May 24, 2023 – Refugio State Beach to Point Mugu (Sycamore Canyon)
Since we got to San Simeon on Sunday, it put us close enough to home where we wanted to try and push the mileage and get to Long Beach. We weren’t sure how we were going to hold up over the days, but this week we have hit our goal every day. Monday was a 65 mile day, Tuesday was a 60 mile day, and today we did 78.3 miles. I think that’s the longest ride I’ve ever done. From reviewing our route book, I knew that it was going to be much flatter of a ride starting today so we wanted to get as close as possible. We went from Refugio State Beach (north of Santa Barbara) to near Malibu today; technically Point Mugu State Park – Sycamore Canyon campsite in the Santa Monica mountains. I’ve driven this part of the coast before many times, but being on a bicycle definitely gives you the time to notice a lot more detail about the area. We went past Santa Barbara, Carpenteria, Rincon Point (Isaac told me it’s a major surfing spot), Summerland and a few other towns I’ve always just cruised past. I know this is obvious and I’ve been “aware” of it, but we really do have access to some beautiful (and sometimes fairly private) beaches all within a 2 hour drive from Long Beach. Even this campsite tonight I didn’t know was here. It doesn’t seem too crowded and you just walk across PCH and there’s the scenic beach with mountains curling around the highway to add some great scenery.
In terms of the ride today, 78 miles is a long time to be on the saddle. Also, I got another flat on my trailer today (big staple this time), but was able to get it switched out in 15 minutes or so. We spent the first part of the day on the 101 / Highway 1, but once we got to Goleta (around 9 miles in) we spent most of the day on city streets or separate bike paths. In fact, there ended up being a great stretch of the 101 that had a bike path that paralleled it for at least 12 miles between Rincon and Ventura; again, the type of thing you would never get to experience or probably even notice if you just drove by. It was great because it removes the stress of having cars go right past you at 70-80 MPH and allows you to take in the scenery you’re passing by.
Now that we did our long ride today, I can safely say that we’ll be back in Long Beach by tomorrow evening after another 70ish mile day. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and sleeping in my bed. We’re planning to finish the ride to the Mexican border before the weekend is done, but are still working out the details. We’ve talked about doing 115 miles in one day from Long Beach to the border, but frankly it’s just a ton of time on the saddle. At this point our legs aren’t the concern, but the time spent on the bike is still a factor because of the wear on the body overall. Unfortunately there is zero reception here at the campsite tonight, so you all won’t see this until I’m back in Long Beach anyways.
Another thing of note is the hiker/biker site at this place. It’s way back in the campsite secluded from all the other campers. First hiker/biker site I can remember like this. Right now I’m listening to a symphony of frogs croaking all around my tent, so I’m hoping that sound will lull me to sleep like the waves last night at Refugio State Beach instead of just driving me nuts all night. Either way, even though it’s not the finish line, tomorrow is an exciting day for us. We’ll see how the Los Angeles traffic treats us in the morning.
