Simple Hobby Homesteading

We wake up refreshed in Buellton… switching over to a hotel was genius even though we have no clue who thought of it first. I give Kevin credit and he gives me credit, perhaps we have found the secret to a happy marriage (17 years, we must be doing something right 🙂 ). There is even a Starbucks in our hotel so I get a delicious white chocolate mocha before we head out to catch the shuttle and eat a big breakfast.

I cannot imagine doing this ride in an unsupported capacity. The food, mechanics, route marking, lodging provisions, and electric energy (in a good way) has made this a trip to be remembered without even beginning to touch on the scenery God has created for us to feast our eyes upon. Kevin and I don’t joke about this being our honeymoon anymore… with the transition from camping to the hotels this has officially become the honeymoon we never got around to taking. We are too tired at the end of the day to even think about disagreeing over petty differences of opinion and we encourage and care for each other each mile we ride.

 

 

I’m loving it and am surprised that the days have flown by so quickly. We are heading from Buellton to Ventura today and will be riding a stretch on the actual US 101 freeway (highway?). Many riders are nervous about this but I’m not (I have no idea why, let’s just blame the risidual damage from the stroke 9 years ago that I guess leaves no fear of being hit by a speeding truck or car while on my bicycle). Traffic never has bothered me and I loved driving (not bicycling… I DO NOT recommend to ANYONE to bicycle on the Autobahn) on the Autobahn back in our years living in Germany.

However, we have to tackle some climbing at the start of our day which I’m starting to get used to (scary thought!). I can’t wait to get on our old training routes in Indiana and fly up and down the hills with ease… they’ll seem like nothing!

Oh, did I mention we saw a tarantula on the road yesterday? We did. Many of them in fact. In the years I lived in this area before I had NEVER seen a tarantula and yesterday we saw a ton (most squished on the road by traffic)… is there a spider epidemic that we were unaware of? Glad we moved if there is… not a fan of spiders but Kevin had a Chilean Rose Tarantula back in the days before I met him… who is this man I married?

 

After some great climbing we head down two miles of downhill. It lasts forever and is by far my favorite stretch of downhill so far. There is a huge shoulder relatively free of debris so riding on the 101 is a breeze. The cars seem to respect the riders and I actually love when a semi hauls past because they create a pull that makes it seem like I’m pedaling on air. We ride along the Ocean into Santa Barbara and beyond. There’s a new bike path just outside Santa Barbara along the 101 and it is magnificent!

 

At a reststop there were two ladies hanging out in the grass (not riders) with a massive German Shepherd. To know me you know I am a German Shepherd lover to the core of my very being. I train them, I have three of them, and I respect the breed incredibly. How was I not supposed to go talk to these ladies and pet their dog? Kevin ended up having to lovingly and quite forcefully pull me away after I had hung out with them for about 45 minutes. To my credit, I had tried to make an exit before then but they just kept pulling me in with this awesome German Shepherd talk. Their dog was a beautiful male with the big thick head which reminded me of our male Cody and his Czechoslovakian blood. We got Cody in German a year after we got Katja there but he sadly passed away in California with us at seven years old from massive kidney failure (nothing we could have done 🙁 ). We still have Katja who is now 15 years old and Nala (our long haired German Shepherd) who is almost 6 and Axel, our long legged pup who turns 1 on Oct 31. He already towers over all of our other dogs (even our Great Pyrenese!). Stroking that big dog and talking with those ladies made me miss our dogs so badly!

I even trained Katja to perform some tasks for me as a service dog after I had my stroke. I am blessed that I have recovered enough to not need her in that capacity anymore but I will forever be grateful to the intelligence, versatility, and loyalty of the breed. German Shepherds are not #1 at anything but they are #2 at EVERYTHING!

On we ride, without any dogs 🙁

At some point we stopped at a neat cafe/smoothie shop where I enjoyed a black & white cookie and we each got the biggest smoothies in the world full of things like wheat germ, protein powder, and all sorts of sink your stomach kind of density. I don’t know how, but Kevin finished his entire smoothie… I got through about half of mine. This cafe was extra cool because of their entertainment game selection. We found so many of the games we have on our own shelves at home on their cafe shelves. Carcassone, Settlers of Catan, King of Tokyo… so many of the Euro games our family is a huge fan of! Oh, how I suddenly longed to be with our sons, playing games, and hanging out. Miss my boys a ton! Ooh, I should open a cafe back home that has the Euro games where everyone comes, hangs out, plays games, drinks heavy smoothies and lattes, and eats black & white cookies (yes I know this wasn’t a “classic” black and white cookie but close enough without me having to go to New York).

It was a big day of riding today with 86 miles but only about 3,500 feet of climbing. Kevin was feeling a little heavy from his massive smoothie consumption so we took things nice and slow. We got to the campsite and checked in. The hotel was just across the street so we took our bikes over and checked in. Kevin wanted to relax while I wanted to get a few more miles in and check out the area a bit (we were on the beach). After 86 miles I wanted to get some more miles in?!?!… Who is this woman and what has she done with Jhenna?

I managed to get about four more miles in before realizing I would just have to go around in circles if I wanted to get more without getting on the freeway and it was starting to get dark. I went back to the hotel, cleaned up and we headed over to camp for supper. Awesome supper as usual and a special surprise from Mama’s Boy Infusions. Infused tequila all around… I bet things got fun at camp this night. Kevin and I headed back to the hotel to relax, call the boys, and lament about how tomorrow would be our last day of riding in the California Coast Classic, bittersweet for sure.

Tomorrow is the…last…day… Oh my! Will we make it to the finish line? Through the winding hills and beaches of Malibu, wondering if Cher is home as we ride past her place, and ANOTHER hill up to the end… We’ve had no flat tires this whole trip, will our tires stay strong? Almost there…

~Jhenna