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Turning right. #cycletouring #foggy #cycling #pacificcoasthighway #makearight (at San Simeon, California)

#pacificcoasthighway #foggy #cycletouring #makearight #cycling

Final day of cycling! End point: Santa Monica Pier. A fulfilling yet sad moment.

Day 56 - Port Hueneme to Santa Monica (last day of my cycle tour)

18th July Today's the last day. It's a strange one. I felt nostalgic as we cycled out of the last hotel that me and Larry would stay in. I couldn't help but think, tomorrow, things will be different. My habits in the morning have become ritualistic. And that was going to change. We cycled out and begun our last 45 miles. It was a very easy ride. The route was flat and simple. The only difficult part was cycling through Malibu. While the houses were as you'd expect - huge, excessively grand mansions, there was a lot of traffic. With little to no hard shoulder, keeping focused was crucial. I didn't want to crash into George Clooney's Lamborghini. It'd be a great story to tell if I had, and expensive one at that. We rode on, and hopped onto a bike path. Before we knew it, we were in Santa Monica. My official end point was the pier. As we wound along the bike path, sand on either side with the pier drawing near, I slowed right down. And that's when I knew I'd miss this. I wanted that moment to last forever. I felt numb. If you'd have told me I've just cycled the Pacific coast I wouldn't believe you. It seems absurd. We arrived and took what felt like hundreds of photos of Larry and I. Why not! This moment will only happen once. We then moved onto our fancy hotel. It was our final day and my birthday! I had imagined my evening spent in a huge bubble bath with a glass (or bottle) of champagne in my hand. Unfortunately this did not happen...there was no bath. My alternative was just as good. I had dinner with my Dad in an old English pub. A Cornish pasty, a cider and good conversation. This is a day I will remember.

#cycletouring

Lompoc to Goleta. Only 132 miles to Los Angeles!

Day 54 - Lompoc to Goleta

16th July The omelet for breakfast was one of a kind. We had a hill early on in the ride. I didn't find it that hilly - no more than normal. My Dad didn't like me saying that, as he was almost at the point of despair. He swore at me in a respectful fatherly tone. More interestingly, he had a moment. Questioning what he was doing cycling here. All this made me happy. Not because I'm a horrible person but because I have had all these same thoughts and moments. I just had no one to direct my swear words at. I distracted him by utilising the power of conversation. I think it worked. I talked to him about Christmas. We stopped for lunch at Refugio State Park for lunch. The beach was busy with weekend family goers. My Dad almost fell asleep and Larry almost fell over (sand is not his strongest terrain). My Dad attempted to give me a large heavy rock as a present (I'd have to carry it!), I declined as I knew his motive was to slow me down. Leaving the park, I had a flicker of a moment. I felt sad! After today, I have 2 days riding left. It doesn't feel right. It feels like I have been away for months, even years! The final 15 miles were easy and flat, we managed to get to the hotel early.

Perfect time of day to catch the shadow dead centre. Taken somewhere between Pismo Beach and Lompoc, CA #shadow #streetphotography #satisfying #ocdclean #perfecttiming

#perfecttiming #shadow #streetphotography #satisfying #ocdclean

Day 53 - Pismo Beach to Lompoc

15th July Who knew it was still very much a mental game, even having someone beside you. It's still runs through your mind that you will be cycling for 5 hours, that's if all goes to plan. Which today it didn't. Once I got my head in the game and realised that I had no choice but go to Lompoc, it wasn't such a bad day. But it was a long day. We took a different route to the map as the hotel had taken us off course. We stopped for a lunch pizza. It was so cheesy, a post pizza nap option would have appreciated. We knew soon after lunch there was a horrible hill coming up. We climbed around 10% before my Dad got a convenient flat tyre! I don't want to jinx it, but I have been fortunate enough not to have one on my whole trip!! Our efficiency at fixing the tyre impressed me, we may just work well as a team! The elevation of the climb wasn't bad, it's that it was so hot. For a moment I thought I'd spontaneously combust and my Dad would have to find his own way to LA. Both of us were close to overheating. Oh and we were running out of that dangerously additive liquid that is needed for survival - water. Lompoc was our stop. We ate in a typical diner and I ordered a dish that included gravy. PSA for UK folks: our version of gravy is different from their gravy. I can tell you with confidence that ours is better (my opinion). Their gravy is still good. I ate every last damn thing on that plate. Okay, so Dad's snoring still enrages me. I feel the annoyance rise up with every inhale. Most nights I have to go sleep with music on quite loud and my head under a pillow. I wonder, did humans snore thousands of years ago? Is this a current thing, that'll go out of style soon?

Turri Road, Los Osos. What a beautiful road to have cycled. #turriroad #beautiful #blackandwhite #cycletouring #trekbikes #illmissthisplace (at Los Osos, California)

#beautiful #cycletouring #blackandwhite #turriroad #illmissthisplace #trekbikes

Turri Road (just passed Morro Bay) felt like a whole new world. New colours, new landscape. Route from Cayucos to Pismo Beach.

Day 51/52 - Cayucos to Pimso Beach + Pismo Beach rest day

13th July Guys, it's been 51 days. I feel like I haven't addressed the day count enough. It hit me that I've been going to quite a while now. Today's ride was an easy one. We went through a new kind of landscape, a welcome change as long as it doesn't mean more hills. The road went through a valley full of yellow, straw coloured fields. The colours reminded me of Africa. We stopped countless times to take photos. One of the benefits of taking this route is sometimes it'll take you off a highway in light of a route that is incredibly scenic. We stopped for a Starbucks, and I had to explain to my dad for the 50th time which town we are staying in. He is so terrible at remembering names, it makes me wonder how he remembers the names of the people he works with. The hotel was up a steep hill which is typical. I did some work in the evening - booking hotels, mapping routes. 14th July Clothes, pens, receipts, notebook and a padlock. These are some of the things I have thrown out today in the (desperate) hope that Larry will shed a few pounds. My Dad was brutal, and ended up chucking quite a bit. His ruthlessness inspired me. It's another rest day! We walked across from our hotel to some shops and wandered. In the supermarket, we found the UK section! I got Maltesers and Dad got a Ripple. I almost took the Lion Bar but I didn't want to take that experience from an American.For dinner, we both had exactly the same as we had last night. Living it up! Both my Dad and I bought caps (hats) over the last week and we love them almost too much. I got mine up Big Sur and my Dad got his at the elephant seal beach. We both have to wear them whenever we say and we make a point to wear them when brushing our teeth. Don't ask why. 4 days left cycling and I'm free!

Ragged Point to Cayucos.

Day 50 - Ragged Point to Cayucos

12th July American pancakes for breakfast, that's not a bad start. The riding terrain today was the opposite to yesterday. It was flat and we could move at speed. We saw the elephant seals, they move pretty quick considering how uncomfortable they look moving. Aggressive little things (they are actually quite large). And definitely not elephants. It was very foggy today, this resulted in some very moody photos. It's nice to have a change in weather. The fog also meant we were out of the sun. Top tip: one way to make me cycle faster is for my Dad to cycle behind me and sing. That'll do the trick. Our end point was Cayucos, seems the perfect town to retire in. Beautiful beaches, nice people, one long street with everything you need. Great location between LA and San Francisco, you could easily get to either city within a few hours. That's driving by the way, not cycling! Unlike driving where you may measure distance via how many hours it'll take you, cycling you measure in days. If you're unlucky, in weeks.

Early morning view. Cycling from Big Sur to Ragged Point. FYI there are some serious hills here. #pacificcoast #morning #travelblogger #noonetoldmetherewerehills #raggedpoint #cycletouring

#noonetoldmetherewerehills #cycletouring #travelblogger #raggedpoint #morning #pacificcoast

A few photos of the Big Sur/ Ragged Point route.

#pacificcoast #cycletouring

Day 49 - Big Sur to Ragged Point

11th July Today is one of the toughest days on my ride. Yesterday was bad, today is worse. It's a longer ride with over 4500ft of elevation and winding roads. The whole days ride was like a blur, the day felt both short and long. Looking back, I don't recognise the photos I took. Breakfast felt like days ago. For lunch we had fish and chips at a restaurant that claimed to be in the US top 10 recommended place for fish and chips. It seemed strange to have such a big meal at midday. But it was delicious. A post meal nap would have been appreciated. The owner of the restaurant told us of a beach a few miles down the road where people collect jade. She said there are 2 kinds of rock on the beach, the first is obviously jade. The second, is what the locals call 'leaveitright.' As in leave it right there, that ain't jade. I found that quite funny. Stopping at the various vista points on the route, we spoke to so many people. They were supposed to be rest stops but we would end up chatting to people for 20 minutes! As the day went on my Dad succumbed to walking a few times and our water supply shrank to almost nil. Arriving at Ragged Point really was a welcome sight. For dinner I had a curry that almost burnt my mouth right off. I tackled a few bites. In an attempt to serve a fancy curry dish, they put all the rice in the curry. The rice was gone for good, swallowed in a sea of death spice.

Our journey to Big Sur. We wondered where all the other cycle tourers were. Were we the only crazy ones to cycle this?

Day 48 - Seaside to Big Sur

10th July We left early to beat the traffic and heat. We had 3 distinct hills to climb today, the last being Big Sur (the largest). We had read online comments the night before about cycling Big Sur. That it was dangerous and there was no hard shoulder so cyclists should be cautious. But people are dramatic aren't they. It really wasn't that bad. Yeah, at times there was no hard shoulder and yes some RV's went passed. I'll also admit there were strong gusts of wind that could have blown me off the cliff face. I say it's all circumstantial. There wasn't one car that got too close, I didn't shake my head in annoyance all day! I couldn't shake my head if I wanted to, most likely I'd lose balance and that'd be it for me. People need to try the Oregon coast with logging trucks. But I would say, you really do need to have your wits about you and stay focused. One wrong move and it honestly could be fatal. Oh and you need to trust your brakes. After spending most of the route hugging the coast, the Big Sur hill was a slow trudge and as the route took us inland, there was no wind. It was hot. Sweat down your face, in your eyelids, drops falling from the creases where your elbow bends kind of hot. Ok that's graphic enough. I fear the further south we go the more we'll have to deal with heat like this. It's ok, my pores are cleaner than ever. And that's what matters. Climbing the hill as gracefully as we could, we reached our hotel at the highest point of Big Sur. It's a stunning hotel, one that my Dad booked.

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