Central CA Tour and turning 35

One June 2nd I turned the big THREE FIVE. My goal for this big birthday was to get out and do a credit card style cycling tour. This is where you carry just shorts, t-shirt, flip flops, and other minor items to get by each night at the hotel.

After completing the Central Coast Double last year I decided that I wanted to do something longer in this region. I contacted Geno with GoodRides California to help me with the route. He did a fantastic job of routing and I'm looking forward to getting out there again next year with a group of friends. This region of California is so beautiful in so many ways.

Day 0 - Larry and I meet up at the Solona Beach Amtrak Station to catch our 12:30pm train to San Luis Obispo. The train is a trip at times, but it was nice not having to drive. We meet two Irish surfers who were surfing the from SoCal to NorCal. Once in SLO we jumped on our bikes and rode to the hotel. Readied ourselves for Day 1 and went to bed.

Day 1 - San Luis Obispo to King City - On our first day Larry and I rode through vineyard, rolling hills, oak covered roads, and much more for a total of 112 miles and 7,200 ft of climbing. The highlight was when we turned off Hwy 1 onto Old Creek Road, which we took to Paso Robles. The end of the day was tough as this was our longest day with 112 miles and 7171 ft of climbing. We had a hot headwind for the last 20 miles or so and I ended up getting a flat, the only one for the trip, about a mile from our hotel. I just pumped up the tire a couple of times and then changed it in the comfort of our AC hotel room.

Day 2 - King City to Santa Cruz - King City is located along Hwy 101 in the central valley where there is much agriculture. We thought we would be in this would be our scenery for the morning ride. To our surprise we headed north-east into rolling hills. It was fantastic as we rode for 50 miles with few cars.

Day 3 - Santa Cruz t0 Big Sur - One the coast. It doesn't get much better than this as we rode around Monetary Bay, 17-mile Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and down the to Big Sur. 17-mile Drive was the highlight with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Pebble Beach. We stayed at the Big Sur Campground and Cabins where we had a wonderful one room cabin. The worst part of day three was that my camera came flying out of my hadlebar bag a few miles after we left the hotel. It's a real bummer because there were so many great opportunities as we headed down the coast.

Day 4 - Big Sur to San Luis Obispo - Our final day. Man, I was having such a good time, but I was hurting in some places. Larry talked me into leaving at 5am so that we would make our train. I'm glad we left early. We rode for the first 2 hours with only a handful of cars passing us. We had Hwy 1 to ourselves and it was wonderful as we followed the coast south to SLO.

Total Miles - 416
Total Elevation - 22,000 ft appox.

Overall it was one of the most memorable trips I have taken. I hope to do more in the future and get the family involved as the kids get older.

Til next time.

Tony

Forward Motion Foundation

Forward Motion Foundation

Mission Statement: Forward Motion Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes environmental stewardship and the self-sufficiency of San Diego’s recovering alcoholics and drug addicts by engaging them in bicycling as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.

Our Vision: Forward Motion Foundation envisions a community where all members have the support and motivation required to move towards self –sufficiency. Every major city has an alcohol and drug problem. We work to rebuild, revive and re-energize individuals. It is only when we have the self-respect, self-confidence that we are truly able to move forward. Forward Motion Foundation focuses on helping our members find a road of happiness, hope and opportunity. This is our goal and we will get there one pedal stroke at a time.

What We Do/Who We Help: Forward Motion Foundation is dedicated to giving recovering alcoholics and addicts the opportunity to experience and learn about the natural beauty of San Diego from the seat of a road or mountain bike. FMF exists to provide these individuals with an opportunity to see a different side of San Diego, to expand their understanding of what they can personally achieve, and to make personal connections with the natural world. Forward Motion Foundation believes that their positive, physically challenging, educational road and mountain bike outings, can make an unquestionable difference in the lives of recovering alcoholics and addicts by opening their minds to new possibilities, arming them with greater self-esteem, and giving them a chance to achieve demanding goals.

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I am moving forward each and every day with Forwad Motion (FMF). The corporation has been formed and this next week I will submit the federal application to gain 501(c)(3) status. The logo has been completed and the final touches on the brochure will be completed in the next couple of days. Once these are good to go we will start to develop the website.

I've had a couple of friends drop off bikes and other bicycle components that we will sell to fund the organization. If you are clearing out the garage and have a bike or other bike components and live in San Diego let me know. We would love to be able to turn these items around.

As I continue with FMF I will post to keep everyone up on our progress.

Tony