May 19, 2005
Day 2: Pigeon Point to Sunset Beach
The day dawned foggy and wet, but the rain seemed to be tapering off.
Raffi, Audra, and I dawdled as long as we could. Finally the sun began to peek out now and then. Raffi headed north. Audra and I decided to ride south together. As we rode down the coast, the sun burned off most of the clouds - bathing us in warm sunlight. Of course, we stopped in at the Davenport Cafe for lunch and ollalaberry pie. Once we got to Santa Cruz, we headed out to West Cliff Drive and watched the surfers. Audra is a surfer as well as a cyclist and filled me in on the finer points as we lounged on the bluffs.
The next stretch was tough. It's always tough - urban, hilly, with lots of traffic. Audra got to Sunset State Beach first. Since the hiker/biker sites weren't open yet, the ranger told her we could camp at any site for hiker/biker rates. When we started setting up, the attendant told us we couldn't and even used a few expletives with me. I had a talk with another ranger who apologized for the confusion and the language. Audra was really steamed - as was I.
We had a quiet supper and then went out to the cliffs to enjoy a spectacular sunset. I guess the park was appropriately named, after all. I went down to the beach and stood with my toes in the surf - backpedalling quickly with each incoming wave.
But there was one more act still to come. Well after dark, 30 teenagers and their chaperones showed up and started to set up right next to us in the dark. Flashlights glaring, pots clanging, kids giggling past midnight. I finally got out of my tent, walked to the edge of our campsite, and stood in the shadows with arms akimbo. After a while, one of their chaperones noticed me and promised to get the kids quieted down - which lasted all of 15 minutes. Oh well, I got a good night's sleep last night.
Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 70 miles (113 km)
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