Got my first flat tire the other day as I was about to do the Devil’s Slide, which is a 4 mile segment of windy road with little to no shoulder. Turned out I had run over a screw on a downhill segment. After getting it fixed a guy waved us down and asked if we were about to do the Devils Slide. He then went on to tell us 5 times to be very careful on this stretch, this wasn’t the first time we’d heard about this road so in my mind it was certain doom. We (Jay and I) went ahead with it anyway as there is no easy way around it. Only thing of note that happened was a public bus passed so close I swear I could have stuck out my tongue and licked the side of it. Other than that it was as advertised, but slow and steady won the race that day.
Riding over the Golden Gate Bridge also ranks as a highlight for this trip now. As we were riding we saw the Blue Angels practicing for an air show later that day. I wanted to see them run under the bridge as if it were from The Rock, that would have made the day awesome. Traversing San Fransisco on a Sunday turned out to be the right way to do it. We didn’t fight traffic at all and coasted on through most of the city without trouble.
Spent that night at Half Moon Bay with friends of Jays, Opal and Floyd were campground hosts so we setup right behind where their camper was. Opal made a baked potato and chicken nuggets for dinner and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Said goodbye to Jay and took off for New Brighton State Beach. It turned out to be an okay location for a campground, basically smack dab in the middle of Santa Cruz but we could hear the waves crashing against the shore which was nice.
I left this morning in hopes of making it to Big Sur but it turns out fate doesn’t have that in the cards. It started with a flat tire as I was just about to enter Sand City outside of Monterey. So fixed that (luckily I had bought a spare tube the day before so I slapped that on and decided to make my way to the nearest bicycle store.) Once I got a new tube and pumped up my tire it immediately went flat. So I got another innertube thinking it was the stem that got ripped. Got that installed and rode away about a block and a half when it went flat again. So I hobbled back and decided to get a new tire (I swear there is nothing stuck in the old tire but maybe it’s just done or the screw hole is wearing away at the tire.) Anyway they don’t have armadillo tires so I make do with a junky tire and decide to hit up the rest of the bike stores in Monterey looking for an armadillo tire. I finally find a shop that has one and decide to call it a day. Fate seems to want me to camp in Monterey.
Tomorrow to Big Sur, should be nice.
Edit: I added a few more pictures