Consistency Is Overrated

The big plan for today was simple. Pedal about 125 km to Goleta, pick up my tire from UPS, and put that whole ordeal behind me. Anything else on the day was secondary. Or so I thought.

As anticipated, I had a uninterrupted night of wild camping at Leroy Park in Guadalupe. I knew I had a somewhat long ride ahead of me today so I actually didn’t mind waking up early. It gave me time to pack up at a leisurely pace before heading over to Subway for what has become my customary breakfast (aka. meatball) sub. While there, I met a cycling group who was just starting a ride to Santa Barbara. It was just a day trip so they weren’t carrying any gear and they would be taking the train back. One of the cyclists was a fellow Canadian (from Oakville) who spends half of the year out here. I can certainly understand why.

My first stop of the day came at about 9:30 when I pulled into the Rancho Maria Golf Course. It looked like a really nice course and I thought I’d see if they had any open tee times. Okay, no I didn’t. Well, I did stop there but I had no interest in getting a tee time. I did have interest in their washrooms though. I was back on the road momentarily. That said, it looked like a very nice course (for those who like golf).

Much of today’s ride was once again through vast amounts of farmland, some of which included strawberries. Sadly, the road wasn’t nearly as aromatic as it has been in previous days. There were also a lot of other crops but I have no idea what they were. They were very leafy, some were slightly bluish, and they were most likely very healthy food sources. But again, I don’t know what it was. Clearly I’m not a vegetarian.

According to Google, there were two somewhat big climbs on tap for today. One would be before lunch. One would be after. The first one wasn’t overwhelming but by the time I cleared the top of the first one I was certainly ready for some lunch. Fortunately, there was a town at the bottom of the hill.

The town was Lompoc and it had a LOT more services than I expected. I’ve grown to expect the bare minimum along the west coast so I was more than a bit surprised by Lompoc. Low expectations is often the key to happiness. In this case, Lompoc was a goldmine.

As I rode into town I was greeted with a Subway. That didn’t come as much of surprise once I realized the Lompoc was bigger than I expected. Next to Subway was a Little Caesars. If Subway was in fact sponsoring me, I would’ve happily gone there. But, at the moment, they aren’t. And I felt like having pizza. Moments later I was sitting outside Little Caesars enjoying a very fresh $5 Lunch Combo. Maybe the big hill added to my appetite, but the pizza REALLY hit the spot. And burned my lip in the process. It was worth it. I think.

As I was enjoying my pizza (and scalding my lip … okay, maybe it wasn’t worth it), I happened to glance across the street where I discovered a Wendy’s staring back at me. I was stunned. And happy. Despite being somewhat full from the pizza, there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity for a chocolate Frosty. I mean, seriously. How could I?

With my stomach full, I turned my thoughts to the post-lunch hill. Turns out, my concerns were unfounded. I kept waiting for a big climb to appear around each corner but it never came. Sure, there was a climb but nothing that came close to requiring the use of my granny gear.

With the supposed big hill behind me I found myself back on the coast, enjoying the beautiful views, the flat road, and a wonderful tailwind. The combination of all three made me very confident I would reach Goleta earlier than expected. And certainly before The UPS Store would close. This was shaping up to be a great day.

Leave it to UPS to wreck a perfectly great day. Okay, they didn’t wreck it but they also didn’t deliver my tire on time – again. It would seem we have differing definitions of a “guarantee”. At least they’re consistent. Needless to say I wasn’t impressed. And yet, I’ll say it anyway. I wasn’t impressed. On the upside, I figured I could pick it up before noon tomorrow and still have plenty of time to put a few more kilometres behind me.

The UPS store is in a pretty busy location and not far from my route – which is why I picked that particular location. There were lots of stores and such things around including yet another Subway which is where I went to ponder my next dilemma. Accommodation.

While there were a lot of services in the area, there weren’t a lot of camping options – legal or otherwise. I had been unable to make a Warm Showers connection so I was on my own for the night. I pondered getting a motel or finding something on Airbnb. That said, I really couldn’t justify $130 for a Super 8. As for Airbnb, well … I’d never used it before but there was a place available in a remarkably convenient location. I decided to give it a try. It wasn’t a very successful try.

The location was good. The availability seemed to be there. The issue was communication. In order to book (or potentially book) the place I needed to confirm my phone number by text. That becomes a bit challenging without a phone plan. I have texting capabilities but only via WiFi. And Airbnb didn’t want to chat with my WiFi texting app. I was back where I started. Homeless in Goleta.

I’ll skip the part where I cycled all over the area looking for a place to wild camp and jump to the part where I found a spot that was fully illegal but likely to go unnoticed. The spot was Coal Oil Point Reserve Sands Beach. Yes, I seem to like to pick areas with potentially high levels of traffic – in this case, pedestrian traffic. And yes, there were quite a few people there until the sun disappeared. Fortunately, they started to disappear with the sun.

It was another beautifully clear night so I decided my tent wouldn’t be necessary. It would be another night under the stars. I didn’t even bother with my air mattress as the ground was relatively flat. It was all coming together. Until the ants found me. And find me they did. On the upside, they weren’t carnivorous ants but the thought of waking up covered in ants didn’t really appeal to me. Ten minutes later I was resting comfortably in my tent. At least I didn’t need the rain fly so I still had a nice view of the stars.

If all goes well, I’ll have another uninterrupted night. That said, given the popular nature of my selected location I’m planning on getting up before the sun to make sure I’m gone before anyone knows I was here.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 128.79 km
Ride time: 6:09:32
Average speed: 20.90 km/h
Maximum speed: 63.17 km/h