Day 10 of Ride West

Awakening to the sound of seals barking in Monterey Bay, I can say this is a day of riding that will not rate towards the top of the list.  Via the 101, it's about six hours on a bike to LA.  Brooke needs to be back for work by late afternoon, so we have decided just to take this direct route and forego the ride further south down the PCH.

Technically, I am sticking to my rule of no Interstates, since the 101 is a US Hwy and is merely just a four lane road in some parts, but it's mostly freeway.  It has little truck traffic, since the 5 is the major route north to south.  

Riding this road is a picture window into the diversity that is central and coastal California.  Leaving Monterey towards the east is a lot like the Hill Country.  This area is dotted with cattle ranches and rolling hills.  Once we cross the coastal mountains, we enter into the most diverse and fertile valley you can imagine.  With mountain ranges both to the east and west, this fertile valley extends for hundreds of miles.  These mountain ranges and the fog that rolls in keeps the area cool in the summer and warm in the winter, ideal for growing a large variety of produce.  Wine grape vineyards cover the hillsides and flat areas alike.  These give way to vast fields of celery, onions, strawberries, artichokes, and other row crops.  The smells I experience on the bike seem like I'm riding through a giant salad bar.  The fields are active with tractors, trailers, and hundreds if not thousands of people picking the various fruits and vegetables.

Approaching Paso Robles, the vineyards start up again.  On a small stretch of valley, oil pump jacks appear.  Only a few are pumping, and I'm thinking if this were Texas, they would all be working and producing the $100 a barrel oil.  I've read that the environmental rules are so tough here, it's really hard to get the oil and gas out of the ground.  CA supposedly has more oil than Texas, but produces much less.  

Arriving at San Luis Obispo, the halfway point between SF and LA, I recall the time Vickie, Brooke, and I spent here a couple of years ago.  We stayed in a unique little inn, the Petit Soleil.  We enjoyed the local food, visited a few vineyards, and mainly just relaxed.

A small college town with great beaches nearby, it is a popular tourist destination, and was the site of the first motel in America.  Originally known as the Milestone Mo-Tel, it signaled the start of the automobile invasion.  A few years later, in 1962, the first Motel 6 was opened just down the road in Santa Barbara.  Originally only $6 per night, they will "still leave the light on for you", but the rooms are slightly more than $6.

Riding through Santa Barbara is just not possible without stopping, as this may be my favorite place in California.  We pull off in Montecito, and have a great lunch of shared swordfish tacos on home-made corn tortillas at Cava cafe.

Now on the home stretch, we exit off the 101 in Oxnard, picking up the PCH, and leisurely ride through  Malibu, Santa Monica, and into Venice, arriving at Brooke's apartment in plenty of time for her to unwind before leaving in her van to load up all the equipment and supplies  for her catering gig tomorrow.

I get to relax at her place and write this, looking forward to a couple of days off of the bike before starting the next leg of my journey.  (Oh yeah, added a few pics to yesterday's post)

Brooke's succulent garden on her balcony in Venice.

Enjoying a cigar on her balcony.

Our lunch spot in Montecito.