Quick, Overnight Bicycle Touring

Our final s24o of 2009. Jane’s first! Mom dropped Jane off at the portion of the ride that is not on Highway 101. This one with local student and Bici Centro volunteer, Bang. We rode on the class one path beside Llamas, horses, and an organic farm on the beautiful Gaviota Coast. We were sad to see Rufugio closed for camping due to a State furlough day. But we managed to use the curious ATM to secure a site at the El Capitan bike-and-hike site. El Cap was only partially open.

Bang demonstrated his excellent camping skills as we prepared for the forecasted rain. We set up a tarp with Jane and my tent beneath it along with Bang’s minimalist bivy shelter. The short winter days resulted in us all turning in early. Jane did pages of math homework and then a lot of reading in the tent while I wrote postcards and helped Jane multiply a few tricky numbers with decimals.

In the morning, we packed up and rode over to El Capitan Canyon for a short hike up the Selma Rubin trail to their coastal garden and some fancy coffee. It’s really quite a resort they have there.

Mark’s alcohol stoves worked well for heating up brown rice and boiling water. In the morning, I was able to brew a survival cup of espresso. Nice! Thanks, Mark!

The best thing was watching Jane as she enjoyed the riding, camping, and Nutella consumption. Because half the campground was closed due to our State’s budget crises, we enjoyed a remote campsite and yet another great s24o.