Yawn...we started out late this morning since we only had about 38 miles to ride.  I think everyone enjoyed the leisurely start to the day.  But they were excited about going to Solvang, a small Scandinavian village in the wine country of southern California.  When we left the motel, it was still a bit cool, and never really warmed up all day.  It was comfortable with arm warmers and light jacket, but it remained pleasant all day.

Our departure took us straightway out of town and into the fertile, flat farm land around Santa Maria.  Again, they were growing about everything and there were crops they were just planting several items...I think it was lettuce.  These crews get up early as they were well into the work day when we rode through.  Everywhere there was flat ground, there was a cash crop being harvested or new soil prepared for a new planting.  The flat fertile ground was surrounded by tall, dry mountains which provided an interesting contrast to our ride.

Our route today was pretty much flat until about 3 miles from our SAG at 27 miles scheduled at the Fess Parker Winery.  Ole Fess wasn't on site today, but they were too crowded anyway to have us set up our rest stop so Barb had to improvise on the side of the road.  Luckily there was a tall hill to climb just before SAG so she had time to turn around and set up along the side of the road about 2 miles short of the planned stop.  It would have been nice to meet one of my childhood idols...Davy Crockett and Dan'l Boone. 

As I said, it was flat but by the time we got to the climb to the SAG, we'd already climbed over 1000 feet.  We didn't have anything that would be identified as a climb until that point, but the terrain had been rising steadily for about 20 miles before that.  I remember last year it made me feel a little better about the way my legs were feeling before we started the climb we could see.

Once we got into the "hills," the scenery turned brown speckled with live oaks and an occasional vineyard to break the monotony.  As we started to rise we could see great views of the valley floor below which kept reminding us that we were going up...as if we needed reminding beyond the aching in the legs.  At one point I was sitting on the side of the road taking photos when Bill rode by and said, "Do you take these photos to show people how much you make us suffer?"  I told him no, it was to show everyone how strong the riders were to brave such terrain.  But even with the climbs we had to day, the terrain was nothing compared to recent days.  We climbed less that 1900 feet and it was pretty much in 3 short pops aside from the steady rise in the morning.

Solvang is something out of Europe.  The buildings are Scandinavian in  motif and there are shops, restaurants, tourist areas, and wine tasting shops all over town.  After getting settled, several of us went to a nearby wine tasting...nice finish to a perfect day. 

Tomorrow we head out for another 80 miler to Oxnard...who would name their town Oxnard?  I think we have a little climbing tomorrow too...We'll see how that works out.  See you tomorrow.