by Philip

Day’s mileage : 74

Running total : 1,556

Ascent : 5,721ft

Friday.

We woke this morning to the sound of raindrops, but it turned out it was where the Del Monte Forest had collected the fog and it was dripping from the trees. The fog soon burned off, and we have the prospect of a sunny day for our ride, without luggage, to see the Big Sur coastline. Due to a landslide over a year ago we will not be able to complete this section of coast this coming week, so we’re going to see as much of it as we can with Cathy today. After a scrumptious breakfast of eggs we headed off down the hill. 

The first couple of miles took us through the forest of Pebble Bay – very quiet and pretty – then into the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea which was quaint (apart from the 4 lane Main Street) and obviously wealthy. Our cottage information tells us that Clint Eastwood owns a restaurant around here. Slightly out of town we came to the Carmel Mission and Basilica – a large complex of buildings and old church. Then we were back on Highway 1 where we will remain for most of the day – we had wondered if it would be quiet given the road closure but no such luck – of course people live and work along the road. We passed Montgomery Bay where a wedding was set up on the beach – a fabulous location with bright blue sky and crashing waves behind.

Climbing out of Carmel we passed huge houses beautifully situated, then into the mist again with cloud hanging among the trees and valleys, and thick fog out to sea. Then suddenly back into brilliant sunshine and looking out on dramatic rocks and breaking waves. This is the stretch of coast Liz cycled in 1987 which inspired this whole expedition – and it is amazing.

The road largely hugs the coast, past Granite Canyon and Garrapata Cove, but the mist kept coming and going. We saw squadrons of pelicans flying north in perfect formation, and at the next viewpoint stopped to put more layers on as the temperature dropped in the cloud. After some undulations (some more severe than others) we got to Bixby Bridge – an amazing bit of construction over a deep valley. We noted cliff erosion that looked very like termite mounds at the side of the road. The sun came out briefly to let us see the bridge properly.

We had heard that the road closure was 10 miles south of the bridge so decided to amend our route to get to the closure.  Unfortunately the information was incorrect, as a sign told us a little further on that it was actually another 23 miles … so we amended again and decided to go to Big Sur village before turning around. Approaching the village we went through a lovely grove of redwoods, and a large butterfly flew alongside me for a while, seemingly following the yellow lines which mark the centre of the road.

The village is tiny, with a motel, general store and bakery, with a couple of banjo players setting up to play by a huge sand sculpture. We stopped at the bakery and bought cinnamon rolls, eating those to supplement our lunch in the cafe’s garden, where we saw a hummingbird feeding from a bird of paradise flower.

Leaving lunch the ride was initially delightful, bright sun, warm, no wind, back through the redwoods … but then we hit the headwind and slogged up a hill for 2 miles, back into the fog. It was quite ethereal, with spots of sunlight and then mist, and then all of a sudden we were through it, as if a light had been switched on, and were in brilliant sunshine above the cloud, looking down into the fog covered sea. Another long hill and a break at the top with fog photos. 

From the summit at 570’, we started the descent, and as we rounded a corner it was as if the freezer door had been opened – the fog came in and the temperature dropped by 15 degrees with a fierce wind as we dropped back down to Bixby Bridge … where the sun came out again!

It was fun to retrace our steps and see the coast from the opposite angle, although hard to find the right balance of clothing as the road took us in and out of the wind. We carried on until the turning back to Carmel-by-the-Sea and stopped to buy food and – most important – duck tape to secure Cathy’s panniers inside a plastic laundry bag for her flight home tomorrow. 

Our ride to Big Sur and back was 60 miles long, and had been a real test of physical stamina and battery life – we have a couple of long days with a lot of climbing coming up, so I was pleased to do the ride (which as you’ve read, had a lot of headwind and climbing) and use only 64% of my battery which I think is a good sign for the coming week.

Having got home, we rushed to charge our batteries, managed to blow the circuit breakers in the house, and then went back out to do the 17 mile ride tour which Cathy did yesterday. The road was originally made by Charles Crocker in 1891 (he was a railroad baron) around Pebble Beach, and is now a tourist trail. It’s a fantastic ride, with beaches (thousands of seabirds, hundreds of seals, tens of sea otters), deer, a great egret, goats (see yesterday’s blog), and, just to emphasise the day we’ve had, a perishing cold wind. What a day!

Additional notes

Big Sur ride, Monterey county, CA

Left at 9am. Home at 5.30pm and 7.20pm.

Weather: Misty morning to start with. Sunshine and patches of mist or even fog. Sunny and hot at times. Then ten seconds later in freezing cold mist. A headwind all the way back. Misty and very cold on the 17 Mile Drive. P put on his over trousers and I lent C a down jacket. 

Landscape: The Del Monte Forest. Carmel, attractive with lots of trees and a monastery and basilica. The coast with sea a mix of turquoise and sapphire and bright white surf. The winding road partway down the mountainside, frequent bridges, the sea far below to the right. Strange red rock or earth formations like termite mounds. Farmland with cows with amazing views. Roadworks and flaggers who ushered us through. Snaking roads and precipitous drops. Hills on the left, steep and round, the dry grass russet, yellow and brown against the blue sky, so beautiful I wanted to hug them. A grove of redwood forest, still and quiet with shafts of sunlight. Big Sur village then all the way back again. Garrapata State Park. Carmel for food. On the 17 Mile Drive the sea was grey and crashing. 

Towns: Carmel. Big Sur village. 

Trails: None, just incredible roads. 

State roads: Highway 1, not as quiet as I thought it would be with the road closure at Big Sur, and some awful drivers. 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on toast. 

Lunch spot: On a wall in the garden outside the Village Bakery in Big Sur. Soft, moist cinnamon rolls from the bakery. 

Dinner (L): Macaroni cheese. 

Wildlife: A fawn. Long pelican line-ups. A hummingbird at our lunch spot. Many sea otters off the Monterey coast. Large numbers of seals. Deer. A great egret. 

Plants: Many wildflowers all along the way. Bird of paradise flowers at our lunch spot. The Lone Pine off the Monterey coast. A forest of Monterey cypress some 300 years old. 

Things we saw: A wedding set up on the beach at Montgomery Bay. Bixby Bridge, built in 1932, partly shrouded in mist. 

People we spoke to or saw: We took photos for a couple at a viewpoint on the other side of Carmel and they took some for us. 

Incidents: So pleased to be filming as we came northwards to Bixby Bridge, only to find my phone had slipped down into the mount and missed it. Made me laugh. C and I stopped at a sandy beach beside the road so she could swim but the warning signs were too much. Our hour between arriving and setting off again was full of prepping for dinner and blowing a fuse making coffee so it was a bit fraught and we were all tired. After 15 of the 17 miles we dashed home to make dinner and warm up. 

Shopping: Safeway, Carmel. 

Accommodation: The same house in the Del Monte Forest. 

Today’s sound: Perfect bike brakes harmony as C and I rode down the slope from the house.

Today’s smell: Pine smell from a chipper along the way.

Special moments: C liked our evening routine so much she didn’t want to eat out for her last evening and chose to have macaroni cheese at the house instead. As we retraced the route of my five-day ride in September 1987, I thought about my 23-year-old self setting out on my own on an unfamiliar bike with my tent and stove, a free spirit, paying tribute to that young, intrepid version of myself, and equally to my 61-year-old self, doing this epic 2,000-mile ride. Working out how to film from my phone mount – awesome! Having a Werthers Claire and John gave us and sending them a photo. After tea, cookies and a little recharging, we set off on the 17 Mile Drive. Chatting together about the past two weeks, very special. C thought of five days she’s loved – Avenue of the Giants, the mountains in Sonoma Coast State Park (north of Bodega Bay), Highway 1 over the mountain between Leggett and Howard Creek, the road beside the coast into Albion (near Mendocino) and (I think she said) the road between Point Arena and Gualala. She commented she was glad I said early on about not wishing away the miles because it helped her enjoy the moment more, not just focus on the destination.

Positive experience from my journal: A fabulous final day with C.

Appreciation from my journal: Getting the dinner prepped instead of collapsing with my cup of tea.

Blog comments from Lorna and Helen C. 

Video: Heading south: P&C riding in Del Monte Forest (1m52s). Pelican line-up (21s). E&P cycling at Big Sur, roadworks and the sea (27s). Bixby Bridge in the mist (10s). E&P riding along the Big Sur coast (17m34s). Big Sur coastline and sea (10s + 6s). Heading north: P riding through woods (3m23s). P riding (10m27s). C riding (13m53s + 7m20s + 46s + 23m42s). C riding back to Carmel (35m49s). Carmel to home (39m48s). 17 Mile Drive: riding (32m32s + 34m31s); choppy sea (20s); E&P and a chipmunk (13s); lone pine (13s).

Mementos: Safeway receipt, Carmel. Carmel Ace Hardware receipt.