| Page 42 - Day 281 - mon 10-21-02 -Mileage today 45.4 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,698.45 From Limekiln SP in Big Sur To San Simeon SP BURR It was cold today. It is foggy and it never cleared all day. We had a day of hills. We would climb a hill, working up a good sweat. Then, we would descend freezing our keisters off. The fog and cold cuts right thru you as you descend. Then you repeat the process allover again. This went on all day. We ended the day near Hearst Castle. I was hoping that Randolph would have the guest mansion ready for us with a fire going and a fine bottle of cab breathing. But no such luck. Looks like I'm confined to another night in Shea La Tent. Day 282 - Tue 10-22-02 - Mileage today 55.9 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11, 754.35 From San Simeon to Pismo Beach We had another cold day today. I have developed a bad rash on my inner thighs. It doesn’t make cycling any easier. My legs are swollen and leather like. Not only are they raw but they are sore to the though. They are filled with fluid about the size of oranges. I hope this doesn’t last too long. We stopped into the company that makes the trailer that Myron is using. The trailer is a BOB- YAK trailer. He has over 22,000 flawless miles on it. Myron wanted to stop in and tell them about what a great product they have. Linda, Damon, and Mike were all impressed with Myron. They know they have a good product but Wow, a 70 year old pulling it for so many miles. That is really something. Along the way today we met John and Jim a couple of cycle tourist. Jim was riding a recumbent and John was trying a new prototype Tricycle that sits about six inches off the ground. John writes recumbent bicycling magazine. Myron talked to John about the EZ Racer recumbent. Myron is thinking of riding thru Europe with on one next year. We also ran into Pamela. Pamela is in her mid 50's and on a long tour. She is also riding a recumbent. We have been leapfrogging with her the past several days. It is so neat to meet so many cyclists. Since we've been on the west coast we've met many tourists on bicycles. Day 283 - wed 10-23-02 - Mileage today 53.8 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,808.15 From Pismo Beach to Lompoc By George I Think We Found It We have NOT cycled around the United States in as much as we've eaten our way around. 283 Days into the trip and we finally found THE BEST. Jack's is a homey, comfortable family styled cafe. Complete with landscape oil painting hung on old barn wood walls and of course Nancy. Nancy was our waitress. She has been in the business for a long time. That is my way of saying that she is older than me. I instantly liked Nancy's straight forward, kind, humor. The meals are out of the kitchen, not out of a can. I had homemade lasagna and Myron had a turkey dinner. The food was freshly prepared and plenty of it. The veggies weren’t just sautéed zucs. They were also onions, mushrooms tomatoes, squash. The Turkey was piled high next to a mountain of mashed potatoes. For desert, 3 large scoops of ice cream on top of a generous portion of homemade apple pie, fresh out of the oven, using real apples not canned filling. All this for less than what Myron spent on oatmeal and pancakes yesterday. JACK'S IS A MUST STOP for anybody within 50 miles whether in a car or on a bicycle. You can find Jacks in old town Orcutt. At the junctions of hwy 1 and 135 just south of Santa Maria. Today we stayed at the River something city park. We had seen Pamela again so we rode in with her. Already there were Paul and Jenna. They are cycle tourist from the Boston area. They are cycling from SF to LA. They are both young Doctors doing their internship at Harvard. Myron and I really enjoyed meeting them and talking about Boston and Click & Clack. Day 284 - Thurs 10-24-02 - Mileage today 54.6 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,862.75 From Lompoc to Golita Today we ran into Michael. Michael is riding from SF to San Diego. He is traveling fast. He is in his late 20's and a F-18 pilot. He is an instructor on an aircraft carrier. He will be shipping out soon so this trip is his last her-ah for a while. As we approached the Santa Barbara area we began to see large hacienda style ranches in the hills. This is exactly how I envisioned the area. I can’t see from the road but the Ronald Regan ranch is not far from here. I can see two sprawling ranches nestled in the hills. One belongs to Kenny Rogers and the other to Tom Selek. Both are beautiful hacienda styled ranch homes. We have been staying at many state parks and I have to say that they are even better than Oregon’s parks. California has the best state parks of the 40+ states I've cycled thru. Day 285 - Friday 10-25-02 - Mileage today 23.2 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,885.95 From Golita to Carpentaria Santa Barbara is a GREAT town. We cycled thru the old part of town and surrounding area. We love the area. It is exactly how I thought it would be. If I could afford to live here I would Day 286 - Sat 10-26-02 - Mileage today 48.4 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,934.35 From Carpentaria to Malibu PCH Pacific Coast Highway. Sun and surf. The sun came out today for the first day in about a week. The rugged desert like Santa Monica Mountains on our left and the pacific on our right made for a fun day of cycling. We are now at the foot of the LA basin. This means PEOPLE and cars. The traffic is getting heavier and noisier. It does have its benefits though. There are more cafes. I on the other hand prefer quiet country roads to cafes. It is going to be a bit difficult negotiating thru LA. First there is no camping until we get down past San Juan Capistrano. Second the traffic of the metro LA area will be horrendous. Today however, we went thru areas like Carpentaria and Ventura. Both these towns have thriving down towns. The old sections of town never died like so many of their counterparts. The old town has always thrived and continues too. I love to hang out in the old business districts with the shops, cafés and theaters etc. People walking the streets having a good time with family or friends. This is America, I love it. Day 287 - Sun 10-27-02 - mileage today 48.6 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 11,982.95 From Malibu to Torrance We spent the night at a state park in Malibu. The houses in this area are incredible. I'm riding thru the who’s-who of Malibu. I know a lot of famous people live here. I just don’t know who lives where. There are a lot of fancy huge homes, of all different shapes and style. Some even look like some kind of spaceship from the future. Others are very traditional colonial style homes. The one common thread is that they are all HUGE and very expensive. We rode thru Santa Monica. I was thinking of the old TV show, Threes Company. It was set in Santa Monica. The opening scene shows Jack, Chrissie, and Janet roller skating along the boardwalk on the beach. The Santa Monica boardwalk is a fantastic place to people watch. It is clean and well used. You see everything from someone walking their dog to roller-skate dancing to street performers. The cement boardwalk goes for miles thru Santa Monica. You go past Venus beach where you can buy anything from the many street venders to muscle beach where men workout on the beach. The path leads you out of Santa Monica past the LA airport to Redondo Beach. The entire path is over 20 miles long. John met us in Redondo Beach. John,Rosie,Breena and Shallaney live in Torrance. John contacted us thru the website and asked if we needed a place to stay while we were in the area. The timing worked out wonderfully. Myron and I were really happy to have someone host us, since we haven’t had much of that while on the west coast. I guess that it is because there are so many cyclists out here. Where we were unique in other parts of the country. Day 288 - Mon 10-28-02 - mileage today 58.6 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 12,041.55 From Torrance to Dana Point HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART Today is my niece Lindsay's 11th birthday. Lindsay is a very social athletic girl. I hope her day is special. Thank you to John, Rosie, Brenna and Shallaney for their hospitality. We had a grand visit and meal. It was so nice to sleep inside and do laundry and have showers. Thank you. Today we went thru Long Beach where Myron was born. We visited several of the old home sights. It was like a RIDE down memory lane for Myron. One owner let Myron go inside and to Myron’s pleasure it was unchanged, even the old push button light switches. I was surprised at how easy it was to ride thru the whole Los Angeles area. I was dreading riding from Santa Monica to Newport. But it was very easy. There was a bike path for a long way. The surface streets thru Torrance to Huntington Beach were easy to ride. We couldn’t help to notice the many ships lined up waiting to be unloaded. I counted 31 ships just waiting to be slowly unloaded. It is sickening for us to see what the union slowdown is doing to our goods and economy. The union is terrorizing and holding all of us hostage for 300 union positions. We rode thru many affluent communities like Newport and Dana Point. We ended up a wonderful SP in Dana point. The hike and bike spot sits a few steps from busy railroad tracks. Day 289 - Tue 10-29-02 - mileage today 11.2 – MILEAGE TO DATE = 12,052.75 Lay Over in Dana Point Today we rested in Dana Point. There is a wonderful State Park in town. We spent the day goofing off. We only have about 60 miles and two days to go until we finish, so we are taking it easy the next few days. Denise and the kids will come out to meet us for dinner tonight. It is real strange to think that we are almost done. I still don’t know what to think. The trip has become a way of life. Getting up and packing. Cycling for 50-60 miles. Trying to find food and someplace to sleep, planning for tomorrows ride, unpacking and setting up camp and writing the journal. I'm trying to make sense of how I feel about the trip ending. It has been has been a wonderful trip full of many experiences. We have been privileged to meet many wonderful people and see many beautiful sights along the way. It has been full of challenges which helped to make us stronger. It has been full of good times. So I'm trying to understand my feelings about it ending. |
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