Despite my misgivings about last night’s campground, it was pretty this morning. Caught the sun rising for the first time this trip, and while I was eating breakfast I spotted two deer walking down the hill from me.
I woke up just before sunrise around 5:30 and started getting ready. Slept pretty well last night, but I woke up at one point to get under my quilt because I was cold. I had fallen asleep laying on top of it thinking I would be warm enough through the night and I was wrong.
Similarly to yesterday, I’m glad I started early. The ride started pleasant enough, but once I cleared Paso Robles it started getting warm, I was climbing, and the sun was bearing straight down on my back. It was tough also like the end of yesterday’s ride. I was pretty thrilled when I saw a sign denoting the elevation. I thought it wouldn’t be there if I weren’t at the top.
Once over the top the view opened up and I stopped to grab a picture before beginning the descent. Just ahead there was a sign denoting a 6% grade for five miles. Looking at the elevation the entire descent was 1,600 feet in just over eight miles. I passed a few cyclists who were climbing as I was descending. I gave each a holler as I went by.
At the bottom I made a turn north onto CA-1. In hindsight I think I could have gone south to another campground, but it would have made it a pretty big day. Happy with the decision to come to Hearst and then double back along CA-1 south tomorrow.
Riding into Cambria I spotted a sign indicating that business CA-1 was a right turn ahead. I pulled off and checked Google Maps to see what there was in the way of food. If I wanted a bite to eat I needed to go into Cambria via this business loop versus staying on the main CA-1 drag.
A nice thing about Main Street, the business loop, was that it was signed as a Bike Route. There was a nice wide shoulder all the way into downtown. Once I got there I started scanning for a place to eat.
I came upon this place named Linn’s Restaurant. They had their menu posted near the door and after finding a couple things I could order I checked Google Maps again. I didn’t see anything that called to me so I figured what the hell. I parked Shadow and went inside.
The host who met me sat me at the perfect table where I could keep an eye on Shadow while I ate. Then he offered me a choice of breakfast or lunch menu. I asked him what the cut off was for breakfast and he replied I still have 45 minutes. I was elated.
I scanned the menu and once again I went with a french toast combo breakfast. At this point I consider french toast the official breakfast of this trip. It doesn’t matter how much I eat before I leave camp, I always feel better on the bike after a french toast meal. It was their version of stuffed french toast and described as “Grilled, battered artisan sourdough, vanilla, cinnamon, Mascarpone, LINN’S Olallieberry Preserves”. It was amazing.
While I was enjoying my coffee and french toast I was looking around and started noticing all the bikes, literally, hanging around. They were everywhere! Hanging from the walls. On top of hutches. It was kinda cool. After taking a couple pictures one of the employees came by and dropped this card on me explaining the bikes. Here is what it said.
GRAB LIFE BY THE HANDLEBARS
WHY THE BICYCLES, YOU ASK?Aaron Linn has two major passions: one is the family business of hospitality (he is the son of Linn’s original founders, John and Renee Linn) and the other is bicycling in this gorgeous Central Coast region. He is now the General Manager and Co-owner of the business. As a young teen, Aaron was a nationally ranked road bike racer and considered going professional. While he ultimately decided to stay closer to Cambria and eschew the grind of professional cycling to help with his family’s growing business, he is still passionate about cycling and showcasing the best of our little hamlet of Cambria. Aaron and cycling locals are attracting many visitors from all over the world as they share images and stories of less-traveled roads, the beauty of our valleys and Santa Lucia mountains. Linn’s Restaurant provides just the right farm-to-table fuel for riders and visitors alike.
Thanks to the generosity of local donors and Aaron’s own acquired supply, he has curated this collection you see displayed on the walls of the restaurant. All the bikes hold special meaning to Aaron, and some are rare vintage bikes that aficionados like him find as mouthwatering as Olalliberry pie à la mode.
With second breakfast/lunch done it was time to ride on to camp. I made a quick stop at a local market to grab some dinner stuff and came to a light. I could either turn onto CA-1 or continue across CA-1, make a right, and take a back road through town. I opted for the later. Besides I’ll be riding the same stretch of CA-1 tomorrow morning anyway so why not?
Rolled into camp and got everything setup for the night and my kit washed and hung. Fairly certain the bibs won’t be dry so they’ll be riding on the outside of a bag tomorrow to finish drying. I started towards the entrance booth to mooch some WiFi to post yesterday’s recap, but found great WiFi near the host’s site so I used that instead. After that was done I wandered back into camp to finish composing this.
Have a decent day planned for tomorrow. Garmin says 55 miles with 1,500 feet of climbing. That climbing doesn’t seem like much but it includes the dreaded climb out of San Luis Obispo.
I hope I can find a campsite at the campground I plan on stopping at. They don’t have hike/bike sites listed as a feature and when I went to make reservations for tomorrow they have nothing available online. That’s what I get for trying to stop in a beach community on a holiday weekend. You may be hearing from me tomorrow evening from the comfort of a hotel room, but my fingers are crossed for a campsite to come through!
Going to take the rest of the evening to relax and return to my book. Be crushing it with the reading. I’m in book five of a six book series. Finished two of those books in the past two days. That’s what I get for getting to camp early!
New bike fund: $6.43 (+$0.01)
48.96 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Sunny-Sunny, 63°F-60°F, Feels like 66°F-77°F, Humidity 71%-91%, Wind N 2mph-W 4mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: -0.7%
Headwind: 30% @ 0.6-5.8mph
Longest Headwind: 30m 2s
Air Speed: 11.5mph
Temp: 63.1-88.7°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 1791 ft
Min elevation: 83 ft
Total climbing: 3610 ft
Total descent: -4482 ft
Total time: 05:47:03
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