Today we rode from Oceano to Beullton, a 66 mile trip. If you have seen the movie Sideways, then you have seen the scenery from today.
Today we rode for Kendall Viera a 9 year old girl who was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at age 6. She is beautiful and we had a large photo of her on our route guide all day!
I started out earlier than usual because it was going to be hot....again. We started out with a couple of small hills and then riding through the farm fields of California. Lots of trucks and farm vehicles, bumpy roads....yuck! Made it to the rest stop and midday point in great time. Unfortunately I learned of one of our riders being down. I had ridden with April Rivas just yesterday - as a matter of fact she is a 2nd year veteran and was the one who invited me to ride with her yesterday. April had a bad fall and had to go home. April we are thinking of you and thanks for such a great day yesterday!
After the midday check point it got very hot - and the steady 1-3% uphill grade was wearing on me. We climbed over 1,500 feet over 40 miles...and at the end there were two steep hills. For some reason I just felt worn out...but luckily managed to make it to the top of both only to find the next 8 miles were the bumpiest, roughest roads I had ever been down. We wound past vineyards and wine tasting rooms...but the heat made them seem very unattractive.
Los Olivos was a welcome site for lunch and a nice long break. Tom sagged again today to rest his leg and I met him in camp in reasonable time. He was able to ride his bike up to the hotel - and is still thinking about what to do tomorrow.
Tomorrow is our second to last day - and a very long one, over 86 miles from here to Ventura. We ride the back country and the 101 into Santa Barbara. I am nervous about the 101 - and hope we all have a safe ride.
Since today was a rather boring ride and hot- I did not take many pictures - and will perhaps post some later this week.
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