California Day 10 - New Cuyama to Santa Maria

 It was 55 miles today, almost all downhill. The first 53 miles from New Cuyama has no services whatsoever.

It basically looked like this. 

The road follows the river the whole way. What hills there are is when the road cuts the corner off a bend in the river. After New Cuyama, the valley narrows, and the fields of irrigated crops become ranches. Near the bottom, the valley becomes more like a gorge or a canyon, with a national forest on either side. This part has some climbing as the road winds down the gorge. 

This traffic light is a welcome sight. It marks the end of the 53 mile stretch of no services.

And just beyond that overpass, there is a BBQ joint.

Which was very delicious. I got here at 1:00. All I had to eat all day was pistachios from the snack bag and some pound cake with my coffee before I left. The pound cake is in honor of Afroman, American hero.

The rib place was a decision point. My original plan was to ride another 28 miles to San Luis Obispo, which would require about 1000 feet of climb, into a headwind. It was 85 degrees out, which was still hot, but not near as hot as yesterday. I felt great, since it had been an easy morning.

Or I could go two more miles and get a last-minute deal at a Candlewood Suites, and make the next day a short day. I have two cushion days built into my itinerary, before my flight home from San Diego. I decided to use a cushion day and not push it.

This gives me a short day tomorrow with plenty of time to enjoy San Luis Obispo, do laundry, and be well rested for the next two days, which have a lot of climbing. Making today an 80 mile day might put me in SLO too exhausted to enjoy it.

My room actually has a mini-kitchen, with dishes and a sink! And a desk/table with chairs. I can get takeout and eat it like a civilized human being. And check out what is only a block away!

My favorite Mexican grocery! I swear this place is on the level of HyVee. It's the best.

This one has tamales, like the last one. I AM SO HAPPY!

I also got some fresh guacamole, chips, and grapes, and had myself a feast.

Santa Maria is near the coast. I'm out of the desert. It's green here. You can smell the ocean. 

Here is the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/17808248981/

California Day 9 - Tejon Ranch Outlet Mall to New Cuyama

What could have been a gruesome day turned into a memorably awesome day.

 

From the Microtel Inn off the Tejon Ranch Outlet Mall, it was right back onto I-5 for eight more miles. I exited on 166, which heads straight west for 25 miles, though heavily industrialized agriculture. There were a lot of citrus orchards. I'm about 30 miles south of Bakersfield.

Organic it is not. There is a pervasive smell of chemical fertilizer and pesticides the whole way. Sometimes manure too. Nobody lives here.

There are mountains in the distance, but you can't see them, because of the haze. When I went over Tejon pass yesterday, moving from the Antelope Valley to the Central Valley, the clear skies and amazing vistas went away and it became hazy. 

I talked with a guy at the Blue Sky Center, where I'm camped, who grew up in the Central Valley. He says the haze is natural, and it's always there. 

I crossed over the California Aqueduct again.

It seems to me that having your water supply go through miles and miles of orchards sprayed with chemicals might not be a great plan.

Eventually, I got to the small farming town of Maricopa. I grabbed a burrito for lunch at the gas station, and a couple bottles of Gatorade to get me over the mountain. Because I have a nonstop, 2200 foot climb. 

Here's one of the steeper parts, about halfway up.

The steep bits are 8 or 9 percent. Most of it is 5 or 6 percent. Low gear and patience. Works every time.

The view from the top is amazing.

When you go over the top, you enter the Cuyama Valley, and the road follows the Cuyama River downhill for pretty much the next 70 miles. 

At the top of the valley, it's all agricultural fields, which are irrigated. I'm not sure what they grow, since the fields are all freshly tilled.

There are two small towns, Cuyama and New Cuyama, 13 miles from the top of the climb. They are tiny, dusty farm towns. New Cuyama has lodging. 

One could stay here at the Buckhorn. Rooms are $340!

I was actually contemplating this, but by the time I locked in what day I would be here, there were no more vacancies. To be honest, I was much more seriously contemplating riding as far as I could go and stealth camping.

But wait! AirBnb! There is a place called The Blue Sky Center that offeres glamping! You can stay in one of these wagons for only $180!

I was digging around on the Blue Sky Center's website, and buried deep in there, it says they also offer "dispersed camping". This is a fancy way of saying "you can pitch a tent." For $40, and you get to use the same cantina, real bathrooms, shower, electric outlets, and wifi as the glampers. Win win win.

So instead of continuing on riding slightly downhill into a headwind with temperatures in the mid-90s, to stay who knows where, I decided to investigate the Blue Sky option.

Which was great! The Blue Sky Center is in reality a progressive activist organization that promotes resilient, inclusive, and sustainable rural economies. 

So I booked a campsite online from the lobby right here, and hung out in the wonderful air conditioning until it cooled down enough for me to pitch the tent.

Where there was all the literature you would ever want about how to make compost and books of Cowboy Poetry. After I grabbed a shower, I relocated into the similarly cool bliss of the Cantina.

I spent some more time reading the Blue Sky Center website. 
Would an organization about sustainable rural living be into beekeeping? They sure would be!
Might they also make mead? They would indeed.

So I went to chat with the people working in the offices, who are super friendly and didn't mind me intruding into their workday. "Tell me about the mead!"

Turns out it is from local sage honey, and they have it at the Buckhorn. I have found my people.

The mead is bone-dry and sparkling. Only 7.5% ABV (mine is typically twice that). It has the same wonderful earthy flavor as the sage honey mead I had in Lancaster. 

The music in the background when I took this picture was Patsy Cline.

The food at the Buckhorn is great. So many miles are in this. I had some chili too.

The Buckhorn bar is fantastic. The crowd is a mix of the very well-heeled guests at the fancy hotel, and regular local townsfolk. So you have the bartender effortlessly cranking out very fancy cocktails from the extremely well-stocked bar while discussing the health of his goats with his neighbors.

I have found my people.

Bike touring is about serendipity. The best experiences are the ones you chance upon. That you can't plan. 

After dinner, I sat out next to my tent and watched the stars.

The skies are perfectly clear and black.

This was one of my top bike touring days ever.

Here's the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/17795597161

California Day 8 - Lancaster to the Tejon Ranch Outlet Mall

 Decisions were made today. There is a clear path forward.

The issue here is there is a heat wave where the temperatures are in the mid-90s in the afternoon. And there are giant mountains between Lancaster and the Pacific Ocean. What to do.

One thing that was settled is I have to go over Tejon Pass. Elevation is 4200 feet, which is about 2500 feet higher than Lancaster.

By leaving at first light, when it was nice and cool out, this objective was met by 1:00 PM. Temperatures were still in the 80s.

And it was a great ride up to the pass. Because poppies. Not because of this giant oak tree growing in the desert.

We must not allow ugly cell towers, only ugly transmission line towers. And ridiculous fake trees.

But the poppies are a big deal. There is an entire giant preserve devoted to poppies.

The fields of poppies in the preserve are kinda underwhelming, though.

Examination of poppies growing next to the road reveals that they are not awake yet.

But give it a few hours, and WOW.

There are so many poppies everywhere, not just in the preserve.

And there are more than poppies. Check out this lupine.

The desert roadside is so beautiful.

It was like this for most of the morning-long climb. There was a stretch on "The 138" for a few miles, though, which is a two lane road with not much shoulder and lots of semi trucks. And I passed over the California Aqueduct from time to time.

Anyway, back to the top of Tejon Pass. After cresting the top, I pulled off a couple miles later to ponder my options while getting lunch at a Subway in a gas station.

One option would be to ride 10 more miles and up another 1000 feet to a nice motel in a scenic mountain town, which would set me up for another 4000 feet of fairly steep climbing tomorrow. 

Or, I could have a nice 17 mile downhill coast to a cheap motel next to an outlet mall, which would leave me with 2500 feet of moderate climb tomorrow. 

I think I'll choose the option where I get to coast the rest of the day, and I save 2500 feet of climbing.

There is only one catch.

Do you see a "no bikes" sign? I don't see a "no bikes" sign.

And the cop who stopped to talk to me while I was taking this picture confirmed that, believe it or not, riding on the shoulder of I-5 here is legal. I think he was just checking to make sure I don't have a mental illness.

What's great is because the hill is so steep, trucks have to stay in the truck lane and can only go 35 MPH. This is actually considerably safer than the much longer stretch I rode on The 138 this morning where there is no shoulder, it's all uphill, and most of the semi trucks passed me without slowing down.

That white thing off in the distance is the outlet mall next to my cheap motel. There are also distribution centers for Ikea and Dollar General down there.

What's great is this picture includes two different runaway truck ramps.

I dropped 3000 feet in elevation in that final 17 mile glorious payback. And at the lower altitude, it was hot hot hot. Good thing I didn't have to do any pedaling.

Yes, it is hot out and it was a long day.

But my room is surprisingly nice for a Microtel Inn, and they have free breakfast tomorrow.

There is a place called the Black Bear Diner next door. The menu has solid comfort food, and they have beer. So I went over there for dinner. The place is half empty, and there are a bunch of people waiting in the lobby.

me: "Can I sit at the counter?"
Hostess: "No. There are two big parties, they just put their order in, and the kitchen is backed up."
me: "But if I sit at the counter, I could have a beer while I wait."
Hostess: "I can put your name on the list. The wait is 15 to 20 minutes."
me: "Thank you, I'll get dinner elsewhere."

She shouldn't try such crap when her diner is next door to a truck stop with a Popeyes.

Here is the Strava track for today: https://www.strava.com/activities/17784688906

California Day 7 - Exploring Lancaster Some More

 Lancaster has a meadery! It's a couple doors down from a Tractor Supply in a dying shopping strip near the interstate. Not exactly a glamour spot.

They make small batches in association with a wine maker and brewery called Two Tracks. The mead is quite tasty.

I tried three varieties, this was my favorite. It's the special Christmas Mead.

They also had a peach/pineapple and a strawberry with lime. 

All three had an interesting and unique earthy flavor, which I suspect comes from the local honey which is based on nectar from the abundant sagebrush.

Sadly, Two Tracks is closing at the end of the month. This may put an end to the mead operation, which piggybacks on the winery.

Two Tracks doesn't sell any food beyond nachos, and I needed more for dinner than that, so I popped in to the Vallarta Mexican Grocery on my way back. Also to top off the snack bag because I am back on the bike touring tomorrow.

THE MEXICAN GROCERY IS AMAZING THEY SELL FRESH TAMALES HOT FROM INSTAPOT STEAMERS!!!!!

This is so good. And I got Mexican pastries to go with my coffee tomorrow and apples for the snack bag.

I want a Mexican grocery that sells tamales in Elkridge. Somebody please make this happen. OMG SO GOOD. I mean it's right up there with the fried lake trout at the Green Valley Market hot bar. Seriously.

Lancaster has a stadium. I passed by it on the way to the meadery. It has an FA-18 Hornet jet fighter out front that NASA used to use as a chase plan for experimental test aircraft.

What Lancaster doesn't have any more is a baseball team. They used to have a Single A Desert League team, the Sound Breakers, but they folded years ago. A soccer team uses the stadium now.

I also passed by the neighborhood elementary school.

I have never seen so many portable classrooms in one place ever.

Is it a coincidence that Lancaster is crazy over ADUs? Maybe they should have spent some money building schools instead of a baseball stadium.

I went out to the Brooklyn Deli on the BLVD for lunch and had a corned beef sandwich. It was great. The deli owner appeared to be both Jewish and Mexican.

The highlight of the day, though, was visiting the Lancaster Museum Of Art and History (MOAH). This is a modest art museum on the BLVD.

But it's really good. Here are some of my favorite works.
This one is by Nathan Huff.

My thoughts on this are that pillows are comfortable for people, but these pillows are not comfortable for the tree, and if you don't respect the tree, you aren't going to get comfortable pillows in the end.

This one is called "Burn Pile/All Kinds of Murmuring Here and There", by Bachrun Lomele.

The artist solicited anonymous statements from his neighbors. These are randomly scrolled through red LED displays at the bottom of the piece. They are like embers.

This one is by Vojislav Radovanovic.

My cell camera cannot capture the intensity of the colors of this work. The violet and green of the bird are completely lost. The bird is eating a berry from the bush he sitting in. But the berries are eyes. Like his own eye.

There are also interesting things up on the roof, but I didn't record the artists.

There is a door with a window, for access to some machinery in a shed on the roof.

But if you look close, the window is actually a painting of an imprisoned girl looking through a screen.

It's hard not to think of the ever-growing horrors of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal with this.

There is a bench, with a mural on the base of roadside construction workers.

I like how whimsical this is. I hope the art we get at our new Elkridge Community Center is in this spirit.

And the architecture of the MOAH roof complements the view of the modern apartment buildings across the BLVD very nicely.

I really loved MOAH. It only takes an hour or two, if you aren't in a hurry.