Day 11: To Carpinteria state beach

July 20, 2009

I had an early soak in the warm spring, and was on the road at 8:30 without having breakfast. All downhill to the coast at Gaviota state park, where I used the toilet, filled water bottles, and made breakfast. It was warm and sunny already.

Long railroad trestle crossing Gaviota state beach.

After breakfast I continued south on the highway 101 freeway. Despite the traffic, there are no services for 25 miles until Goleta. The railroad is between me and the ocean, sometimes obstructing the view.

It definitely feels like southern California now. Not a trace of fog. Warm even in the morning close to the water.

This is one of the few places where the AMTRAK Coast Starlight route is actually on the coast.

I took a long stop to explore Refugio State Beach which was surprisingly uncrowded.

This beach is only accessible via a scramble from the dead-end bike trail.

The bike route exits highway 101 on Hollister Avenue in Goleta. From there I had 10 miles of city traffic to Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara I detoured 1.5 miles uphill to have a glance at the mission. I didn't stay for a tour.

Established in 1786, Mission Santa Barbara is the 10th of 21 Roman Catholic missions established by Spaniards in California.

The southern part of Santa Barbara has a wonderful bike trail along the coast.

Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California. Any time of year, you can find it here.

Today's destination is the hiker/biker site at Carpinteria state beach. It's my last night on the coast, so I was glad to finally see a sunset.

The weather was warm and sunny all day with a high of about 75F. Half of today's ride was on expressways, but it was still a decent day overall.

Distance: 56.4 mi (90.2 km)

Climbing: 1722 ft 9522 m)

Average speed: 10.5 mph (16.8 km/h)

Max speed: 31 mph (50 km/h)

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 486 miles (782 km)

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