Good Drama

Mike picked me up about 6AM and we headed to Carmel.

We arrived to a dark parking lot filled with people arranging belongings and getting bikes ready. The plan was Mike would ride the 1st 55 miles down the coast to Lucia. I would drive the car to Lucia and start my ride there. He would pick up the car and drive to the hotel where I would meet him at the end of my ride.

The coast was spectacular giving the Amalfi Coast a run for it’s money .The ocean was like glass and as the waves broke over submerged rocks a line of white would appear ,then become blue glass again. A ribbon of fog lined where the ocean met the cliffs. Far out there was a bank of clouds and when you rose high enough the ocean extended beyond the bank of fog. The sky was clear and a rich powder blue.

I arrived at Nacamiento Rd and looked at the face of a mountain . There is a one lane road carved into the side of a cliff. I Slipped into my pedal cages, went to my 1st gear and started up.After a minute my calves were screaming” What are you doing?” Pedal, Pedal Pedal. After a half hour I couldn’t believe how far I climbed and how close the car seemed to be. I didn’t dare look up.

Another half hour you see the curvature of the earth and you get to see the earth as described above. It is worth every screaming muscle, every gasp for breath, every doubt about if I’ll make it to the top.

After an hour the road flattens slightly and I find myself in a redwood grove. Easily 15 degrees cooler ,it is as if I am on another planet. Out I go and up, up, up I go.

In two hours I reach the top. Well 8 miles down and 42 to go. It seems hardly possible. I descend through a steep forested canyon and emerge into Fort Hunter Leggett. Takes a hour of riding to cross the base.

I notice that my phone has 15% charge left, No problem I have a battery pack. I grab the pack,reach for the cord,no cord.I organized it into the wrong bag. I frantically write the directions down before the battery dies. One of the event organizers is driving by asks if I need water.I thank him as I have enough, but does he have a charge cord? Bingo!

I’m charged and running.Only 18 miles to go……..straight into a headwind for 18 miles.Who says it can’t be uphill both ways?

I arrive tired and happy. This is a ride I have wanted to do for many years

I am a lucky man

Paul