Second longest day of the ride. Unlike the morning in Santa Cruz, everyone was up and moving from the tents much more quickly. Everyone up early and on the road early. Guess everyone learns their lessons :-).
Day 3's ride surprised me in the ride being more beautiful than I had expected. Large oaks lined the roads. Of course it may just having been riding through the vineyards that made me think it was so nice. Day 4, I had been told had a little bit of everything to ride through; farmland, woods, canyons, beach, city, etc... Today as we rode through Pismo Beach it felt, for the first time on the ride, as if we were transitioning from Northern California to Southern California. Pismo Beach is a gorgeous beach with the surf shacks and surfers to go with them. One of the most enjoyable riding days scenery wise.
Above: Waiting for Bike Parking to open at 6:00 am.
A few miles after rest stop one begins the climbs up the 'Evil Step Sisters'. Two large hills to climb as far as the Lifecycle is concerned. At the top of the second is the official 'Half Way' mark. It's a beautiful outlook over the valleys all the way to the coast. The wind was blowing strongly. Mind you all week I'm hearing stories of how much fun descending the Evil Twins is with some riders 'claiming' to reach speeds of 49-51 miles per hour. Hogwash!! With the headwind going down the back side I was lucky if I reached 35 mph. It was a nice looooooooooong downhill, but to put that in perspective the tailwind going into King City that was pushing me up a hill had me going 22-25 mph. I felt as if I should have asked for my money back.
Above: Me strong.
Below: The cheering kids in San Luis Obispo.
Rounding a corner in San Luis Obispo to loud cheers and screaming was an awesome surprise. I treasured the pipe-cleaner contraptions the kids made and gave out. It was a great moment.
Today was also the day I was talked into going to the Hot Springs by Will. Very glad I took the time to stop and rest in the warm water. Good for the sore muscles. I do sincerely apologize to line of women I was passing towards the end of the day. Lifecycle does a great job of drilling into your head the need to be mindful of others safety at all times and to follow vehicle laws so as to not put the ride permits in jeopardy. All week I've been screaming 'On your left' or similar warning as I passed riders. For some reason as I was passing these women, I was saying 'On your RIGHT'. I was completely oblivious to what I was saying till I was passing the last rider and I realized what I was saying and corrected myself. Of course the last rider was shaking tell me that I was scaring her. She heard me on the left, but I was saying on the right, and I confused her. My apologies.
I was scared later as we were climbing El Campo. I was flashed by Ms. Bullhorn lady towards the top of the climb. Nearly fell over when I saw her chest ;-) To be fair, I don't think she was flashing me, but rather the woman in front of me. Thank God.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
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