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DAY FOUR
The 2001 CAR8 Route
Paso Robles to Oceano - 69.8 miles.
Today was the day I feared the most. I had heard about "Evil Twin 1" and "Evil Twin 2" ... Our little "cheat sheet" shows a steady climb out of camp to mile 12, where it looks like the climb really begins. Everyone talks about the Evil Twins. This was going to be my challenge-of-challenges. Understand, many (perhaps most) of the AIDS riders are strong, young, strong, fast, strong, ... did I say strong riders? Riding up the "Headlands" is a twice a week, and after work workout many of my team members did as part of their "regular" training. The "Headlands", should anyone wonder, is that mountain north of the Golden Gate Bridge - the road of which winds up to the fortifications put in during WWII, then down an incredibly steep and winding one-lane road to the Nike Missile Site. So for many AIDS riders, the Evil Twins are merely a "bump in the road" - well, maybe not that small, but they don't look at them as THAT challenging. And then there are the rest of us! Many riders got off their bikes and walked some of the hills we had already passed. So for us, today posed a real challenge!
Our tent was dry this morning! So it was an easy task to roll it up and pack our gear for today's ride. The breakfast served this morning provided possible predictions of the need for sustenance ... The menu included biscuits and gravy! - scrambled eggs with green peppers, sausage, oatmeal (a daily staple), bagels, yogurt, and all kinds of drinks - hot and cold. Lots of riders took the biscuits and gravy .... I opted for the oatmeal and yogurt, thank you.
Filled with a good breakfast, filled camelbacks and water bottles, there was nothing else we could do but start off - and face our "dragons" ....
Right out of camp we began a steady incline, and soon we came to Highway 46. This is the highway that connects Highway 101 to the Coast. It is the road Paul and I drove when we took Nannie to visit Hearst Castle. Anyone who has traveled Highway 46 may remember it. As it turned out, the approach to Evil Twin #1, while challenging, was not as steep as I had expected. We had a .5 mile "warm up hill" then shortly thereafter, came a 1.9 mile second warm-up hill - and we were at Pit Stop One! I took a bit more water, and bag balm and headed off. Evil Twin #1 was only a little over a mile up, and the predictions were worse than actuality (isn't that often the case)? It was four more miles to the top of Evil Twin #2 - and not all of the four miles was up ... we had a few downhills before the final ascent! And what did I think of Evil Twin #2? "Piece of cake!" (just kidding!)
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It really wasn't all it was touted to be, but I must say I felt a sense of accomplishment when I was able to pass a number of riders who needed to walk up to the summit! (If you look carefully at the picture, that's the Pacific Ocean you see near the top of the picture!) "Not too bad for an old broad", I told myself. And, a delightful sight at the top of Evil Twin #2. (No, I did not park my bike and climb up a hill to view the scene below, as many did ... I figured I'd see enough of the Pacific Ocean from a "safer" vantage point as I traveled down the hill). Another sight caught my eye - at the top of Evil Twin #2 is a sign which reads "Half Way To Los Angeles" - of course, like many others, I had to get a picture just to prove I had come this far! )
A l-o-n-g line had formed so the Crew could take a picture of each rider positioned on top of a rock, holding their bike over their head! Well, holding bikes over one's head - for me - indicates the completion of the ride - not the halfway mark. Rather than continue to stand in that long line, I asked a fellow rider if he would take a picture of me so that the sign showed. He did, and off I went, down the steepest and longest hill I have been on - (the big hill we rode down when we did the cross-country, excepted). I had determined that I would not "walk down" the hill, but when I saw it, I also promised myself that if I became really scared, I could "bail out" and walk. That moment never came. After the steepest part of the hill was passed, there was nearly 7 more miles of gentler grade, softly winding curves, and it was a ride I truly enjoyed! By the time I reached Pit Stop 2, Evil Twins 1 and 2 were pleasant memories!)
I made a quick stop in Pit Stop 2, which came up shortly after I had reached the "bottom of the hill" - and a mile later I was back on Highway 1. This picture shows me just before turning onto Highway 1, and the view of the Pacific was great! I'm holding up four fingers to indicate day four - which had turned out much more successful than I had imagined! This seemed to be a favorite "Kodak moment" spot for many of my fellow riders. There was a nice grassy area to the right of the road, which afforded a safe place to park our bikes and enjoy the vista of the ocean.What a beautiful ride along the coast! The road was not flat, but the hills were not bad, and the downhills more than made up for the climbs! In addition, the sight of the 800-foot rock (Morro Rock?) was intriguing. It could be seen for miles before reaching the actual town of Morro Bay, and reminded me of the time the CFMers camped there one weekend many years ago. The sight brought back many happy memories.
Just past Morro Bay, our route turned slightly inland toward the town of San Luis Obispo. This is a particularly beautiful area. Small "mountains" shoot skyward toward the blue sky, and the weather could not have been more pleasant!
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The Lunch Stop was about ten miles after Morrow Bay, at Camp SLO Hudleson Field (now listed as Cuesta College). It was fun finding Team Members here, and we all enjoyed a nice respite together. The weather was quite warm, and areas under the trees were the favorite sites for eating. Others found refuge in the air-conditioned bus, which was waiting to sag other riders to camp. From Lunch, we had less than 20 miles to go to camp for the night - and once past the Lunch Stop, most of today's ride was relatively flat.About ten miles past our Lunch Stop is a place I had read about - Avila Hot Springs. It is an "unofficial stop" for many AIDS riders. I don't know how "far off the road" the Springs is, but by the time I reached this spot, it was late in the afternoon, and I opted to pass it up, and head for Camp. Many other of the faster riders did stop here for a refreshing dip in the hot springs, and in the pool there. Many of these riders spent several hours here, which made their arrival back in camp rather late, actually, some reached camp just in time to miss the 7:00 p.m. "sweep". All riders must be off the road by 7:00 p.m. or they are picked up by the "sweep vans". Most of the riders who stopped at Avila Springs were able to gauge their arrival time, and all made it to camp just before 7:00 p.m. Their reports indicated that the visit there was well spent and enjoyed.
Passing the turn-off to Avila Hot Springs, our route ran parallel to Route 1, and the towns of Pismo Beach and Shell Beach saw many residents out on the sidewalks and street corners clapping and cheering us on. "Thank you for riding." is a greeting often heard. I wonder how many of these well-wishers have lost loved ones to AIDS ... In addition to the verbal greetings are many, many signs for individual riders and teams, as well as general signs for all the AIDS riders. I had heard about these greetings from other AIDS riders, but riding through these towns, and receiving these warm greetings does give one a sense of what this ride is all about.
Finally I reached the town of Oceano and our camp for the night, Oceano Airport. The entire field closes down for a couple of days to accommodate the AIDS Ride! I suspect it is an airport for small planes, but that they close down the entire installation for us, was pretty impressive! We had been warned to check out where we put up our tent, as the field is famous for its gophers (and gopher holes) ... Alison, who as usual, had our tent up and all the luggage inside, forgot to check on the gopher holes, but we don't think the little critters are going to bother us!
Many of my Team Members opted to skip dinner at camp, and to take the free shuttle bus from "the airport" to the town of Oceano and have dinner there, instead. When I rode along the coast, I could fairly smell the fish, and I had visions of seafood in my mind much of the afternoon, so I gladly accepted the suggestion! The little town of Oceano, however, caters to fish eaters, and pizza lovers. We could find no restaurant in the downtown area that considers vegetarian appetites. While other of our Team stopped at a well-known Fish Place, Alison, Michele and I walked into many of the local restaurants, only to find out they did not have anything on their menus Michele could eat. Michele is a vegetarian. We finally found a restaurant where she was able to order a vegetable pizza. She reported it was good. I hope it was, for her commitment to not eat animals is awesome. Up to now, I'm not sure what I thought of vegetarians (I have a couple of daughters who prefer a vegetarian-like diet to meat-eating, especially red meat), but I had never listened to anyone speak about why they elected to adopt a vegetarian diet. For such a young woman, Michele has captured my admiration for her stalwart stand. It was not easy for her to seek out a place where she could find something to eat; it would have been quite easy for her to say "Oh well, I can't find anything, so I'll just do 'the best I can' - and eat whatever..." She has taught me what commitment and conviction are all about. I am in great admiration of her, and I hope her husband, Dino, appreciates what a gem she is. Eating with Alison and Michele gave me a rare opportunity to learn more about them - and to come away with a sense of wonder and admiration. The volunteer work with AIDS support groups these young women have been involved in for years was astonishing, and I felt so fortunate to be in their company! Participation in the AIDS Ride for them, is simply an extension of work and involvement they have both put into eradicating the disease and its consequences for family and friends of AIDS victims.
After our dinner, we looked for some candy, and browsed through a corner store that held the usual tourist items. Alison pointed out a little TY "Beannie Baby". The aqua teddy bear is named "Ariel" after Ariel Glaser who died of AIDS when she was 5 years old. Her mother began the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. I purchased "Ariel" and thought of carrying it on my bike on "Memorial Day" (Thursday's ride), but decided to keep it in my suitcase and take it home (clean). The little "Beanie Baby" will remind me of two very special people I've come to love and appreciate; Alison and Michele.
The free shuttle picked us up and returned us back to camp. Most of the riders were from the AIDS ride, and we were entertained both ways by a lovely young lady (of about 10?) who sang a song for us along the way. The picture I took of her did not come out, but one of my Team Members will have one I'll use later.
We were glad to return to camp, and to bed. It has been an exciting day - and the week is going too fast! However, tomorrow looks like a relatively "easy" day. According to Alison, however, they make every day "difficult" - no day is "easy". I recall Dan Pallotta telling us at the beginning of the ride that they try to make the ride a challenge. It gives us an opportunity to reach down deep inside us and find the potential that is there. Well, we'll find out what potential I have tomorrow!
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