Myth: It Never Rains In California

As has been the case more often than not lately, this morning began with no set destination in mind. Although, plenty of options. It actually seemed to be a common question among all of us at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park – How far are you going today? The answers varied from Kirk Creek Campground to Plaskett Creek Campground to San Simeon. No one really knew. The only thing we were pretty sure of was that there were big hills and few water sources along the route.

It was a pretty early morning. One cyclist, Deb, was gone by 7:00. Addison was on the road by 7:30. I also could’ve been on the road at 7:30 – I was ready at that time – but quite frankly, I just didn’t feel the need to be on the road that early. All of the potential destinations were well within reach so getting on the road before 8:00 seemed unnecessary. And so I waited until 8:00.

The aforementioned big hills were confirmed pretty early in the ride. As in, as soon as I left the campground. Certainly not the biggest hill I’ve ever climbed but certainly a good wake up call. And the descent was more than a little fun.

What wasn’t fun was the rain. Yes, rain. In California. I was under the impression that it never rains in California. Well, that’s a lie. It rained this morning. A lot. I must’ve been pelted with at least 100, maybe even 125 rain drops over the course of 15 minutes. No rain in California. Bah! Lies.

Having recovered from the California downpour, my first stop of the day was at Lucia Lodge, about 2.5 hours into my ride. I didn’t need any of their services but it was a good place to stop and have a bagel or two (with peanut butter and jam, of course). I also met Deb there – the cyclist that left early this morning. She’s riding a recumbent bicycle which are great for descents and flats but slower on the climbs.

We had the usual conversation about potential destinations with no clear answer coming from said conversation. We both figured we would make it up as we went along. And so, with more climbs to come, Deb left to tackle them while I ate my bagels. Spoiler Alert: We would meet again.

By 11:20 I had reached the first potential stopping point for the day. Kirk Creek Campground. They apparently have a few really nice Hiker/Biker sites overlooking the ocean. They apparently are also very hard to get. Either way, I really couldn’t bring myself to stop after such a short ride. I pedalled on.

Shortly thereafter I reached the second potential stopping point, Plaskett Creek. I stopped only to take a photo and carried on. Stopping before noon just wasn’t going to happen. Sure it was a bit chilly. Sure it was hilly. Sure it was raining (a downpour by California standards). But I was enjoying the day’s ride.

At the top of yet another hill I caught up with Deb again who had pulled off the road briefly. We had another brief chat about the day’s destination options. By that point I had pretty much committed myself to getting to San Simeon. San Simeon was 110 km from where I started this morning which was certainly reasonable. Deb was pondering getting to Morro Bay which would be about 150 km for the day. Somewhat less reasonable. Once again we went off at our own paces.

My next stop was at Ragged Point. It was just after another big climb and there were a plethora of services available. Well, a plethora compared to the complete dearth of services earlier in the day. Of course, such a situation meant that it was an expensive place to stop. There was a small convenience store and I had mixed feelings when I saw that they had “It’s It” Ice Cream Sandwiches. Obviously, I was happy to see them. I was less happy to find out they were $3.50. Sure, they’re good. But I’m pretty sure they’re not $3.50 good. Kind of like how $3.00 for a CLIF Bar is a BIT excessive – and yet, that’s what they were charging. Good thing I stocked up the other day.

I had been there for about ten minutes or so when Deb arrived. Being a CLIF Bar fan, she was equally unimpressed with the price of the bars. However, she’s travelling VERY light and as such isn’t carrying much extra food so a CLIF Bar is ideal is such situations. As an alternative to paying $3.00 for a CLIF Bar, I did my best impersonation of a Warm Showers host and offered her a CLIF Bar from my stash. It was a good alternative.

Before hitting the road, the topic of destinations came up yet again. I was still planning on San Simeon. Deb was seriously contemplating Morro Bay. Side note: Deb needed to be in Los Angeles by Thursday so she was on a much more aggressive schedule. Of course, I’m on no schedule whatsoever so I was open to going with whatever. We decided to carry on to San Simeon to check things out. We could decide then if Morro Bay was in the cards.

To make a long story longer, we made it to San Simeon and it didn’t take long to decide to go for Morro Bay. No particular reason. It just felt like the right thing to do. It was getting later in the day so there wasn’t time for dilly-dallying. Neither of us really wanted to be on the road after dark.

On our way through Cayusco (the final town before Morro Bay), the rain that had left us some time ago had decided to return. It was threatening to downpour. A real downpour. Not a California downpour. Fortunately for us, it ended up just being the latter.

The final push to Morro Bay went well and much of it was lit by a beautiful sunset which waited until we arrived at the campground before disappearing for the night.

Unlike previous nights at Hiker/Biker sites, this one was deserted. But far from a desert. It was surrounded by trees and the ground was wet. Very wet. They clearly didn’t just get a little bit of rain. They got dumped on. As much as California is in desperate need for rain, those of us on bicycles were happy the heavy rain never found us.

Tomorrow I’ll head to The UPS store to pick up my new tire which Scott had so kindly shipped from Oakland. It’s supposed to be there by noon. Hopefully it will be earlier. As such, who knows when I’ll start my ride or where I’ll end up. So, pretty much a typical day on the road.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 154.47 km*
Ride time: 8:34:19
Average speed: 18.02 km/h
Maximum speed: 55.21 km/h

* Today’s major milestone saw me reach (and surpass) the 8,000 km mark.