Yawn...we started out late this morning since we only had about 38 miles to ride.  I think everyone but John enjoyed the leisurely start to the day.  He was standing on the edge of the parking lot as we were loading at 8:00 on the verge of the shakes.  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, but it warmed up fast this year...and got warm by the time we got to Solvang around noon.  We beat the hot part of the day by a couple of hours...it was about 95 by mid afternoon.  By then we were sipping wine or by the pool. 

Our departure took us straightway out of town and into the fertile, flat farm land around Santa Maria.  It would have been nice if we'd been able to see it...it was a little foggy for the first 10 miles or so.  Again, they were growing about everything from peppers to avocados to cauliflower.  Something I found interesting was that they were just planting some and were in the middle of harvesting others.  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 after our SAG at 20 miles.  But after their rest, the terrain became a little more aggressive.  There were 3 good climbs with accompanying super down hills before we got to town.  We didn't have anything that would be identified as a climb until the SAG, but the terrain had been rising steadily almost from the motel.  I remember in rides past 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 one rode by and said, "I can always count on you being there taking a photo when I'm about to pass out.  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 our riders are to brave such terrain.  But even with the climbs we had to day, the terrain was nothing compared to recent days.  We climbed less than 1700 feet and it was pretty much in 3 short pops aside from the steady rise in the morning.

Solvang is an interesting place.  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 the riders went wine tasting or sampled the many pastry shops along the strip...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 in the early miles of tomorrow, but all in all, it's a pretty tame day after going over the ridge.  We'll see how that works out.  See you tomorrow.