano, 35 miles.

We had a shorter route today. We rode inland through San Luis Obispo--there is a nice downtown area where we had good meal.  When we reached the coast again in Pismo Beach area it looked very California with palm trees.  We had a head wind but not many hills. Tomorrow we will have a big climb in our trip to Lompoc.  We do not mind having a leisure Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, 6/22: Morro Bay, 45 miles

We had forgotten how enjoyable it is to ride on flat surfaces. This was a "walk in the park" kind of day.  We were able to meander our way with stops in Cambria (great coffee/bakery) and Cayucos (Ron rated the chowder has one of his best). Both are nice coastal towns similar to Cannon Beach or Seaside. Ron even got a beard trim along the way.  We also arrived at our destination in time to do laundry :-).

One of the pictures is of elephant seals on the beach. Hundreds--at first we thought they were logs. 

Considering it was a Saturday and we were on highway 1 most of the day traffic was light. We came right by Hearst Castle, but did not stop since we have seen it before.  Tomorrow will be a shorter day probably to Oceano.

Friday: Big Sur to Ragged Ridge, 49 mi.

A day of climbing!  The views remain amazing.  We enjoyed our evening in Big Sur and started the day with a 5 mile climb to Big Sur Bakery.  We had lunch in Lucia and shared their "world famous" fish and chips. They were good and the setting/view great.  When we thought we were climbing the last hill there seemed to always be one more. The lodge wad actually 4 miles closer than we expected :-).  The setting is one of a kind. The service and accomodations were OK but the price was for the views.

Monterey and Big Sur, 27+ miles

We started the ride after a big B&B breakfast.  Our first 10 miles was farming. Artichokes were a primary crop.  We were on bike paths almost the entire route to Monterey.  We had beautiful ocean views.  We got smart and took the transit bus to Big Sur--avoiding some very treacherous parts of Highway 1. We are staying in a cabin at Big Sur Campground. We have a challenging ride for tomorrow to Ragged Point.

To Moss Landing, 60 miles

The hostel we stayed at last night worked well. Even though there were 8 kids under 10 y/o in our house it was quiet.

P The first 20 miles went fast. But then we had to navigate Santa Cruz which slowed us down.  That is a nice town. . .lots of things "happening" including a beachfront amusement park. There is alot of farming here. The strawberry fields are huge.  We had to taste some at a roadside stand.

We were about 10 miles from our destination when we were told our mapped route could not be followed.  We were getting onto Hwy 1 and we were told that we would risk getting a ticket since bikes were not allowed there. So we had some backtracking to do.  We are staying at a nautical themed B&B, Captain's Inn. The room is great and a fabulous view of the bay.  Also cable TV for our OSU baseball game.

Back on the Road: SF to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, 54 miles

We had a nice long visit at Dustin's. We ate alot (as usual).  We ate lunch today in Half Moon Bay. The coast in this area looks like Oregon, not developed and many state parks. We are staying at a hostel tonight since there was a lomger gap than we wanted to ride in one day.  It is right on the coast at the lighthouse station.