A great journal! I'm so sorry that your trip got cut short. This trip was in 2018. Does that mean we get to look forward to more? I love your writing style!

I'm almost a decade younger than you but still find anything beyond 4 percent to be as you described: a lowest-available-gear, 4 mph slog that is best done in 100 vertical-foot increments with time to pant, gasp, and wheeze in between each segment. But you got there and that's all that matters.

Thanks, Keith. I always use NUUN tabs in my bottles, and usually keep one bottle of plain water to pour over my overheated head. But I failed to fill them all before I got to Harris Grade and ended up doing the climb with 1-1/2 bottles, not nearly enough. Really grave error on my part. It took me two more days after arriving home to recover, four days total.

Hi Tom,
Oh do I feel your pain. See my latest journal for my run in with sunstroke. Your conclusions are all bang on, but I would add one more: electrolytes are not to be taken lightly. Gatorade, Powerade or similar would do wonders for your hydration status. I hope your recovery was swift.
Cheers,
Keith

Thanks, Andrea. I like to say that touring is about the journey, not the destination. I woke up all excited this morning, only to have my train cancel on me. The beauty of being retired is that I can just reschedule it for tomorrow...

These last minute jitters are the norm, Tom. In a few days you will be an old hand. You don't have to prove anything to anybody, just have the experience and enjoy the good stuff and let the difficulties become a good story later. Best of luck and have a great time.

I also read your journal of that trip, and you both put my mind to rest (the hills south of Lompoc are long but gentle) and helped me make a routing decision of Harris Grade instad of CA 1 into Lompoc. I very much like your writing style and the way you share with your readers.

Thanks, Steve. I know my mind blows some of these things way out of proportion in that twilight sleep I described, and the worst thing that can happen is that I have to walk the bike for a bit. I think an absolutely key tool will be to take it easy and not pressure myself into anything. On last year's tour I had to meet someone at a certain place by a certain time, and that was at the end of the toughest day. The self-imposed pressure ruined the day.

67 is not that old (relatively speaking) and besides - think like the Little Engine that Could of Golden Childrens Book fame, I think I can, I think I can..... I just checked our blog of the Coast ride "Grampies Go Coastal", here on cycle blaze and truly the ride does not sound that terrifying. Give it a quick look see and hopefully it will make you sleep easier. Don't forget, we are Canadian so we use kilometers for distance.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's just that my tours are getting progressively longer, with new challenges on each one such as longer, steeper hills and many more miles. And most of the people I know act like I'm planning to build a ladder to the moon...

67? Just a kid still; you can do it! Congratulations on having the will to take the challenge, and have a great time!