Day 4: Improvisation

April 8, 2012

I did a long climb today, man it was fun! Wait, did I just use "fun" and "long climb" in the same sentence? That's a first. But I'll get to that in a minute.

I'm wandering around a bit, off the ACA route. Why? Well, why not? But before wandering around I started in Cayucas, and not more than a mile out of town, ran into a couple of fellow cycle-travelers, or more accurately, they ran into me.

"We haven't seen many riders since we started (it being off season) so when we saw you ahead of us we picked up the pace to catch you."

Michael and Ed are from San Francisco and are riding to Los Angeles. It's Ed's first bike trip and Micheal's second. They are strong riders.

We rode for about 10 miles, comparing notes and chatting about things that touring cyclists tend to chat about, like the best places to eat and sleep, and which roads are the hilliest.

We split up near San Luis Obispo, and they continued into town, where Michael was on the hunt for a new derailleur cable that broke near Gorda, and I was on the hunt for something different than the ACA route.

So I rode towards Prefumo Canyon, which, I didn't know at the time, is a popular climb with the locals. And little wonder, it was a GREAT RIDE!
This climb starts a couple of miles off the ACA route, before the turnoff to SLO.

It goes over the top towards Avila Beach, with views as far as the eye can see. In fact, it would be an awesome alternative to the ACA route, if people don't care about seeing San Luis Obispo and/or want a ride with a little more remoteness.

It starts through tree lined lanes and climbs above the trees, over some switchbacks, to a point so high you can look back over Morro Bay. Beautiful!

The descent falls through an unpaved valley road (about two miles unpaved) and then more trees, before snaking though a beautiful little valley dotted with orchards and vineyards.

Honestly, I was sorry when it was over. And you don't hear me saying such things about climbs.

After that I headed back to SLO and a well deserved rest.

Prefumo Canyon Climb. Switchbacks about a third of the way up. Cool!

I thought about taking a nap on this sofa but moved on instead

I saw several other cyclists. This is obviously a local favorite.

Going down. There was some dirt road but it was hard packed and not bad at all to ride on.

Prefumo Canyon Road turned into See Canyon

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 217 miles (349 km)

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