Day 23 2021 – Sun and Sights along the Road

When we decide on where to stay, the number one factor is where, followed by price. There was no microwave or fridge in our Motel 6 room. I forgot to check those options when I chose it. Hence, the even lower price. Because of that, we had targeted a nice place for breakfast in Cambria, about 6 miles away. If you haven’t figured it out yet, most of our waking hours are spent on figuring out where we can get our next meal and where we can sleep. We assume the rest of the adventure will just come our way.

We began another foggy ride near the ocean shore. The restaurant in Cambria was very good, but created an extra 5 miles and some climbing to our day. You can see more ride stats here.

We never just have breakfast. I was contacting some Warm Showers possibilities for Santa Barbara. Ron was dealing with some work issues. We take advantage of connectivity and planning every chance we get. You can’t really have a conversation while on the bike. It’s dangerous and the traffic can make it too noisy. This is our chance for joint planning and review.

Cambria had brought us more inland. The next 8 miles kept us away from the shore. The skies were sunnier, but the terrain was not as interesting. The only town before the next coastal city was Harmony. I saw the sign, but I can’t say I saw the town. It says a lot when your elevation is this low, you still can’t get your population to beat it!

As we approached Cayucos, we got closer to the ocean again.

Things got foggier as we approached Morro Bay. We stopped for a snack. Remember, it’s all about eating.

We pulled away from the ocean and headed inland to San Luis Obispo. The skies were sunny, and the landscape was mountainous. The temperature was also rising.

The sunny mountains weren’t bad, but the most interesting sights were just all the things you see along the road. I’m pretty sure the first one is a possum. He might just be playing possum.

Just outside of Cayucos, this lady was walking to the beach with her friend.

I can’t tell you how many times I wished I found one of these when your butt is sick of being in the saddle. It would have been so good to just sit on something else for awhile.

This one was pretty fresh. You can’t see it from this angle, but as I was riding away, I saw the logo and pieces of a Chevrolet bumper. It must have been an Impala.

And finally, is this a euphemism for a prison?

It was a sunny, hot ride from Morro Bay to San Luis Obispo. Ron wanted a shake and I wanted ice cream. We found both at Doc Bernstein’s Ice Cream Lab. Ron was in first and tried to describe his dream shake. It had to be thick, with lots of flavor. The person working the counter said she had some strawberries she could add to the already strawberry ice cream. Would you like some cherries, too? How about cherry syrup? Strawberry syrup?

I was going to get 2 scoops of salted carmel, but there was enough left over from Ron’s to almost make a second shake, so the manager just gave it to us gratis. I changed my 2 scoops to vanilla and strawberry cheesecake to go with the extra that Ron generously gave to me. I think he just wanted to see if I could climb the next hill with all that ice cream in my stomach. No comment.

We had another 12 to 14 miles until we finished our day in Pismo Beach. I missed the opportunity to get a picture of the Welcome to Pismo Beach sign. Instead, I settled for this view from Palisades park and another park farther down the road. The mental jukebox was moving with Freddy Boom Boom Cannon.

We made our way through town and found the next Motel 6 on our Tom Bodett tour. Still no fridge or microwave, so we walked down to an “unbelievably amazing” deli at this grocery store. It was good. We got a beer and ice cream to go with our respective dinner choices, along with bananas for tomorrow morning. It was another full day.

The Not So Lone Rider