You got the worse of the two. Old Creek Rd is no picnic - I rode it last year.... about the same elevation gain as Santa Rita Rd but 3 miles instead of 7.

Nice job job getting back on track.

Well after a leisurely 6 hour drive from Cambria to LA, quick visit with my son, red eye flight to DC, 2 hour 5 am drive back home I now have time and some energy to post a ride report and a couple of pics.

I arrived in Cambria on Friday, mid afternoon, checked at the local Fed Ex store to find my bike had not yet arrived. I wasn’t totally surprised as it had to get relabeled a,one the way. Nevertheless I gave even more thought to how to pass a weekend in Cambria without a bike. There are worseplaces to do that I suppose. I got a call at 4pm though to tell my bike made it on the last truck! Yay! I took the case to the Palazzo and began the unboxing under the watchful eye of many an experienced rider and wrench. Imagine fixing a flat on a group ride x 1000. Bob Freeman (yeah he knows what he’s doing) showed me how my pulleys were the wrong size - they wiggle around inside the cages. I’ve had this bike about 5-6 years, pretty anal with my wrenching and have never noticed this. Took him about 2 minutes to find it.

Saturday afternoon was a warmup ride north on the PCH to San Simeon and for me, a gigantic burger at Sebastian’s Cafe. Route was carefully chosen to use the tailwind for the ride back home. Gorgeous day! Saturday dinner was a treat with special kudos to grill master @gugie, salsa, tortilla, and guacamole specialist @Classtime, and portobello mushroom man @Choke.



Sebastian’s Cafe burger


Dinner at the Palazzo

Big ride day: Some people in the Palazzo are clearly morning people and insisted on an early start, so found myself on a shivering rollout at 6am. I am more comfortable on the bike when it points up or downhill so the cold temps with the flat stretch to Cayucos had me hurting a little bit and worried about how the rest of the day would unfold. Luckily after a breakfast burrito, chocolate covered strawberry, and a Coke I was rejuvenated and the climb up Santa Rita Rd in the now pleasantly cool weather had me feeling better. The descent didn’t feel nearly as bumpy as last year and was a lot of fun. After a beer sampler rest stop in Templeton, we hit the Kiler Canyon climb. I’m not sure if it was mentioned earlier, but not as many ruts this year. That’s because it had been graded over with soft dirt/sand combo. Fortunately, the early start decision paid off here and there weren’t many other bikes around so I could pick my line and keep it. I got stuck in the sand once and had to walk up the hill a little to get to a good remount spot. Happy to say that was my only walk time for the day.



First gravel secteur Santa Rita Rd

The ride to Halter Ranch featured a lot of rollers that proved soul sapping, completely unremembered from last year. I skipped the wine tasting there but went for second helpings of chicken rice soup as electrolytes were in short supply at the rest stops this year. Next up was the true “killer” climb, Cypress Mountain. It starts immediately with a 14% pitch before “easing” back to a range of 6-8% before toughening up again at the end. I really did suffer on this one, luckily the footing was OK so could get out of the saddle for the hard parts without spinning out. The last mile all I could think of was how good that cold Coke would taste, like last year, but alas, just air temp water, fruit, and some cookies at the top. I didn’t find the descent as nerve wracking this year. I think the rain over the winter must have washed the chunkier gravel away. My training this year also involved a lot more gravel riding and descending, so that probably helped too. The home stretched featured a lot of downhill, but also a lot of the dreaded (for me) flat. I noticed the Professor and jyb and gotten a sizeable gap, so I nominated myself road captain and directed gugie to chase them down. I then, probably distracted by my sore butt promptly sat up and watched him ride away. I got a second wind however, put my head down and with the help of an unknown gentleman, on a Colnago I think, chased the group down, catching them about a half mile from the finish!



Rode hard, put away dirty


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