Thursday, May 21, 2009

Day 21- Big Sur to Cayucos 91 miles


I made the comment that today never felt like it got going. Every time we would set out to put down miles something got in our way. After about a mile from starting out we hit a steep 3-mile hill.  Big hills are ok once you are warmed up and ready. Since this one came so early with the thoughts of our recently abandoned beds fresh on our minds and a top that never seemed to materialize, we started out on a bad note. Nonetheless the scenery was so amazing none of us let the hill ruin the amazing ride through the area known as Big Sur. The next 35 miles were fantastic. The views are so unbelievable you hesitate to take pictures because you know that it won't do justice to what you are seeing. With all this come lots of hills, which makes the going slow. You climb up and down and in and out as the road hugs the costal cliffs. Every few miles or so the road goes exceptionally high and you get views that make you feel so insignificant. The ocean stretches out until it blends in with the sky in a light blue. To either side you see the inlets the ocean has cut creating what you can only imagine what the land would look like if it were dipping its feet in the water. 

Today truly was beautiful.  We made the mistake of stopping to often to take in the view. These trips are often difficult because of how many things you have to give up. For instance we rode through San Francisco the other day but did no sightseeing at all. We just rode in slept and left. These really are quests not trips. The whole goal is to get down the road. Same today, we had to give up taking too much time taking in the view. It takes some getting used too but it is all part of hat makes these trips what they are. In the middle of climbing up one of the hills this morning Dad broke a link in his chain. This cost us a half hour. There were so few well-marked towns we had no plans to stop for lunch. Then when we did stop it was just on the side of the road for bagel. Then just three miles later we found a mini mart and stocked up. All these little stops added up and we lost a few hours. Then just as we thought we had our ducks in a row so we could put down some good miles Kristi broke a spoke. After 30 minutes of that fix, and a look at all the sea lions at this one beach (there were hundreds!) we were on our way. By this time though it was 2:45 and we only had 65 mile. This was bad news because the only town that showed up on our map was 95 miles in. Luckily for us our afternoon tail wind kicked in.  We were all feeling lousy by this time though because of lack of a real lunch. On one hill I got really light headed and my body let me know it needed food right then. Before the top of said hill I had finished two granola bars and a Snickers. It is amazing how quickly your body goes through food on these trips. I felt the energy return to my body about 10 minutes after eating then 30 minutes later I could feel the hunger coming back so I had to eat again. The tailwind saved us once again and we pulled in to this amazing little town. I made a comment to Kristi today that might shed some light on why we do these rides. I was talking about how our only goal on these trips is to make it to the next town and cover the miles everyday. One simple, yet difficult, task. Therefore your only problems ever arise from not being able to accomplish your goal. Therefore the solution to all your problems is to get on the bike and pedal. How great a life when you have on solution to all your problems. That being said it is still incredibly difficult everyday but a simpler more concrete difficult. There is also a real satisfaction that comes from these trips. In normal life success is difficult if not impossible to measure. You don't have a yardstick to say today was this good. On the bike everyday has a number attached to it, a numerical representation that says you did this good, the miles you cover. I don't know if anyone can ever truly understand how we feel without going through the same but just know we are happy and hope you can feel a little bit of our highs and lows. Thanks for the support. We love you all.

 

-The Wilson's

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