We had California sunshine most of the weekend, even though when I started I thought it was going to be horrible, as it was cloudy and drizzled a little on me on my way to the starting point. (Carrying panniers and a sleeping bag on my bike...)

The first day was fun, as I could throw everything into the club's van, and then ride my unloaded (but fender'd and rack'd) touring bike. I led the ride for a while, and stopped at the foot of the climb to strip before going up on the 3 mile 1000 foot climb up ye local Old La Honda road, a bumpy, fairly steep climb. For the first time (which shows that I've been getting better as a climber) I climbed it without using my granny chainring. For a moment I felt like I knew what Eric House must feel like, passing everyone and telling them that "I need a lighter bike." One of the women took a long look at me and replied, "I need a lighter body." :-) Nobody overtook me, and I finally found a couple who were going at around the same pace, and we paced each other up to the top.

The downhill was scenic, coming between Redwood trees and then coming out into an open hillside where you could see the rolling hills and valleys for miles around, the distant Highway 84 below you (the main drag into La Honda). You then shoot down a badly kept paved road, past farm houses, with shade on your left and a view on your right.

Old La Honda road eventually gets to 84, and I followed that down at greater than 30 mph (no brakes) and eventually hit a headwind down into San Gregorio, near the coast. By then, a couple of fast ones had passed me, being much more courageous than I downhill. I drank and ate something, and followed a bunch south through Stage road, a two climb road which would take us to Pescadero. Stage road was gorgeous, with artichoke farms and pine trees which once in a while would open out into a meadow, or open out to give you an unforgettable glimpse of the ocean, teasing you, taunting you.

Then we rolled into Pescadero, stopped at the grocery, bought lunch, and ate it under picnic benches beneath the apple trees in the back, and when a breeze came, petals from blossoms would fall off and swirl around us.

We then rode down Bean Hollow Road to Highway 1, going down the coast at >20mph because of the tailwind, and reached Ano Nuevo State Reserve, where a hike to the beach brought us face to face with moulting 2000 pound Sea Lions. Docents were around ready for us to grab and ask questions of, and we took advantage of that until we got tired and hungry, and rode back to the Lighthouse Hostel, where we had dinner and did some whale watching. We spotted a mother and child going North around the point, and they were so close to us. We couldn't help but gasp every time one of them spouted, for they were magnificent.

The next day, I wanted my freedom back, so I put panniers and the sleeping bag onto my bicycle and rode off after doing my chores and stealing breakfast. I rode up Bean Hollow Road again, and the descent into Pescadero was like a scene from a movie, aerial shot and all, sleepy seaside town at 8:30am Easter Sunday, farms, cows and horses. I moo'd at cows as I passed and they stared at me, wondering what kind of beast I was.

Then it was up Pescadero road, climbing through Redwoods... Spots of light on the road... A river coming down at you on the right... A squirrel stops in the middle of the road and stares at you quizzically... Little blue birds (bluejays?) flit between the sides of the road, and one of them stops on the road to peck at something...

The climb up Hoskins hill was tough, and the unshaded spots were killer. After climbing at 3 or 5 mph (on a loaded bike!) for a long while, I started seeing spots on the periphery of my vision, and on seeing a shaded spot on the road ahead, I got up and sprinted for it. That turned out to be the top of the thousand foot climb. I ate something and descended down to 84, and turned into La Honda (pop 309), where I stopped at a restaurant to ask if anyone knew my officemate Stan Lanning. Someone eventually found him in a little red book and gave me directions. I got to his place, stood at the patio and waved at his daughter. He saw me, stared, put his head in his hands and shook his head and laughed, and waved me into the house, fed me breakfast and showed me around. We then got on our bikes and visited Reed (the president of Pure Software, Inc), as he was in town, and there he was outside his house (which was currently in an unlivable condition) with his wife, a large mattress and lots of blankets, apparently slept under the stars last night. A picture of domestic bliss. :-)

The rest of the day was uneventful. I climbed Old La Honda road again and went down the other side and stopped by 600 Old La Honda road to see if David would feed me lunch, but he wasn't in. So I left a note on his door instead. I then took my favorite backroads home.