Day 16 - Pfeiffer State Park to San Simeon Campground- 71 miles
Hello all, first and foremost apologies for the belated update, in our defence it’s been fairly non-stop since finishing what with 1500 meter climbs up a certain Grand Canyon in the scorching sun, or recovering from the now infamous bug that sneakily infiltrated camp and wreaked havoc. Anyhow now sufficiently recuperated, we’ll go back to the day in hand.
The day got off to a hilly start, with all riders (bar Dom: who decided to go off in the opposite direction!) tackling a 1000 footer for breakfast to help settle the belly and get a good layer of sweat soaked in those shorts you cleaned in the shower last night. Unfortunately this was all a bit much for Chris who having swapped his usual pillow for one made of porcelain, was unable to continue.
The rest of us continued weaving our way up and down over the coastal road that makes up the Big Sur, with a bright blue sky to match the color of the ocean, crashing waves and the distant sound and smell of seals drifting from below it was definitely one of the most scenically rewarding days spent crushing ones nether regions in the saddle.
After 40 miles of riding I decided (Rhian) to have a sleep on the side of the road as I too was now feeling a little under the weather, must of made for a fairly interesting spectacle for all passerby’s seeing a cyclist spread eagle one the side of the road, clad in Lycra and gentle snoring. The ride flattened out thereafter and we decided to call the day short, due to illness. Got into bed early feeling sorry for myself and really not wanting to get back on a bike anytime soon.
17. San Simeon Camp site to Lompoc.
After a days recuperation, Christopher was back in the saddle. Definitely not feeling 100% but pluckily fighting through the weakness. We started rather slowly on what was supposed to be quite a long day. Only 25 miles were achieved by 12 o’clock this was mainly due to Peter’s recurring puncture problems, repaired inner tube was replaced by repaired inner tube and we battled on. On route we bumped in to a couple of tourers who were travelling south from San Francisco to then cut up across the country to New Jersey, their route taking them through the infamous “DEATH VALLEY” rather them eh?!?!
Charging along on relatively rolling terrain we passed through the university town of (San Luis Obisbo) (check!) and found ourselves stopping of at Wallys World Famous Bike Shop. Peter and I (the puncture brothers) stocked up on inner tubes while Rhian and Chris had their bikes assessed. After a brief analysis Rhian was informed that his rear cassette and front chain rings were completely worn and needed replacing, oh well only 4 days for them to hold out. Wally had a number of superb looking retro bicycles which everyone admired with glee. My Classic Steel framed Bianchi obviously felt right at home with the other stunning bikes on show.
Anyway on to Guadalupe for lunch. After leaving beautiful San Luis the landscape became extremely flat and dull, mostly agricultural, specializing in strawberries and celery and manned by Mexican immigrants. Guadalupe could best be described as a ghost town (don’t go there). After an assessment of our situation we decided to cut the ride short by 20 miles thus avoiding a hilly ending. We had one large 1000 foot climb to tackle and then cruised in to Lompoc for camp. I FELT FINE!
Lompoc to Santa Barbara to Leo Carrilo, 115 miles, day 18
The day started excellently with Tristan announcing to me that he felt sick. ‘You’re lying’ I said, fast becoming my standard response to his more flamboyant claims. Unfortunately he really was ill, but had bravely/foolishly decided to crack on with the 120 mile day anyway. The superhuman support team managed to prove they were actually a little bit human after all as they struggled with a flat battery, losing precious time in the quest for groceries and a meet up in Santa Barbara for lunch, 60 miles away.
About 10 miles in we began climbing what was our last significant climb of the ride, a 1000ft pain the backside which went uphill at the same shallow gradient for about 15 miles. Very tedious. Sadly this was where Tristan had to be collected by the delayed support team, after throwing up whilst on his bike. We all agreed that if he couldn’t keep up with me then this was very bad news for the team and therefore should be plonked into the back of the car.
After we descended from the mist of the hill we had about 40 miles to cover before we hit Santa Barbara. Fortunately the weather was overcast and cool but dry – the best conditions for covering a lot of miles quickly. The fact that the scenery was very flat and unremarkable further propelled us on.
Once in Santa Barbara the weather had become much sunnier and we headed towards the beach to meet the support team and an unwell Tristan reclining in the back. It was very difficult to get back on the bikes after an hour of lounging around in an immaculate beachside park, but we had another 50 miles to do. This second part of the journey made for quite unpleasant cycling as we were either riding on poorly maintained roads that jarred the body or on 4 lane highways that jarred the soul.
We arrived in Ventura to pick up supplies of snickers and skittles and managed to lose half an hour in the process. We then commenced the final push of the day, a mad dash to Leo Carillo State Park, situated 30 miles north of LA. As ever, the final miles seem to drag on the longest, whilst our effort levels would be at their highest - tasty barbeques and hot showers motivating us to the finish line. We raced to get in before dark, and pulled in just as the last remnants of sunlight dipped below the pacific.
The campsite itself was a bit of a dump, and we had been allocated a spot on the side of the hill, so some members of the team found themselves waking up at the wrong end of the tent in the morning. But we did manage to get a BBQ going and we all got clean after what proved to be one hell of a long day.
Day 19 -97 miles, Leo Carillo State Park to Dohoney State Park
The morning came to my attention with the gentle patter of rain on the thin exterior of my tent! It was around seven o clock and the days task seemed that bit more daunting with the addition of rain, but this was a task well practiced by now so we got to work with prepping the body’s and bikes for the days ride. We left early with the team in full strength, Tristan was back on the bike despite feeling the full force of the mystery bug, but we are a well hardened team so he pushed on.
After consulting the book (which was now affectionately being regarded to as the bible) we knew our main challenge of the day was going to be the sprawl of what was called L.A. The book/bible warned us of the dangers and said that one would have draw on all of ones cycling skill to navigate the dangerous smoggy, violent streets. We later found this to be one of the bigger exaggerations of the book as we gently plodded through the sleepy streets and idyllic beaches.
The first leg of the days ride we were treated to the truly stunning beach houses of Malibu, the precariously balanced multi-million dollar residents were a welcome distraction to the semi over cast day but the clouds were breaking and the mood lifting with every ray of sunshine and thought of the finish line. Another fun game which was a result of “bin collection day” was dustbin slalom, some bins slightly to close and the boys trying to recreate the moves better suited to slopes of Aspen resulted in some close calls but it all helped to pass the miles.
Finally after about 25 miles we started to penetrate the vastness of L.A and made our way onto the bike lanes dreaming of the scenes we had all seen on episodes of Bay Watch as young men! The first figure appeared on the horizon roller blading towards us back lit by the morning sun, all the bikes slowed ready to appreciate the Californian dream! Alas the image we were presented with was that of a rather over weight man in a vest and slightly too short shorts. The bikes rapidly picked up speed and made a rather more direct route south. We stopped on Venice beach for a spot of lunch, some left over BBQ and cheeses sandwiches with a rather ostentatious biscuit for after’s. The girls were enjoying a rather more subdued affair, a small jaunt up to the hills of Hollywood and some stars with names on them stuck to the floor we felt no resentment and pushed on in anticipation of the last day! One more puncture for Tristan was the perfect excuse for him to show off a rather to well-rehearsed procedure with speed and efficiency of a formula one pit crew. We were back on the road and making our way out! Total punctures now at 28!
The day grew hot and the legs tired of the constant stop start city riding but the last 25 miles looked flat and the bible predicted and easy out the final campsite. We turned the corner to be presented with a 25 mile slog of the American dream! Not the freedom of speech but mile after mile of faceless buildings mainly fast food, oil change, tyre outlets and rather dodgy looking shacks with rather reinforced steel doors and blacked out windows we did not stop apart forma well deserved burger king which could have been the catalyst for my (Dom) turn of the dreaded stomach bug. We pushed on and finally pulled into the campsite which was a rather strangely situated in the middle of a built up area with a train track meters form the tents. This did not cause much of an issue as we rolled in ate and proceeded to pass out with the Mexican border in our dreams. By this time the bug had got a hold of me and resulted in many visits to the facilities throughout the night. Two hours sleep later and we were ready to smash the last day!
Day 20 Doheny Beach Park - Mexican Border (Tijuana)
We decided to get up early as we wanted enough time to get back to the hostel for the inevitably massive celebration after the ride. Dom ended up being the final victim of the mysterious runny bum disease and only managed a couple of hours sleep but decided he couldn’t miss out on the last day so got on his bike like a champion. We also forgot to bring the guide book with us so ventured off blindly towards San Diego. After all, surely you just follow the coastline to the border right? Wrong. We happily cruised along cycle routes and RV parks for 30 miles and couldn’t believe our luck until we happened across a military base impeding our path to San Diego. We were beginning to contemplate doing a U-turn and retrieving the guide book, tail between legs, when a guardian angel in the shape of an ironman athlete who looked remarkably like Chris arrived and explained that we might be able to blag our way onto and through the base. Only Rhian had any form of ID so we didn’t fancy our chances, but our angel managed to explain the situation to the guards and after a couple of minutes deliberation they let us on. With the ironman angel on board and setting a challenging pace, we were making very good time and had reached the halfway point ahead of schedule. We even had time to check the various RAAM (Race across America) competitors begin their training before they set off. Seeing the GB team in their immaculate cycle gear and hearing of their intentions of cycling 3000 miles in under a week certainly made us feel like the five ordinary guys that we are! But it also spurred us on to drag ourselves to the border, including poor Dom, who was really suffering from the illness and fatigue.
We hit San Diego and stopped off for lunch in front of a giant medical centre. The support team arrived and topped us up with water and we were ready for the final 30 mile stretch to the border. We now had the guide book which was a relief as the route to the border is a highly complex one that led us through dirt tracks, up and down steep hills and along busy industrial roads. By the time we were within 10 miles of the border we were going at a snails pace, feeling the heat and effects of 20 days hard cycling. We knew we were on the right track when the traffic started picking up to what was gridlock for the last mile or so. Fortunately as cyclists we managed to glide through all the angry horn-beeping Mexicans to arrive at the pedestrian border, which was also extremely busy, presumably because it was a Friday afternoon.
And so it ends. We were all obviously elated to have finished the ride but struggled to take in what we had done - even now it hasn’t really sunk in. The expected celebratory party ended up being a fairly quiet evening at TGI Fridays with a couple of beers and cocktails; all of us too shattered to do any epic partying.
All that is left is for the five of us to say thank you to all of those that have supported us, either with donations or encouraging messages. We would also like to thank the tireless efforts of the support team. They put up with a lot of our moans and groans and helped us when we were succumbing to illness. They also kept the blog updated and encouraged people to donate that little bit more. So THANK YOU!
And on that note, please please please donate what you can now that we have completed our epic ride. We know some of you were going to donate after we finished so now that we have please don’t forget!
The web address for the donations page is : http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/VancouvertoTijuanaRide2011
Love,
The boys x
P.S. We are sorry the blog has been bereft of any visual imagery but if you hold on for a couple of weeks, I (Peter) will add a PDF file of all the good pics for you to download and peruse at your leisure.
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