Day 5 done.
It was a great day. First day with cloud cover the entire time which was a good thing. I was so excited to get on the road today. I was determined to have a great day. After 1.1 miles I was on highway 101. The pavement was perfect and I rode at 24 miles an hour for 9.5 miles.
About a mile in I swallowed a bug. Yuck! I reached down to get my water and realized I only had about 2 ounces in my big water bottle. I had about 4 ounces in my small water bottle. What the heck, I was not going to turn around. All good, Ty and Dad would meet me outside of Gonzales with food and water. I flew the 32 miles to the meeting place.
Beautiful crops of wine grapes, strawberries, cabbage and a HUGE cactus crop. As far as the eye could see, nothing but cactus. This was a first for me. I chased down 4 tractors on the road, waved to many crop pickers that were ready to work their butt off all day in a job I do not believe anyone I know would want to do. Those are HARD working people.
I got to the meeting spot in 1 hour 43 minutes for 32 miles. I was a tad early so I called Tyler. He was STILL at the hotel! I could not wait, it was cold and I would have locked up in my legs so I just had to go without. 32 more miles, I had 3 hits of water left.
For about 5 miles I panicked a little. I have ridden 35 miles without a sip of water but never 64 with about 6 sips. I kept going, throttled back a bit over the hills and enjoyed myself. After a while I realized I was within 15 miles or so from the end and that I was going to make it without any trouble. Great sensations in the legs and super motivated to be home tomorrow.
Ty and Dad met me in the Monterey wharf parking area. I slammed a bottle of water and ate some pop tarts, changed my clothes and told them I needed to eat so we went over to the wharf and ate at a restaurant that used to be Lou's back in the 50's and 60's. My dad was really excited to get to eat there. After that we went to the candy store he went to 50-60 years ago, still there and still wonderful candies. Full and relaxed we went to Hannah's house and hung out with Sean and the kids. I took a nap and we went to watch Conor play an all-star baseball game. Went to extra innings and they won the game. It was very exciting! Thank you so much for your hospitality!
Dinner at the house, spaghetti and salad. Time to sleep. I miss Teresa, Madison, and the cats. Ty is ready to sleep in his bed. This has been quite an adventure but it is not done yet. Tomorrow at 12:30 I will be arriving at Oak Grove to celebrate a successful ride from UCLA once again!
You all have a great evening and I hope to see you tomorrow!