On Saturday, Shelley and I rode the Lighthouse Century, up along the coast by San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle.

We drove up Friday night, camped in county park in the overflow area, and had dinner (by chance) at Royal Thai, a restaurant we happend upon a little over a year ago. Oh, but they make excellent and tasty food!

Anyway, the ride route itself goes northwest for 60 miles, then turns around and follows most of the same road back. Almost the entire way out, in the morning and early afternoon, we fought steady 15-20 mph winds head-on, with gusts perhaps 25 mph. The only good thing about them is -- as long as they don't shift -- that they will push you back.

And good golly did they do that! On the way back my speedometer clocked 33.5 mph going up hill a couple of times! And I set a new downhill speed record at 40 mph! Those return miles back just flew, making the entire morning effort worth the discouragement.

Not sure whether we'll do that ride again, mostly because of the traffic. The majority of the ride put us on the Pacific Coast Highway, a major vehicle route. The coastal scenery is nice, but the amount of noise from the traffic detracts heavily from enjoying it.

A new first for one of the rest stops though: chocolate fondue, dribbled over various fruits and breads. Deelish!




She'll be comin' up the hill when she comes!





Snack break with a view. Only 14 miles to the lighthouse, but they're all dead-on into the wind!