I had managed to buy another rider's registration but wasn't able to make the Friday night check-in as we hit too much traffic on the drive up. Christine and I decided to make lemonade out of the lemons and stopped in Santa Barbara for dinner and ate at an amazing Danish restaurant/bakery on State street called Andersen's. I had the goulash and Christine ordered the Chesse Celebration that we thought was a simple cheese/fruit plate sampler. When it arrived we found that it was more like a New Year's Eve Party of Cheese. We were stunned when it showed up at the table. Poor Christine couldn't get through even a quarter of it and sadly, I'm lactose intolerant so I was no help.
Cheese Celebration
I couldn't pass up the dessert and have a lovely slice of Danish Layer cake. I also took some Cranberry Scones for a pre-ride breakfast on Saturday. Delish.
The next day, we started the ride in Cuesta College which is a community college a few miles north of downtown San Luis Obispo aka SLOtown. The temperature is cool but not cold and the sky is very overcast but it looks like it will burn off. I made the call to not wear any cold weather gear on the ride although I briefly considered the arm warmers. Christine drops me off and I check-in and then cruise the parking lot looking for my people.
There are at least two dozen TnT alumni at the event. I chat briefly with the my current coach for Tucson, Ricky along with other teammates, Kevin, Lynn and Kim. There were a few other former teammates from my Tahoe ride, including Taj, Mark W, Lisa E, Jenny, Coach Rick, Christine H. Also attending were 12 of the San Diego Sub-5 team, including TnT alumni, DJ, Timmy, Troy and many others.
I meet up with Coach Rick, Christine and Mark W and hit the road, keeping a moderate pace of 13-15 MPH to warm up the legs. In the first 5 miles, we pass no less than 10 riders fixing flats or making other minor mechanical repairs. Weird. Riding along, I'm starting to deeply regret not bringing the arm warmers. We make our way up along Highway 1. The course is well marked and there are volunteers at any location where you might accidently veer off course. About 10 miles into the ride, the fog rolls in and we're swimming in pea soup. Visibility is poor. I have to remove my sunglasses as the condensation is too heavy to see through. Poor Christine is wearing prescption sunglasses and has to occassionally pull over to wipe them down. I look down and there is morning dew on my arm hair. I touch my face and it is soaking wet and I've got water droplets dripping from my facial hair. Luckily, the temperature wasn't too cold and I was starting to warm up. I estimate that 3/4 of our riding time was done in fog so heavy that we couldn't see the ocean, 100 yards away.
We pick up the pace and are doing anywhere from 18 - 22 mph on the flats and higher than that on the drops. We continue on and make our first SAG stop at mile 25. SAG means "support and gear" or "snacks and goodies" depending on who you talk to. Bagels with peanut butter, pretzels, bananas, apples, cookies, water, lemonade...you get the picture. I eat a 1/2 bagel with crunchy peanut butter, a banana, refill the water bottles and we hit the road again.
About 30 miles in, the sun miraculously appears and there is much rejoicing. I dry off, my compatriots pull over to remove their jackets and we proceed on. 5 miles later we're back in the pea soup! At this portion of the ride there were no other riders in sight. We cross over a bridge, I look down and see the mist swirling around the ground below. It was kind of spooky. It looks like one of the mideaval times movies and I kept expecting a fire-breathing dragon to zoom overhead.
Mile 50 is the turnaround point and there is another SAG stop. More of the same, but this time I choose a couple of apples and cookies. We head back and Rick comments on how the course if probably very beautiful and scenic...if you can see it! Mother nature hears his complaint and the sun finally fights back the fog and we are rolling down the coastline looking at the pristine Pacific Ocean. We pass Elephant Seal Rock and see a couple of dozen lazy seals, rolling in the sand. Lot of pelicans too. On the hillside up on the left we spy Hearst Castle in the distance. All of a sudden, after miles of myopic peddaling, the ride is gorgeous.
Happy the sun finally emerged
Riding Buddies Rick, Christine H, Mark W (F to B)
Then it is time to eat again. Let me tell you, the San Luis Obispo Bike Club really know how to party. This time it is deli sandwiches, pasta salad, green salad, loads of fruit and Olallieberry pie. Yes, that is right, PIE. Great lunch on picnic tables, chatting with fellow riders and then it's back on the road.
12 miles later, at mile 75 or so, there is unbelievably another food stop. What is with these people. We take a quick vote and veto the stop. Later we hear that the stop includes pound cake, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. These people are nuts!
Another 25 miles to go and the gang is tiring. Luckily, the weather remained cool and we were now riding in beautiful sunny weather. We triumphantly arrive back at Cuesta College. Ride totals were 97.58 total miles, with 6 hours, 1 minute of riding time. Elapsed time was a bit over 7 hours with all the stops. Average speed was 16.2 MPH. Very good. Not a lot of climbing. The ride was advertised at 3,500 feet of climbing but it was more like 2,200.
We roll back in and guess what...it's time to eat again. Post ride BBQ by the SLOBC. BBQ chicken, chili beans, salad, etc.
Ate, bought the event jersey and Christine took me back to the hotel and I had a nice nap. Good times.
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