Childhood Dreams
This childhood dream thing is really happening. I lived in Morro Bay, on a 30 foot sailboat, from 8 to 12 years old — the Marina and State Park Campground were my playgrounds. My best friend lived in the trailer behind the Bayside Cafe. When I moved to Ventura, I’d regularly take the bus back to see my friend. Just after I moved, I got my first real bike, a Schwinn High Sierra mountain bike. As I sat on the bus I started to form this dream of a multi-week long adventure in the summer. I planned some of it, even bought some gear, but at the time it was just too big of adventure, but now, here I am, living it.
Big Climbs
Day three was the big climb day. We were up and out of our AirBnB host’s home before they had awoken. We planned to take the long way round, through Vandenberg and Lompoc steering clear of highways 135 and 246. The morning started with a whole lot of up downs as we traveled on and next to the Cabrillo Highway from Orcutt, near Vandenberg, and into Lompoc. This section of Highway is quite beautiful, not too much traffic, wide shoulders and nearly 2000’ of climbing. We stopped for breakfast in Lompoc, at Cajun Kitchen Cafe.
Beautiful Climbing Continues
Leaving Lompoc on Highway 1 are beautiful rolling hills on a freshly paved road. The next section was just under 20 miles with another 2000’ of climbing. I wish I had looked a bit more closely for spots to stop because right next to us were the White Hills, a unique diatomaceous earth hill. Most of the hills are grazing ranches and so we were regularly greeted by cows and goats. With nearly 40 miles of climbing, it’s always great to reach the summit. The downhill did not take 40 miles, but instead 1100’ in only 5 miles. Going down the Gaviota Pass was quite a thrill. My thrill limit is at about 35 mph. A quick stop for a picnic lunch, at the Gaviota rest stop and we were back at it.
Highway 101
I had seen bicycle tourists a million times driving this stretch of Freeway – now I was one of them. While the noise of high speed traffic is not relaxing, the beauty and calm of the Pacific Ocean continually in your right view balances it out nicely. Our original plan was to stay at Refugio State Beach, but the host told us that the Hike & Bike at El Capitan Campground was even better. I was very tired at this point, but the thought of floating in the ocean kept me moving. El Capitan campground has a great ocean view. After an unexpected delicious dinner across the road at El Capitan Canyon Market & Deli, I went and floated in the Pacific.
