Day 4 - 07 June 2006, Paso Robles to Santa Maria

Photos from Day 4

Our second longest day started out clear and nice. We did a quick nine miles to the first rest stop, Area 51. Leaving rest stop 1 we started our climb of the Evil Twins, double hills with around 1200 feet of climbing in 5 miles. I started with Thomas this morning and we stuck together up the hills and it seemed we were setting a really good, but relaxed, pace. After climbing Evil Twin 2, which really wasn't that hard, just a little long, we were treated to an awesome view out to the Pacific Ocean.

Just off the top was the half way point to Los Angeles for the ride. At a highway vista point Ginger Brewlay, cheerleader extraordinare, sets up signs that rider can pose with demarking the accomplishment. Thomas and I met up with Daniel from team luxo and we all took turns taking pictures of us on with the signs. Leaving the half way point we started a nine mile descent to CA-1 and the coast. I hit my maximum speed for the day just coasting down, not one pedal stroke was needed.

After the descent we rolled along highway 1 for a bit and then pulled into rest stop 2 just a little north of Cayucos. It was along the beach and there were some amazing rocks out in the water being beat by the waves. We continued on and down the coast and into Morrow Bay. There is a giant rock sticking out of the water, it's quite a sight to see. From there we cut inland towards San Luis Obispo and our lunch stop. At lunch the AIDS Support Network of San Luis Obispo County was selling BBQ lunches as a fund raiser. Thomas and I both ate that lunch and a ALC provided lunch we were that hungry. At lunch it was a bit hot and crowded so Thomas, Mia and I took off. We lost Mia just outside of lunch and headed the 15 miles to rest stop 3.

The route to rest stop 3 was hot and tiring. Even rest stop 3 was hot and tiring. We tanked up, found some shade for a small respite, and then took off. At some point we made a left and then a right and came over a hill. The instant we crested the hill the temperatures dropped, the air took on a pleasant feel, and everything turned green. We were in Pismo Beach. There was a water stop there and we did our little dance and rode on. Later we found out that the cinnamon bun shop we should have stopped at, next year. At Oceano we saw giant sand dunes on the coast, but we were cutting inland a bit.

We were near mile 70 and for some reason I was really ready to be off the bike for the day. Knowing that tomorrow would be our short day I would have been happy with stopping at Pismo State Beach for the night and tacking an additional 20 miles or so on to tomorrow. Sadly that was not to be, and there was one more hill to climb. I got a little pooped out after that as it got warm again.

I continued to crank it out the best I could, but I was really looking forward to rest stop 4. It's sad that it was a boring ride through agricultural fields with sometimes narrow roads and a bad cross wind at one point. What made it a little better was one of the cheerleaders. He'd been on Quadbuster and on the Evil Twins and now here he was. He had a line made from duct tape perpendicular to the road. He would jump over it and shout "Norte de California! Sur de California!" marking the where we jump over to that part of California. The greatest part is that it was on a hill so we were headed down from that point for a bit. That totally made me laugh and made the ride a little easier.

I finally rolled into rest stop 4, Dante's Inferno. Apparently this theme was supposed to be used yesterday on 06.06.06, but as it was at the Mission San Miguel they thought it might not be the best idea. The roadies were lambasting people as they came in. I got some snacks and fluid and rested for a bit. The remaining 15 miles or so to camp were fairly boring for scenery, but we had a decent tail wind. I was just going to cruise it slow but Mr. James decided to goad me into cranking up my pace. We cruised along at between 23 and 30 MPH.

I did the usual shower, eat, and relax routine once in camp. At the end of the day yesterday I didn't feel like I would ever want to sign up for ALC again. At the end of the day today I feel great. Yes I was cranky after 70 miles, but after getting done I feel great! I'm ready to keep going. I think I'll finish this ride, but I don't yet know how I'll come out the other side.