July 1, 2018
Left turn
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
It's not that I worried about being a law breaking communist who doesn't believe in the rule of law or its subsections. It's more that I thought that this is the incentive I need to try something new. Therefore, I didn't continue down the coast and through the soon to be open closed section of road in the dead of night to avoid the border guards and their seachlights. Insted I want over the top.
But before I get to that, I would like to voice a gripe about certain hiker-biker campsite policies which are not being upheld. I was a little concerned last night when one of the tents in the hiker-biker area was taller than me, about 10 foot square and looked like it weighed about 100 pounds. That is not a hiker OR a biker tent.
My fears were confirmed when, about 9pm as I was snuggling in to a warm summer's nap, an SUV stopped at the trail leading in to the hiker-biker site and dropped enough supplies for a small army, if that army included things like coolers, pillows, and so forth.
The results were predictable. Loud voices that got louder with each passing minute, a clear sign alcohol is being consumed. They were nice enough, a family with kids who were there to have fun, but who also didn't reserve a campsite in the legal area so decided to crash the hiker-biker site by "hiking" in the 20 feet from where their SUV dropped them off. Around 11:30pm I finally had enough and asked them nicely to shut up, which they did. Still, it's sad and disheartening that the spirit of the hiker-biker campsite is in jeopardy in some places where it clearly belongs.
But lets get back to my left turn. The climb up to the top of nacimiento fergusson road is a son-of-a-bitch, and just so you know from the get-go I didn't climb all of it. I got a lift for the most treacherous part, about half way, and then climbed the second half, which took over an hour.
The views on the climb are stunning, though the road is narrow with steep drop offs and has a good amount of traffic, thanks to the road closure on the coast. The descent is fast and fun through the woods and descends into an army base which is unremarkable except that, because it's an army base, there is no development and beautiful for its natural beauty. It allows you to imagine what it might have been like in this area 100's of years ago.
Once past the base it was a slog. If I hadn't already been tired, and the heat hadn't been so, well, hot, and there had been more resupply places along the way it would have been different. But as it was it was a long day in the saddle. In fact i just realized I have not pictures from the second half of the ride. A clear sign of, "I'm done with this where is the end."
Still, I made it to Paso Robles unscathed. Tomorrow it's on to San Luis Obispo and a couple days off at a friends house. I can't wait!
Until then...
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 210 miles (338 km)
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