Today I decided I was not going to make it the 60miles in the book so i decide,if i cant i will go as far as Big Sur and make the assault on the big hills the next day.Maybe its the power of suggestion but the legs are not working so well today and the miles are slow in ticking over.
There is a savage 4 mile climb out of Monteray which takes a lot of time and effort.The spin down to Highway One is exhilerating but the one is very busy today with a lot of traffic. An unnecessary divert throughy Carmel add a few more miles. Into Big Sur territory and those roller coaster roads around the headlands appear again. Up and Down over and over again. Climbs are short but steep and the decents are over in a minute . Not enough time to recover for the next climb. That goes on for 20miles and its energy sapping.
There is a couple of things worse than logging trucks and winnebago's .
On is people who carry dogs in the back of their pickup. You are cycling along oblivious to the traffic then all of a sudden, this wild barking dog is beside you. Scares the living daylights out of you. Cause normally you can hear a dog coming froma distance.
The other is MOTOR BIKERS!!. The noise of them as they pass, its worse than any truck and when there is a group of them as there was today, about 50 then it a racket. 'Fart Box Sewing Machines.' They should be made eat them.
Get myfirst puncture today.Not paying attention I slip off the road into a gravely patch and after some expert cycling skills, even if i do say so myself, I bring the bike to a safe stop. But at the cost of a puncture. I have to unload the bike on the side of the road to put new tube in.
Big Sur finally comes . Its not what i expected. I was expecting a high headland with crashing waves and surfers. Instead, its the opposite. A quiet little hamlet with 1 shop 1 motel (full) 1 filling station in the middle of a redwood forest. What a surprise! I make it to the Big Sur state park and a hiker biker site without phone or internet coverage. (back to the
wilderness). But has a shop and a restuarant.
Get a good rest and assault the big climbs first thing in the morning before the traffic.
Bought a new self inflating air matress to see if it helps my old bones .....
No comments:
Post a Comment