Day 2, Santa Cruz to King City, 110 miles

Day 2 is Safety Orange Day. Costumes as well as orange vests, t-shirts and jackets fill the day.
This is Jan at Rest Stop 1 with 2 Roadies who dressed up.

Day 2 is filled with beautiful agriculture, but along with that comes some very poorly maintained truck roads, that bump us all over. The day is mostly flat, but because of wind and bumps is for most the hardest day.

This is one of a couple of safety vehicles that gives tickets to riders for safety infractions. If you get a ticket, they pull your bike off the rack at night and you have to chat with staff before you get it back to ride out. Usually don't find out until the morning after the ticket, that you had an infraction.
Photo by professional photographer, on the ride, Georg Lester

The un-official rest stop for artichokes, fried, steamed, breaded, all sorts of ways, is a highlight for any riders who want to take the time to enjoy. And Roadies too. 

This is Taylor, enjoying some. He and his dad, Larry, worked Sweep in the Teddy Bear van.

It is amazing to see all the agriculture of California, close up.

This is Ike and Sally, sporting their orange. 

Sally did local training rides with the team, and is unofficially on our team.

The tri-tip sandwiches were in the food trucks, also at the artichoke stop. A nice variation from the food provided at camp. Not that the food in camp isn't great, it is, but a change is nice.

The Otter Pop/Cookie Lady water stop is probably THE favorite rest stop of the entire week.
Cookie lady makes dough all year and freezes it, then bakes up a storm with about 3000 cookies for the ride. Even vegan and gluten free. The "Bears" hand out frozen Otter Pops, twirl flags and cheer riders on. At mile 83 of a 110 day ride this is a happy place to get to stop and rest.
The stop is at Mission Muestra Señora.

Sweeps, David & Emilia took these photos in the mission.





Cookie Lady's whole family come and help, parents, daughter, nieces, all of them. 

A common comment in bike parking, at all the rest stops is, remember where you parked. By Day 7, it may be over 40 times.

The long and bumpy roads and often relentless winds, of day 2 are what makes it a hard day. Not much change in elevation, even though the snap shot looks like there is.
Finishing 110 miles is an accomplishment to be proud of.