The riders woke up after a restless night. Noisy locals in the street below saw to it that none of us got the eight hours of rest we were hoping for. In addition, what was left of Jeff's sense of well being went out the window when he noticed that his roommate for the evening, Gavin, was missing around 5am (about the time Ben received a concerned phone call). An hour later we discovered Gav had stayed out with some friends of his in the city and neglected to alert fellow riders. Luckily Gavin stumbled back to 'Hotel Crack' around 6:05am putting our weary minds at rest.
A story with a less happy ending is that Giles, due to work commitments, could not make the start of the ride and as news spread, this was taken as a disappointment by all. Through texting back and forth, Giles was able to wish his fellow riders the best and make plans to hopefully be able to meet up with them later on in the ride. So to say the least, it was a long night and slow morning, but after 2 pancakes, 4 strips of bacon and gallons of coffee, The Fireflies were ready to leave. Final preparations involved copious amounts of undercarriage fluffing but at 9.15am we finally got underway.
After a quick ride through the city, we made it to the coast. From there the riders jumped onto the Pacific Coast Highway, filled with dizzying twists and turns. As we faced the sea there was some initial confusion over which direction we should take; left or right. A pretty important decision to get right with the prospect of traveling 500 miles in the wrong direction should we pick wrongly! Some genius worked out we should keep the "ocean, on your right" which became the mantra for the day.
After a quick ride through the city, we made it to the coast. From there the riders jumped onto the Pacific Coast Highway, filled with dizzying twists and turns. As we faced the sea there was some initial confusion over which direction we should take; left or right. A pretty important decision to get right with the prospect of traveling 500 miles in the wrong direction should we pick wrongly! Some genius worked out we should keep the "ocean, on your right" which became the mantra for the day.
The weather was pretty consistent all day, a chilly 60 degrees. The scenery was breath taking, as the PCH proved what it is renown for. On the right was the view of the ocean waves against rocks and sandy beaches, while on the left, farmland formed carpets of seasonal orange; ahhh October, the month of pumpkins. The view proved so distracting the riders failed to stop for lunch until mile 63! Ravenous for some pumpkin pie, the crew made do with a roadside taco shack....well it is Taco Friday after-all.
After lunch we were quickly off, some faster then others on the way to Santa Cruz. Kev Rooney and Markus Neuert set the pace while the rest of us tried to keep up, no mean feet when laden with so many tacos. Some of the Londoners had an additional challenge as the jet lag kicked in. However, five and a half hours from San Fran, we all found ourselves at the end of Day 1 and at the frontier of Day 2 in Santa Cruz.
Muscle cramps and exhaustion were treated by personal methods...Ben's choice, a cold bath quickly followed by a hot shower. Gavin whimped out of the cold plunge bath for fear his nuts would freeze off. Ben's encouraging words 'Come on...Paula Radcliff swears by it' were met with Gavin pointing out that Paula does not have nuts....and if per chance she once did, they were most definitely frozen off in icy bath water. Gavin's comfort came by way of pizza washed down with a glass of red wine.
Before we go to bed there is one more photo to share: Interesting Site of the Day. Bryan Farhy, pointed out the following....
A building displaying a sign which read "The Mill" was an amusing sight itself, but by strange coincidence, if you look below, there is a cafe titled "Firefly Coffee House".....cue Twilight Zone music!
After lunch we were quickly off, some faster then others on the way to Santa Cruz. Kev Rooney and Markus Neuert set the pace while the rest of us tried to keep up, no mean feet when laden with so many tacos. Some of the Londoners had an additional challenge as the jet lag kicked in. However, five and a half hours from San Fran, we all found ourselves at the end of Day 1 and at the frontier of Day 2 in Santa Cruz.
Muscle cramps and exhaustion were treated by personal methods...Ben's choice, a cold bath quickly followed by a hot shower. Gavin whimped out of the cold plunge bath for fear his nuts would freeze off. Ben's encouraging words 'Come on...Paula Radcliff swears by it' were met with Gavin pointing out that Paula does not have nuts....and if per chance she once did, they were most definitely frozen off in icy bath water. Gavin's comfort came by way of pizza washed down with a glass of red wine.
Before we go to bed there is one more photo to share: Interesting Site of the Day. Bryan Farhy, pointed out the following....
A building displaying a sign which read "The Mill" was an amusing sight itself, but by strange coincidence, if you look below, there is a cafe titled "Firefly Coffee House".....cue Twilight Zone music!
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