20 people and 5 SAGs were starting from my house. It seemed to be very confusing, but luckily I had a list that I was using to check names off, so once I had everyone's name checked, I figured we must be ready. We were off at 6:59, a full 1 minute ahead of schedule. Amazing.
The other 8 people and 2 SAGs were joining the ride at the first SAG stop at Day Rd and Santa Teresa, 24 miles down the road. They must have had a good transition, as all 7 SAGs were parked and ready to go when we arrived with our bikes.
In Hollister, we stopped for our traditional breakfast at Jerry's restaurant. We had all 28 people together at the same time, which was the only time that we would be together for the day.
The riders were :
Group A - Betty Olsen, Valerie Butler, Harold LeGore, Anita Kelly
Group B - Deborah Lefferts, Brandon Lefferts, Doug Gillison, Patti Hartinian,
Theo Haugen, Bob Eltgroth, Bill Keckler, Toni Rango
Group C - Don Axtell, Pam Downs, Kim Carr, Terri Duffy, Jimmy Baker, Lucie Rufiange
LeRoy Rodriguez, Jenn Corliss, Duncan Kelly, Arnold Crosby, Ben Mandac
Group D - Jennie Phillips, Pete Klein, Dan Pappone, Jim Molinari, Miguel Aznar
After Hollister, my job of handling the logistics is pretty well finished, as everyone has finally started to get used to the system of riding and driving, and so everything starts to go along on its own, without my having to worry too much about it. So now I could just relax and enjoy the ride, which I did.
We had a huge group of 19 riders all start out from Hollister together. Once out on Hwy 25, where there would be no more turns for the next 50 miles, I stopped to switch over to my tanktop, and I had Kim hanging back with me. I was now free to lead from the rear.
After a quick SAG stop in Paicines, just 13 miles from Hollister, we were ready to start the serious sections. Anything up till now was just warmup. The next and final 3 sections were 32, 30, and 40 miles each. People had to make sure their waterbottles were full and they had something to eat, as it was going to be a long way to the next SAG stop.
At Bitterwater, we found that Ben Mandac was missing. Since I was riding at the end, I knew he wasn't behind me. Duncan drove off to go find Ben, while the rest of us drove the SAGs on up the road, as we also had the other riders to look out for. Luckily, a few minutes after I pulled into the Pitt home SAG stop, Duncan and Ben arrived as well. It seems Ben managed to turn towards King City, and ended up doing an extra 10 miles or so.
At the Pitt home, Kim and I hung out for quite awhile. Ken Kennedy was bringing Kim's camping gear down, and since he wasn't scheduled to arrive until after 6:00 PM, there wasn't any real hurry for Kim to arrive. And so we hung out, letting the others get a good head-start before we attempted to reel them back in.
Once we finally got started, then we really cruised along. After "The wall", it was going to be 20 miles of basicly all downhill and 35 miles of basicly tailwind. We ended up doing the 40 mile section in just 2 hours, which even included a stop along the way to get soaked from a sprinkler in the field. We arrived in Paso Robles at 5:30, managing to overtake a few people along the way.
After a while, we went over to pick up our registrations and to check out the swap meet. I saw a used Burly kid's trailer for sale, which I was interested in. I had the spare parts to convert it from a kid's trailer over to a cargo trailer, so that was my plan. There was one for sale last year for $120, which I delayed too long over and so it was gone when I went back. This time, though, I didn't waste any time. This price of $125 was acceptable to me, so I didn't try to barter at all, but just agreed to pay that price. Since I didn't have the cash with me, I put $20 down for deposit, then headed out to find an ATM. Luckliy, I had a good idea where I could find one, so I didn't waste any time. I jogged all of the way there, got my money, and jogged all the way back. It was about a mile roundtrip, and I was amazed that I could run all of that way, as I had not done any running at all. I was happy that I was finally the owner of a trailer. Now I could do some self-contained camping, and have room to help carry a friend's stuff also. Also, maybe I could use it on the 2-day ride up to Columbia.
Around 7:00 PM, still no Ken, so we decided to go get dinner. Kim, Deb, Brandon, and I went over to Margie's Diner, as we were all able to consume the large portions that they offered. Back in camp afterwards, we finally found Ken. Ken didn't eat yet, so after setting up tents and finally showering, we went back over to Margie's. Ken had a regular dinner, while I just had a chocolate sundae. Kim just came for the company.
In Cambria at the Creekside Cafe, I set a new record for the number of bikes locked with my bike lock. I ended up with 11 bikes, all stacked closely together in one big echelon, and then locked together the top 6 or so of them. It was amazing, but the huge group of cyclists that arrived at this restaurant all managed to get seated and served without too much delay. Since Richard Brunner was this year allowing ride credit for miles done at the GWBR, a took out a ride sheet and started passing it around. I ended up with 35 names! I let Kim Carr be my co-leader, as she was helping with the signatures.
After a good breakfast, most of us were going down Hwy 1. The faster riders, including Kim, headed all the way down to Morro Bay while most turned up Old Creek Rd in Cayucos. I wanted a chance to ride with Kim again, so I went off towards Morro Bay after I led the stragglers to the Old Creek junction. Once in Morro Bay, I knew where to look for the group and so I was able to find them.
I locked my bike to Kim's then went to join them. It looked like they were almost ready to get going again, but I was able to convince them to wait a bit while I had my own Sticky Bun and coke. Anyway, I wasn't worried that they would leave me, since I was locked to Kim's bike, after all.
On the road again, we headed up Old Creek Rd, now close to an hour behind the first group. It was getting a bit warm, especially in the steep sunny sections, but I didn't mind it. I like the hot weather, so we can keep cool by jumping into creeks or by pouring water over our heads and bodies. No creek jumping this time, but we did manage some water-pouring. At the top we finally met some of the end of the first group.
By this time I discovered that we already had 60 miles on my "60-mile" ride, and we still had about 20 miles to go. Oops. We were also all about out of water. Luckily Sue Kayser knew about a water hose at the winery at Vineyard and Hwy 46, about 10 miles up the road. We all stopped in. It was now good and hot, so there was much water-pouring going on. We met Valerie Butler and Betty Olsen here, and they were joining in with the water playing, just like us kids.
Back at the fairgrounds in Paso Robles, it was 3:30 and 82 miles for the day. The original plan was for Kim, Ken, and I to head out again and ride our bikes the 10 miles over to Star Farm to check out the lake. We were all still up for this, so away we went. I knew a "shortcut", so we didn't exactly follow a route, but figured we would get there in 7 miles. After 8 miles I could sense that we were close, and after asking for directions we finally arrived after 9 miles.
In all my years of going to GWBR, this was my first time of going to Star Farm. I now know that I should have been stopping in here years ago. The main attraction is a man-made lake, about 40 yards by 100 yards in size. Lots of side attractions like volleyball, horseshoes, croquet, trampoline, hammocks, plus quite a few water toys. And all of this was for free. And all of GWBR was invited. Amazing.
Again back in camp, we decided to go to Lolo's Mexican restaurant for dinner. We had 8 people, all seated in the back patio. I had worked up an appetite today, and so I ordered the Burro Grande (giant burrito), plus a deluxe quesedia on the side. I managed to eat all of this without too much trouble. I wasn't surprised. I was surprised, though, that most of the other people (except LeRoy) were not able to finish their dinner. What's wrong - don't people know how to eat?
Back in camp again, it was now time to close out the Wine and Cheese Party, as I always help with the cleanup. Ben and I were a team for moving tables, as were Paul and Doug. We got a 3rd team near the end, but mostly it was just us. Boy, were there alot of tables! Next came the floor mopping. Luckily, I found the floor to be the cleanest that it has ever been. Instead of having to completey mop the entire floor I was able to just look around and mop up a few selected spots. Finally, it was haul all of the leftovers back to storage. We were back at the tents at 11:10 PM.
Instead of going to bed, I felt like I needed another shower, but first decided to stop over at Pam's camp headquarters, located between Pam's car and Duncan and Anita's van. There, we had a good time. I helped with the wine drinking, etc. After an hour or so, Pam asked if it was after 10:30 yet. Then when she found out that it was after midnight we all decided that it was finally time to go to bed. I then went for my shower and finally to bed. It had been a long day.
My ride plan for today was to have people load up the cars and then drive over to Hunter-Ligget Army Base, to do a 50 mile ride which would include a visit to Mission San Antonio and a climb up the inland side of Furgessen-Nacimiento Rd. All of the roads on this route would be inside the army base, and so there would be no barbed-wire fences but just wide open fields dotted with ancient oak trees. But I could not lead the ride if there were no followers. People could not agree that my ride was the one to do.
So instead, Kim Ken and I joined Paul Vlasveld on a ride south around Templeton. This ride was usually reserved for Monday, but since Kim and Ken were planning to leave that evening, I figured it was okay for them to do today. Once in Templeton, the road changes names to Vineyard Rd as it crosses over the freeway. Then it is a left turn onto Santa Rita Rd for an out-and-back.
If it were paved, Santa Rita Rd would be the best route over the hill to the ocean. It only has the one summit, unlike the countless rollers on Hwy 46. It is also just a mild grade, unlike the steep sections of Old Creek and Santa Rosa creek. But Santa Rita Creek Rd is not paved for 8 of it's miles, so instead we just go out to the end of the pavement and then turn around. Before, we had always skipped the last mile or so, as the pavement turned to many potholes. This time, we found that the road was freshly paved, so we went all the way to the end. Maybe in another few years we'll find it paved all of the way through.
Back on Vineyard Rd again, we continued on, crossing over Hwy 46 and going towards Peachy Canyon Rd, with the hopes of again finding a lemonade stand at the junction. No luck this year. Instead we found a few other riders hanging out, who said that Norman Winery was just around the next corner, and that they supplied free cookies and water. We found Grete Johnson and Paul Greene already here.
We discussed our options. Ken and Paul V. wanted to get some more miles. Kim was not of this mindset, and wanted to just get back to Paso Robles so we could then go over to Star Farm again, for some more swimming. I was going to ride with Kim, and then also go for some more swimming. Grete and Paul G. were also heading over to Star Farm, but were at the moment going to take a different route. It was agreed that we would all split up here, and then meet up later at Star Farm.
Kim and I then went back to Peachy Canyon Rd. There are a few summits between here and Paso Robles, but we just cruised along and got the miles done without too much trouble. It was hot, and we were tired, so we didn't want to be working too hard. More water-pouring kept us going. Finally back in camp, we had 44 miles which was enough for the day. Since we had already ridden our bikes over to Star Farm, we felt that it would be just fine to drive over this time.
I put the cooler with the cold sodas into the car, then Kim and I were off. Kim said that she had never been to a mission before, so I decided we would just drive up the freeway to Mission San Miguel, since it was sort of on the way to Star Farm. At the mission, we walked around a bit, then checked out the gift shop. It was still very hot, so we decided it was time to press on to Star Farm.
Finally at Star Farm at about 2:00 PM, we found the place to be much more populated than when we were there the day before. But it still wasn't crowded, as the place is quite large enough to hold a very big crowd. we found Valerie and Kenneth and Doug there, but the big ACTC group had already come and gone a few hours ago. This was the life. Kim and I settled in to a routine of swimming in the water for a bit, then trying some of the toys for a bit, then some more swimming, then hanging out with the people that would come and go. About 4:00 PM, Ken and Paul V. showed up. Paul said it had been 101 deg a bit earlier. It was down to 98 deg at the moment. Ken and Paul maybe stayed a half hour, then headed out again. They would get 90 miles today. Then Grete and Paul G. arrived. We offered them a ride back, which they accepted, and so we all just hung out until it was time to finally leave at about 5:15. We just needed to get back in time for the 6:00 salmon feed.
The salmon feed went very well. Again Leif Rassmussen and Michael Curtis cooked up a good meal. And there was plenty for everyone. For the end of the day, we again hung out at Pam's camp headquarters. We knew better than to go to the Awards Ceremony, but instead waited for the reports to come in. Paul Vlasveld, Lou Mason, and Betty Olsen all recieved mileage awards. A few more got door prizes. Lights out at a more earlier 10:30 PM.
Luckily no one was in a hurry. Even though we were all seated and they had taken all of our orders, getting the food served was another matter. It was almost as bad as one table would get their food, eat, and finish eating. Then the next table would get their food, eat, and finish eating. Then the last table would get their food, eat, and finish eating.
Finally, everyone was done eating. Those that had eatten first were happily sitting on the ground outside, either enjoying the shade or the sun. I demonstrated to Deb Lefferts the proper form for laying on the ground. You would take your helmet off, put it on the ground, and use it for a pillow. Then you would lay down, face up, and pull your tanktop or jersey up enough so as to get some good rays as you worked on your belly tan.
On the road again, we crossed the freeway and took Vineyard over to Santa Rita Creek Rd. for another out and back. We were down to 11 people now, as a few decided to take the short way back. Everyone was enjoying Santa Rita Rd. It is mostly in the shade, with spanish moss hanging from the trees. At the end of the pavement, I decided to check out the creek. It was pretty bushy at this point, but then someone suggested that we go back about a hundred yards, as it looked like a good spot from there. We weren't disappointed. We had a clear access down to the creek, which had lots of seat- size boulders and enough water to be able to sit in without too much trouble.
I busied myself with making my pool a bit deeper and longer. I finally succeeded in being able to stretch out and float without touching the sides or the bottom. While I was doing this, the others were occupied with having one water fight after another. They would call out, "Come on over closer, I promise not to splash you." Yeh, right!
After a goodly stop at the creek, it was again time to get rolling. Next stop was the winery at Vineyard and Hwy 46, just 6 miles down the road. By the time we got there everyone was dry again, and hot again also. Another water fight broke out. Everyone got wet, even those that might have preferred not to. Maybe today was even hotter than the last few days.
It was now time to think about getting back to camp, so we just headed in on Hwy 46. It was 1:30 when we got in, and they wanted the fairgrounds empty by 2:00. So it was take down the tents, pack up, and shower, not necessarily in that order.
Everyone was finally packed up and ready to go. We decided on A&W Rootbeer for lunch so that was our next stop. It was close to 3:00 when we finally got out of Paso Robles and was almost 6:00 when I got back home.
What a great weekend. I ended up with 288 miles, and very little sleep. I think I gained about 4 pounds. Now I need a vacation from my vacation. Another successful GWBR.