Distance, elevation: 51 mi, +1529/-1480 ft.
Detailed route.
What route is shown in the embedded map above may depend on Google's mood. So here are snapshots of the route we took: Google Maps, PDF
8 am. Up. Danish pastry at lobby for breakfast. Then, in come five Northern Europeans. Milkshake aftermath. Easy day anticipated, which calls for a campy fit with pockets, of course, for ease of picture-taking.
10 am. To In-N-Out to fill bottles. Not open yet. Walmart. Then In-N-Out. Resisted getting a 10:30 am burger, despite the smell of grilled onions. Coming out of In-N-Out without a burger is a cardinal sin. Guilty.
10:45 am. We’re off.
12 pm. Bathroom break at McDs in Nipomo. Someone in there inspires me to get a pack of mini powdered donuts. Yummy throwback.
1 pm. Lunch at Preisker Park in Santa Maria. Heated up a packet of Indian curry from Trader Joe’s which has been sitting in the pannier for the entire journey this far. PB-dillas, jerky, trail mix, donuts. Discovered a disc golf spot; unexpectedly hipster.
2 pm. Off to Lompoc. Nice route out of Santa Maria and Orcutt. Graciosa Road has almost no traffic and the road is in good condition. Upon exiting, taking a left to merge onto Highway 135 is a bit too exciting. We split it into two stages, stopping in the middle next to an island before completing the merge. There are lots of cars going pretty fast. Feels like playing the video game where you get the frog to jump on logs to cross a river. Shortly after, there is a two-lane exit off the right and we luckily time it just when there are no cars. We cut left to stay on the road. After that, 135 is not as bad. The shoulders are pretty wide, there are no more exits, and traffic thins considerably.
3:40 pm. Turning off onto Harris Grade Road, we braced for the climbs. It has been a very easy day so far, and perhaps that was just the storm before the calm. Surprisingly, it wasn’t so bad. I guess having gone through a lot lately makes this feel like a moderate stroll. On this road, for the first time I felt more detached from the ups and downs: no dread before a climb, no yearning for downhill dive bombs. The downhills are nice as always, but so too is the steady rhythm of grinding uphill and the feeling of earning your keep. All done methodically and without celebration nor complaint. Simply enjoying it all. Is this what it means to get stronger?
“You got a fast car, I want a ticket to anywhere~”
On Harris Grade Road, there was one lane and not much of a shoulder but cars were mostly going slowly, since this is not a main road you’d drive on if you were in a hurry. Plus, there’s a nice view of Lompoc at the top, right before an easy and scenic downhill stretch. Overall, today’s route was excellent except for the sketchy maneuvers involving 135. Otherwise it was a very chill day with moderate climbs and less distance than we’d been conditioned for. Relaxing.
4:45 pm. Sign says “Welcome to Lompoc, the city of arts and flowers.” Check in to hotel, Inn at Highway 1. Wash clothes. Book tomorrow’s hotel in Santa Barbara.
6:25 pm. To dinner at Diamond Tea and Sushi. Salmon bento, tuna poke bowl, popcorn chicken. Saw a dude riding his bike like a jockey. As in, he would ride for a bit, then repeatedly whip his bike with a stick. He seems a bit crazy, but is “crazy” a shift of blame for not understanding? So what could possibly be the explanation? My theory is it is a novel braking mechanism, a kind of pulse width modulation. Crazy, or hidden genius; genius, or hidden crazy.
8 pm. Grocery store Albertsons.
8:30 pm. Chill at hotel and eat snacks. Asiago, baguette, açaí bowl. Eat bread and cheese with a Swiss Army knife on neatly laid out toilet paper. Across the street, a tourist sign points in our direction with the label “Wine Ghetto”.
Happy. Who knew you could take off with all your possessions fit into a bag, someone you love, and the open road — and that is all you need to be so happy.