Hi everyone,
We started our day in Lompoc by having breakfast at McDonald's next door. Hap went over and got us carry out so we could finish packing up the bike. Don't worry it was a "healthy" breakfast afterall we are in California. We started out in bright sunny skies with temps in the 70's. Since Lompoc is on the east side of the mts from the coast we of course started our day with a 14 mile climb. It was pretty gradual so not so bad. The scenery has changed again to the golden brown hills of California. There were several burn areas that we rode through. Once we started downhill we were riding along the coast once again. Just along the waters edge. It was beautiful riding. Rt 1 was mostly four lane with a very wide berm for us to ride on. Oh, we had one interesting thing happen as we were coming down the hill. Tell me what you think, maybe I'm biased. There were three lanes. Coming towards us there were two (one was a passing lane up the hill) and we had one lane and a nice berm. The berm had alot of gravel, dirt, some glass and grating. We got up to speeds of about 50 mph so Hap moved out into the downhill lane. There was hardly any traffic. Most of them just moved over and usually waved. But one lady as she went around us "motioned" through her sun roof that we had to move onto the berm. But at 50 mph we didn't feel it was safe to do that. There was one car behind her, which she held up because she was so busy helping us drive. Sometimes I just don't understand. We stop and get off the road anytime we back up traffic or have more than one or two cars blocked but when there is a clear road, and no traffic it just makes no sense to us. Oh well, we all made it down the hill safely. She probably got to her "hair appt or whatever" on time. And by the way how fast was she going if the speed limit was 55 and we were going 50 and she passed us pretty fast......
Once we got to the coast we stopped at Refugio State Beach to check on camping. From now until we get south of LA the camping is going to be sparse. In fact, we called the only campground for about 90 miles and they wanted $43 to pitch a tent! You've got to be kidding. I wouldn't pay that to pitch a tent. After looking over the map, we decided to stay at Refugio that would break up our ride through LA. It was a short day but it ended up being a good decision. The hiker/biker sites were right on the beach. It was a beautiful day. We spent the rest of the day walking on the beach, watching the surfers, and porpoises. What a great spot. We did get in trouble with the warden though. We pitched our tent in the wrong place (even though it said hiker/biker) so we had to move the tent. For dinner we cooked spaghetti and green beans. A hiker came in and set up his "camp" which consisted of a piece of plastic and a sleeping bag. He vaguely said he travels from Alaska to California working various jobs. It's going to take awhile to get used to the transient people. People who just walk or bike from place to place work for awhile and then move on.
We got up in the morning and ate our usual oatmeal for breakfast and headed south on Rt 1 again. It was once again a beautiful sunny southern CA morning. We rode through Santa Barbara again. We had done this on our previous trip down the coast. The last time Hap went through it so fast because he was trying to "beat the lights" that I couldn't see anything. So this time I made him slow down some. We got lost in Santa Barbara but fumbled our way through again! We stopped at an IHOP for lunch and some great crepes. The rest of the day we had trouble following the instructions in the book "Bicycling the Pacific Highway". But finally made it to our final destination of McGarth State Beach. We had arranged to meet another Alpha patient, Karen Erickson for dinner. We got there set up camp, took a shower and Karen picked us up. We had a great dinner with her at an Italian restaurant. It sure didn't take long to get to sleep!
This morning we got alittle bit of a late start because I had a migraine. Thank goodness for Imitrex. Karen was planning to meet up with us to ride today near Leo Carrillo State Beach. We had about a 20 mile ride to get there. Most of it was right on Rt 1. There was some traffic but it really wasn't bad. We really enjoyed the scenery today, it was awesome. We met up with Karen and rode with her. We stopped in Malibu for lunch. It was really interesting meeting another Alpha patient who rides with oxygen on their bike like Dugan. It's amazing what you are able to do if you really want to do it. It's kindof like our bike ride. People have told us that what we are doing is pretty amazing but I think being able to ride your bike with 29% lung function is super incredible. It would be sort of like riding while breathing through a little straw. We had a wonderful time with Karen and hope to see her again soon. After leaving her we rode on toward the airport, hoping that we could find a least expensive hotel there. We rode on a neat bike trail right on the beach in Venice. Then we got off the trail and headed toward the hotel. That was when things really got interesting. We had a heck of a time trying to find good roads but eventually we did. We even had two people stop and give us directions. Who knew that people would be that way in LA.? When we got close to the airport it looked like we were getting on a freeway but it turned out to be a road with a bike lane. And it was even the right road. We made it to the Comfort Inn, had Chinese food, got our laundry done and had a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we are riding through more LA traffic to our niece and nephew's house. Good night.
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