Day 31....Limekiln State Park to Hearst San Simeon State Park

October 20, 2018

If you look closely you can see where I just rode.

Alden and Claire from Wisconsin at Ragged Point. I first met them a couple days earlier at a produce stand.

Elephant seals come here to mate every year. The adult don't show up until December/January. They are by far the biggest at 3000-5000 pounds. These are females and juveniles.

They just lay there so they don't exert any energy because for the four months they are here they don't eat or drink. The other 8 months they are in the ocean and very active.

This was the tale of two days. The first 23 miles were through more of the Big Sur. It is wild, remote, and stunning. Two massive climbs with the last ending at a spot in the road called Ragged Point. Then suddenly the hills became m7ch more gentle and over the last 20 miles there were long stretches of flat which I haven't seen there entire trip. After almost 4 weeks of hills I didn't realize how strong my legs have gotten. I was flying on the flat stretches much faster than I would have expected.

The second half of today's ride also went past the hearst castle and elephant seal rookery which was quite fascinating. Then an easy ride to tonight's campground. The last 3 campsites have been within 100 yards or less from the ocean so going to sleep to sound of crashing waves is pretty cool.

Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 1,364 miles (2,195 km)

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