Wandering Wheels - 12 January 1991

72 miles! We biked 72 miles today. Not all at once (were no that in shape yet) but we did it! AND we were the first group in, a great accomplishment since we were the last ones to leave. After a very restless night's sleep (I don't know, maybe I'm just not made to sleep in churches), we ate breakfast and then guess who was on clean up crew. That's right, Hindsight Bias (Team Bias) washed dishes and cleaned up the church and, might I add, did a dang fine job of it, too. Then, after checking our tire pressure and getting things together, we began the day's journey, which wouldn't end until we were 72 miles down the road.

In the first mile, mile and a half, we passed three or four groups who were either fixing a flat, waiting on someone or who had taken a wrong turn. Our first stop was Pismo Beach, not far from where we started at a little place called Grandma's Bakery for some blueberry muffins. Boy, were they ever great! A wonderful way to start our ride. The weather was the hottest it's been since we arrived and I now have a wonderful biking tan (almost a burn). We rode for quite a while then, passing by large fields of growing asparagus and grapes and broccoli. We stopped at, get this, an olive tasting store. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I tried one and it wasn't too bad.

We stopped for lunch in Guadalupe at an authentic Mexican restaurant. And I mean authentic. The waitress spoke very little English. And the food! Talk about your hot picante sauce. We had eyes and noses watering. And we got two tacos (handmade shells) and an enchilada for $3.00. And was it ever filling. The La Gloria Cafe is definitely worth eating at.

From there we continued our trek. I'm telling you, my butt was sore. The countryside was very interesting. We stopped by a vineyard and took a couple of pictures and then watched some Mexicans picking broccoli. Watching them work made me realize that Americans would never work that hard at such a menial task. It was also fascinating to see how they just put the tractor in low gear and walked behind it.

From there we rode to Los Alamos. The whole ride was very quiet, as everyone was tired and sore. In Los Alamos I discovered why my water had tasted funny: someone had stuck a sausage in it. It's disgusting, but kinda amusing. There we found out that we were the first group there, which picked up our spirits and made us push to get to the campsite first. In the beginning there was a long uphill and I thought I'd never make it. But the last six miles were all downhill. And our 72-mile trek was well-rewarded. After trying to fly our tent, we went and soaked in a whirlpool for half an hour and got our third, count them, three showers in a row! Must be some kind of record. Then Randy, Chip and I walked down the street (by the way, we're camping in Buellton, home of the best split pea soup) to Anderson's to eat some split pea soup. Randy and I split a bowl and surprise surprise, I actually liked it. It was great soup.

Right now I'm getting ready to sleep and it's only 8:40. Guess I am a bit tired. Here's to sweet dreams of great biking and beautiful women. Æ

Tunes: the moody blues - your wildest dreams