In May 2017, the Mud Creek Slide came crashing down on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in California, turning an 80-mile section of highway with no exits into two separate 10-mile and 50-mile dead-ends. As bad as that sounds, the details made it even worse. Additional slides and a bridge failure isolated the tiny and beautiful village of Big Sur. Months later, after a flurry of construction and repair, all the damage on PCH except Mud Creek was repaired.
But in the midst of disaster was also opportunity. I realized that the closure would dramatically reduce vehicle traffic along the coast, making a potentially good situation for cyclists riding the area. But there was the matter of circumventing literally a million tons of earth burying the road 40 feet deep. Add the construction equipment and workers busy rebuilding the road, and it posed a formidable obstacle for a lone rider on a bicycle. I kept up with the situation online. Reports said cyclists crossed the slide at night, defying the closure and the law. While I wanted to ride the route, a midnight poach in the dark by myself was not for me. I found a local tour company called Central Coast Outdoors that shuttled cyclists around the closure. The price seemed steep, but it was way cheaper than Uber for the same thing. I thought about it for a few days and decided the opportunity to ride the coast with low traffic was worth it, so I began preparations.
I booked a flight on JetBlue to San Jose and planned to ship my bike to a nearby FedEx Office using bikeflights.com. I busted out my favorite bike ride planning site, ridewithgps.com, and began planning my routes for each day. I reserved a room for one night at the Radisson in Santa Maria with plans and gear to camp every other night of a 9-day, 8-night journey. I reserved a site at the only campground that needed it. All of my other camping would be at California State Park Hike-or-Bike sites, which were all first come / first served / no reservation sites. And finally, I reserved an Amtrak ride home that allowed people to bring their bikes on the train. BTW, I am not sponsored by anyone, but I do like to share resources I find useful for other riders or anyone else interested.
I bike toured PCH on a similar trip many years ago. While the trip was great, I realized afterward that I had focused on the distance and speed of my riding. That is one way to approach cycle touring, to be sure. But this time, I decided to focus instead on relaxing, sightseeing, and getting to know fellow travelers. So, as I planned each day’s ride for this trip, I reduced the mileage I rode each day compared to my first trip.
To be honest, I overprepared for the trip. I was so excited that I spent too many hours poring over routes and fine-tuning them, reading updates online, and anticipating the trip details. By overpreparing, I mean that I was a little burned out before I even started riding. I was beginning to doubt whether I would enjoy the ride at all. Plus there were the normal pre-ride jitters and worries. Would I get a cold just before or during the ride? What if my frame cracked? Would I forget something critical? Was I in good enough condition for such a ride?
Of course, I went ahead with the ride, starting on the Saturday the week before Memorial Day 2018 and riding through to the following Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Day 1 presented me with more than its fair share of problems. But I overcame them all, found myself well able to handle the rigors of daily riding, and went on to have a great trip.
Actually, “great trip” does not begin to capture what the trip became. I had days of riding in idyllic conditions, met wonderful people with great stories to tell, and I “rode myself into shape,” as the expression goes, and felt stronger and stronger as the days passed.
What started as a trip where I worried I might quit early turned into a ride I was sad to see end. In the days after the ride, I felt like I was living in an afterglow, my mind drifting back to daydreams of the ride, already planning the next tour, and having a hard time focusing on my daily responsibilities.
As far as my blog goes, in the coming days and weeks I will post a blog for each day of the trip, documenting my route and experiences in more detail. I hope they will be helpful to others who ride the route. But I also hope to capture the experience for me forever, so I can recall the feelings of the ride and daydream about a once-in-a-lifetime experience over and over again.