Stefen Ray's Blog: AIDS/Lifecycle 12 - An Unforgettable Journey

Gear Truck Roadies

I peddled 99 miles today and climbed 7,253 vertical feet. Wow!

After rolling out of the mid-state fairgrounds we headed back over to the California coast for an amazing ride. This was also the day of the infamous "Evil Twins." Two more challenging hills to be reckoned with as we crossed over from the Central Valley to the coast.

They day started off with a bang as we climbed for 18 miles which included the infamous Evil Twins. The climb was gradual until we got to the alleged twins. I personally would call them the Evil Family. It started with Mama at or about a 10% grade for about a mile, two more smaller hills and then Daddy at or above 10% grade for about two miles. To put this into perspective, Tram Road is 9% and about five miles long. In effect this family of hills was about half of Tram Road, but just as if not steeper. The descent was pretty steep too, but a welcome experience since I was very hot and toasty by then. I love the experience of the wind whipping through my cycling clothes cooling me off after a challenging climb. It's a reward in itself!

After these ugly hills, the rest of the day was relatively flat and uneventful, but went down the gorgeous Central Valley Coastline for at least half of the route. Wow!

On the descent from the Twins I notice a sign for a town coming up. It said, "Harmony" with a population of 18. Wow, is that really possible? What I found amusing, but couldn't stop to take a picture of was that at the Harmony turn off the sign on the left side of the highway pointing to Harmony had another sign right next to it. It was a "No Outlet" sign. I loved the unintended message, "Harmony, No Outlet." I guess you had to be there...

Me, Rey Rey and Lucy (my bike) celebrating

Today was also the day we reached the half-way point! It
was just after the Evil Family and the delicious descent. I cried as I approached it. I couldn't believe I'd actually peddled 275 miles in only 4 days.

Later in the day we were rewarded with amazing cinnamon rolls. This store was ready for us. I think I waited in line for 10 minutes and received my food and espresso within 2 minutes. These folks knew how to crank it out.

I loved cycling the reminder of the day since we followed the coast all the way to Santa Maria. The views were spectacular and breathtaking. I thought peddling the desert was amazing. I think I peddled close to 50 miles of gorgeous California coastline. What a meditative experience to say the least.

The remainder of this post is a pictorial account of the day!