Shut Down; Started Up Again

I was attempting to ride from Big Sur to San Simeon today but I didn't even come close. I had to climb a hill for what I think was about 5 miles first thing this morning; it was cold & I didn't really have any time to warm my legs up beforehand. The result - my legs were wrecked (and still are, a bit) for the rest of the day. I ended up stopping for the night at Limekiln State Park, only 28 miles from Big Sur. The whole stretch from Big Sur to Limekiln was very hilly, though I think I would've been fine if not for that first bear of a hill. I bought some Bengay and put it on my legs until it looked like that paste everyone uses in kindergarten for art projects - you know the stuff, right? Has the consistency of cement and sticks to everything and anything; that's how much of that crap I had on my legs, really. I was walking sort of hunched over like a chimpanzee; at one point the space between my feet and my hips felt like two rubber bands unable to support a paper clip, much less a person.

Growing pains, I guess. The next day my legs started to hurt again after a few hours of riding but I was able to bike from Limekiln to San Simeon State Park. It was hilly for the first 20 or 30 miles but once I made it to Hearst Castle (Xanadu in Citizen Kane) the road was really very flat, with some nice stretches of beach, occupied permanently this time of year by hundreds of sea lions. I pitched my tent in the park next to two older couples, all retirees; the couple on the left from Vancouver, looking to escape from an unusually cold spring, and the couple on the right friends of the camp hosts, who were also there, hanging out in their R.V. I've seen a lot of smaller rental campers on the road (1-800-See-America!) , but not many people driving around in monster R.V.'s like theirs - 70 gallon gas tanks! They said they don't really take long trips anymore but stick closer to home - not hard to see why on $4+ for a gallon of gas. They were very nice, inviting me in for a glass of wine and dinner while we mulled over my road atlas trying to figure out a good route east, trying to avoid as many mountains as possible. I had a glass of wine with everyone but passed on dinner, as I had already made myself a lovely reconstituted freeze dried spinach omelet - disgusting. No more of that crap for me, thanks.

Before they left in the morning, they stopped by my tent site as I was packing up and brought me breakfast - coffee and coffeecake. Nothing could have been better on a frosty morning on an empty stomach - thanks guys.