BtCnJ tOUrs - the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey

8
California Here I come... continued
The climb by Big Sur was challenging, especially with a 39
tooth chainring, but once that was behind me it was up and down
all day. It became repetitive after awhile...climb, ocean view, sweeping
turn to the left, descend, slow down for a tight right hand turn
in the canyon, climb - repeat and repeat. People warned me about
the dangers on this road but there was plenty of room for cyclists, its
remote...there’s not alot of there out there, but definitely a stretch of
road that I encourage you to ride. At mile 80, the road flattens out, I
had favorable tailwinds and got rolling at a good 20mph, topped out
at 31 at one point!
At mile 99.5 for the day I heard a different sound coming
from the bike and trailer. The best noise a bike makes is silence and
I thought it may be just road noise. I checked in, sat down for a rest,
checked the computer, 99.9 for the day and then realized the trailer
had a flat! This, as it turned out was my biggest mechanical problem
and I could fix it after I took a shower.
An easy day planned, Cambria to San Luis Obispo, 40 miles.
Farmlands and headwinds, feeling pretty beat from the previous
days century, I arrived in SLO, as the locals call it, with plenty of
daylight left. I stayed at a friend’s house, it was nice being in a home
again after about a week on the road - not to mention a washer and
dryer. The Mexican food and Margarita we shared that night was
delicious!
I was rolling down the 101 about an
hour before sunset thinking about the
train that took me north a week ago
Another big day planned for Saturday, 100 miles from SLO
to Santa Barbara. Up early and out the door, south along the coast,
through farmland, making good time. At mile 60, in Lompoc, I saw a
road sign telling me Santa Barbara is 55 miles away. Ok, this is going
to be a real long day! There was a long gradual climb out of Lompoc
that must have gone on for 5 miles to what would be the highest
point of the trip. There’s always something thrilling about seeing the
diamond signs with the picture of the truck announcing the percentage
grade and distance down, “Trucks Use Low Gear, 7% 2 miles”.
At the bottom of this grade, Route 1 meets Route 101 at
the Gaviota Pass, and takes a 90 degree sweeping turn east and runs
along the coast to Santa Barbara. And yes, tailwinds! I was rolling
down the 101 about an hour before sunset thinking about the train
that took me north a week ago. Didn’t it pass here about the same
time of day? Maybe I’ll see it? Sure enough, a couple miles down
the road, here comes the Amtrak Coast Surfliner heading north. Solo
bike touring can be a lonely time and little things seem important -
seeing the train brought a smile to my face, just a little bit of excitement
in an otherwise long day on the bike.
Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, the mountains, the ocean,
Spanish architecture and redtiled roofs. I was exhausted, had some
dinner at the nearby Whole Foods and went to bed! My last day going
into LA, Venice Beach actually, is going to be another long one,
ninety miles.
When I got up and moving in the morning, which means
drinking too much coffee in a Santa Barbara coffeeshop and looking
at maps, I recalculated the distance and its not 90 miles, more like
125. OK, this will be my longest day in the saddle, hope for tailwinds
and put on the lights if necessary. Time in the saddle!
There’s a section of California coast where the only road is
Highway 101, about 10 miles of being on what amounts to a freeway!
Fortunately there’s a marked bike lane and I found the drivers
to be pretty bike friendly. Once I got off the 101, it was back to
surface streets and some back roads. The maps from the Adventure
Cycling Association are excellent. If you plan to do some touring,
join the association and get their maps.
I stopped for a break, at about the 60 mile mark, which
mean more coffee and more Nutella, I again checked the maps and
the 125 became 90 again. I love making mistakes! Thirty miles to
Venice - the trip was more International than I originally planned,
China(town) to Venice - but first some serious climbing around
Malibu. I’m a climber, generally a non competitive person - except
when it comes to climbing - so even though it was the end of a long
day, I was pushing a 39 tooth chainring and pulling a 40 pound
trailer, when I got passed on a climb by some youngster on a road
bike, it was game on! He slowed a bit about half way up the mile
long climb, I dug in deep, caught him, smiled as I passed him and
reminded him that I was old enough to be his Dad. By the way, I’ll
see ya’ll on Rae Avenue!
Venice Beach is an interesting place. If you have a cousin
that you haven’t seen since the ‘60s or an artist friend who’s been
missing for in a while, they are probably in Venice hanging out on
the beach. Surprisingly, after another Pacific Coast Sunset Freeshow,
the strip was deserted. At sunrise, they were back - artists
and craftspeople selling their goods, street rat kids on skateboards,
homeless people with dogs, fashionable tourists eating breakfast
and me, on my bike, with my trailer drinking it all in...the adventure is
almost done, just have to get back to Redlands.
I opted for the ride/train/ride method to get back to Redlands.
It would have been another 90 mile day, through the streets
of Los Angeles, fighting traffic all day and I was not up to the challenge.
I rode instead back to LA Union Station hopped on MetroLink
and found myself back in Redlands, back at the local coffeeshop by
mid afternoon. From a purist stand point, when it comes to bike
touring, I think that taking ferries and trains doesn’t dilute the experience,
it adds to it. I’d be very hesitant to burn fossil fuel in a car,
except in an emergency.
So that’s it...nothing went wrong, everything according to
plan. I didn’t have to eat my shoes or cut my arm off - I have no good
stories to tell - just me on my bike doing what I do. You know where
to find me if you want to talk bike touring, or racing, or commuting,
whatever it is, just go ride your bike!
Elliot Kalmus is a cyclist. He commutes, tours, pushes the pace on group
rides, climbs and, mostly, appreciates the freedom and joy of cycling. He
will often say...”cycling is like love, it’s all about balance and trust” and
“c’mon, it’ll be fun”. He can be found at Ridgewood Cycle Shop.