Day 17: Carmel Valley to King City

Today’s Highlights:

We had a FANTASTIC ride today!  Breakfast at the Los Laureles Lodge was very nice, especially the selection of fresh fruit.  We were on our bikes at 8:00 in the crisp 48 degree morning air.  I dressed lightly today, because our route started with a twenty mile climb which required enough energy to keep me warm.  We rode in a very rural environment winding up and around hills of golden grass and live oaks and occasional ranches.  The clouds draped the tops of the hills for the first hour or so.  And by the time we reach the highest point, after 2000 feet of climbing, the sun was out and temps in the 60s and quickly rising.  We saw deer and turkeys and two eagle during the climb, and many beautiful landscapes.  To top it off, there was almost no traffic the entire morning.

As always, our work on the ascent was rewarded by a great descent, winding for miles down into the valley with great views of ranches and farms, backdropped by the the Santa Lucia Mountains.  At thirty miles, we started seeing vineyards again and an interesting small canyon of the Arroyo Seco River.  After crossing that river, we entered the town of Greenfield in a huge valley with immense farms.  Then we turned south and traversed the Salinas River valley and its huge farms until reaching King City.

It was a glorious ride. We ending earlier than other days, since it was our shortest mileage ride so far.  It might have also been the best weather we had throughout the day so far.  We had time for lunch, laundry and bike cleaning before meeting for route rap and dinner.

Dedication
What a glorious day! I’m still impressed with the variety of the landscape on this trip. As you can see from the pictures, today was beautiful. I’d like to dedicate this ride to my Grandma and my Mother-in-Law. Happy birthday to you both. I hope you’re day was as great as ours.

There’s also a rumor that Dad talked to Neil Young today. I’m not sure, but it’s possible. He told us to keep climbing because we’re not at the top yet. Thanks a lot, Neil.

Chris

Pictures Of The Day:

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000tNRe5x.EPd4″ g_name=”Day-17″ f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_smooth=”t” f_up=”t” f_topbar=”t” f_bbar=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”400″ height=”300″ bgcolor=”#000000″ btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”xfade” tbs=”5000″ f_ap=”t” bgtrans=”f” linkdest=”c” f_constrain=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.Y5pG94RBU50qfoUtfAGqMpcZOgBKD3UvhDX.D45ytGoFNNCH0wg–” ]

Go to full West Coast Bike Trip Gallery

Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Detail’ to view more information at Garmin Connect.

Chris: