Day 3 Paso Robles to Carmel Recap and look ahead to Day 4

Wow, what a day. Started off cold... like stop the car, get all the cold gear out and suit up. It was in the 40's from the hotel and kept that way for a good portion of the early ride. Wished I had dug out my toe warmers... But the possible rain prediction never came to fruition and the beginning of the ride along the 101 at spots was not a problem. Cody was up for the challenge after his gallant fight with some sort of food poisoning on Stage 1. 

The signature of the day, and maybe even the 5 days of riding was Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd which is a picturesque ass-kicker that takes you from the valley side of the 101 and puts you on Highway 1. It goes through an Army base and because of the federal shutdown, all the national park campgrounds on the ocean side of the climb were closed, so we saw at most 4 cars the entire climb and descent. Fantastic. Couple that with epic weather, we were in heaven. 

Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd heading west

Day 2: Santa Maria to Paso Robles... the transition stage and a preview of Day 3

Today I had company. Mark Fillebrown joined me after Cody had food poisoning mid stage on day one. It wasn't pretty, but luckily Cody's Australian constitution is tough, so he's up for tomorrow's queen stage... but we'll get to that in a second.

Mark was my wingman on day 2. Pulled into the wind most of the day!

Looking ahead to CDM Day 2..

90 miles and 7,000 feet climbing
Leave the farming community of Santa Maria for a roll around the heart of the central coast near San Luis Obispo. Then up you go as you clear the coastal range and cruise into wine country.
Highlights:

• Cruise around quaint central coast towns near San Luis Obispo
• Take on the well-known leg stretcher, Old Creek Road
• Cut across the vineyards located west of Paso Robles
• Cruise down the ever popular and fun descent of Peachy Canyon • Grab a nice meal with wine in downtown Paso to cap off the day 

Link to the route: 

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3429765

Day One... Santa Barbara to Santa Maria.

Fabulous weather greeted us for the first pedal strokes of our northbound journey. The views from Painted Cave were stunning as we threaded our way over the top of Santa Barbara and down toward the Figueroa Mountain climb. That climb was the real deal. Like really tough, long and did I mention long. Then after a incredibly beautiful but bumpy descent, we hit the wind we've been warned about. It was blowing down Foxen road, which brought us all the way to Santa Maria. But nothing that a little mexican food couldn't cure. We'll hit it again tomorrow. 90 miles, and 7,000 feet on tap. Hopefully if we get an early start, we can avoid some of the afternoon wind. We'll see. 

Cody Stevenson

Looking Ahead To Day One: Santa Barbara to Santa Maria

Day one. We start the journey with a 100 mile, 10,000 feet of wonderfulness! No seriously. 

We begin in lovely Santa Barbara. Proceed to climb the famous Painted Cave with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. Later, we tackle Figueroa Mountain, hallowed training grounds of many World Tour professional cycling teams in the off season. Then we ride through wine country via Foxen Canyon Road. Perhaps a quick stop for a sample? Well, maybe a photo now and then. 

Link to the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3451153

Day One of CDM: That's backwards for Million Dollar Challenge in reverse...

Training complete... now rest

Ugh, so if I would have known that Rob Panzera, my favorite coach (well, my only coach) would have me as worked over as I am today, I might not have signed up for the northbound express. Today was a 'short' 40 miler with about 3,000 feet of vertical. This was on the easy side of my recent rides. Yesterday for example was over 100 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing. The legs are feeling sore but good, so having a couple of days off before starting on Sunday should make them feel even better!

One More Big Ride

With tomorrow's ride from Rob Panzera calling for 3hrs and 3,000 feet, today was the main attraction on the training schedule. I headed east and started the ride in Pine Valley. It was in the high 40's this morning, so luckily I learned my lesson to always have arm warmers and a light wind vest in the car for east county starts. The weather on the coast is almost never the same weather as in the mountains.