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Today we spent the whole day exploring Big Sur. First we had to push  our bikes up the detour trail to connect to the road as the connecting bridge is still under construction. The bridge is the only means for people to leave Big Sur at the northern end so the trail is actually a connector for residents to get to the other side. If they want to leave they must walk the distance every time. If has been a burden for them for over half a year. Anyway once at the top we asked a guy Yoni who had a van if he would drive us to the mudslide in the south of Big Sur for money and he agreed so we put our bikes into the van and off we went. He is a song writer for news companies. He pointed out points of interest along the way.  We reached the barricade for the mud slide in no time and started biking north. The landscape was breathtaking and the roads were practically empty since the bride is closed so biking was easy. We reached Lucia and had our lunches on a deck with a million dollar view. We then headed up the coast and stopped at Pfeiffer Park to see the waterfall. It was a nice hike. We continued north with the fog and the faint barking of seals below . We climbed Down the trail  with lots of stairs,  had dinner and biked back to the cabin.

it was a great day!

    Big Sur     Today we left camp onto a beautiful bike path along the water to Monterey. Coming into Monterey were harbors with waterfront restaurants, lots of boats moored and otter swimming on their backs among the kelp as that is their feeding grounds. We biked by tall cypress trees on one side and ocean on the other side. Surfers were along the coast trying to catch the perfect wave. Seals barked like dogs as they perched themselves on rocks. We headed up 7 mile drive past multimillion dollar homes with outstanding views of the water. We passed by Pebble Beach and Lone Cypress tree. We ate our lunches at Seal rock where we watched seals play in the ocean as they were leaping out of the water into the air- they are very aerobatic! We headed on to Carmel by the sea and passed by homes with wooden shingle roofs and they resembled expensive hobbit homes. We then headed off the Pennisula of Carmel to Big Sur where 4 of us rented a cabin for 2 nights. It’s nice to be warm and sleep in a bed.

it was a great day!

today we had to put out breakfast for everyone. You put all the good out and make hot water and coffee and put out lunch meat, snacks , peanut butter and coffee. We still got on the road after 8:15.

It was a beautiful  day in the 60’s to 70’s with a small tail wind. We had fog in the morning but it cleared up as the day went on. We had fabulous donuts in Santa Cruz and went along the ocean road which is closed to cars on Sunday. They had a little fectival all no the shore road. We watched the surfers catch large waves along the cliffs. We biked passed the infamous Santa Cruz Lighthouse. We ate lunch at a State Park and reached camp just in time for a shower before dinner.

it was a great day!

 

today was a cooking day for Mark and me and also a meetup day after our time off in SanFrancisco. Since everyone arrived later than expected we decided not to ride the 53 miles so we would have time to dry out our tents, set them up , do some laundry and prepare for dinner which was country style ribs, corn on cob, cole slaw, beans and cupcakes.  I did see a flock  of 50+ birds flying south for the winter which was a bit of a contrast from the air show planes we have seen for the past 2 days.However we drove along the beautiful shore and was able to help out Charlie who had a flat and we went shopping for the ribs.

it was a great day !

Today we had off so we took a 5 hour tour via boat, walking and touring on a bus tour of SanFrancisco.  It is Fleet week and we saw a small aircraft carrier come into port as we took our boat tour to Sausalito. As we crossed the Golddn Gate Bridge we saw the Canadian Snowbirds perform over the bridge and bay. The tour was great as we went to Palace of Fine Arts, saw the house from Full House and toured Chinatown all while the Blue Sngels were buzzing us from above. It was amazing. We also walked down Lombard street and toured the Cable car museum. After dinner with Marks nephew and wife we took a cable car ride through the city of lights and a full moon.

it was a great day!

today was supposed to be a 70+ mile day but a bunch of us opted to take the shuttle to Sausalito and bike into SanFrancisco over the Golden Gate Bridge so we would have more time in the city.   It was a good decision because it is Fleet week in SanFrancisco and the blue angels were performing over the San Francisco Bay! How lucky for us to arrive at the time they were performing. We were at the Sausalito visitor center. Nevertheless it was a thrill to be able to watch the show. I love SanFrancisco and it was quite exciting. I felt very lucky to be there.

We then headed across the bridge on bike and as we did a blue angel flew right over us! Wow!

so we worked our way to Ocean Beach and found our support van, dropped off our bikes and headed into the city. We enjoyed a Chinese dinner, walked up a million stairs to Coit Tower and saw the remains of the sunset as well as the rising of the beautiful yellow harvest full moon over the Oakland bridge and then headed to Marks nephew and wife’s house for the night.

it was a great day !

today we left Camp after a warm night’s sleep in the cabin. It was very chilly as we headed out by the sea. We heAded by fields of grazing cattle and lighthouses in the distance. Of course we continued on our roller coaster journey by the shore. The fog was an extra today as it would suddenly appear and disappear. It made us chilly but also intrigued by its beauty along the shore. We headed up above the sea level and fog where construction workers were repaving the road . It is a constant struggle to keep the road safe from rock slides.  The ride down the mountain was fun and exhilarating! I kept hearing my mothers voice”why are you doing this? Can’t you stay at home?” But she would be happy that I was doing this ride. We made it the 71 miles to Bodega Bsy in sunshine and had a nice meal at the Boat House in town.

it was a great day!

After a very chilly night and crashing waves and wind we arose and readied outselves for today’s adventure. We Headed out of our campsite onto a bike path which used to be the road beside the sea. It was lovely as the light shine on the sea Stacks and. Ives along the way. There are very few towns along the way and one must stop at any store when they see it if the need refreshments. The roads are quite curvy and when they head inland you know you are going to go down then u-turn it up on the other side and go up the hill.. sometimes the hills are quite steep!! We made it to camp and got s heated cabin for 3 as it was going to be cold again. It was a good decision. When the sun drops at night the temperature goes down quickly. I have been surprised how cold it has been along the coast but fortunately have warm clothing that I wear almost every day!

It was s great day!

 

today was a Big climbing day. We have climbed every day and have 45,000 feet that we have climbed so far on this trip. But today we climbed for about 6 miles on a windy road with big trucks who were very good. The nice thing about climbing is you go down but it was chilly so you have to be prepared to put a jacket on for the descent. After our first climb we had another climb except on the descent we were rewarded by seeing the ocean and it was a tail wind!! Very nice. The views from the road are phenomenal! We had lunch alongside the road out of the wind. We make our lunches everyday although we usually eat lunch in small towns. But we still eat our sandwiches. We also pack snacks which are gone very quickly. Today we stopped in Westport a very small don’t blink or you will miss it town. I had a nice refreshing Coca Cola there. California seems to be Pepsi country and it is always nice to have Coke. After we headed up and down along the coast through a eucalyptus grove and by pine trees which resemble large bonsai. After stopping at a local store for an ice cream we made it to camp along the ocean. Fortunately a large meadow and trees protect us from the wind coming across the ocean. It is quite a chilly night and we all hung out by the fire. Everyone is bundled up in their warm tents for the night.it was s great day !

we finished for the day in Weott in a nice campground.

it was s great day!