Recap

Big Sur created quite an impact on me. There are two days in particular that stand out. On the first, I was cranky in the morning and got a late start out of Carmel. Headwinds were annoying and then frustrating. It got a little foggy and then sometimes rained lightly. My will was flagging and I stopped at a pullout. I met M&A and was told that I had arrived at Big Sur and that I was headed into the storm. We shared stories and both left ready to tackle the world. The rain then came in sheets, gusts of wind from my front right 30mph on a 10% grade. Cliffs to the ocean on one side and cars on the other, this was my toughest riding. I was in a groove. I was flying efficiently in the wind, all rain geared up, using the trance music to push me uphill. I was laughing at the gusts, the way they tried to foil me. The bigness of it all, the wind the ocean the cliffs, made me laugh at myself and my self important bitterness earlier in the day. How could I not love a day such as this.

The next night, I stayed in a campground by the ocean, on a little table of land maybe 50' up from the water. A breeze down the mountain cleared out the sky at night, and the Milky Way was visible before twilight. No moon for much of the evening, it was possible to get around by starlight. The campground maintained no lights; I camped away from the other campers. That night, swells from a northern storm began to come in, pounding the cliffs like thunder and rifles. The stars and shooting stars were incredible. I camped on the edge of a eucalyptus grove and left my tent open. I had the best ambient music that night: the occasional crash and hiss from the ocean against the eucalyptus leaf chimes and cricket song from the grove. I fought sleep, staring out at the stars and listening to the earth, but with such relaxification I was soon out.

Needless to say, there are many other tales from the stretch from Spreckels down to Oceano. I'm just not interested right now in writing them here. At least the highlights are down. Pictures are up too.

I'm headed out again today, by this route.

So far I've ridden:
Seattle to Simcoe Mountains
Bend, OR to San Francisco
San Francisco to Oceano

Happy holidays to all.