Woke up this morning at 6:00 and started working straight away. I had a big ride ahead of me and a date with breakfast. It’s funny how much quicker things go together when they’re all dry. I was rolling out of camp at 7:15.
While walking camp I thought the rain had stopped and I would be ok without the rain jacket. The short roll to the entrance station proved me wrong. I threw the rain jacket on and off to breakfast I went.
I have been looking forward to breakfast at Beach Street Cafe for a while now. I first discovered this joint during a 4-day President’s Day weekend camping trip in 2013 with the kiddo. After fueling the car I went inside for some snacks and asked the girl working the counter for a breakfast recommendation. She first threw out Denny’s and IHOP, but then I clarified I was looking for a local joint. She then says, “I think the Beach Street Cafe just reopened. Just go back to the light, take a right, and it’s on the right.”. We cruised over and the rest is history. Every time we’ve been in the area we go. Spring Break 2014, Summer Vacation 2014, Spring Break 2016, Summer Vacation 2017, and now Pacific Coast Bike Route 2023. I’m already looking forward to my next visit when I return to ride the Big Sur section I’m bypassing.
Today’s ride was kinda odd. Once I arrived in Marina, CA I made a left turn and started inland roughly paralleling US-101. I was riding along and next thing I know I look down and I’m 50 miles in. As a result there aren’t many pictures from today. Much of the road was, I believe, a former US-101 alignment and cut through farm land and vineyards. There simply weren’t that many photo opportunities.
I stopped in Greenfield to grab lunch. As I rode through town I was on the lookout for a place and happened to find one on the corner where I was making a turn. The place was called La Plaza Bakery and Cafe. It looked like their main thing was traditional baked Mexican goods with Mexican cafe thrown in. They had a huge counter display case dedicated just to all the baked items. I wanted one of everything of the sweets. I was good and picked up their version of a Tres Leches cake in a cup. Combined with a huge burrito and liter bottle of Coke and I was good to ride to King City.
Greenfield was where I had originally planned on having a hotel night. Camping options in this area are few and far between. When neither Half Moon Beach nor Sunset Beach would allow me to stay for two nights I decided two nights in a hotel would do. The original hotel in Greenfield was a local mom and pop type place. If I’m staying in a hotel for two nights I want to be certain it’s a nice place. I pulled the trigger on a Quality Inn room in King City instead. It added maybe 15 miles to today’s ride, but it was worth it.
I think Mother Nature or the Cycling Gods agreed by blessing me with an awesome tailwind for most of the day. It really kicked up as the day went on and by the time I was coming in to King City it was gusting to 20+. Seriously awesome when I was riding south, but east/west it became a gnarly crosswind throwing me around. Keeping upright was certainly aided by the shallow wheels and additional 50 pounds of weight on the bike.
I got checked into the hotel without issue and started with housekeeping. A nice shower that didn’t require a stack of quarters to start. Then I dumped all my riding kit and spare camp clothes into the bathtub and washed it all. It’s all hanging in different places across the room. Hoping to have it all dry before I leave on Friday.
With all that squared away I set about to just sit back and relax. Then my stomach reminded me we still needed dinner so I had to get dressed and I walked to a local joint named Castro’s Surf and Turf. I ordered some chips and guac and the Fish N Shrimp Burrito. I know burritos for lunch and for dinner? I couldn’t resist a burrito described as, “Grilled Rockfish, shrimp, rice, cheese, purple cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado sauce and serrano sauce”. It was all awesome. I left absolutely stuffed to the gills.
Got back to the hotel, barely, and proceeded to lounge around and write about today’s ride while the TV was on in the background. Absolutely nothing planned for tomorrow except a trip to the local Rite Aid for a few things and some quality time with my book. I doubt I’ll post anything tomorrow, so don’t expect to hear anything from me until after the ride on Friday!
New bike fund: $6.41 (+$0.25)
80.24 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Cloudy-Sunny, 53°F-73°F, Feels like 56°F-82°F, Humidity 92%-51%, Wind WNW 1mph-NW 7mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: -9.9%
Headwind: 12% @ 0.7-5.8mph
Longest Headwind: 16m 51s
Air Speed: 13.7mph
Temp: 54.1-65.6°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 444 ft
Min elevation: 9 ft
Total climbing: 2952 ft
Total descent: -2693 ft
Total time: 07:38:01
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