Pidgeon Point, CA to Half Moon Bay, CA Interesting first night in a hostel. On the good side, it was nice to have bathroom, living room, and kitchen to use. I liked meeting, cooking, and eating with other people. But it was an added expense, and the guy in the bunk under me snored like…

Santa Cruz, CA to Pidgeon Point, CA Sun today, through high, wispy clouds. I have cereal and cinnamon rolls with Zach and roomies, then say farewell. I watch breakers smashing into the rocks as I leave town. Civilization dissipates quickly, and I’m gliding through hills and fields. By early afternoon I reach the Pidgeon Point…

Soquel, CA to Santa Cruz, CA The thought that it is Valentine’s Day does not occur to me at all. I’m just happy that the pouring rain has let up and that I’m still warm and dry. Unfortunately the feeling doesn’t last. I get up and begin the extremely unpleasant process of putting on my…

Carmel, CA to Soquel, CA I wake up earlier than Buzz and Cheryl. Looking around Zach’s old room, I see jazz posters, bike pictures, and a picture of Zach meeting Dizzy Gillespie. There’s a bike quilt with panels made by various family members for Buzz’s 60th birthday. I take a shower and poke around until…

Carmel Highlands, CA to Carmel, CA Shileyanne provides yet another very pleasant breakfast with boiled eggs, cereal, and yummy scones. I wait a while to meet Maxine, who’s having a little trouble finding us. When she arrives I like her immediately. She’s an attractive, alive personality. She gives me her number and invites me to…

Carmel Highlands, CA I was planning to leave this morning, but it’s raining like hell again and I just don’t feel like it. Shirleyanne has to go to work but she invites me to stay another night and meet another of Mom’s writer friends who’s visiting tomorrow, Maxine. I gratefully agree and spend the morning…

Lucia, CA to Carmel Highlands, CA I laugh in the foggy morning when I see that I was only a quarter-mile from a National Forest campground. Ha! I was probably better off in my private, free site. This is a grand part of the coast, even in the rain. The bluffs and promontories are pronounced…

Morro Bay, CA to Lucia, CA I get up at my usual time, around 7. No sound from the boys’ tent, so I take a shower. They’re still dead, so I make my own breakfast, then take a walk. Around 9 I yell at them, get up now or kiss the free breakfast goodbye. Mark…

Lompoc, CA to Morro Bay, CA A cool morning. I’m soon climbing onto some dry hills past La Purisma Mission and the local cement plant. Before topping the ridge I look back over the strange misty Lompoc valley. It’s typical California – it doesn’t seem to fit here at all. The ride down the other…

El Capitan State Beach, CA to Lompoc, CA The morning is surprisingly cold and breezey. I ride along the coastal bike trail until I come to a barrier where it has washed out. I refuse to ride back two miles, so I haul the bike up to some railroad tracks, push it along awhile, then…