Lompoc to Santa Barbara was one of the dullest rides ever. Most of it was right along a rather busy 101. I had a very nice, wide shoulder, though sometimes with the trailer you lose your line -- highway rumble strips really rumble your insides when you're on a bike.
Back to the dullness. I don't want to sound like an ass, but I've seen this stuff before. Southern (ish) Californian coastal desert flora and rolling hills. Dry grass. Chapparal. The occasional brilliant red flower. Lovely, but it gets tiresome.
[i should upload a picture. sigh]
Santa Barbara seems like a pretty neat place though. It's like a cartoon character of a town. I'll go exploring tomorrow.
With that and this cold and headache that never goes away, I've decided to drive down to SD tomorrow. I was only riding to Oxnard anyway (35 miles), then getting a ride to like Long Beach (to avoid the LA traffic mess) and riding down to Oceanside, which is a ride I've done before. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Really.
Maybe a little. Which is why Saturday I'm just going to do the north San Diego coastal ride I've done many times before. Then Sunday I'll do the 30 mile round trip to and from the border from Ti Ica's place in National City. Then on Monday or Tuesday, depending on form and weather, I'll take another crack at Mt. Palomar. Don't know if/when I'll be out here again, and I have a cheerleading section at the top of the mountain.
I should talk about food more. I've been eating so much of it, I will miss being able to eat everything I can. I haven't lost very much weight (I think), but I suppose I am fitter mentally and physically. 4 hours of towing the trailer is fun as long as it's a warm sunny day. Speaking of which, yesterday was the first ride of the entire trip when I've not worn arm and leg warmers. I wore them for the first half of today's ride, so today doesn't entirely count. My forearms are burnt, which is very satisfying. Live for today, you can't be afraid of melanoma.
Oh, I'll be taking a redeye back east on Wednesday. Crazy. Maybe I should spend the next five days driving back up to Seattle and back, nonstop. Ha....?
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4 comments:
I know people who have hiked the same trails on the same mountain literally hundreds of times. And they keep doing it and love doing it. You're bitching about a ride in California, near the San Diego coastline, that you've done, what? I don't know - but I'll guess no more than 4 times. Quite bitching! Think how many people would love to be doing what you're doing and then think about all the other shit you might have to be doing, and just enjoy what you ARE doing.
And hurry up. I want some TT. :-)
Oh, no, it's not that I don't appreciate riding and love it. That's why I'm riding that same stretch of coast I've ridden before on Saturday. Was I really bitching? I thought I just called it tiresome. It is. Four hours of highway and suburbs. It's still fun riding, beautifully sunny, with a fine sense of accomplishment to boot. And I'm not comparing this to, say, the redwoods or Oregon's central coast. That would be dumb.
Any long ride gets tiresome. Maybe, yes, this has just as much to do with mental fatigue as it does with the roads and ride.
n you were riding on the 101, did you have the theme song for "The OC" stuck in your head? It's been stuck in my head ever since that cartoon dog robbed the Simpsons...
Good. Just making sure. And yes, there were bitchy undertones, but a satisfying finish with strong hints of oak and cherry (/winecompare).
It's late. I don't know wtf I'm talking about. But as usual, I'm surprised at how level-headed you sound. I'd be going bonkers trying to figure all this shit out. Cheers!
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