Bob At BAC Solvang 2012

The weather was clear and cold this morning. I had the breakfast buffet with lots of eggs. The extra protein keeps my hunger pangs away until much later than normal. This is good because I normally am hungry and ready for my morning snack at 10:00.

We met in the parking lot before 9:00. I loaded my bicycle into my car and drove off with several of the riders to Lompoc. Rich stayed in Solvang to go on a different route. We parked at the Home Depot lot at the intersection of California Hwy 246 and Hwy 1. It was around 9:30 when we cycled out of the lot down Hwy 1 on our way to Jalama Beach.

Jalama Beach Cafe


Darrel (in the background), Gary, Tom and Warren at Jalama Beach

The scenery along Hwy 1 was much different from that around Solvang. We were in low coastal hills with few trees and no vineyards. After a few short miles we turned east onto Jalama Road and we climbed to the top of a ridge and then down through oak trees into farm country with very dark plowed fields. Once we got close to the ocean it changed again into sandy dunes and beach succulents.

We rolled into Jalama Beach a little before noon. Being lunch time, I ordered the famous Jalama hamburger and ate it at a picnic table on the beach with the rest of my mini-group. The weather had warmed up a lot, so we were very comfortable out in the open while watching the huge waves breaking over a shallow beach. The cafe is in a county park that has overnight camping facilities for tents and RVs. We saw a few RVs but it was too early in the year for most campers.

Back on our bikes, we retraced our route back to Lompoc, loaded up our bicycles and drove back to Solvang. It got very warm while we ate. I took off my leg and arm warmers and was very comfortable on the ride back.

After Happy Hour, Rich and I drove to Bulleton and had dinner at Firestone Walker Brewing Company. I had a thin crust wood-fired pizza that reminded me of Italy. It went down easily with a Union Jack IPA. There were several other people from our group there and they seemed to be enjoying it as much as we were. I will be a repeat visitor if I spend another overnight in Solvang.

Here is today's route: