Season 3 Episode 16 (10/21-23) Farm to Table Gratitude

Season 3 Episode 16 (10/21-23) Farm to Table Gratitude – 

10/21 Plaskett (Big Sur) to San Simeon, CA. 35 miles 2390’ climb.

We woke up still on a high from yesterday’s epic ride. And just as the last 25 miles north of the closure were quiet like a country road, so was the start of today’s ride that was south of the closure. In the first 11 miles, only 15 cars passed us. It was both wonderful and unsettling.

The road is all ours.

At one point, I passed two women sitting in lawn chairs on the shoulder of the northbound side (opposite side) as they were eating a relaxed breakfast as if looking out from a wonderful oceanfront table. I stopped on my side (southbound) and for 10 minutes we spoke casually across two lanes of what is a highway, but felt like we were neighbors speaking across a quiet residential street. I learned they were mother and daughter eating before hiking and were from San Luis Obispo or simply SLO as they advised me locals say. They told me that I must stop at the elephant seal rookery. That led to a discussion of what is a rookery. We talked about the road closure and its resulting economic fallout, and then I wished them safe hiking and they wished me safe biking.

We stopped for a bite and looking out at the horizon over the ocean, it appeared as if there was a mountain range.

The restaurant there had closed since the rock slide in January as they simply don’t have the through traffic to support them. Heather and I discussed how one day a business can be on top of the world, in their case with a location that is almost a monopoly to print money, and then another day due to misfortune hits bottom. It was Hank’s wisdom (Episode 12) that luck is a big part of life. We felt sad for the business.

Given the lack of cars, we easily rode beside one another instead of single file. We were talking about the kindness of our host from last night.

Our host’s note was literally true. He gave us his home because he didn’t want us to otherwise miss the opportunity of yesterday’s ride.

Amongst his decor and photos of his own epic adventures, this image resonated strongly with me. For some reason, in our culture it seems that children and young people are full of dreams, and that fades as the practical responsibility of parenthood and earning a livelihood grows in importance.

An hour later still nearly car-free.

30 minutes later we saw an intriguing sign.

Soon after, we met some of the peace riders in outfits even less subtle than ours. One of them had gone over the handlebars and was awaiting emergency help from 4 miles away.

We all became quick friends, and within 5 minutes, one of them named Muffy offered us to stay in her home in Morro Bay if we need it, even though she would not be there. That’s the second day in a row we’ve been invited by strangers within minutes to stay in their home. The love, trust and kindness of this cycling family is quite touching. (I’ve since learned the injured rider Erica is doing okay with no broken bones.)

Elephant Seal Vista. These young males are just sparring and training for when older. An educator at the sight showed us photos of older males fighting a bloody battle as they compete for dominance.

San Simeon is best known as the site of nearby Hearst Castle set up in the Santa Lucia Mountains that rise up from the Pacific in the Central California Coast. I’d visited it last in 1989 and can still recall its grandeur and many details.

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10/22 San Simeon to Pismo Beach, CA. 54 miles 1956’ climb.

Last night we were thrilled to meet up with today’s guest riders - our good friend Stu from NY, and his son Jacob who now lives in LA. (Stu was a featured guest rider in season 1 from Las Cruces, NM to El Paso, TX.)

The four of us enjoyed a delicious dinner at Robin’s in nearby Cambria that Muffy, the peace rider we met yesterday, highly recommended.

In Cayucos, we checked out the pier and surfers behind us. And met a local rider Gordon who generously offered to guide us forward on the best paths and route. He said he didn’t mind slowing down for us.

Cayucos surfers.

Morro Bay on our guided ride by Gordon.

Climbing as we approached San Luis Obispo.

All smiles when Gordon told us it’s mostly downhill the rest of the way.

I’m a speck off in the distance.

Lunch at the Brookshire Farm corn maze (or should it be spelled maize) and pumpkin patch.

When in Rome… or when at a pumpkin patch, it’s time to treat yourself to pumpkin pie.

We bid farewell to Stu and Jacob. It was amazing riding with them and a helpful shot in the arm to avoid a letdown from the high of conquering Big Sur.

Stu was in LA for business and stayed on so he could ride with us. To achieve this, he borrowed a friend’s bike and rented a car in LA. He and Jacob then drove about 4 hours north to meet us in San Simeon and got a hotel room. They pedaled south with us for 54 miles, and then took an Uber right back north 54 miles to the hotel to get his car. They then drove the same 54 miles south to Pismo Beach to retrieve their bikes from us that did not fit in the Uber. And finally, they drove 3 more hours south back to LA. We are blown away and filled with gratitude by such gargantuan efforts to be part of our ride. Thank you Stu and Jacob. 

We went to check out a highly recommended stop. Heather can barely contain her glee. She has definitely supplanted me as the consumer of sweets.

From classic to modern variations, it was a tough choice.

We opted for one classic and one cream cheese frosting. Both earned our highest accolades as each forkful packed 3 moans. Get yourself here! Or they ship nationwide.

A beautiful end to a beautiful day. 

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10/23 Pismo Beach to Lompoc, CA. 45 miles 2020’ climb.

A tight squeeze for Heather. We both felt this was one of our steepest and hardest climbs ever.

Then it was my turn to get squeezed. I recall a feeling of terror as being narrowly passed on a very steep grade climb is the most dangerous spot. Although pedaling fast, I was moving slowly. When you move at such a slow speed while going uphill, you tend to weave/wobble left and right to maintain your balance. My heart was racing at first from climbing and then I felt it quicken even more out of fear.

Riding through Guadalupe, we saw many shops with predominantly Spanish signs.  It’s easy to forget this area was settled by Spain in the 1500s and was then part of Mexico in 1821 until 1848, and only became a US state in 1850. Its history and traditions are very different from those of the northeast. We have seen many Mexican flags flying in the farm fields where laborers are picking strawberries.

The joy of the day was riding for hours through this agricultural region.

With greenhouse canopies down.

Farm to table. Simply Fresh- indeed!

We both admired the many hard workers we saw up close in various stages of farming - plowing, irrigating, driving trucks, harvesting, packing, putting canopies up or taking them down etc. With our cycling perspective and slower pace, we are waving and greeting some of them who are closer to the road. We don’t know their names but we know their faces. We are filled with gratitude for our fresh produce.

 Copyright Mark Segal 2023.