Day Four

Wake up: 5:15am
Ride out: 7:25am
Arrive: 5:20pm
Miles: 94
Avg speed: 14.5mph–I found my cyclometer would work if I pulled it out of its holder and licked its backside every few hours.

Absolutely spectacular day of riding. Cool morning of biking along the Pacific, then moving inland to beautiful green landscape with the sun burning off the last patches of fog. Back to the ocean to ride along Pismo Beach and finally back inland to camp in Santa Maria.

But best of all–tremendous tail winds most of the day.

Winds are a big deal to me because I ride a hybrid (dork!) Instead of a cool, much lighter road bike. That means I sit more upright than road bike riders and catch more wind. Plus I’m built a bit more broadly than those scrawny–I mean, skinny–I mean, lean and supple serious cyclists who love to cruise past me, so I catch more wind for that reason too.

We hit the halfway to LA marker today! I spent 45 minutes waiting in line just to get a pic of myself at the sign.

Toughest bit of the day: climbing up a short 21% grade hill. Short but the toughest hill so far. You can only go so slowly without falling over, and lots people had to walk it because they couldn’t get enough air. I made it, though someone almost tipped over and hit me, which would have knocked me into traffic. If that hill had been 50 yards longer it would have bested me.

Moment of the day: we get a lot of people coming out to cheer us on, but today there was a sweet 50ish lady in a tiny hamlet in central California sitting in a simple lawn chair holding a hand-printed cardboard sign saying, “You are riding for me” and calling out in a happy voice,”Thank you!”

Moment of the day.