Ok, so after Abby rescued me from dragging my cart up her giant mountain, she let me shower, rehydrate and then we headed over to her neighbor's house for dinner. Her neighbor is a nice guy named Kareem, from France. He cooked a fantastic dinner, then we had cheese! Oh how I have missed CHEESE!! Good cheese too! It was so good, I ate so much. Beer was flowing throughout dinner, then we had an after dinner cocktail and headed for the HOT TUB!!! What an awesome way to recover from a horrific day of cranking on that trike.
We stayed out in the hot tub joking and laughing until about 1 am, then my eyes started to fade and Abby was kind enough to excuse us so I could pass out. And pass out I did. I slept in a fantastically soft bed. A tornado could not have woke me up.
In the morning my alarm clock forced me to move muscles that ached so badly I could have cried. But, I was rewarded with my heroic awakening efforts with a fantastic huevos rancheros breakfast. Soooo good. I miss American food more than I thought. After a hearty breakfast, Abby took me to my next starting point and from there it was nothing but grueling work. For the next 10 hours I battled wind and sun at about 5 miles an hour. All this time I am getting nervous because I don't have a place to stay. I had sent out some couchsurfing requests to people in Marina, but no responses.
So as I made my way down the beaches and fields, I contemplated my options. Sleeping out along the road didn't seem so bad, but it would be nice to have a shower. Then I remember Hal, my old roommate from Los Alamos, suggested I contact a good man by the name of Andrew Stoker as he is from this area. So I did just that, and not a moment too soon. After some initial confusion he was able to put me in contact with his folks who were more than happy to help me out. The problem is they live 10 miles south of Marina. I did not want to go that far. My arms were killing me, but I did want a place to stay, so I bowed into the wind and continued to grunt and pant all the way to Monterey. My handy dandy smart phone, in combination with a mobile hotspot that was lent to me by a friend, made it possible to do all this contacting of people.
It took me nearly 3.5 hours to reach Monterey, but it was well worth it. Mr. Stoker showed me to the guest house, that's right a whole freaking house for me to use for the night. Along with this guest house came to wonderful things, a cold beer and a hot tub! Oh man, two days in a row! With hospitality like this, I could definitely get used to the painful days of riding. So I showered, had a beer and soaked until dark. It was glorious! Again, a soft bed to rest my weary body and I was out like a light.
The next day found me bright and early at 7:30 am. I gathered my things and headed out by 8:00. My hosts had just come back from long trip of there own so I didn't wake them to say goodbye, but man did I appreciate the generous help on such short notice.
From this point on it was hills and hills along the coast. Absolutely beautiful views, but I spent so much effort and time being exhausted that I could only glance over the edge as I trudged along the way. I did spend a few breaks sitting at the edge and looking out into the incredibly blue ocean below equally blue skies. And, because these big hills were so steep and tall, I also spent a lot of time pulling my contraption up the hills. I had a general rule that if riding it was slower than getting off and pulling it, then I would pull it as I didn't want to be cycling at night. So for the next 9 hours or so I worked and trudged and worked and on the down hills I need another stick to slow me down and finally I made it to the town of Big Sur. Not much to say about this town, a few over priced restaurants and shops and a few over priced parks for camping and I decided I would move on. Again I had no couchsurfing responses so I settled on going about 10 miles south and camping among a clump of trees. I had trailmix that Chadwick had given me for dinner and watched the sunset over the ocean from my perch among the trees on a cliff. The guard rail on the road kept me reasonably hidden and the barking of seal with the crash of waves lulled me to sleep. What a day. No hot tub, but this little 20' by 20' patch of pine needles was all I needed for a very restful night's sleep. That and I had the great satisfaction that I didn't have to pay $35 for it either, as that was apparently the going price for the other campgrounds I passed along the way. Wheeeew.
The next morning I was up and moving by 7:45. I did the exact same as the day before. I stopped at the "villages" of Lucia, Gorda, and Ragged Point along the way, but only to find more overpriced restaurants, shops, hotels, resorts, and parks. So on I trudged. They wouldn't even let me use wifi, which I needed because my mobile hotspot could not get a signal. So, like a rejected puppy, I hung my head and moved on. Then, at the last shop, where I stopped to get canned beans (4 time the price the should be, but the cheapest sustenance I could find) I saw a fellow cyclist who had passed me a while back as I pulled my contraption up yet another ungodly steep incline. He informed me that all the state parks have $5 camping for cyclists and hikers. Whoooo hoooo!!! I am saved! Not only that, but the park he was heading to was only another 15 miles or sow down the road. Despite my exhaustion and aching grip, I found a new burst of energy (the honey I bought and chugged probably helped). I headed south and found Johnny, the cyclist who clued me in, along with a gaggle of other human powered enthusiasts at the park. It was 8:25 when I pulled in, so 12 hours and 40 minutes from my departure time and approximately 55 miles from my departure location, I was able to rest. The park even had showers!! So I cleaned up, laid out the sleeping bag and then stood around the campfire with everyone else answering questions about my stupidity and bravery for taking on Big Sur on a hand trike, while I wolfed down three cans of beans and a can of beef stew. Wheeew, what a day.
Then next morning I was heading to San Luis Obispo which was a mere 35 miles away, so after the ridiculous day I had previously, I took the morning slow. I allowed the other cyclists to give my trike a try. They then applauded my lunacy as I finally climbed on for my departure. I stopped in the town of Cambria and treated myself to breakfast while I checked my emails and such. My good friend Haluna had told me she had a sister in San Luis Obispo who would probably let me stay on her couch and sure enough she had arranged just that. So for the next 25 miles I took it slow and easy. Taking time to check out the elephant seals, and enjoy the nice small rolling hills. So nice. Not only that, but the wind was with me!! Oh thank you wind. The sky was overcast and the wind from the ocean was cold so I kept my long sleeve shirt on and didn't put on any sunscreen. That was a mistake. In the afternoon the sun came out and it got hotter so I took off my long sleeves and put on sunscreen, but as I got to SLO I realized it was a serious mistake. I should have put on sunscreen at the very beginning. My face was cooked. I had a fantastic tan line where my bandanna covered my forehead. Dang me and my dumb self.
That brings me to the awesome and welcoming hospitality of Akane Gunterman, the boisterous biologist in SLO. She left a key for me and told me to help myself to the refrigerator. So I did just that. I showered and ate and then slept. It was awesome! Akane got home about 8:00 and then we went for a bite, watched "Man of Steel" and then it was to sleep for me. Again, and amazing soft bed for my weary bones and now I feel so much better. Today I am taking a rest day because it marks the middle of my journey, both time and miles wise. Tomorrow I head for Santa Maria and will be away from the cool breeze of the Ocean for a bit. I need rest and make ready for the next 230 miles of my journey.
More to come as the party has just begun!
We stayed out in the hot tub joking and laughing until about 1 am, then my eyes started to fade and Abby was kind enough to excuse us so I could pass out. And pass out I did. I slept in a fantastically soft bed. A tornado could not have woke me up.
In the morning my alarm clock forced me to move muscles that ached so badly I could have cried. But, I was rewarded with my heroic awakening efforts with a fantastic huevos rancheros breakfast. Soooo good. I miss American food more than I thought. After a hearty breakfast, Abby took me to my next starting point and from there it was nothing but grueling work. For the next 10 hours I battled wind and sun at about 5 miles an hour. All this time I am getting nervous because I don't have a place to stay. I had sent out some couchsurfing requests to people in Marina, but no responses.
So as I made my way down the beaches and fields, I contemplated my options. Sleeping out along the road didn't seem so bad, but it would be nice to have a shower. Then I remember Hal, my old roommate from Los Alamos, suggested I contact a good man by the name of Andrew Stoker as he is from this area. So I did just that, and not a moment too soon. After some initial confusion he was able to put me in contact with his folks who were more than happy to help me out. The problem is they live 10 miles south of Marina. I did not want to go that far. My arms were killing me, but I did want a place to stay, so I bowed into the wind and continued to grunt and pant all the way to Monterey. My handy dandy smart phone, in combination with a mobile hotspot that was lent to me by a friend, made it possible to do all this contacting of people.
It took me nearly 3.5 hours to reach Monterey, but it was well worth it. Mr. Stoker showed me to the guest house, that's right a whole freaking house for me to use for the night. Along with this guest house came to wonderful things, a cold beer and a hot tub! Oh man, two days in a row! With hospitality like this, I could definitely get used to the painful days of riding. So I showered, had a beer and soaked until dark. It was glorious! Again, a soft bed to rest my weary body and I was out like a light.
The next day found me bright and early at 7:30 am. I gathered my things and headed out by 8:00. My hosts had just come back from long trip of there own so I didn't wake them to say goodbye, but man did I appreciate the generous help on such short notice.
From this point on it was hills and hills along the coast. Absolutely beautiful views, but I spent so much effort and time being exhausted that I could only glance over the edge as I trudged along the way. I did spend a few breaks sitting at the edge and looking out into the incredibly blue ocean below equally blue skies. And, because these big hills were so steep and tall, I also spent a lot of time pulling my contraption up the hills. I had a general rule that if riding it was slower than getting off and pulling it, then I would pull it as I didn't want to be cycling at night. So for the next 9 hours or so I worked and trudged and worked and on the down hills I need another stick to slow me down and finally I made it to the town of Big Sur. Not much to say about this town, a few over priced restaurants and shops and a few over priced parks for camping and I decided I would move on. Again I had no couchsurfing responses so I settled on going about 10 miles south and camping among a clump of trees. I had trailmix that Chadwick had given me for dinner and watched the sunset over the ocean from my perch among the trees on a cliff. The guard rail on the road kept me reasonably hidden and the barking of seal with the crash of waves lulled me to sleep. What a day. No hot tub, but this little 20' by 20' patch of pine needles was all I needed for a very restful night's sleep. That and I had the great satisfaction that I didn't have to pay $35 for it either, as that was apparently the going price for the other campgrounds I passed along the way. Wheeeew.
The next morning I was up and moving by 7:45. I did the exact same as the day before. I stopped at the "villages" of Lucia, Gorda, and Ragged Point along the way, but only to find more overpriced restaurants, shops, hotels, resorts, and parks. So on I trudged. They wouldn't even let me use wifi, which I needed because my mobile hotspot could not get a signal. So, like a rejected puppy, I hung my head and moved on. Then, at the last shop, where I stopped to get canned beans (4 time the price the should be, but the cheapest sustenance I could find) I saw a fellow cyclist who had passed me a while back as I pulled my contraption up yet another ungodly steep incline. He informed me that all the state parks have $5 camping for cyclists and hikers. Whoooo hoooo!!! I am saved! Not only that, but the park he was heading to was only another 15 miles or sow down the road. Despite my exhaustion and aching grip, I found a new burst of energy (the honey I bought and chugged probably helped). I headed south and found Johnny, the cyclist who clued me in, along with a gaggle of other human powered enthusiasts at the park. It was 8:25 when I pulled in, so 12 hours and 40 minutes from my departure time and approximately 55 miles from my departure location, I was able to rest. The park even had showers!! So I cleaned up, laid out the sleeping bag and then stood around the campfire with everyone else answering questions about my stupidity and bravery for taking on Big Sur on a hand trike, while I wolfed down three cans of beans and a can of beef stew. Wheeew, what a day.
Then next morning I was heading to San Luis Obispo which was a mere 35 miles away, so after the ridiculous day I had previously, I took the morning slow. I allowed the other cyclists to give my trike a try. They then applauded my lunacy as I finally climbed on for my departure. I stopped in the town of Cambria and treated myself to breakfast while I checked my emails and such. My good friend Haluna had told me she had a sister in San Luis Obispo who would probably let me stay on her couch and sure enough she had arranged just that. So for the next 25 miles I took it slow and easy. Taking time to check out the elephant seals, and enjoy the nice small rolling hills. So nice. Not only that, but the wind was with me!! Oh thank you wind. The sky was overcast and the wind from the ocean was cold so I kept my long sleeve shirt on and didn't put on any sunscreen. That was a mistake. In the afternoon the sun came out and it got hotter so I took off my long sleeves and put on sunscreen, but as I got to SLO I realized it was a serious mistake. I should have put on sunscreen at the very beginning. My face was cooked. I had a fantastic tan line where my bandanna covered my forehead. Dang me and my dumb self.
That brings me to the awesome and welcoming hospitality of Akane Gunterman, the boisterous biologist in SLO. She left a key for me and told me to help myself to the refrigerator. So I did just that. I showered and ate and then slept. It was awesome! Akane got home about 8:00 and then we went for a bite, watched "Man of Steel" and then it was to sleep for me. Again, and amazing soft bed for my weary bones and now I feel so much better. Today I am taking a rest day because it marks the middle of my journey, both time and miles wise. Tomorrow I head for Santa Maria and will be away from the cool breeze of the Ocean for a bit. I need rest and make ready for the next 230 miles of my journey.
More to come as the party has just begun!
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