Muir Beach Overlook
Nesting site of the majestic peregrine falcon.
The Breakers Cafe
Little cafe at Stinton Beach, we enjoyed outdoor seating and delicious tacos, but alas no precious WiFi.
The hill just kept going, but this wasn’t the one that broke me. A steady incline from a handful of metres above sea level to a land of falcon nests floating in clouds of fog, but not before a descent back down to a misty beach then up again.
It was this second climb that brought tears stinging to my unprepared eyes, some would call it a right sulk, but a break at the top to marvel in that fog wreathed world really brought home how amazing riding the bike can be, how much more you see than when you are tightly cocooned in a car, how much more you feel. We will never miss a lookout (and opportunity for a rest) on my watch! The falcon perched high on its nest looked at me and we both agreed we had earned our place on top of the mountain, unlike the bus load of tourists that had just been spilled onto the pathway.
Then an exhilarating descent onto California Highway One, Pride of Madeira in all its purple glory lining the road. We passed a whole herd of seals, honking their pleasure, younger ones bobbing in the still water, older ones barely batting an eyelid, too sleepy even to lift a flipper. Then we hit another climb in Eucalyptus forest, so many familiar smells, but not even they could help my burning legs.
A couple more bumps on and I was done, we pulled into Olema visitors centre where there was much excitement over some snake sightings (nothing that would phase an Aussie, all dirty mouth, but no venom). On finding the only camping spots for bikes were miles away and $30 besides we searched Airbnb.
That’s how we ended up pitching a tent in the backyard of a mini permaculture farm, that earned its money as a doggy daycare. Three elderly gentlemen dogs greeted us at the gate and we soon found that they were not the only inhabitants, Latin Americans seemed to be stowed in every room and hollow. The main girl who we spoke to had moved to America some years ago with her girlfriend and she was very studiously crafting a woodpile shelter using found timber, triangulating and Japanese jointing with intuition. We let the families be, enjoying the fading sunlight and having conquered 31 miles of undulating road.
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