Another early day, but back along the coast. First woke up around 4:30, but managed to fall back to sleep until 5:00. I rolled out of camp around 7:00.
I had to make a stop in Cambria for some more breakfast food. I didn’t bring anything for breakfast back to camp other than some Clif bars. Two Clif bars isn’t going to be enough to fuel me for a full day on the bike.
I stopped at this little joint named Sandy’s Deli. They were the only place open other than a gas station. When I walked up I saw they had a seating area and I got excited thinking it was a regular restaurant joint. I was disappointed when I rounded the corner to find it was deli style. This had to be better than Shell station so I ordered a ham and cheese croissant, cinnamon roll, and coffee. I sat down, relaxed, and enjoyed myself before rolling out.
Not too long into the ride I started seeing signs on the road. I couldn’t help but stop, turn around in most cases, and take pictures of them. Love the road art. A while after seeing “Tree” I thought I should have made a video showing the marking then panning over to see the tree and scream in fear. Made me chuckle.
Not far out of Cambria I spotted the first sign showing the distance to LA. I was surprised to see I was only 236 away. At this point I should be through the LA area in four days. Would be three but there is a rest day coming up.
As I came into Cayucos I spotted the pier and decided to take the short ride to check it out. I rode all the way out to the end and there were a couple guys sitting there fishing. To be honest I wanted to take a picture of Shadow but their fishing gear was spread all over. No biggie, besides most of the sky was flat gray and you couldn’t see out into the bay any. I stopped and asked the guys if they had had any luck yet.
“Nothing yet”, was the response.
“What are you aiming for?” I asked.
“Either shark or halibut.”
“Oh yeah? Ever landed anything good?”
“I landed a five foot shark and he landed a 28″ halibut.”
“Woah seriously?”
“Oh yeah here check out the picture. Give me a second have a lot of fish pictures.”
“No problem man I can relate. Lots of bike pictures.”
He spins his phone around and be damned big old shark in his hands. His buddy comes over and the picture of him and his prize halibut is the wallpaper for his phone. We chatted a little more before I wished them luck and rolled off.
Next stop would be Morro Bay. I saw a sign for Morro Rock and made the right turn to go down and get a shot. As I rounded the corner I saw a large group of cyclists sitting at the corner. I gave a “Yeeww” and kept going. I went down bayside, grabbed my picture, and rode back to the route.
As I came back to Main Street the group was still there. I roll to a stop and ask “Is this the start of the ride or the end?”
One of the guys says, “Neither. It’s the first stop on our pub crawl century. We’re doing a casual century riding from dive bar to dive bar and having a beer at each.”
That definitely got a chuckle out of me. We talked a bit more about my trip, my plans for the night, and what to expect on the road ahead. Nice little visit. Unfortunately, none of them had flybys turned on, they didn’t use Strava, or both because I couldn’t find anyone on my Strava flyby map.
Making my way through San Luis Obispo I was on the lookout for some lunch. I stopped at the first turn because there was a shopping center with a Capriotti’s on the corner. I checked Google Maps and saw I had plenty of San Luis Obispo to go and shouldn’t have a problem finding a better more local lunch.
I was riding down Chorro Street when I passed Monterey Street. Now what caught my attention was that vehicles were prohibited from turning on to it but bicycles were excepted. As I passed by I saw several seating areas. I figured I’d at least take a look so I turned around and went up Monterey to see what I could find.
It didn’t take long before I found Finny’s Crafthouse. The best part about this place is they had seating that opened onto the walkway. I parked Shadow on their rail and stepped inside. The hostess asked if I wanted inside or outside, and I told her, “I kinda already claimed a table right there.” And pointed out the table with Shadow next to it.
After browsing the menu I went with “Peggy’s Crispy Chicken” which listed “Pepper jack, fresno chilis, tomato, slaw, spicy aioli, potato bun”. When I was asked what side I wanted I threw it back to the waitress asking “I don’t know, tots or sweet potato fries?”
“Sweet potato fries, definitely.”
I took her advice and got the sweet potato fries and had her bring me an Ace Pineapple Cider. The food was amazing! It was a great spot to sit, relax, and enjoy my meal. Perfect way to recharge the legs before the big climb out of San Luis Obispo.
After enjoying a nice lunch with Shadow I rode off for Pismo Beach. I hate to admit it but I don’t know what big climb everyone online talked about. I don’t remember any big climb. The climb out of Leggett was a big climb. Nothing today was even close to that. It’s funny I was all worried about this climb and it wasn’t anything.
I came into North Beach Campground and asked the girl working the entrance of they had anything free. I did check their website last night and they were showing full. I had hoped there may have been a site come up by the time I arrived. I was bummed to hear they had nothing available. I gave my thanks and started searching for a hotel.
There were a couple nearby, but I went with a Hampton Inn, renamed Hilton Garden Inn. Unfortunately, I had a hour to burn before I could check in. I rode to a Starbucks near the hotel, got a coffee, and sat outside and enjoyed the weather while using their WiFi.
About a half hour into my wait this guy walks up and starts asks if I’m riding up or down the coast. I reply down and that kicks off a long conversation about his previous rides. He did ask about my plans for the night and I told him North Beach was full and without hike/bike sites so I went with a hotel. He lays on me that the county has a campground near North Beach that has hike/bikes at $13/night. Dang it!
I went over to the hotel and got all checked in. After showering and washing my kit I went for a walk to California Fresh Market to see what they had. A Subway was in the same shopping center if I couldn’t find some dinner. I discovered they had a deli counter so I ordered a sandwich and grabbed a few other things for the road and walked back to the hotel.
As I came around the last corner to the hotel I decided to cut through the parking lot to come in the back door. This is the same door I was directed to when I checked in. Technically it’s the “second floor” but it opens to a ground level entrance at the rear of the proper. It’s an odd configuration. Anyway, I look down and be damned a five dollar bill sitting there in the parking lot! Let’s go new bike money!!
Well that about wraps up today. Tomorrow we’re aiming for Refugio State Beach which does have hike/bike sites. Also hoping they’ll let me stay for two days back-to-back. Scheduled rest day and all. Good thing with 76 miles and over 4k in elevation planned for tomorrow.
New bike fund: $11.50 (+$5.07)
54.35 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Sunny-Sunny, 51°F-61°F, Feels like 54°F-75°F, Humidity 99%-88%, Wind ESE 2mph-WSW 5mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: -0.3%
Headwind: 42% @ 2.2-8.1mph
Longest Headwind: 01h 12m 39s
Air Speed: 12.8mph
Temp: 57-77.7°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 327 ft
Min elevation: 5 ft
Total climbing: 2430 ft
Total descent: -2336 ft
Total time: 07:41:52
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