It was a 100 mile one-day bike ride. Granted, it did take me all day. I started at 7:00 am and finished near 4:00 pm. But what a wonderful day it was! I loved cycling this scenic route with friendly staff support. They kept me well fed and hydrated on my bicycle journey through the towns of Ventura, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta.
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| Maybe I'm at mile 40 (?) This is above Santa Barbara and one can see Santa Cruz Island in the background. |
The rest stops were welcome breaks, and we visited all 5 of them, (mile 14.8, mile 30.9, mile 51.1 which was the lunch stop, mile 70.9. and mile 82.1 which was the popsicle stop.)
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| Lunch stop - make your own sandwiches with all the fixins. |
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| My favorite stop - the Popsicle station at Rincon Beach only 15 miles to the finish line. |
We made it!
Our hotel, the ClockTower Inn was a bit dumpy, but the location is ideal - downtown Historic Ventura .
Later in the evening we set out on foot from the ClockTower and strolled the quaint Main Street of Ventura. We stepped into Palermo, which serves the most delicious gelato, outside of Italia. The ginger gelato was heavenly.
Sunday morning we checked out before 10:00 am and drove perhaps 6 miles north to
Summerland. We spent a few hours at Summerland Beach, which is directly below Look Out Park.
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| A quiet and peaceful beach |
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| I was kicking back as well, but I got my arse up to take the photo |
The weekend was a fabulous getaway.
I found it to be healing. Some of you may know my beloved father passed away a month ago, on July 7th 2014. He enjoyed cycling during his retirement years. I thought of him often as I pedaled. He would have enjoyed this. Too bad we didn't do it together; but I felt he was with me in spirit.
He was a good father - extremely intelligent and very witty, but most importantly he gave me his unconditional love.
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| Olympic Marathon Trials, Columbia, SC 2000 After I finished, standing with my doting, proud dad. |
Life is precious!
Take a Day and do what you Enjoy!
