Total distance ridden: 1225 miles
Cumulative elevation: 73,627 feet
Let me start off by saying that if you ever find yourself visiting the town of Gorda, don't plan on two things: 1. leaving town with any money left in your pocket and 2. Using the local wifi signals. Both will leave you deeply dissatisfied and wondering how this town is still operational. Gorda is the very last spot before Highway 1 closes due to the mud slide and I think they have a bit of a Disneyland complex--basically they think they can charge whatever they want for anything and people will just pay the price. Their gas is 7.50/gallon! And unfortunately, that is the spot that we ended up for the night. Yesterday's ride? It was all about Big Sur.
I mentioned before that I was a bit anxious that maybe we were biting off more than we could chew on this leg. Big Sur on paper was the largest climbing day of the entire coast and we were going to tackle 65 miles of it. Also, to hear people talk about it, there were not services to be had anywhere along the way. We grabbed breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, extra water, and started into the unknown. Highway 1 remains fairly populated for a ways south of Carmel with big beautiful houses and the views were excellent as we started into the climbs.
A quick note on climbing: I have found that on some of our days, the climbs have absolutely zapped me while other days they didn't bother me at all. On the road to Big Sur, I learned why they are different. Short steep climbs will wear you down but longer, less steep, grinding climbs don't have nearly that effect. Big Sur has a BUNCH of ups and downs but there were no parts that were steep pitches. Combining that with the incredible scenery and the climbs just didn't seem that tough. In fact, the miles just seemed to melt away--it was almost surreal how easy the ride seemed.
We stopped halfway at the Big Sur Market and grabbed a cold drink to have with the sandwiches we had been carrying with us. Again, all those reports about no services along the road? Yeah, not buying it anymore. There was never more than 15 miles in between some type of food/drink support. Also, the cell service was fantastic for probably 60% of the ride. Again, it just did not feel that remote to me.
Along the way, we got the final word on the Helicopter situation. Chris, the owner sent out an email letting everyone know that he would be picking us up on Wednesday around 12:00 and would have Ashley (the CBS reporter from Santa Cruz) as well as Wendy and Ben--the young boy battling leukemia. That meant we would need to spend the night in the Gorda area and then kill time until the helicopter arrived. We booked a room at the only hotel in town--at least we could unwind, watch some TV, catch up on the blog/vlog and do some emails.
Wrong. We were shown our room which had no TV, the WiFi was barely fast enough to send a text and there was little to do other than take a shower and hang out. And like everything else in this town, the hotel room thought they were a Disney property and charged us an arm and a leg. So frustrating!
All in all, I would give the ride today a 10/10 and the eventual destination of Gorda a 2/10. It may be the first time ever that I can say that I wanted to be back out on my bike more than in the room at the end of the ride.
Today: Things are really going to take off if you know what I mean. It is helicopter day and the day we meet Ben, the young boy with leukemia. Can't wait--should be fantastic!
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| The miles just sort of melt away and the climbs don't feel so bad when the road is as pretty as Big Sur |
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| Leaving Carmel--they make sure you know that the road is closed ahead. |
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| This was first of the many bridges we would cross. |
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| Hills and curves for 63 miles? No big deal for this girl! |
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| Until the very end, the fog stayed off the coast and we had great views the entire way down. |
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| Katelyn's favorite sticker. She wanted to make sure I included it. |
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| Stopping in the town of Big Sur at mile 40. This is where the clothes started coming off--so hot! |
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| Not a bad place for a nap--at least it has a view! |
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| What? A picture of me? |
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| I know this waterfall into the ocean has been photographed a bajillion times, but it is hard not to take a picture of it--it is so beautiful to sit and watch it in person. |
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| What a $22 dollar meal looks like at the Whale Watcher Inn in Gorda--one of the very few times I can say a meal was inedible. It was criminal what they charged. My basic cheeseburger cost $19!!! |
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