Bob on BAC Santa Barbara to San Diego 2010

This morning I was ready to start riding early because of forecasted afternoon rain. I awoke at 6:10 before my alarm went off. This is a regular occurrence. Only once has my alarm woken me up. I got most everything packed and went to the continental breakfast at 7:00. I had my regular juice, coffee, oatmeal and breads. Although I was the first in our group at breakfast, everyone else arrived shortly.

I started riding around 8:30. There was a heavy mist that hung next to the coast. I rode in and out of it for the early part of the ride. It wasn’t heavy enough to put on rain gear. Parts of today’s route were new to me. We bypassed all hills, took bicycle paths where they were available and peddled on roads with light traffic with a couple of major exceptions. There was an option soon after leaving Santa Barbara to go east that would have added 14 miles and 1400 feet of climbing. I didn’t take it for a couple of reasons. First, it began on a narrow road and it looked like there was a lot of traffic on it. Second, I was worried about the pending storm which was coming in the afternoon. I wanted to get to the hotel before it started.

Historic Ventura City Hall

The major exceptions to light traffic were a 5-mile stretch on “The 101” and a 6-mile stretch on “The PCH”. Traffic wasn’t very bad on “The PCH” but the pavement was terrible. This is where RVs park on the ocean side of the road for their city get-away. I can’t imagine camping next to a busy highway.

I was getting hunger pangs when I caught up to a local cyclist. I asked her how far the nearest coffee shop was. She was riding at my pace, so she led me along the route as we chatted. It turns out that she is a BAC member and has been on a couple of BAC trips. As we approached the outskirts of Ventura, it started to rain. I decided to stop under an overpass to put on my rain gear. My companion told me how to get to the coffee shop after I told her that she didn’t have to wait for me. The rain was increasing as I pulled into Palermo Coffee. I was able to park my bicycle under the awning next to an open table. I had coffee and a blueberry scone while I watched to rain shower go by.

Starting my ride again, I decided to make a quick bypass to look at the historic Ventura City Hall. (There seem to be a lot of historic municipal buildings on our tour).

Ventura Canal

The route took us over “The 101” and along the Ventura Harbor. There were lots of houses on one side of the road and boats on the other side. At one point, I looked out and saw a canal with houses on both sides. This looked like good Southern California living.

I thought that I was feeling hunger pangs again, so I made a detour into the harbor area and had some chowder and a crab cake sandwich at Andrias Seafood Restaurant and Market. I should not have ordered so much. The chowder was enough. While I was eating, another shower blew past. This one was not as bad as the last one.

Continuing on, I rode to the Country Inn and Suites in Port Hueneme. I arrived around 1:40. I glanced out my window from time-to-time, and the weather had cleared by 4:45. This could be good news for tomorrow.

This is an interesting hotel. Between 5:00 and 7:00, there are appetizers and free cocktails – real booze – limited to 2. This is where we had our Social Hour tonight. Then it was off to the Thai Village Restaurant where I had Spring rolls and pad thai. It was good but way too much to eat.

Here is today's route. Click on "View Path In Full" to get a better look at it.