Day Four, Paso Robles to Santa Maria

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Evil Twins

Another long, great day. 97 miles. Up at 4. On the road by 7. 11 hours on the road. 16.2 mph average. More later! Time for sleep.

My parents and brother are vacationing down here, so that they can see me along the way. (That, and my parents are fond of staying on the ocean.) This being a long day, I got up extra-early so I could get up and out early.

The route began with a pair of hills called the Evil Twins. What makes them particularly evil is that there are actually more than two peaks, so you get to the top of the second one thinking you're golden, yet you're less than half-way done. Still, we nailed these hills, and before we knew it we were at the crest of the hill, the ceremonial half-way point to LA with a beautiful view of the ocean, followed by an amazing nine-mile descent.

We stopped for coffee in Cayucos with my family, and then they caught up with us at lunch. It was nice for them to see what it's like on the inside of this cult community.

It was a long ride today, with lots of stops. Add in some mechanical trouble and two flats in my group, and you've got us near the back of the pack.

There was a nice distribution of rest stops about 8-12 miles apart, but between rest stops 3 and 4, there were eighteen miles. Eighteen long, windy, rough miles, riding across this flat agricultural land with nothing to protect you from the wind. Rest stop 4 was all about replenishing, and bracing for the last stretch. Fortunately the harsh crosswind became a tailwind, nudging us back to camp and making the last few miles nearly effortless. We got in late but not as late as on day two. Enough time to shower, eat, and get ready for another day of riding.