Milestones

• 23rd time camping in 23 months (SHOW ON MAP)
• / 5th time biking/camping along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (SHOW THE 4TH)
• 2nd time camping in Santa Barbara County (SEE THE FIRST TIME)
• 3rd time camping at a California State Beach (SEE THE SECOND)
• 11th time riding 50 miles
• 2nd time biking in the Solvang Sequel sponsored by Planet Ultra (SEE THE FIRST TIME)
• 2nd time biking with my friend Scott “Rhymes with Tank” Rank (SEE THE FIRST TIME)

Camping

November camping in Southern California is almost perfect. Rain hasn’t kicked into high gear, kids are back in school, and the temperature is not extreme. My campsite was in the middle of sycamores and oaks on top of the bluffs that rise above the Pacific Ocean.

The sunset was spectacular… sorry, no picture… I was driving to dinner. I had no view of the water, but I could hear the waves crashing on the beach. The temperature overnight reached a low of 51F, which I feel is quite comfortable.

The campground is also along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, which I seem to come across a lot!

The beach is named for José Francisco Ortega, who retired from the Spanish Army in 1795 with the rank of captain and received the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio as a land grant. He was the first person of European descent to set foot on Goleta soil and he played a big role in the history of California.

Biking

I just love riding around Solvang in the Autumn; it’s so colorful, clear, and crisp. Scott Rank (Rhymes with Tank) and his wife Tracy (Rhymes with Terri) met me at the starting point for our attempt to ride 100km. Scott and I both knew we were probably not sufficiently “tuned up” to be able to ride the full 62.5 miles. However, we were going to get PHYSICAL and let our bodies TALK…. Just like Olivia Newton-John sang:

[Chorus]
Let’s get physical, physical
I wanna get physical
Let’s get into physical
Let me hear your body talk, your body talk
Let me hear your body talk
Let’s get physical, physical
I wanna get physical
Let’s get into physical
Let me hear your body talk, your body talk
Let me hear your body talk

FYI…. It was 36F at 7:15am when I parked my car at the starting line.

After an hour of riding, the temperature rose to a level where we were both much more comfortable.

2 hours into our ride, along a narrow 2-lane road, we encountered a stream of Porsche’s. I believe that the Porsche Club of America from Santa Barbara had scheduled their “backroads tour” on the same day, same time, same road as we were riding our bikes. I pulled over to let 20 luxury cars drive by me (several million $$ of vehicles). One of them honked at me. I think he was showing his appreciation at my courtesy. Scott thinks he was mad at me for interrupting his day out.

Regardless, we saw some amazing views of the valley !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the 33 mile marker, Scott and I stopped at the Fes Parker Winery along Foxen Canyon Rd to evaluate our next move. (side note… Fes Parker played Danial Boone on TV from 1964-1970. I loved to watch that program when I was a grade-schooler). If we turned right, we would end up climbing a lot of elevation and add 13 more miles to our distance, plus the return trip to our cars. We went left.

Flat #1

Still facing 17 miles back to our cars, we high-tailed it along the shortest route back. However, DANGER was waiting ahead. Along the way back, I encountered a broken water bottle that a previous cyclist had left behind. Maybe a car ran over it, and shattered it into 1000 pieces. This was along HWY 154, with traffic going 65mph. So, I ran through the plastic shrapnel and survived. Unfortunately, Scott came right after me, and he got a flat tire. He had to stop and patch his front tire. I got concerned when I didn’t see him for several minutes. He caught up, and told me his story. I was sad for him.

We rode on, and I wanted to get a picture of Scott near some pumpkins and sunflowers. I’m sentimental like that.

After stopping for a picture, Scott said he had to pee. I knew there was a nice park less than a mile away that had a bathroom I used before. We rode forward with every expectation that our bladders would be empty and our miles would be few. However, DANGER was waiting ahead.

Flat #2

Only 6 miles away from the finish line, we arrived at Sunny Fields Park. Scott got 6 thorns in his back tire along the pea-gravel pathway out to the parking lot. He burned through 2 more tubes and a 2nd air-cartridge. Nothing worked out, and he was done. He called his wonderful wife, and she drove their truck to pick him up. I rode back to my car and finished with 50 miles. For the entire day, Scott and I rode exactly the same road/trail. He just had some really bad luck.

FINAL SCORE — SCOTT: 2 Flats… ME: 0 Flats

Big Thanks to the People that Help Me Stay Safe…

I just have to give credit where credit is due…

For obvious reasons, I really can’t afford to get a flat. I have a 3-wheeled bike, with the 2 rear tires being Tannus solid tires. My back wheels have a significant camber. But, those Tannus tires give me stability, toughness and durability. So, having solid tires is a BIG benefit to my self-confidence. My next upgrade (this coming week) is to get a solid Tannus tire in my front. I can’t wait to ride “100% worry-free” from flats. Bears and mountain lions are another story.

When I breakdown, I head immediately to my bike-saviors… Thanks to Sean and Mark at Competitive Edge Cyclery in Upland, California. They have kept me going for 3 years and over 5,000 miles. Mark has worked for weeks to get the right parts for me. Sean always goes the extra mile (pun intended) to make my bike road-worthy. I am loyal to them and they are loyal to me.