Today’s Highlights:
We had our shortest ride of the trip today – only 41 miles. It almost felt like an actual vacation day! We started thirty minutes later than usual, at 8:30 am, and arrived at our destination town of Solvang just before noon. This is a really great town to explore. Its Danish architecture in a mountain valley setting is quite unique and very attractive. It has many gift shops, chocolate shops, bakeries and restaurants to visit. There are also many wine tasting rooms. Other than the two previous rest days we had, this was the only time we were able to explore a town that we stopped in. We really enjoyed the extra few hours, and had a nice lunch, visited an old mission and walked the streets checking out a few shops.
The first part of our ride was through more farmlands, which still amazed us in their size and productivity. Fields were in different stages of farming, from fresh plowed, to new planting, to harvesting. It appears to be a year-round, multi-harvest operation.
As we rose in elevation, we left the farms and entered ranch country. We basically had one long hill in the first part of the day, with a steep section near its top. While traversing up and down the canyon, the views were spectacular.
We saw two tarantulas today! We were told that they were common in one area of our ride. Chris and I spotting one and took a quick look, but I chose not to photograph it. I expected to see a more, but we rode many more miles before finally seeing another. I made sure to stop and take a picture of that one.
Hello, Little Denmark
I’m only a little sick today, but still a bit tired. I’m blaming it on my cold. It couldn’t have anything to do with the 88 hours of riding 1,245 miles with 65,300 feet of climbing. That’s not why I’m tired. I feel better and tomorrow should be great – a nice 81 mile ride in the park.
I don’t know what to say that Dad didn’t already say. The ride was great again. We passed so many beautiful wineries it was hard not to stop and relax with a glass. We saw tarantulas and a wild boar. Awesome! It was great to get into town early and actually have some time to explore. And what a great town to explore. The pics tell the story and we did it all.
Chris
p.s. 65,000ft of climb is like climbing Mount McKinley (tallest in North America) over three times. Hey, Joe, I’m going to ride up to your house when I get home, while I’m still in shape. http://connect.garmin.com/
Pictures Of The Day:
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Chris:
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