As beautiful as it gets!
Watch this video if you’re having a stressful day…or watch it if you wanna be inspired by nature’s beauty…or watch it just cause you’ve watched the first 20 videos and need to keep up to date. Whatever your reason, you’ll LOVE this one!
And here’s my article in the DailyCamera about the experience
or just read it here….
BIG SUR, Calif. — Every day I pedal farther south, the landscape gets more spectacular.
I’d been told that the Big Sur area was breathtaking, but I was skeptical. I grew up watching the Big Sur Waterbed commercials, and I don’t remember it looking all that great. Besides, I had been treated to some pretty amazing coastline for the past 1,300 miles, and I couldn’t imagine it getting any more beautiful.
Boy, was I wrong. Just as I pedaled south of the huge strawberry farms near Monterey, the magic began to take shape. The ocean seemed to turn even more turquoise than normal, a shade of blue I had never seen.
As I rode up my first hill of the day, waves crashed loudly and the salty ocean smell tickled my nose. Usually a thick layer of fog obstructs the views, but the sky was clear and blue, revealing rows of jagged green cliffs as far as the eye could see.
I stopped at every overlook along Route 1 and snapped photos, hoping that my little camera could somehow capture the magic so I can someday show off to my grandkids. It’s hard to make any progress when you’re constantly pausing, but this wasn’t a day for pedaling fast.
I wasn’t the only one in awe; all the other tourists seemed just as hypnotized as I was.
This type of stunning beauty can be dangerous for a cyclist. I found myself staring off to my right-hand side far too often when I should have been paying attention to the curvy road in front of me. Luckily, the only people on this road are tourists driving just slightly faster than I ride — no high-speed logging trucks barreling down the roads here.
For more than 60 miles, the terrain continued up and down steep hills. Sometimes I was high up on a ledge and could only make out a sea of blue, and other times I was near sea level, listening to the waves crash and the occasional bark of a sea lion.
It was my longest day on the bike, but my body didn’t seem to mind. I was able to convince myself that I wasn’t tired, even though there were plenty of tough hills. If I were in Kansas doing a 100-mile ride, I’d be crying about body pains, but this area seems to have magical powers that soothe the body.
It’s a shame that my brother Ethan wasn’t here to witness this day with me. Those darn “real” jobs and limited vacation time.
For the first 1,200 miles, he was my right-hand man, experiencing every inch of the journey with me. I miss him.
All day long, I was whooping and hollering in excitement, a routine we did together to psyche each other up. The only people to hear my screams this time, though, were tourists in convertible sports cars.
Read more: Van Duzer: Big Sur coastline steals focus from the road – Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/get-out/ci_15977020#ixzz0yRhkEvLR
DailyCamera.com