The trip to Santa Maria wasn't hard at all. I actually took my time and enjoyed the journey a lot. It was pretty flat, the wind was at my back (oh sweet wind, how you can make such a difference) and I ended up arriving two hours ahead of schedule. One of the reasons I was cruising a long so well is because I had fortunately lined up a place to stay for the night on couchsurfing.org. Ryan Mackereth wasn't around Santa Maria at the moment as he is currently cycling across the US with a friend, but he did give me the phone number of his dad who was kind enough to let me stay with them! And what an awesome host he was.
I arrived early, so I guess I caught Mr. Mackereth off guard but he welcomed me in all the same. After stowing my handcycle in the back yard we proceeded to chat a bit. It turns out that Mr. Mackereth is a retired Lutheran minister who spent four years in Nigeria working on translation and forming a writing system for the local language in one very small area. So we had a fantastic time discussing all the similarities and differences between his mission work and my Peace Corps experience in Uganda. Despite the fact that he was in Africa 25 years before me, our overall experiences were pretty much the same.
So we continued to chat after I had gotten myself cleaned up. He offered to wash my cloths, but I had just done laundry at Akane's house, so I was good. Then his wife, Lynn, came home from work and we set to a delicious pot roast! Oh, it had been so long since I got to enjoy meat and potatoes, with awesome gravy no less! I tried not to be a pig, but it was so good I had to have seconds... then thirds... then fourths! Mr. and Mrs. Mackereth just chuckled and encouraged me. I didn't finish off everything, but I was pretty close. Mr. Mackereth insisted that I have it for breakfast the next day though :) After dinner Mr. Mackereth and I got in his little Suzuki and he insisted on showing me the route I would take out of town the next day. He was going to show me the beach too, but my eyes were drooping and I was fading fast. So he took us home and I went to sleep instantly. The bed was soft and welcoming. I slept like the dead.
The next morning the Mackereths were up at 5:00 am. I didn't even notice. I slept until 7:00, then Mr. Mackereth made me breakfast. Left overs with cantaloupe and toast. A hearty breakfast for my upcoming 40 mile ride. After he snapped a few pictures of me on my handcycle, he insisted on giving me a flag. The kind of flag dune buggies and other such beach roving vehicles have to make them more visible. So with my bright orange flag flapping in the breeze behind me, I was off.
Then next 40 miles were rough. I don't know what happened, but after about 1:00 pm, the wind was against me and I started a series of uphill climbs. It was slow going and painful. Because of the wind, I couldn't get very much momentum on the downhills so I could only coast up the next hill a little bit. Then I would down shift and do a sprint with my arms to try and get as far as I could, but eventually I would slow to a snail's pace at which point I would stop, get off, and start pulling. This was repeated until I finally reached a big uphill climb. About two miles of gradual uphill until I reached the peak where the wind was so gusty that going down it didn't even require a stick! I slowly coasted down the behemoth of a hill and saw that I was getting close to my destination. According to Uncle Google, I needed to go around the bend and cruise along the coast for about four miles to reach Gaviota State Park. Now, as I came to the bottom of the hill I saw a big brown sign for Gaviota State Beach and figured the park entrance must be getting close. The last park I camped at was only a few miles from the state beach as well. Turns out though, that Uncle Google was lying! The state park and state beach are the same damn thing in this case! So I fought and struggled and cussed the wind as I made that four mile journey, only to turn around and come right back.
So I finally get to the beach and the wind is ferocious! Huge gusts, up to 40 miles an hour with a pretty steady 20 mile an hour wind speed. This is ridiculous! The only tent I saw standing was the one the park ranger slept in. Everyone else had given up and retired to their campers and RV's. I didn't have a tent, and there was no place to get out of the wind, so I was just going to be cowboy camping in a sleeping bag and hope that none of my stuff would get lifted off to OZ or wherever gusty wind takes things. The only good thing about Gaviota stat beach is that they had a little convenience store. So I walked into the shop and headed straight for the canned beans aisle only to stop dead in my tracks and begin giggling like a little retarded child, for I had spied the refrigerator! And it was full of BEER!! After such a miserable ride and a full eight miles out of my way, nothing could have made me happier than cold beer. So I got a can of beans and a six pack and headed back to my little campsite. I untied most of my stuff and put the heavy things on top the light things and then went to the shower with a beer. The water was even warm! Awesome, beer and showers are made for each other. Then back to my campsite when I polished off my beans and proceeded to drink two more beers. I decided that I didn't want to be hungover in the morning, so I would save the other three for breakfast :) Then I unrolled my sleeping bag as the sun was going down, crawled in and settled down for the worst night's sleep of my entire trip. I had on my T-shirt, then long sleeve shirt, then a fleece jacket, and finally my rain jacket. I was wearing shorts with my pants as well as socks, but the wind kept biting through. The air wasn't that cold, maybe 65 F, but it was just a relentless howling wind that kept me from ever really falling into a sound sleep. Terrible! I HATE YOU, WIND!!
Then next morning I was up at dawn, packed my stuff and headed out. I wasn't to get away from this gusty excuse for a park as soon as I could. And, I had just gotten another possible place to stay in Santa Barbara. So I confirmed with the host, again a very nice parent of someone who is currently on a cycling trip. This time Chris McDermut gave me the number of his mom as he is currently cycling in southeast Asia with ambitions to cycle around the world! His mom was very nice over the phone and told me I would be welcome in there home. So I rode to Santa Barbara as quickly as I could. Once I got about seven miles from Gaviota State Beach, the wind began to die down and the ride became rather pleasant. Lots of clear blue water and I could see the channel islands off the coast. But they were obscured by the marine layer that always hangs just off the coast and settles in every night. The area hardly gets any rain, so this fog/mist is what helps to keep the natural flora alive. People, of course, spend a lot of energy watering all the other green stuffs.
The I made it to Montecito, a part of Santa Barbara, without any problems and as I climbed up the hill to the McDermut residence I heard "David? Are you David?" That wasn't what I was expecting, but sure enough, Mrs. McDermut was on her way to a meeting and spotted me along the road. She told me to go ahead to the house and don't be alarmed when the dog barks its head off. Her daughter, Maggy would be there too and could let me in. So I did just that. The dog started barking just as she had said, but my knock at the door did not bring anyone, so I cracked open my last beer and laid down in the shade to relax. After a while the door opened and sure enough, Maggy was there to let me in. She had been in the shower apparently, and was getting ready to go and house sit for a some friends. She showed me to Chris' room where I sprawled out my stuff and then showered. By the time I was out of the shower, Mrs. McDermut had returned and we began chatting about everything. What I was doing, what her son was doing, Maggy's job as a equestrian instructor and much, much more. However, our conversation wasn't to last as Maggy had to get going and Mrs. McDermut insisted that she and I go out to eat as she just came back from a meeting and didn't feel like cooking. So we enjoyed some more conversation over an amazing dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. This took us until sunset and then back to the house. I did a little work on the computer before calling it a night.
Wheeew! More to come.
I arrived early, so I guess I caught Mr. Mackereth off guard but he welcomed me in all the same. After stowing my handcycle in the back yard we proceeded to chat a bit. It turns out that Mr. Mackereth is a retired Lutheran minister who spent four years in Nigeria working on translation and forming a writing system for the local language in one very small area. So we had a fantastic time discussing all the similarities and differences between his mission work and my Peace Corps experience in Uganda. Despite the fact that he was in Africa 25 years before me, our overall experiences were pretty much the same.
So we continued to chat after I had gotten myself cleaned up. He offered to wash my cloths, but I had just done laundry at Akane's house, so I was good. Then his wife, Lynn, came home from work and we set to a delicious pot roast! Oh, it had been so long since I got to enjoy meat and potatoes, with awesome gravy no less! I tried not to be a pig, but it was so good I had to have seconds... then thirds... then fourths! Mr. and Mrs. Mackereth just chuckled and encouraged me. I didn't finish off everything, but I was pretty close. Mr. Mackereth insisted that I have it for breakfast the next day though :) After dinner Mr. Mackereth and I got in his little Suzuki and he insisted on showing me the route I would take out of town the next day. He was going to show me the beach too, but my eyes were drooping and I was fading fast. So he took us home and I went to sleep instantly. The bed was soft and welcoming. I slept like the dead.
The next morning the Mackereths were up at 5:00 am. I didn't even notice. I slept until 7:00, then Mr. Mackereth made me breakfast. Left overs with cantaloupe and toast. A hearty breakfast for my upcoming 40 mile ride. After he snapped a few pictures of me on my handcycle, he insisted on giving me a flag. The kind of flag dune buggies and other such beach roving vehicles have to make them more visible. So with my bright orange flag flapping in the breeze behind me, I was off.
Then next 40 miles were rough. I don't know what happened, but after about 1:00 pm, the wind was against me and I started a series of uphill climbs. It was slow going and painful. Because of the wind, I couldn't get very much momentum on the downhills so I could only coast up the next hill a little bit. Then I would down shift and do a sprint with my arms to try and get as far as I could, but eventually I would slow to a snail's pace at which point I would stop, get off, and start pulling. This was repeated until I finally reached a big uphill climb. About two miles of gradual uphill until I reached the peak where the wind was so gusty that going down it didn't even require a stick! I slowly coasted down the behemoth of a hill and saw that I was getting close to my destination. According to Uncle Google, I needed to go around the bend and cruise along the coast for about four miles to reach Gaviota State Park. Now, as I came to the bottom of the hill I saw a big brown sign for Gaviota State Beach and figured the park entrance must be getting close. The last park I camped at was only a few miles from the state beach as well. Turns out though, that Uncle Google was lying! The state park and state beach are the same damn thing in this case! So I fought and struggled and cussed the wind as I made that four mile journey, only to turn around and come right back.
So I finally get to the beach and the wind is ferocious! Huge gusts, up to 40 miles an hour with a pretty steady 20 mile an hour wind speed. This is ridiculous! The only tent I saw standing was the one the park ranger slept in. Everyone else had given up and retired to their campers and RV's. I didn't have a tent, and there was no place to get out of the wind, so I was just going to be cowboy camping in a sleeping bag and hope that none of my stuff would get lifted off to OZ or wherever gusty wind takes things. The only good thing about Gaviota stat beach is that they had a little convenience store. So I walked into the shop and headed straight for the canned beans aisle only to stop dead in my tracks and begin giggling like a little retarded child, for I had spied the refrigerator! And it was full of BEER!! After such a miserable ride and a full eight miles out of my way, nothing could have made me happier than cold beer. So I got a can of beans and a six pack and headed back to my little campsite. I untied most of my stuff and put the heavy things on top the light things and then went to the shower with a beer. The water was even warm! Awesome, beer and showers are made for each other. Then back to my campsite when I polished off my beans and proceeded to drink two more beers. I decided that I didn't want to be hungover in the morning, so I would save the other three for breakfast :) Then I unrolled my sleeping bag as the sun was going down, crawled in and settled down for the worst night's sleep of my entire trip. I had on my T-shirt, then long sleeve shirt, then a fleece jacket, and finally my rain jacket. I was wearing shorts with my pants as well as socks, but the wind kept biting through. The air wasn't that cold, maybe 65 F, but it was just a relentless howling wind that kept me from ever really falling into a sound sleep. Terrible! I HATE YOU, WIND!!
Then next morning I was up at dawn, packed my stuff and headed out. I wasn't to get away from this gusty excuse for a park as soon as I could. And, I had just gotten another possible place to stay in Santa Barbara. So I confirmed with the host, again a very nice parent of someone who is currently on a cycling trip. This time Chris McDermut gave me the number of his mom as he is currently cycling in southeast Asia with ambitions to cycle around the world! His mom was very nice over the phone and told me I would be welcome in there home. So I rode to Santa Barbara as quickly as I could. Once I got about seven miles from Gaviota State Beach, the wind began to die down and the ride became rather pleasant. Lots of clear blue water and I could see the channel islands off the coast. But they were obscured by the marine layer that always hangs just off the coast and settles in every night. The area hardly gets any rain, so this fog/mist is what helps to keep the natural flora alive. People, of course, spend a lot of energy watering all the other green stuffs.
The I made it to Montecito, a part of Santa Barbara, without any problems and as I climbed up the hill to the McDermut residence I heard "David? Are you David?" That wasn't what I was expecting, but sure enough, Mrs. McDermut was on her way to a meeting and spotted me along the road. She told me to go ahead to the house and don't be alarmed when the dog barks its head off. Her daughter, Maggy would be there too and could let me in. So I did just that. The dog started barking just as she had said, but my knock at the door did not bring anyone, so I cracked open my last beer and laid down in the shade to relax. After a while the door opened and sure enough, Maggy was there to let me in. She had been in the shower apparently, and was getting ready to go and house sit for a some friends. She showed me to Chris' room where I sprawled out my stuff and then showered. By the time I was out of the shower, Mrs. McDermut had returned and we began chatting about everything. What I was doing, what her son was doing, Maggy's job as a equestrian instructor and much, much more. However, our conversation wasn't to last as Maggy had to get going and Mrs. McDermut insisted that she and I go out to eat as she just came back from a meeting and didn't feel like cooking. So we enjoyed some more conversation over an amazing dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. This took us until sunset and then back to the house. I did a little work on the computer before calling it a night.
Wheeew! More to come.
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