Tour de Emily: Day Three

Day Three: Marina to Big Sur – 56 miles

Very weary after the tribulations of day two – we got up early in the heavy fog and had bagels for breakfast in the RV. Showers helped restore our spirits but I’m still amazed that we all climbed on the bikes and hit the road again on Monday.

But fortunately, day three would be nothing like day two. We had 10+ miles of gorgeous dedicated bike trail from Marina to Pacific Grove.

A delight to be away from the cars, pedaling quickly along the coast. We rode around 17 mile drive with big views of the ocean and stopped in Carmel for a quick lunch.

After the previous day’s drama, Rob was a task master, asking us to eat faster (like a squirrel!) and worrying about contrasting mileage reports that predicted either 25 or 41 miles to our campsite. Plus, worries about the thin margins on the Big Sur roads. Luckily, everything worked out fine. There were few cars in Big Sur thanks to some road construction and we had great views along the way. One steep hill up in the fog and crossing the famous bridge were the biggest challenges.

Once we hit the town of Big Sur, I was in the thick of the third day “bonk” though. My head hurt, my back hurt, my legs hurt…my whole body was just out of wack. And we still didn’t know if we had a couple miles or 20 more to go. When the girl in the store said our campsite was just a 1/4 mile up the road I almost cried with happiness!

And it was a great campsite too! Right on a pretty creek in the forrest with hot showers. I covered myself in bengay patches and tried to rehydrate but the bonkage was pretty severe. After dinner, we turned in to our tents at 8:00 for much needed sleep.