Pacific Coast Tour – Day 42 – 45; Sunset State Beach to Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground + Family and Rest Days

Day: 42 – Heading Inland
August 28, 2021

Distance: 33 miles (1684 total)
Sunset State Beach to Hollister

We awoke this morning to some jamming spanish music. The field workers next door were already hard at work collecting those delicious looking strawberries we saw yesterday. Seeing all the workers out picking in the heat gave us a new appreciation of the fruit and all the effort that goes into harvesting.

We have more family, my Uncle Steve and Aunt Regina, who live in Hollister California so we detoured inland to give them a visit. The ride in was mostly flat save for one 500ft hill. We really enjoyed the flat riding through the crop lands and guessing the various fruits and vegetables.

Part way up the hill we stopped for a break in Aromas. They had a nice shaded park with picnic tables so it was a lovely place for a break. We continued our way up the hill very slowly; several people were out in their yards and would shout questions at us as we inched past.

As we made it farther inland it got hotter and hotter. We were very thankful for the random groves of trees providing shade when they were around. Once we made it over the hill it was all flat and cropland again which meant lots of heat and sun. At least we were moving pretty quickly without any more climbing.

The never ending sun made us want to push through to my uncle’s house where we’d be able to escape it. We did find a nice patch of shady grass outside a golf course for a quick snack break. It was just what we needed to push through the last few miles.

My aunt and uncle were super accommodating. They showed us around, made us grilled cheeses for lunch and had lots of snacks for us – which was great since we had skipped lunch. The afternoon was pretty chill, we just chatted and enjoyed fancy drinks before and after dinner and then ended the day watching Cruella on their giant TV.

Day: 43 – Rest Day
August 29, 2021

Distance: 0 miles (1684 total)
Hollister

Steve and Regina offered to take us out to do something cool, but turns out when you’re out on an epic adventure sometimes you just want to sit and stay inside. So that’s what we did; it was a little smokey outside anyways. It was the perfect rest day. We had a nice call in the morning with my cousin, Sara, and had a chance to do some of our bike related chores. In the afternoon another uncle and my grandma joined us for homemade pizza.

Day: 44 – Exploration Day
August 30, 2021

Distance: 0 miles (1684 total)
Monterey

My uncle Steve works in Monterey so he offered to drive us back to the coast on his way in to the office. We had already been thinking about spending a fun day in Monterey so it worked out perfectly for us to carpool to Monterey with Steve and spend one more night in Hollister.

Before heading into the office Steve gave us a quick driving tour of places to check out, and we met some of his co workers, then it was work for him and fun for us! We meandered our way towards the aquarium first stopping by some historic sites (like the Cooper Adobe House) and some touristy sites (like the Fisherman’s Wharf). While walking along the ocean front trail we even saw a bunch of adorable seals lounging about just off shore.

The aquarium was really cool. We were especially enthralled by the sea otters and the jellyfish section. So many of the jellies just look like aliens.

After getting our fill on aquatic life we found a vegan Mexican place where we enjoyed tacos for lunch. Next we swung by a bike shop to grab some new brake pads because ours were dangerously thin and then treated ourselves to some Boba Tea. On a whim we also decided to get some well deserved massages.

When we made it back to the house in Hollister, Emma (one of their kids/my cousins) had made it home so we got to spend some evening time with her as well which was really nice.

Day: 45
August 31, 2021

Distance: 43 miles (1727 total)
Marina to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

So we weren’t about to turn down the offer of a ride back to the coast. Emma graciously drove us and the tandem out to the town of Marina, dropping us off by the Target so we could have an easy starting spot and grab some clif bars that we forgot to buy the previous day.

From Marina to Monterey we were able to hop on the Monterey Bike Trail. It was so nice having a trail to follow.

Even though we spent all day in Monterey the previous day, apparently we weren’t ready to leave. Upon arrival we went to Captain + Stoker coffee shop which we just couldn’t pass up – I mean how many tandem themed places are we going to ride by with our loaded tandem?!

After 2nd breakfast and a coffee we decided to swing back by the bike shop we had hit up the day before (Epicenter Cycles) and have them swap out our break pads for us and also look at our front hub. They were able to open up the hub, give it a quick clean, and repack it with grease while we waited around in the shop. And thus the mystery clicking was no more! Yay not having to do bike maintenance on the side of the road

We finally made it out of Monterey around 11:30, but not without missing our turn adding more time in town and causing us to turn around in Steve’s office parking lot.

We went through the neighboring town of Carmel relatively quick. There was some nice construction traffic we got to zoom past- which is always exciting. We also found a secluded-ish beach just outside of town to break for lunch before entering the Big Sur.

The Big Sur area is really cool, and living up to all the hype so far. Lots of scenic vistas with ocean views and cool rock features. The rest days must have done us some good, because the hills didn’t even seem that bad. We did have a lot of frustrations with cars passing us on blind corners (and some cars passing us even though there was obviously a car coming from the other direction), but so far so good. When there’s a big cliff edge we claim a lot more road than normal so hopefully we’ll carry on without any major problems.

After the long stretch of coast the road turned inland to follow the Big Sur River, and it was a pleasant surprise to see more redwoods. In Big Sur (the town, not the region or the river) we grabbed our daily ice cream before wrapping up our day at Pfeiffer State Park.

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