Monday morning, and it’s time to ride to Santa Cruz. I had my standard oatmeal and bagel breakfast, loaded up the bike, and headed out into the cool, overcast weather.

I passed an older rider on the road. I saw a Bike Route sign that said “Highway 1 Trail” beneath it… yeah okay, I’ll give this one more chance. If I can get to where I’m going with less traffic zooming by, that’s fine by me. Naturally it led me to the water and a dirt road dead-end. [sigh] Time to backtrack.

some bike route. I want my money back.

Not long after I’d made it back onto Highway 1 I saw an English pub… ooh, too tempting. It was 11:30am, close enough to lunch, so I figured what the hell. It’s not like I’m making great progress anyway. Well I went in and they apparently weren’t quite ready to roll yet as no one came around to seat me. Then I saw the old rider who had pulled up – it was that motormouth guy from the hostel last night! I immediately walked right back out the door and scrammed for fear of being trapped in a non-stop, one-way diatribe.

As I rode on, I passed by six or seven fire trucks heading north. Jas had mentioned a fire on the phone yesterday, which hadn’t occurred to me until now – hopefully I won’t run into any road closures or plumes of smoke. Fortunately the fire had been contained and I didn’t have to deal with any of it on my ride today.

The weather continued to be dreary and overcast until about 1pm, when the first evidence that we still orbited the sun came into view. I was able to take my jacket off 15 minutes later as I passed Pigeon Point Lighthouse, the other lighthouse hostel on the coast. Would be nice to stay there sometime… maybe next time.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

I was making great time so I kept riding. I stopped maybe an hour later at a nature preserve and ate miscellaneous food from my bag as I sat on the ground. Another caravan of fire trucks heading north, five this time, passed by. I gave myself a bit of time to digest and was on my way again. I passed by numerous berry farms as I booked down the highway.

I know some people back home that would love to be a ranch hand here

I made phenomenal time today – a 15mph average over 4 hours on the bike! A nice tailwind helped, and the terrain was relatively tame. At one point I was sustaining 27mph on a flat stretch of road without the help of a downhill – greased lightning, baby. Before I knew it I was on the bike lane leading into town.

I rolled into Santa Cruz and headed to the bank for some financial errands. On my way I was passed by a middle-aged dude on a bike. He was headed the same direction as me for a while, and was in front of the black SUV that was behind me. The SUV honked at the biker for some reason, causing the biker to turn around and flip the driver off. It was funny the first time, but then he did it again, and again… he flipped the bird at least four times at this guy while he rode his bike in front of him. He then turned down some side street when the light turned red. All of a sudden, this 20-something guy on a roid rage barges out of the driver’s seat of his car (a different car, mind you) and sprints at the biker, looking to beat his ass to a pulp. This guy wasn’t even involved with the original altercation as far as I could tell. Mental note: keep my birds to myself.

After visiting the bank I looked for a place to park for the afternoon. I rode around for a bit and came across a sign that mentioned indoor bike parking. It was for a place that specialized in acai and yerba mate concoctions. I had a large bowl of granola smothered in açaí berry juice, topped with strawberries, bananas, and shaved coconut. It did not last long.

my açaí bowl of fruit and granola goodness (note the swank indoor bike parking in the background; no segregation for Hulk bike today)

When the place closed I headed over to Jas’s house and met his wife, who was already there. We grouped up with the neighbors who treated us to some excellent Thai food from a place down the street. I then took the opportunity to get a bath going and soak in the tub for a while. I can’t remember the last time I’d even had a bath… it did me a lot of good. (The bottoms of my feet are actually flesh-colored again, not dark from dirt and the road.) We closed out the night watching The Waterboy with their nephew, which was great… I hadn’t had a good dose of Adam Sandler in a while. My hammock is comfy but it is nice to have a roof over your head once in a while… thanks again, Sandhu clan. (Wish you could be here Jas!)

Most Exciting Moment
About a mile before entering Santa Cruz County, I had looked off to the left, checking out what was growing at a berry farm on the other side of the highway. I looked up and saw I was about one second away from being clotheslined off my bike by a wayward tree branch. It was a barren, neck-level, and hungry.

I was going 20mph and had no time to avoid it. Instinctively I braced myself and jutted my right arm out to stiff-arm it. I managed to break it in half, making it through with just a light smack on the elbow. I’m still not sure how I didn’t get hit in the face. That was a moment I wish I had a motorcycle film crew like the Tour de France riders have… I am sure I looked really badass for a second there as I blasted that tree.

Roadkill Report

• one of those birds with the blue sides, unsure of the name
• a pane of glass (pretty sure it was glass, despite being unbroken on the side of the road)
• a creature that was squashed in the car lane that I couldn’t identify. It most closely resembled those “turd birds” they’d sell in gift shops back in Montana. talk about adding insult to injury… not only are you dead, but you look like poop.
• a steak knife without its handle
• an owner’s manual to a LCD television