Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean that beautiful view isn't there.

Fatigued this morning. I have been cycling ALL week.

Gray, damp, cool, foggy morning, but not RAIN. Something to celebrate. 18 miles on Highway 101 with all the cars and trucks and semis. Scenery was unremarkable, but then we went back to the coast and followed it to Santa Barbara. Sat in a cafe in downtown Santa Barbara sipping cafe au lait and eating eggplant parmigiana sandwiches with Tiffany, a rider I met at the mineral springs.

The sun finally comes out and burned off the fog. The Paradise Pit Stop was under the palm trees in Santa Barbara. All the junk food one could imagine was offered up by a group of cyclists from previous AIDS Rides. Ice cream, strawberries, chocolate bars, potato chips, all the fun stuff. No energy bars here.

I was good. Just a double-dip ice cream with fresh strawberries stuck in it. My own creation.

I cycled on and stopped on the beach to write in my journal. Even with an overcast day, the ocean is beautiful.

The campsite is right on the beach in Ventura. It is SO California.
The California of my dreams.