We decided to switch up the author for today's updates, so bare with me as this is my first ever blog posting.
Today, we woke up with no confidence in weather forecasts and headed out well fed to meet the road ahead of us. What we found was partly sunny skies, beautiful rolling vineyards, & a hill they call "quadbuster"! I have no idea how long or how high of a climb it was, but every rider was challenged. Really strong riders actually leaned over and pushed struggling strangers up the hill.
The other side of the summit provided long fast descents mixed with crosswinds and semi trucks that nearly blew you over as they passed. All of this happened early in the day and soon we found ourselves at rest stop three with the sun out, plenty of Gatorade, and lots of smiling friends around :)
Beauty school dropout theme.
With the wind at our backs now, it was a quick jaunt along Highway 101 into the small town of Bradley for lunch. Jan, super roadie and also our team mom, was there to greet us for lunch.
This very small town opens its streets to ALC every year and holds a barbecue to raise money for the students. The dollars raised from this single hot lunch will fund their field trips and after school programs for the entire year!
The team was fast today, we were safe and followed the rules of the road. The closer we got to Paso Robles, the hotter and windier it was. Once in camp, we enjoyed the amenities we have already grown accustomed to: warm showers, plenty of food, and a lot of skilled volunteers keeping everybody going. Lori and I even received some very unique therapy for sore joints.
We aren't exactly sure what tomorrow's adventure will look like, but we will be tackling all 97 miles of it as a team! If you find yourself on the highway between Paso Robles and Santa Maria, keep an out for a bunch of cyclists in PG&E Blue jerseys.
- Nicolas V.
