Sat: Coastal Conquest, Big Sur to Cambria

we rode out into a canopy of towering redwoods...

with sunlight streaming in through tall, tall trees..

inhaling the fresh mountain air & the lovely scent of pine...

perhaps much like the California of long ago...

not even 3minutes into today's ride we hit a monster hill...
monster
we climbed up, up, up...
into the fog
up, up, up...
above the fog...
up
up
up

but you know what they say,
what goes up, gets to come down...
:)

♥ this California coast!
LOVE!!!

after crossing a bridge & more pedaling on down the road,

I look back,

no one behind me...

???

so, I waited here...

still here... still waiting...

looking for those bright, neon colored jersey's to appear at any moment...

oh, you thought I was kidding about the neon jersey's?


I took more pictures, began to get worried...
I was about to go back, when a cyclist stopped and told me,
"your friends are fine, they just had a tire issue..."


for the next 30 minutes I did this on the side of the freeway...

JJ had 2 tubes go kaput & then decided to change out his tire... 


by the way,
"the nap is highly under-rated..."
the nap & "brownies" that is... :)


lunch @ Whale Watcher Cafe in Gorda...

we had 2 more ridiculous hills to climb...
they both kept going & going & going...

& then...
about 20miles out from Cambria, our views turned into this...


 

pedaling alongside a splendidly flat road :) 
running parallel to the magnificent Pacific ocean :) :) :)

I did not tire of looking over my right shoulder at this...

all the way into Cambria... :) :) :)

tonight's dinner also goes on the highlight list...
Barbie (bless her) waited in line for an hour to get us a seat at the Sea Chest oyster bar...
so worth it
so, so worth it
their seafood was first-class...
their menu, full of specialties..
their location, a stone's throw from  Moonstone beach...
their ambiance, wonderfully unique, as our dinner was prepared exhibition style directly in front of us...
two thumbs up!!

afterwards, we headed for the par3 course associated with our hotel...
man, did we have a few good laughs!!!
correction...
man, did we have a lot of great laughs!!!


I so wished I had brought my camera...
because Matt was carrying 5 clubs over his shoulder with swagger...
off into the distance...
as the sun set over the ocean!


today's mileage total:  70.8 :)