What Can Brown Do For Me?

Early mornings have become the norm of late. Obviously, a contributing factor would be the earlier evenings. While my preference is to stay up until midnight (or later), it gets a bit tricky to do that when it gets dark at 8:00 and I’m limited to the confines of my tent.

As such, this morning was early again for me and it was even earlier for Deb who was ready to hit the road before I had even packed up my tent. The main reason for her early departure being she needs to be in Los Angeles on Thursday. I have no such deadline. Plus, I can’t leave Morro Bay until I pick up my tire from UPS and that likely won’t happen before noon.

Fast-forward to noon and my tire still hasn’t arrived. Nor will it. At least not today. So much for guarantees. And so much for customer service. Not only was the package not going to arrive today, the only way I could have it forwarded to another store (without being charged) was to have the sender (ie. Scott) phone UPS. I’ve never been impressed with UPS and this was doing nothing to change my opinion of them.

To make a long story somewhat short, I contacted Scott and he has arranged for the package to be forwarded to a UPS store in Goleta. If all goes well, I’ll be there on Wednesday and so will my tire.

I was now free to hit the road again but first I made a somewhat brief stop at the Morro Bay Library to try to get some updates typed up – a task that was moderately successful. And then there was a quick stop at Subway, of course.

When I finally got on the road, my plan was to head for Guadalupe. Considering I didn’t start my ride until about 1:00 I figured a short ride of about 70 km would suffice.

On my way out of town, I was passed (or more accurately) caught by Addison who I had met on the road to Monterey. While I was just starting my day, he was nearing the end of his. His final destination was San Luis Obispo and when we met up it was only about 15 km away. We continued together for a little while before our routes went in separate directions. We exchanged cards, wished each other well and pedalled off in our respective directions.

From there I was riding on my own for the rest of the day. And it was a good day for riding. Had I started earlier, I could’ve easily matched yesterday’s 150 km day. And while it was a good day for riding it wasn’t the best for photos. I actually forced myself to stop a few times just to make sure I would have some photos for this update (an update that is REALLY late in being posted).

Despite the lack of quality photo opportunities, there were a few surprises along the way. Some good. Some not so good. Some good, but after the fact.

The first good surprise was the appearance of a Grocery Outlet. I’ve become quite a fan of that store as it’s about the closest thing to the No Frills stores back in Canada. How can you not like a store that sells good peanut butter for $1.99 (compared to $5.99 elsewhere)? Plus they have good prices on trail mix too. Between the trail mix and the peanut butter, I wouldn’t go hungry anytime soon.

Another good surprise happened in Grocery Outlet. While wandering the aisles I met Kelsey. She had noticed the loaded bike on her way into the store and she guessed that it belonged to me. We chatted for a bit. It turns out she has also done some touring (Pacific Coast and Ireland). I would’ve liked to hear more about the Ireland adventure as I’ve heard good things about cycling there. However, she had shopping to do and I had pedalling to do. So, I gave her my card and perhaps she’ll send me a message. Either way, it was great to meet her.

I was back on the road for about an hour when I was faced with a decision. The bike route split unexpectedly and I really didn’t know which way to go. Until I scanned the area. The road straight ahead clearly led to a long gradual hill. The road to the right was flat. It was pretty clear which was the road to take.

The pleasure I felt by taking the Alternate Route and avoiding the long gradual climb was short-lived. The flat Alternate Route was nothing more than a decoy. It only took about 1 km before I saw the steep hill in front of me. It wouldn’t take long to learn how steep it actually was. Spoiler Alert: It was VERY steep. The road pretty much went from flat to a 10% climb in a matter of a few metres. From there it became an 11% climb … and then 12% … and then 13% … and finally 14%. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was definitely the steepest hill I’ve climbed. My legs were actually burning a bit by the time I reached the top.

That climb was definitely a challenge and a not-so-good surprise. However, it was also a very satisfying feeling to reach the top knowing I had done so without walking and without ever leaving my seat. All things considered, I think I tackled the hill very well. My heart and lungs may think differently.

Much to my surprise, I even found a WiFi source at the top of the hill. I’m still not sure where it was coming from but I used it to send a couple of desperation Warm Showers requests – not expecting anything to come of it. Spoiler Alert: My expectations were met. One person, Anne, responded quickly but wasn’t available to host. There was also one no response. Neither response nor non-response was particularly surprising.

I continued pedalling and eventually arrived in Guadalupe. It’s a very small town but it had two things that I could help me. A library and a Subway. Given the size of the town, I’m not sure which surprised me more.

Food was a lesser priority than accommodations so I headed directly for the library for some WiFi access. The library’s WiFi allowed me to check my e-mail and confirm my desperation Warm Showers requests had gone unanswered. They had. On the upside, while Anne wasn’t available, her profile mentioned a park in town where it would be possible to camp. I had a plan. That plan rapidly fell apart when I saw the sign listing all of the things that were prohibited at the park. Camping was one of them.

Early sunsets really affect decisions these days and today was rapidly winding down. I returned to the library to explore my options. One of those options was to go Santa Maria. Santa Maria was only 15 km away with a tailwind, it seemed like a manageable ride before darkness took over.

On my way out of town (barely) I ran into a woman who I had seen earlier. She was out for a jog/walk with her dogs and asked if I was looking for camping. I said I was. She mentioned another park about a mile north of where we were standing. I decided to give it a shot.

A mile later I was at the park. It too had the same sign listing all of the prohibited activities. It looked like I would be heading to Santa Maria after all.

As I returned to the main street there was a police car about to make a turn towards the park from which I had just left. At this point I was approaching “desperation mode” so I flagged down the police car. Before I even had a chance to ask, the officer said, “Camping at the park?” I said, “Would that be okay?” He said, “Sure. At your own risk.” He followed that up with a bit of a reassurance that I was unlikely to have any problems. I thanked him for his help and returned to the park. Actually, I first pedalled back into town to get some food.

Guadalupe. On the surface it didn’t seem to have much, but I ended up finding everything I wanted. A library for WiFi and a park for free camping. Plus, there’s a Subway and one of the convenience stores had “It’s It” Ice Cream Sandwiches for $1.99 – much better than the $3.50 as mentioned in yesterday’s update. I have to say, those Ice Cream Sandwiches are pretty great. I don’t know whether to thank or curse Pierre for introducing me to those things. Okay, yes I do. Thanks Pierre.

Before heading back to the park, I pedalled back to the library for one final e-mail check. At that point it was too late to ride to any Warm Showers destinations, but in the unlikely event that I received a response I wanted to be able to reply. A reply wasn’t necessary.

I’m now settled into my tent for the night and, based on the area, I don’t expect any disturbances. The UPS failure notwithstanding, today has been another good day. While it’s always nice to have a set destination and plan for accommodation, spontaneous days like this are fun too. Especially when things work out. Today, they worked out.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 82.89 km
Ride time: 4:10:48
Average speed: 19.83 km/h
Maximum speed: 55.02 km/h