Sunday April 15, 2012
We dressed in many layers – it was quite cold – lower 40’s early in the AM. We packed up all our luggage and checked out from the lovely hotel. We loaded up the bikes and off we go……
Thursday April 12, 2012
40 miles (64 km) – Total so far: 244 miles (393 km)
I awoke fully rested and really recharged. My tent was dry. All the batteries were charged, and the weather looked like it might be OK. The sun was breaking through some grey clouds. I rolled out of the clean hotel sheets, packed up the bike, and went in search of breakfast.
Solvang is swimming in breakfast restaurants. Those Danish folks must love breakfast, because there are three breakfast restaurants on every block in this town. I picked one at random – The Belgian Waffle House – and ordered up – what else? Belgian Waffle with eggs and bacon. Gobbled it down and was preparing to ride out-of-town when I spotted across the street the Solvang Restaurant – Home of Arne’s Famous Aebleskiver.
Wednesday April 11, 2012
13 miles (21 km) – Total so far: 204 miles (328 km)
What a difference a good nights sleep makes! It rained really hard last night, but I slept like a baby. Once I was sure everything inside the tent would stay dry, I actually found the sound of the rain falling on the tent very comforting. I slept till after 7:30 – very late for me.
Tuesday April 10, 2012
45 miles (72 km) – Total so far: 191 miles (307 km)
I slept really well in Carpenteria. The hiker/biker campsites back right up against the railroad tracks, and I was afraid the trains would wake me. Apparently the trains run silent at night, because I heard nothing until chirping birds woke me at 7:00. I planned today to be a relatively short day – only about 32 miles. My destination – Lake Cachuma in the Los Padres National Forest.
Sunday April 8, 2012
65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 146 miles (235 km)
A night in a fancy hotel with Nancy. What a nice way to start the tour!
I had locked the bike in the hotel employee parking lot right next to the security office. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake. The trike was fine, but I worried about it all night. “What if something happens to it — the whole tour will be ruined.” I kept waking up and thinking about it. Definitely did not get enough sleep.
I recently ran a report to see how much riding I have done. Wow! Over 1800 miles this year so far. I knew I had ridden a lot – but that is as much as I usually do in 8-10 months! Here is a summary by week of my rides training for this tour. I’ll continue to update this table until I leave. I will begin to taper down the training a bit in week before the start of the tour, but will still be riding some.
April 16, 2011
Once Mike got us hooked on the idea of touring on our trikes, we started looking for a short trip that would be relatively easy and beautiful at the same time. We decided to ride from Ventura, California to Ojai, California on the Ventura River Trail. We spent the night in Ojai and returned on Sunday to Ventura. Not so much riding – only about 40 miles – but very fun. It was the first time Nancy ever contemplated riding a bike anywhere that would force her to be dependent on herself (and not have a car to drive to a store or restaurant) and Mike.
March 13, 2011
I have ridden my trike for 6 months or so, and just love it! So we have decided that Nancy should ride as well. After a quick trip to our friend Dana Lieberman’s bike shop in N. Hollywood (Bent up Cycles), we came home with Nancy’s beautiful blue ICE Adventure.
