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DAY 19

      

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ROUTE: Paso Robles to Santa Maria CA DISTANCE: 82 Miles WINDS: Swirling in the mountains...WNW in the afternoon.
WEATHER: Partly cloudy...foggy near the coast, warm inland.  High 69. TERRAIN: Hilly for the first half, then flat with one grunt hill after the last SAG TOTAL CLIMBING: 3200 Feet

DAILY REPORT: I got this page done on Thursday, but I had to hold off until the results of the "I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT."  You'll understand when you read it...thanks for your patience.  Now for yesterday's news.

Everyone was in a pretty good state of mind this morning after such a tough day yesterday.  Why not?  They should have been proud of their accomplishment.  We loaded a little later than usual which was appreciated as everyone got in a little extra recovery time before grinding out another 80 miles today.  After yesterday, today was scheduled to be a piece of cake...and it held pretty true as there wasn't nearly as much climbing and what we did have was less taxing (except for one punch up a 17% grade).  Plus, we had some nice tailwinds by the end of the day that made the pedaling much easier...an 80 mile recovery day.

We loaded at 7:30 and our first challenge was a 50 yard bump over the highway about a block from the motel...ouch...after yesterday even that little bump was a leg waker-upper.  But everyone got over it and was well on their way to another day's adventures.  It only took us about 2 miles before we were out in the country with beautiful rolling hills to feast our eyes as we rode along.  Last year this portion was in a heavy fog when we departed so it was all new to the staff as it was to the riders.

After wallering around for several miles in rolling terrain, our route took us over the mountain range that stood between us and the coast at Morro Bay.  The climb was not too steep and even with the tired legs, everyone got over it without much problem...then the reward!  The next 10 miles were downhill to the coast where our first SAG was set up in Morro Bay...right beside a great bakery with many different fruity delights for even the most fickle biker's pallet.  From there we shot back out into the dry hills then into another stretch of fertile farm land along hwy 1.  We passed through San Luis Obispo making our way to our second SAG in Pismo Beach.

By the time we got to the second SAG, we had already gone through 4 climate changes.  I almost wore out my arm warmers and wind jacket taking them off and on all day.  It was chilly when we departed but by the time we were 10 miles from the motel, the sun started to warm things up very nicely.  When I happened by the mechanic's van I took off my arm and leg warmers and put them in the van.  Luckily, I forgot to put my wind vest in the van...when we crossed the mountain that stood between us and Morro Bay we could see a thick fog bank that started just as we entered town.  The temperature went down 15 degrees from there, through the SAG, and until we crossed back over a mountain leaving Morro Bay.  When I stopped at the SAG, I retrieved my arm warmers and put them back on with my vest.  Once over the next hill out of town it was nice and toasty again...Ahhhh, nice and warm again...vest and arm warmers off.  From there we were very comfortable until the final stretch into the second SAG at Pismo Beach where again the temperature plummeted and it looked overcast south of our location...vest and arm warmers back on.  It remained cool all the way to Santa Maria where the sun popped out and the temperature again rose to a comfortable level. 

As I said before, the terrain was mostly tame compared to yesterday.  But after the second SAG we encountered a nasty punch up a 17% grade to get to hwy 1 just past Ocenao (above left).  It was only 0.3 of a mile long, but it rose up out of the farm land abruptly enough to remind our legs that they still had some work to do before getting to the motel.  But even that climb was rewarded with a nice downhill into the final 15 miles that were dead flat all the way to the motel...and we had a great tailwind to push us along. 

All in all it was a pretty nice day.  Everyone commented on how much better they felt today and how it was nice to have a recovery day after such a long day yesterday.  I asked them if they'd ever thought of an 80 mile day as a "recovery day" before.  Wait till tomorrow...we only have 38!  But there's lots to do in Solvang so we'll be anxious to get there.  We've planned a late start, but we'll be there before the continental breakfast is put away at our next motel.  Check back, we should have some good tales to tell.  See you tomorrow.  M

 
HEARD DURING THE DAY:

"Karen, how do we get back on route from the SAG?"
"The route goes straight there...pretend you didn't turn right to come to the SAG...you should have gone left on route if you didn't want to stop at the SAG that was to the right...so now you have to go back to where you turned right and go straight to simulate the left turn you should have taken in the first place...got it?"  Before I heard Karen's directions I was unsure which way to go, but after the explanation I was sure I was unsure.

"Are you guys riding for a cause?"
"Yeah, 'because.'"

"My granny gear's not low enough."
"I know what you mean, some grannies are older than others."

"Can we have a downhill like that without the climb?"

"How can it be so cold right here when just a block ago it was warm?"

"I didn't know we were going to be so close to the ocean today."
"You didn't notice the first SAG was at Morro BAY and the second SAG was at Pismo BEACH?"
"I guess I missed the clues, huh?"

 CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT: 

This is the reason today's page didn't get posted on Thursday.  At rap, Gerard told the group that his girlfriend would be joining the group on Friday morning...everyone cheered.  Then, without thinking, he told them that he was going to propose on Sunday and to keep it a secret.  Gerard!  What were you thinking?  There's 9 women on this trip plus Bill, John, Bob, Dave...well, you get the idea.  Oh yeah, not to mention me and the website.  You think we all can keep that a secret until Sunday?  As a result of his monumental faux pas, he had to pop the question on Friday so I could post this and before anyone else got to her.  Good move Gerard.  Now that you've spilled the beans, there's not going to be any time to get cold feet.  This goes to press on Friday, so you can't put it off any longer...that's as long as my public will wait...he did and the answer was YES!! 

During route rap Karen was explaining the route and said, "There are lots of roads around here called CYN.  You'll see Butcher CYN Road, Price CYN Road, etc.  I came through here several times and couldn't figure out why there were so many roads with that name...then it dawned on me...CYN is the abbreviation for Canyon...well DUH."

SCENES OF THE DAY?

Karen always loves a challenge...today she tried to beat her shadow across a bridge.  She tried hard, but couldn't shake it.

Where did I all the air go?  It was in there last night.

Does this thing have an oil leak somewhere?

Horse pay phone..."Winnie, can you come over tonight?"
"Naaaaay."

As Karen and I rode through the canyon, we witnessed some of the wildlife indigenous to California frolicking in a meadow.  I was expecting maybe a deer grazing, but not something publicly necking.

Note: Don't send me emails...this picture was on the wall at a McDonalds.

Speaking of wildlife...from the looks of what's left on the bakery shelf, they've been "grazing" for quite some time.

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