As I went along in California

Here are some of the photos I took.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get to a computer that would upload my pictures sooner, and I don't remember what many of them are, other than kind of cool.  I'll identify those I do remember.

 This is what I saw as I sat at my campsite at Refugio State Beach.  The hiker/biker spots were down almost on the beach.  It was a little cold after dark, but it was worth it, for hearing the surf all night.

These three I took as I sat in a rest stop just before I went into a tunnel, on my way from Refugio to Lompoc.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get any without evidence of Man's existence.  Right after the tunnel, which is right after these pictures, I struggled up my first major hill.  It was 1000 feet high, and almost 3 miles going up it.  I was glad to stay in Lompoc after that hill.  After leaving Lompoc, there was another hill just about as high.

These are from behind the restaurant at Moro Bay.  I had been planning to eat breakfast and then take off, but I decided I needed a rest after I looked out on the bay.  The rock in the last picture is Moro Rock.  You can see it better from the town, which is about 100 feet from the campground.

You can also see the sail boats much better from the town.  Moro Bay is a protected bay, protected from the vagaries of the Pacific ocean just beyond the line of dunes that ends with Moro Rock.  Lots of sail boats anchor here.

Moro Bay

So it's been a long, hard road, so far.  Not because of the riding, though that has given me problems, too, and I'm just beginning to feel good at the end of the day.  No, mostly my problem has been people.  Now, don't get me wrong:  everybody has been very nice, and I don't have a problem with people who just want to talk, to ask questions, or to tell me about their experiences riding.  The problem I have is with people who want to tell me how to go where I'm going, or how to pack, or whatever--without my ever having asked for advice.  Like the man who stopped me in Lompoc--ran after me and stopped me as I was trying to ride away--in order to tell me the route I should take to Seatle.  This, to me, has always seemed to be assuming my incompetence, and that bothers me.  I wonder why I should be polite to them, if they are going to be so rude to me.

Other than that, I have had a pretty good experience, so far.  I was having trouble with my chain, so I stopped in to a bike shop to have the repair guy look at it.  It was nothing, I was just out of adjustment.  While I was there, though, I talked to the repair guy about my load.  I don't know how much I am carrying, but I know it is a lot.  He told me there is a danger of blowing out spokes, with that much right on the back of my bike.  So we talked trailers.  It turns out that taking some of my load off the back also lets me move around more on the seat, which is more comfortable.

I spent the night in Moro Bay campground last night.  It is the nicest campground I've seen so far; it is clean and well-equipt.  And it is about 3-5 minutes from downtown Moro Bay.  Moro Bay is the best town I have seen so far in California.  The houses are all individuals, there are a lot of little shops that sell all kinds of things, and the bay is beautiful.  If I ever decide to settle in California, Moro Bay would be at the top of my list of places to live.

Well, time is almost up, so I'll have to let this post go as written.

The Third Day

I'm in Carpinteria, today.

I had depated riding through LA, but I decided that it would take me several days to get through.  So I took the train from Irvine Station to Ventura.  The ride to the Irvine Station was about 10 miles.  I was proud to have made it, especially since it was the first time I had a loaded bike. 

And, let me tell you, that bike is heavy!  I have been lifting and pedalling it now for two days straight, and last night I went for a ride without my luggage.  The difference was incredible.  It was like lifting nothing, compared to the bike with everything on it.

I spent the night in Ventura, and rode out at 8:00am.  Going along the 1, I had the ocean at my left side for most of the way.  (Sorry, I didn't take pictures.  I'm not used to having the camera yet.  I'll do better in future.)  The ocean is beautiful, but for most of the way, there were RVs packed close together along the beaches.  I never realized that so many people used RVs.

Carpinteria is a very pretty little town.  The houses all seem to be at least 1920s--maybe earlier, I'm not that good at identifying architecture.  Anyway, they are not just boxes, packed close together, like I have often seen here in California.  The town is almost surrounded by hills.

I'm planning to ride to Goleta today.  That's only about 20 miles, but I want to take small bites now to make sure I don't get burned out.  I'm hoping to build up my endurance for later in the trip.