April 20th

To Plaskett Creek Campground- 36 mi, 3ish hours

Open invitation to any family/friends- if you can come visit us, please do! It would be a great excuse for us to go drive through Big Sur!! No really, I'm serious :) Big Sur has some of the most amazing scenery in the country. The water varies between a deep blue to a bright/light blue in the shallows. The cliffs are steep, with lots of rocky out croppings. The slopes are filled with millions of wild flowers and song birds. When we left our campsite early this morning, there was very little traffic and we could actually hear the birds singing all the way to Ragged Point. All this AND in the
few miles of scattered businesses that make up the 'town of Big Sur' there are mature red woods. Whats not to love? Oh right- having to go up on a bike with a dog (or stuff) in tow :)

Leaving our camp ground it was definitely very hot- much more so than we are used to at least. We climbed for the first 2-3 miles untill the post office. Yay! The box got there in time! After that it was just about another half mile of up before a long descent. But whew, that first climb really got us sweating and tired...

We were passed by a nice group of cyclists- who we actually kept running into as they took brakes,then we caught up. They chatted as they passed, and we joked about switching bikes for just a little bit. We also ran into Mr Heat Exhaustion again... (who didn't recognize either of us in the morning at the campground, even though we smiled/waved) We ended up at the same campsite as him. did not thrill us, likes to talk a bit too much for us...

After the decent, there was still a lot more hills to get through. They were big. Ok well not THAT big, like Leggetts - but they were enough plus the heat and sun so that we were pooped by days end.

After setting up camp we walked across the street and took a path to the beach. Typical west coast/Big Sur beach, we had to traverse through some brambles and thick bushes, then down a steep slope before getting to the rocky beach. But of course the rocky beach was covered in dried up seaweed teeming with flies. Whew after that though! It was incredibly refreshing, cool, clear water. Surly was thrilled too! Our spot was in a little cove so she couldn't run to anywhere. Her only issue was there were no sticks for us to throw that she could chase- or big waves to chase... Ahhh so nice!

Another cyclist came and shared the hiker/biker site- she was heading north though. Last year she rode South from San Diego, and had great stories about riding through Central America. Its always been something I thought was way too dangerous- but once you get past the border towns she says its just normal people (and you can camp anywhere).















Flowers!








Group photo! Thanks to a rock and a timer function on the camera


And finally, sunset from our campground

April 18/19

Two things made us decide to stay in Big Sur for the weekend- and three things made it not as nice as it could have been....

Our shipment of food was at the Big Sur post office- which wouldn't open until Monday, and there was way too much weekend traffic to deal with for it to be worth it.

However- since we were in the state park part of Big Sur- no dogs were allowed on trails, and most hiking trails started a few miles away anyway (we were too sore to walk a few miles to do a few mile hike!) We couldn't stay at Andrew Molera park any more b/c of the dog- but the state park a few miles up the road was closed. The fires last summer were so bad the slopes had become very unstable and they are worried about mud slides. There is a little area of shops next to our campground, when we drove through here in Feb the owner of the motel and store there said that because of the potential for mud slides, they actually had to not hold the stage of the Tour of California that went through here in previous years...

So- we had to stay at a private campground just 3 miles down the road, which was pricer than we wanted to spend really. Also, it was packed on Saturday night.... urgh nothing like waking up at 5 am to a baby screaming at a near by campsite. It was in general way too crowded for our liking... but on Sunday it cleared out a bit and we got to move to a better site on the river. We spent our time hanging out at the 'village' area just down the road. The pub had some good beer and a nice patio- but sadly the cool coffee shop run out of an old bus was closed (we had some good coffee here in Feb) The rest of time was spent playing cards- and letting the dog swim/play fetch near the river. Oh- and they make really good burritos here!

It was at least really warm, so not like a typical cold day where sitting around outside would be miserable. We actually had to stay in the shade to keep from sweating!

While we were hanging out, another guy on a bike came along. We call him Mr. Drama Queen heat exhaustion. He was ridiculous, and actually made me embarrassed to be touring on the same road :) So its nearly 90 and sunny- and he comes up wearing black, full length cycling tights, a long sleeve bright yellow jacket, thick socks, and has something stuffed into the front of his jacket. He is on a road bike with a BOB trailer, the flag has a yellow vest tied to it, and he is wearing a messenger back with yet another bright yellow piece of clothing tied to it... He is panting so loud, from 30 feet away Surly is getting upset because she doesn't know what hes doing (could be because it sounds like 'chuffing' a sort of warning thing dogs dog before they bark). Every one is staring. Cook goes over and asks him if he needs anything- water etc...and that we are camping next door if he wants to split a site (so we onlyhave to pay half price :) But, he just mumbled something Cook couldn't understand- maybe mentioned Leggett? and said basically no... But later we saw him at the camp site? weird- he didn't seem to be all there- he sat outside the store chugging coke (not water?) for hours....

View from our campsite






Who me? Cute???

April 17th

38ish mi, 3:50

Made it into BIG SUR today!

We continued on a bike path for a while through Marina/Sand City... We got passed by a big group of riders from Team Bissel (probably warming up for the road race that day). Since it was a nice warm day- a snake had decided to warm up I guess by laying in the middle of the path, which slowed us down while we waited for him to move on. I had no idea what kind of snake it was so we didn't want to take a chance! Turns out another cyclists riding behind us had seen the same snake too.

Leaving Carmel we had a very steep/long climb, made worse by the warm weather we aren't used to. But after leaving Carmel Highlands we were into Big Sur- the houses here are down right amazing, but I"m sure cost millions!

Since it was Friday afternoon before an unseasonably warm weekend, everyone was out. There was way too much traffic for us to really enjoy too much, espically combined with the cross winds we were hitting at times and the sections with out shoulder.

We did finally get to Andew Molera Statepark where we planned on camping. Well, turns out that all the sites were full. Althouh our map says there are hiker/biker sites (which if theya re full they just let you share a site since they charge per person)- there weren't. On top of that- no dogs allowed! Just because its a .3 mile trail to the camp from the parking lot- and dogs arent' allowed on the trail. I couldn't believe it! I even just looked up this campsite online and didn't see a thing about no dogs!

While we were calling the other campsites down the road (which we didn't want to go to b/c of the late afternoon traffic, and they are expensive private sites)- a nice guy came by and offered to share his site. Nice- but still had the dog issue. Well none of the other camp sites had openings- so after a while the lady at the registration booth finally said that she'd let us stay and predend she didn't see anything - just meant we had to leave early in the morning and keep the dog in the tent untill dark.

We went back up the road a bit so we could take the fire road to the campsite to avoid going up the stairs on the trail...where we quickly set up the tent and threw the dog in.

It turned out to work out really well- I just which we could've stayed at this site through the weekend instead of having to move on!

Another campsite near us had also offered up their site to two touring cyclists who needed a site but it was already full-- and later while we were there yet another cyclist came though and shared with us. Thanks to Ben for the site- and David and Jim for sharing your warm fire!



Over Cook's shoulder




Little sandy eh?


Mmmm pnut butter!


Hilarious car at grocery store parking lot. If you know Bianchi bikes- this is the car Mr. Bianchi would have! Celeste green and bad paint scheme and all..... :)


Curvy roads ahead...




Yum fresh berries!






Bixby bridge! The highest bridge in California- built in the 30's like many of the bridges/road in this area. The view from it is awesome - a stream passes under with lots of rocks and greenery..but with minimal shoulder no pictures could be taken right there

April 16th

56 mi, 5:15 - To Marina

The riding was easy at first, most rolling hills and tail winds. Later n the day though it became more of a cross/head wind so it slowed our progress. In Santa Cruz we picked up more groceries at a little store, along with some delicious premade sandwiches, vegan potato salad and a sushi role with kale in it.

Leaving Santa Cruz, though, meant a lot of hills going through the suburbs... then the bike path into Marina was actually hillier than the road it parallel!

The only campground in Marina was 35--- the right before there was a Motel 6 (which as you may remember we like because they never charge extra for the dog). After a record long day, we were too tempted by the bed- we caved and stayed at the motel.

Side note-we didn't get to see any of it- but we just so happened to be in the area at the same time as the Sea Otter Classic- a few days packed with bike races that thousands of people come to watch. We've been seeing a lot of nice bikes on cars- especially down hill and mountain bikes. Next year we'll check it out though!

April 15th

When we got up it was still windy- but not nearly as bad as the day before.

Right after the hotel we met a terrifying 4 miles stretch of road with our shoulders. The first 2-3 miles were uphill. There was a lot of construction along the way (many of these coastal roads are falling into the ocean) Oddly there were a lot of trash trucks on the road that morning too... going around the curves on the ocean the wind really picked up- making us have to stop for a break in traffic to ride through since it was too hard to hold a line while riding.

After that short section though, we got a big shoulder, and it was either flat or rolling, minimal climbs. EASY in comparison- really just because of the shoulder. Made the miles fly by...
In Davenport we stopped by a berry farm and got some perfectly ripe strawberries- Swanton Berry Farms. They had a 10% discount for people who bikes in (with a helmet) and a touring cyclist log they wanted us to sign.

Later in the year they have all sorts of other berries,including Olallieberries- according to Wikipedia,
"The olallieberry (pronounced oh-la-leh) is a cross between the loganberry and the youngberry, each of which is itself a cross between blackberry and another berry (raspberry and dewberry, respectively). - its basically 2/3 black berry and 1/3 raspberry - so we plan on going back, probably by car, to pick our own and get some of their delicious jams. Oh, also a pay your self honor system in place. www.swantonberryfarm.com

We stopped by a hostel-I doubted they'd let us stay inside because of the dog- but since they in the middle of no where, we thought for sure we could at least camp there. I couldn't believe it when they said no! There is nothing around! Its one of those silly rules that defies logic- there are many other hostels that allow camping when they are full, or for people with pets. And I'd expect a hostel whose logo says "a place for everyone to stay" would work something out for two cyclists riding through. The guy there did mention that the lumber company about 10 miles up the road lets people camp on their land sometimes, so to go ask them.

The office for Big Creek Lumber Co was up a big hill- but luckily it was worth it! They gave us a free camping permit for their property across the street on the ocean (on a bluff, so not right on the beach) There was even a convenient building for us to step up camp next to that blocked most the wind. Although there was a phone or something ringing inside the building all night :)

View after the climb

















The wild flowers are everywhere!
They are one of the best things about biking this route vs driving- that we can see the fields of them but we are also going slow enough to see the 'details' on the flowers as well.
just a few -

April 14th

San Francisco to Pacifica
22 miles- 2hr, 20 min?

Time to keep biking on.... with a lease set its hard to leave. But if we stay- then we have to go to work, and that just isn't fun :)

It was kind of windy in the city but nothing too bad.

We got laughed at in the panhandle park of Golden Gate park for having our saftey gear- yup its dorky but its worth it- we have helmets of course- but also yellow vests and orange flags behind the trailers.

Whooa hoo- but when we got to the ocean the wind was insane!
Along the Great Highway- that runs along the west side of SF on the ocean there are sand dunes, the winds were blowing these dunes into the streets. Sand was blowing over our heads and in the gusts absolutely sand blasting us...

I won't go on and on complaining about the wind- but I will saw a few things abut it.
-it was blowing the sand so much, we had a pile of sand in the dog crate, in our shoes, in our ears- everywhere.
-going through neighborhoods the wind would be funneled between the rows of houses and hit us as a stronger cross wind- not fun
- there were multiple times that the wind blew so hard we had to stop riding, it was litterly blowing us over! and times that it made my front wheel skip up and over.

these things made it clear- we weren't going to go past Pacificia where we had to traverse a winding shoulderless climb/decent to get back to the beach. We asked an RV park along the way if we could pitch a tent. It was one of those RV parks that tries to be really nice and say no tents- butreally, its an RV park... it isn't going to be luxurious or exclusive no matter what. I asked very nicely and mentioned the 50 mph winds- but they still said no! I coldn't believe it...

so we went on a few miles to a hotel in Pacifica. When I check the weather there were Gale force wind warnings and gusts in the 50s... so yup a good time to stop!

April 10th-14th

Just a quick summary- we hung out in San Francisco for a few days and got a lot done actually!

Most fun was celebrating my birthday---which included staying in a nice hotel and having a delicious dinner (ok, well we ate out a few times and it was all VERY yummy) and yes, cake on my birthday. Did you know you can get vegan German Chocolate Cake??? Wow it was good....

While walking around doing errands...we actually ran into someone we knew! It was Mary Harvey- who used to live across the street from The Bike Rack where I worked in DC. She rode so came in for bike stuff- but also because of Surly, who she calls a "dog slut" for loving attention from anyone. haha- Surly justloves attention and makes everyone feel special :)

She actually didn't recognize us at first- just said "Oh a cattle dog!" so funny. She is working like crazy for Womens Pro Soccer- a brand new, and only, women's pro league! Check 'em out- go to a game- certianly a league worth supporting! http://www.womensprosoccer.com/ She was nice enough to offer us a place to stay too! It couldn't have worked out better- we're thrilled. We got to be shown around the city some, and spend an extra day to finalize our lease. Thank you Mary! And we'll see ya soon when we're back in SF.

We didn't expect to fnd a place to rent- but figured it couldn't hurt to look incase we found something perfect....we looked at a few places, but two were actually pretty darn near perfect! So, we were left to decide between the two... quickly...since we had to leave the next day (already a day later than planned :)

Place 1- I found out about it during an intreview at a bike shop..the owner's friend's dad rented it for decades and had recently passed, so they were looking for someone to live there while it got fixed up- also the landlord was suposedly very old so wouldn't be able to handle the repairs.... This place was huge, 2 bdrm with a basement, yard and garage. But- its about 2 miles from th Mission, and up a hill. Its in an area called Bernal Heights, which has a more small town feel, with lots of families (including many lesbian couples w/ children- so not too suburban) . Therei s a nice streetwih coffee shops, bars, oh and an ice cream shop that has has tons of vegan options including vanilla malt.... but anyway- its huge and needs lots of work and is far away.

Place 2- right in downtown Mission district (where we wanted to live)- only 2 month lease (perfect so we can then figure out if we like the area), top floor apartment, 1 bdrm, decent size bathroom, big kitchen- but old w/ all the old fixtures. It gets lots of light though and has roof access :)

We ended up going with place #2 - mainly because we didn't hear back from the family that was going to be helping manage the house in Benral Heighs in time---well actually we hven't heard back at all...but we needed to be sure thatwe could sub lease in case we decided we really wanted to live elsewhere... its good though for us to start in Mission- if were too far away it would be too easy for us to stay at home and no go out and see the city :)

Place #2 is still near 'Bernal Hill' - a 30 some acre park on a huge hil- where dogs can run off leash :) Yup, SF is far more dog friendly than DC!

Surly checking out the awesome view from Mary's apartment


San Francisco has a great skyline-- we had no idea of the views. From here, you can see the city and mtns behind- and the clouds coming in off the ocean over the city.... during sunset/sunrise all the buildings turn orange and pink



Birthday pictures!
In the box ma sent us w/ our regular food - I got some bonuses. Bday cards, delicous pecans from Gma and an 'instant birthday kit' from ma with candles, noise makers, confettii, etc.