Pacific Coast Bike Tour Days 15, 16 and 17 San Simeon to San Luis Obisbo

Previous post: Big Sur to San Simeon

Day 15: San Simeon to San Luis Obisbo

We woke up in the hiker/biker site and most of the riders who had arrived late the evening before had already left. Early risers get the worm and get to ride the Hwy in a dense fog. We learned that one of the riders in the late arriving group had to catch a train in San Luis Obisbo so they had a valid reason for getting up and out of camp so early.

We enjoyed our usual leisurely morning routine with coffee, hot chocolate and oatmeal for the kids while we waited for the fog to clear. We weren’t interested in riding the highway in dense fog. Good call! The fog cleared and we were on the road by mid-morning. Destination: a hotel in San Luis. I couldn’t wait for a real bed, a shower and some laundry!

The ride turned out to be glorious. As the morning wore on it started to heat up. We’re from Seattle and not used to HOT days at the ocean. Around lunch time we pulled into Cayoucus to rest and enjoy the beach. The beauty of slowing down and pedaling fewer miles each day: you have time for impromptu beach stops!

The kids donned swim suits and had fun playing in the water. We warned them that after our stop, we still had 20 plus miles to ride and they would have to deal with itchy and sandy skin on the bike. They didn’t care and said some fun in the waves would be worth a little pain later.

We did our best to hose them off with the rest of our water from our bottles and we were on our way toward San Luis Obisbo. As we pedaled inland the heat got more intense.

The route turned off the highway and followed a beautiful canyon. We relished a little off highway pedaling. The boy was tired of pedaling up a big climb and decided to get off and run. If you are new to the blog you might not remember that sometimes they run! Quite frankly, I was thrilled! Sometimes it’s easier to climb without the extra weight and drag on the back of the bike.

Even though it was hot, we didn’t mind. The carrot of a hotel and a shower kept us going the last 15 or so miles.

We arrived in San Luis Obisbo in late afternoon. The kids and I shopped for a few groceries and other essentials while Tim searched online for a hotel. He found one with a pool (huge bonus for the kids) and we were on our way. We all enjoyed relaxing by the pool for a few hours before dinner.

I’m not sure why I ask hotel staff for restaurant recommendations when Yelp and Urbanspoon are available resources. Staff suggestions usually turn out to be a bit too touristy for my taste. But after pedaling and camping for four days, I was weary, didn’t really care where we ate and asked the front desk for a pub nearby. The two front desk employees looked at each other with a sparkle in their eyes and said they had the perfect place, an Irish pub just around the corner. Too tired to care much, we walked our rumbly tummys two blocks to the pub. When we arrived, we were greeted by a hostess in a too-short kilt. I never knew women wore kilts in Ireland. Hmmm. That was our first indication we were in a college town bar. The second was the crowds of twenty-somethings gathered at large tables for trivia night. A family of four wearing clothing that covered more body parts completely stood out. We ordered and ate quickly, determined to get out of there before our kids learned the rules to beer pong. The kids loved it, they were highly amused! They asked lots of questions about college throughout the quick meal.

We returned to the hotel with vague plans of finding a laundromat nearby to wash our stinky clothes in the morning before checkout. The more Tim and I discussed logistics, the more weary we became. Get up early, run to the laundromat, wash the clothes, get back, pack up, check out….whew, that sounds exhausting. The other option was to go buy some beer and sit by the pool the next day and relax while the kids swam.

Needless to say, option 2 won.

Miles: 37
Route: Hwy 1, then local roads
High: Playing on the beach and a hotel pool in one day!
Low: I’d say the dinner at the pub, but really it was just funny!
Sleep: La Cuesta Inn

 – Anne

next up: Pacific Coast Bike Tour, Day 18: San Luis Obisbo to Lompoc