Monterey – San Luis Obispo: Big Sur and Bike Sumo 30th October - 1st November

A nasty steep hill out of Monterey gave us just a taste of what the riding would be like for the next two days and, after cycling through yet another swanky neighbourhood of seaview houses, the road opened out onto the area, or perhaps the state of mind, known as Big Sur, probably the most scenic part of the Californian coast. This meant that there were some very big hills to be contended with. However, despite the difficulty, the ascents were made easier by the spectacular views from the road (photos are a must see!). Highlights included the Bixby bridge and a well deserved rest stop at the ‘Spiritual Garden’ - a place where someone had displayed a smorgasbord of artistic bric-a-brac, including a man size ‘nest’ set out with cushions and pillows. It was very tempting indeed to stay for a siesta instead of sweating our way up the second big hill of the day.

The improved weather (and very expensive accommodation) meant the decision to camp was much easier to reach than on previous occasions and after some expert advice from and lovely dinner made by Eric, we settled in under the Redwoods with the sound of the ocean in the distance. The next day was more of the spectacular same, although an intermittent swirling fog annoyingly obscured our view at the more outlying points of the land.

At the vista point perched at the top of one of the biggest climbs of the day, a man approached us, asking, ‘So when I see ya cycling up those hills, should I feel sorry for ya, or should I just think you’re a stupid son of a bitch?’ at which point we entered into an enthusiastic debate about the pros and cons of cycling along the Big Sur. Don and Carol were going to have lunch further north, and on their way back they found us at Ragged Point where they kindly invited us to eat with them that evening.

The big hills finally gave way to some wonderfully flat prairie land, where the miles literally flew by in seconds. Just south of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse we had the opportunity to observe some elephant seals in action, some of them fighting, but most of them basking themselves in the sun. At San Simeon, we shared stories and anecdotes over a wonderful meal with Don and Carol at their hotel.

On our way south the following morning, we had one more rendezvous with Don and Carol, who stopped their car at the side of the highway to donate their hotel toiletries to us (Neutrogena – good stuff!) , after which a flattish route took us through the picturesque Cayuco, and then onto Morro Bay, where we got a wee glimpse of the big rock before it was completely obscured by a thick fog. Our lunch on the beach in the sunshine immediately downgraded to a lunch at a picnic table in a touristy part of town, also in thick fog. The sandwiches were bought at a health food shop, and unfortunately turned out to be totally vegan (lettuce, avocado and a bit of sauce), which meant that there were precious little calories for us hungry cyclists. In a typically elegant moment for N, the wind also decided to pour her carrot juice into her lap, which then dripped down her leg, and splattered her socks and shoes with a very interesting orange hue.

Thick fog accompanied us all the way out of Morro Bay and its surrounding wetlands, before the sun broke through once again and the road took us into San Luis Obispo, where we immediately stopped at the famous Madonna Inn for tea and cake to make up for our insufficiently filling lunch. The place is decorated in a very elaborate, ornamental, kitsch, ornate, over-the-top style, mostly in colours of pink and red – the toilets downstairs were a real sight, and the cakes matched too!

Adventures in San Luis Obispo did not come to an end there, however. In the evening we made our way down to the Farmer’s Market where we invested in lots of delicious fruit and, after wine tasting in a place where people obviously felt impelled to dress up for the occasion, enjoyed a lovely meal at the Blue Sky Cafe in a more relaxed atmosphere. We were very lucky to be in San Luis Obispo on this day as it was the first Thursday of the month, which is when all of the cyclists get together for their Critical Mass (campaigning for cyclists rights etc), and something curiously called Bike Sumo. After a few rounds of the centre, we followed these people (somewhat reluctantly) down some badly lit streets to the edge of a park somewhere out on the edge of town. We joined the other cyclists in a big circle, most of whom were in fancy dress (the night before had been Halloween), with two participants in the middle engaged in some sort of combat with their bikes. On closer inspection, we realised that Bike Sumo is pretty much exactly that: the aim is to get your opponent off his bike by crashing into him as hard as possible, with no regard whatsoever for the consequences for the bicycles involved. Participants had to identify themselves (usually with some sort of nickname), the winner was decided by the best of three rounds and one did not under any circumstances complain about the resulting damage to his, or her, bike. In fact, the fighting pair shook hands in a gentlemanly fashion, the loser conceding ‘You got me, man.’ Of course, N’s bike unfortunately got caught up in one of the frays, (but, keeping her mouth firmly shut, got Paul to fix the resulting brake problems while most of the participants urinated by the adjacent bins after the whole ritual was over). To recover from all the excitement we went for a couple of drinks in downtown SLO where we found yet another live band performing and more people-watching opportunities to indulge in.

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