Day 3

Well it's 10:30pm and I'm exhausted.  Today was the best day on the road so far but I'm affraid this will be a short post.  I left Point Mugu at 8:15am to get an early start.  My day called for at least 65 miles of riding into Santa Barbara and I really wanted to be able to have time to make stops along the way and contend with the infamous headwind.  As it turned out, being an early riser helped me avoid a headwind for a little while and kept me out of the direct sun for a good 20 miles. 

Leaving Point Mugu, my first city I passed thru was Oxnard.  Oxnard, as it turns out, is all agriculture.  When I turned onto Port Hueneme rd, I had strawberry and sod fields for miles.  With sprinklers blasting, I was greated with rainbows and a nice light mist to keep me cool as I cruised down a strait and dirty road.  As I was riding along I got this sense that this would be what a lot of Mexico would be like.  Being used to seeing all ocean, it was great to see fields of green and smell ripe strawberries for miles.  Of course this made me hungry, but guess what? There were fruit stands everwhere! I stopped at a stand and saw big luscious red strawberries and heavy golden oranges.  After selecting a banana, plum, orange and apple, I go to pay the man.  Any takers on how much I paid? Try one whole dollar.  I didn't think I heard right but sure enough...  Leaving with a bag of treats and a grin on my face, I began to ride and chomp down on a juicy apple as I continued on. 

Fast forward to Sunnyland, just south of Santa Barbara. I'm riding along and I see an enchanting building with a large ancient entrance.  There are stone buddah figures and succulents as well as a swing chair in the yard.  I don't know what it was but I felt somthing pull me inside.  Let me just say wow, I was blown away by what this store had done.  Inside there were imports from all parts of Asia and outside was an enhanting garden with bamboo succulents and a stream running through.  Rather then explain it, you really ought to check it out.  The place was called a Sacred Space in Sunnyland. 

When I made it into Santa Barbara it was only around 3pm.  I made my way onto and explored Stearns Wharf, basically a pier with shops on the end.  When I got to the end, I took my shirt off to catch some sun, and doubled back to the bike path.  Negotiating past other tourists on rented 4 wheel bike monstrosities, I noticed a group of ukulele players practicing near a shop.  When I stopped to watch, I grabbed a scoop of strawberry ice cream, listened to some live music and then left.  I took state st, the main drag, and slowly worked my way up and down to kill time until my host Jill was available.  After 5pm I made my way to her place, got settled in and went to Trader Joes to get some breakfast and dinner supplies. 

As I said, today was just a really overwhelmingly wonderful day.  Great weather, and great scenery made for the best day yet,  My energy was high and stayed that way the whole ride. 

Tomorrow, I work my way up into Lompoc where I will camp again.  We will see what that day has in store for me.

Until then...

-Spinning Gear