Day Six, Lompoc to Ventura

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Awesomeness

Day 6 is generally awesome- we emerge from Lompoc back out to the coast and ride through Santa Barbara. But this year's day 6 was even awesome-r than usual, thanks to the weather, which couldn't have been more different than last year's. (Last year, I believe, was the only time a day on the ride has been cancelled, due to inclement weather.)

The first 17 miles of the route are a steady climb, followed by a great downhill. This year rest stop one, which I've previously experienced shrouded in fog, was completely clear. There's a lot of distance on Hwy 101. but it felt manageable this year. I will say that several times today I thought the rest stop was a lot closer than it ended up being. I really don't think of this ride as being 500+ miles- it's all about the distance to the next rest stop, which is never more than 20 miles away, and usually a lot less. However, when you're expecting it to be 1 mile away, and it turns out to be 10, it gets a little challenging.

Lunch was at a nice park in Goleta with lots of picnic tables. Shawn had gotten ahead of me, so I ended up eating with Kurt, Scott, and Kevin. It had started to dawn on me that the ride's almost over, and it was nice to sit and chat with these people who I won't get to see much after Saturday.

After an annoying little hill just after lunch, we make it to Santa Barbara, and another beautiful view as the route comes back to the coast. After riding along the bike path for a bit, we came upon the "Paradise Pit", an event hosted by a number of local businesses in Santa Barbara, providing riders with free ice cream, baked goods, and massages. It's an incredible show of support for the riders, and a wonderful treat. On top of that, my friends Laura and Dennis who now live in Santa Barbara, showed up to say "hi". It was great to catch up with them for a bit, before we got back on our bikes and continued South to Ventura.

Arriving in Ventura after 86 miles of pedaling was a relief. Even more so, knowing that I'd booked a hotel that morning. Yes, after realizing that I'm coming down with a cold- probably from lack of sleep, etc.- I decided to take it easy and get a room at the Marriott, which is just across the street from camp. Shawn joined me, and it was quite a luxury to get a real shower, recharge the electronics, and do some laundry in the bathroom sink. Dinner was at In-and-Out across the street, another taste of civilization. After dinner, we participated in the candelight vigil on the beach, always a moving event. Then it was back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep, to be ready for our final day on the road.