Summer '18 California Coast bike tour: Day Three- An EPIC Century up and over the Coast Range

Well, I’m still rolling along, though today tested my resolve —or stubborn stupidity, take your choice! I knew this would be the hardest day of the tour when I planned it, and it played out exactly as I had hoped going up and over the Nacimiento Road climb away from the coast, up through the redwoods, from sea level to the ridge at roughly 3000’. The day started off cold & damp as I got off early and onto the road just before 7:00 am, with temps in the low 50’s in Big Sur. I got a taste of what was coming with a 750’, 8.5% climb right out of the campground. I worked easily south along the coast on CA Rt. 1 through more spectacular scenery- the road runs right along the edges of the cliffs, cut into the hillside at anywhere from 10’ to 300’ above the waves. The marine layer of fog was pretty heavy today, so I was often in the clouds, and it was downright cold on the decents- I would have been close to hypothermic if not for getting warmed back up on each of the regular climbs- there simply are no flat sections in this part of the coast! After just about 30 miles I reached Lucia, a 3 house, one-restaurant settlement just before the road closure on Rt. 1. I got coffee and yogurt, and was told by the owner that the closed road was opening —- tomorrow, a month ahead of schedule! Great... I plan the whole ride around this silly section of closed road, and if I’d been a day later, I could have just ridden through to my next spot and may taken a real rest day ;-). Oh well!

So, freshly fortified with caffeine, food, and the thought of warm temps over in the Salinas Valley and Paso Robles, I headed up Nacimiento Road, a paved 1.5 lane road that switchbacks up 3000’ over 6.5 miles to the top of the coast range. The road reminds me of a paved version of the road up to Monteverde in Costa Rica, and while it was not terribly steep the whole way, it started out at a steady 11% for the first mile or so. After the Vermont Gran Fondo two weeks ago, that didn’t seem too bad, and being in 55-60F temps in the fog, it went really well the first 4 miles or so, until I broke out into the sun. While the heat felt good for 15 minutes or so, it quickly kept climbing with the grade... 70F, 75F, 80F... and by the summit, it topped out at 99F! Fortunately I was carrying my two regular water bottles on my frame, with two extras in my handbag bag. I’d only drunk through half of the first bottle at the crest, so, good to go, right? Almost. The decent was great; really winding and steep, but with good road surface, so not really dangerous to maintain 20-30mph. Plus I only passed a half dozen cars over the full 10 miles down to the valley. Compared with the coast and the redwoods, it’s quite a study in contrast. And by the time I got to the valley-- hotter than ^%#$@!~!.

I crested the climb at about 11am, and by 1pm, it was 114F in the sun; over the next 3 hours, it never went below 111F. Once into the valley, the road runs directly through the maneuvers area of the Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett. As my water supply dwindled, and no public services were available for about 20 more miles, I threw myself on the mercy of a half dozen infantry soldiers resting in the shade of a big live oak along the road next their Hummer. Fortunately, they felt sorry for me and gave me two more bottles of water- cold ones even! They were impressed enough with my journey that they all took photos of themselves standing next to me and letting me know they were going to caption them with “he's like that Forrest Gump guy, only on a bike.” ;-) Probably the highlight of the day! From there I only had 50 more miles to go to Paso Robles. Mostly downhill, at least that’s what it looked like on Google Maps. 25 “rolling“ miles later got me to the thriving (insert sarcasm, very thickly), metropolis of Bradley— at least it looked like I was there. Only instead of taking US 101, my Garmin wanted me to ride up a dry canyon about 5 miles out of the way, then back into Bradley proper after a “bicycle friendly” detour of almost 10 miles. Except I can see a road on the satellite view that parallels the US 101 freeway, straight to Bradley. So... I decide, “what the heck,” and I snuck through someone’s farmyard (the dog that was well advertised as me needing to “beware of“ was fortunately tied up) and out their back gate (unlocked!”) onto what is clearly “old Rt. 101.” It was a bit rough, but paved, with lots of grass growing in the cracks. A mile and a half later, and after only needing to crawl over one locked gate, I was in downtown Bradley... with no one else. I’d managed to buy 4 more bottles of water at a gas station near the 101, so I was good on that front, but Google maps was playing tough again. It and the Garmin suggested I ride south, then take another 10 mile dog-leg loop out into the hills east of the Salinas River to avoid US Rt. 101, which is a typical California freeway, with bikes prohibited. But... once again, I can see that if I keep going along the old road, it passes under Rt. 101 and directly through the Army’s Camp Roberts. So, with my heat addled brain, I figure- hey- I just rode right through one big army base- why not this one?

Wrong. The MP at the gate looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead, and said, sorry, no go. So, I figure again, “what the heck, I’m not going backward 10 miles now,” and I head out onto the on-ramp and then the shoulder of US 101. This might not sound like a great idea, but traffic was light, the road surface smooth as velvet, and I had about 20 miles left in my legs, and this was it... so I rode roughly 3 miles around Camp Roberts on 101 at 23 mph in time-trial mode, and fortunately, no CHP were in the neighborhood. After getting successfully off of Rt. 101, then pedaling 12 downwind miles later on fumes, I rolled into Paso Robles, exhausted, moderately dehydrated, and still very hot (well over 100F at 6pm). After checking into my classic 70’s roadside motel, I made a b-line to the pool and jumped in in full cycling kit (minus cleats- I couldn’t face wet shoes tomorrow!). Jumping into a motel pool hasn’t felt that good since I was about 12!

Final stats: 103.2 miles 7hours, 37mins. in the saddle, 6583’ of climbing, 130bmp ave. HR; 176 max. I will sleep well tonight ;-) And here’s the days pics!!