Day+25+Journal

=Colin's Journal= 25 January 2006 63 miles Paso Robles --> King City 15 miles run, 48 biked

Wonderful sleep last night in a queen sized bed, with real covers. Didn't want to wake up, but soon found an amazing breakfast Elizabeth made for us. We had oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, mueslix and toast with homemade preserves- apricot and blueberry. We loaded up the horse trailer with our bikes, and half of us roade into town with Elizabeth, the other half with Terran (sp?), her daughter.

We were dropped off at a grocery store a half mile from where we stopped yesterday, and we got our stuff very quickly, said thanks to Elizabeth, and started riding. Bill and Grant each started off, and we were very efficient at these first couple of handoffs: Stephen rode with Bill, then us other four rode for 6 miles at a pretty good pace, where Corey stopped and waited with Grant's bike, while Grant started running. Now Rogo and I rode the next 6 miles, then he stayed with my bike, and I started running.

Part of what made us so efficient here was that our entire route that day was on a road called "G14", so we had no corners where we needed to regroup for directions. I started running in beautiful, rolling wine country, my favorite running section so far. After about 3 miles all five of the others passed me on a nice downhill, but I found them waiting on a big dam soon thereafter. Crossing the dam, we climbed a pretty good hill/mountain where I put a few minutes on the bikers. The road followed a ridgeline with a lot of scenic vistas of the lake formed by the dam to our left, and the countryside to our right. When the road descended, it was a long sweeping switchback, like the stairs in a nice mansion, only the stairs were two miles long.

I took it easy on the downhill, then tried to get rolling for the last five miles. For some reason I thought 35 minutes wasn't long to hammer, so I tried to. We passed into Monterey county just as all the bikers caught me again, ~13 miles in, and I finished up at the entrance to a vineyard in 1:42 (6:50/mile), which is good considering the rolling terrain.

Dave put in another five miles next, and we had our lunch on the fly, making pb+j on tortillas for ourselves and for him before he got there, then riding off while he ate. Also along the way we would snack on the two loaves of french bread in my backpack (they fit in there perfectly under some netting). Corey finished his 8 miles, and then I clocked Stephen for 11, with Bill and I getting up to 20mph on the flats here (we were riding past a military base). Toward the start of Bill's run next there was a very steep downhill, on which the BOB got up to 32.5mph before I remembered to keep it slower than that (since it has problems with fishtailing). I rode with Grant to the five mile mark, from where he was going to finish out our day.

So I waited with his bike, and saw Rogo a couple minutes later, who rode ahead to help with directions. Then Bill and Corey came in, saying Stephen had been farther back, so we started waiting and waiting. Finally after about an hour we manage to talk to him on a cell phone. I kept thinking I could hear his end of the conversation, but not through the phone... sure enough, he rode into sight a few seconds later- he'd been right around the bend talking to us. The four of us rode on to King City, where we found Rogo worried to pieces, and Grant at San Lorenzo park.

It is a big campsite with free hot showers, and lots of old farm equipment (there was an agricultural museum). We had our remaining four loaves of french bread, plus three cans of Dinty Moore beef stew for dinner, and raisins on tortillas for dessert. It is pretty cold out, and we have both tents set up.

Line of the day: Corey: "Elizabeth was really nice, though." Rogo: "I think she could break us."

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Day 26 Journal