Day 33: Broken spoke 4 - Time to lose some weight. Limekiln State Park to Morro Bay State Park

The riding today was varied and feels like it could easily be categorised into sections, so here goes:
Section number one was some pleasant small hills with some amazing views of the ocean to our left and the early morning sun cracking through the mountains to our left, as it was early there was hardly any traffic on the road so it was nice and quiet. We did however, see a vulture eating a dead skunk, just goes to show that vultures will eat anything, then again so will some people (McRib anyone?)
After this came section number two, the big climb! This climb started at around sea level and rose to around 1,000 feet, it then fell and rose sharply again, even steeper than before, over the whole climb there were some nice views to be had, but it was hard work and I think we were both glad when it was time for the descent. On to section three!
The third section of the ride was over some rolling hills at around sea level right next to the ocean, on this stretch we saw some pelicans diving into the ocean to catch fish and a colony of elephant seals on the beach, these creatures are amazing, so big but they can move really fast if they need to. We cycled past Hearst Castle which was perched high on a hillside overlooking the highway.
We headed inland through section four, which took us through farmland and some small towns before we hit the ocean again.
Section five took us along the ocean and into the lovely seaside town of Cayucos where stopped by the beach and ate some sandwiches in the sunshine, the weather had been great all day, really warm and sunny and we didn't even have any fog in the morning, I guess we now must be officially getting into Southern California.
We chatted to a really nice couple from Morro Bay who were on a tandem bike and reassured us of how nice the campsite was (there were two in town, the beach campground was a car park for RVs, so not to be confused!)
As we headed into the town of Morro just two miles from the campsite disaster struck and I broke another spoke, boo! This is the second one for me and the wheel won't be in great shape now. Just as we had stopped on the side of the road the couple we had been talking to earlier, drove passed us in the car and Ron came out to help us locate a bikeshop. So lovely of him. We managed to get to the campground but will need to get it checked over at a bike shop tomorrow.
We really don't want to break any more spokes and so with only a week to go and a few cities to pass through we decided it would be easiest to lose our camping gear to lighten our loads for these last few days, so, last night in the tent tonight. Thank you tent, you have been good to us.
Miles today 68. Total miles 1,446.

Day 32: Under the bridge - Monterey to Limekiln State Park

Wow what a day!
Dave and I took an unscheduled rest day yesterday in Monterey as we were both exausted, Dave's knee was sore and it was forcast thunder storms. I'm not sure if it was the extra rest or the excitement of booking our onward travel but we whizzed through today, which us detailed as a difficult day in our guide book.
Following back onto the 1 from Monterey the road took us up to the steep cliffs of Carmel Highlands. The houses here were amazing, huge and must cost a small fortune!
The road followed the coast for most of the day towards Big Sur, where the views were amazing. There was still a lot of climbing, but compared to some of the other days the climbed seemed to be made easier as each canyon or bay had a bridge joining the roads rather than taking you right down to sea level and back up again. Some of the bridges were fantastic to look at and even more amazing to cross over on the bikes. Some you could look straight down almost beneath you.
Highway 1 takes you back inland for Big Sur through more mighty redwood trees which meant it was lovely and hot again. We stopped for lunch in the Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park and ate our lunch by the Big Sur river surrounded by naughty Blue Jays.
Leading out of Big Sur is a climb of over 1k feet, i mufh earned by ice tea from the shop at the top! The descend down took us through the redwoods and red sand opening up into red ocean cliffs. The views were just breathtaking and made every second of each climb worth it - thank god there was no fog, or lightning!
Stopping at a point we heard sealions barking up from below and could smell them (they stink!), the more we starred the more we could see. Lining every rock in and out of the water, there were even pools of them in the water.
The road followed the rugged cliffs with connecting bridges and amazing views, we started talking to another cyclist on his way to San Diego who advised us some of the campgrounds didn't have drinking water, so we decided to end the day at Limekiln State Park. It sounds a bit strange to say its under a bridge of the highway, but it really was lovely. We managed to get a hiker biker spot right by the ocean and watched the sun set before bed. What an awesome day.
Miles today 58. Total miles 1378.

Day 31- Has the get up and go gone? Santa Cruz to Monterey

Today was hard at first, but not because of any big hills or scary moments but for some more mundane reasons, firstly it was very foggy again this morning and our journey began on the busy streets of Santa Cruz so the riding was not much fun either added to which I'd developed a pain in my knee, whinge whinge whinge, all this was leaving me feeling slightly uninspired, not to worry though, this would not last.

The ride took us from the streets if Santa Cruz, through the fruit and vegetable farms of Monterey County via a quick pit stop at La Selva State Beach where we were lucky enough to see some more great bird life. As we cycled through the farm fields (which at times smelled if the lovely sweet strawberries that were being grown in them) we saw lots if people hard at work harvesting the crops and it reminded me how lucky we were to have the opportunity to be in this trip and have some time off from working and it snapped me out if my bad mood.

There wasn't much in the way if amazing vistas in the ride today but we did have several animal sightings to keep us entertained. Outside of Moss Landing we saw a large colony of sea lions jostling for position on a jetty all piled on top of each other and jumping and playing in the water. We were also very entertained by all the ground squirrels we saw whilst riding the bike path through the grass lands leading up to Monterey. Following the Hifhway on the bike path we saw our first sign for LA, can't believe how close we are now to the end!

The day ended in Monterey along a route that took us by the beach and the clouds have lifted now. Time for some rest, big climbs tomorrow as we head for Big Sur.

Miles today 46. Total miles 1,320.

Day 30: Fall into Santa Cruz - Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz

After loading up on the free breakfast from the motel we set off into the fog. The beginning of the day the road rose and fell with the dliffs, the climbs not too bad and the roads not terribly busy for labour day.

There was a long hall of no shops or running water so we made sure to load up before we set off. The road was full of day beach areas, each filled with families setting up for BBQs to celebtate the holiday.

We stopped to eat our lunch at Bean ollow State beach sticking to the north side of the beach, full of rock pools and a lot quite than the south side.

It was a hard day for us in the fact that there was so much fog, it made the ride a bit boring as you couldn't see anything. Some of the cliffs you were riding through would have been stunning, but I guess we have been lucky with views until now.

Breaking up the afternoon we stooped at an organic strawberry farm, which gave a discount to cyclists and treated ourselves to a delicious homemade strawberry short cake, yum yum yum. After leaving the farm the shoulder crossed some train tracks, I slowed down and role over the first, but I caught my front wheel in the second groove next to the track and managed to fall with my bike into the road. Luckily the road was clear and I was going really slow so I think my pride hurt more than my bottom, but got a fright none the less.

Arriving into Santa Cruz was so weird. Two seconds ago we had been on an almost deralict fog ridden rugged coast and all of a sudden we were in in a fun fueled university town with plam trees and rollercoasters.

This place was far too much fun to just roll on through, so we found a cheap motel and decided to explore the boardwalk.

Miles today 50. Total miles 1274.

Day 29: Bye bye big city, hello again fog - San Francisco to Half Moon Bay

We woke up ate as much if the breakfast buffet as we could and hit the road.
Our hotel was located in downtown San Francisco so our first bit if riding for the day was through some busy inner city neighborhoods then up some of those famous steep San Francisco streets and into Golden Gate park.
The park was both bustling and peaceful at the same time in the way that all great city parks seem to be, it reminded us of Regents and Hyde Parks in London.
We rode the length of the park from east to west where we then joined up with the Pacific Ocean again and we rode south on the Great Highway, by this point the sun had disappeared and the famous San Francisco fog had rolled in.
As we cycled along the busy highway next to beaches full of dog walkers and surfers Holly noticed an injured Seagull sat in the middle of the road (it may have been hit by a car), we stopped and managed to shepherd the bird to safety by the side of the road but its wing was broken and it could not fly, we got a passerby to call the SPCA and animal control but as it was a Sunday there was no reply, not wanting to give up another passer by took the injured bird into his car and said he would take it to an animal hospital, what a kind man, we hope this story has a happy ending and the bird recovers.
We continued cycling through Daly City, where we stopped for lunch, then on through Pacifica, the fog was really thick now, probably the thickest we seen. As we left Pacifica the fog cleared briefly as we begun the steep climb over a hill known as Devil's Slide, this seems like an apt name as it was probably the most dangerous section of riding we had done so far as the road was busy and steep with ni shoulder, we made it over the top and the descent wasn't a walk in the park either, the fog was back, it was steep and busy and there were huge potholes we needed to avoid but we made it down in one piece!
We ended the day in the town of Half Moon Bay, the fog was still thick and a bit chilly so we grabbed a motel room.
Miles today 34. Total miles 1,224.

Day 28: Heading for the 'frisco bay -Samuel P Taylor State Park to San Francisco

So we woke up and all five members if our tree circle camp group decided to ride together to San Francisco which was really nice. Our peloton set off from the park riding over some very rough roads and rolling terrain with a few hills but nothing like what we have seen recently. We stopped in the town of Fairfax to get some breakfast and then it was onwards to the big city.

Had a temporary stop in Larkspur as Amanda broke a spoke, luckily due to our previous misfortunes we had the tools to help her fix it, we all pitched in and with Todd's expert guidance Amanda fixed the wheel and we were on our way again. We rode down a bike lane then into  Saulisito, by now things were starting to get built up and we could see the city across the water, we climbed a hill and then there it was in front of us, the Golden Gate Bridge, by this point we had lost the others as we had stopped to take some pictures, which is a shame as they were all ending their trips in San Francisco and it would have been nice to say goodbye.

The bridge was crazy, lots of pedestrians and other cyclists but we managed to stop and enjoy the view and even saw some seals (or perhaps sea lions) playing in the water.Then we were in San Francisco.

We have been travelling for about a month now and we haven't been through a major metro area since leaving Vancouver so I must admit it was a bit of a culture shock, so many people and so much noise, I'd almost forgotten what city life was like, our hotel was downtown so we had to cycle through a park and then some busy city streets to get to the hotel.

We went out to stuff our faces with some diner food then rest day tomorrow to see the sites.

Miles today 33. Total miles 1190.

Day 27: The magical circles of trees - Bodega Dunes State Beach to Samuel P Taylor Park.

Along the trip you run into a lot of people following the suggested days in the book and since Manchester beach we had been bumping into and sharing hiker bikers with a few groups of peooke which is really nice. Last night sharing a picnic table with two girls from Port Townsend, Amanda and Rachel who actually knew the guy we had met in Bookings!
We all had a shorter day than yesterday, so took our time getting ready and headed out out around 10. The first 10 miles whizzed by, srriving in Valley Ford for some cookies and to stock up for lunch. We have both turned into eating machines!

The next few miles into Tomales following the sea inland along the bay, were a bit more trying, climbing 200 foot hills with a full on head wind and terrible road surfaces. One point coming downhill, the wind blew, my bike almost stopped it was so strong - you wonder if cars even notice when they drive along!

After Tomales was some long waited flat riding.... but nothing is that simple right? Right. The headwinds continued so strong, Dave my hero cycled I front with me tucked in behind so he'd take the brunt if it. Just like penguins.

We passed down along To males bay, which was just beautiful and Dave and I ate our sandwiches by a small secluded beach at Millerton Point.
Arriving in Olema we picked up our last groceries and found the bike oath leading to the campsite which was a welcomed break from the highway and bad road surface.
We hooked up with a Todd, a guy we had also met in Manchester and arrived together. The hiker biker in Samuel P Taylor is really large, but it's all on a hill so there is actually very little room for camping. Todd found some space past a falken tree and was like 'you gotta see this'
It was amazing, five or did redwoos trees all in a circle with space to camp in the middle. We decided to share the space and as we were setting up Amanda and Rachel arrived too who joined us.
Todd only had a small amount of food and rather him having to cycle to the next town (he had followed a different route) we all pooled our food together. It was everyone else's last night, so the girls had bought wine too! We had a feast of tuna pasta, cheese curd burritos, with crackers followed by briwnies and marshmallows.
It was a great night with great people.
Miles today 42. Total miles 1157.