San Luis Obispo, CA

We're back on the road after a relaxing few days in San Francisco. And we're feeling fed, nurtured (thanks to Whitney and her awesome housemates!) and stronger than ever before. We just did three hard days through the mountainous Big Sur, totaling 270 miles. Yesterday we rode for over 100 miles, which is the longest day we've had so far. Though the ride was challenging mentally as well as physically, we've passed through some of the most picturesque areas of Central California.


We rode for miles and miles through vast strawberry plantations, breathing the sweetened air and fighting the temptation to stop at too many berry farms scattered along the way. We climbed the punishing hills of Big Sur and admired the edgy cliffs and sharp rocks poking out of the Ocean. While passing San Simeon, we stopped over at a beach where thousands of elephant seals return each year to spend the summer. We camped in state parks situated next to the waterfront and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.



Today, we are finally getting some rest at our friends Ed and Ruta Saliklis's house in San Luis Obispo. We visited them almost exactly two years ago when Tomas and I were doing our graduation road trip through California and now we're stopping over again. For the occasion, our wonderful hosts made Cepelinai, a traditional Lithuanian dish, which is just what we needed to replenish our reserves of fat and summon the strength for the onslaught of Los Angeles.


By Saturday night, we are planning to reach LA and then San Diego two or three days after that. From San Diego, we will be flying our bikes to Detroit on June 19 and riding through the Lakes District, Ohio, Upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, to Bar Harbor in Maine (purple line from Huron, OH, to Bar Harbor, ME). We will then descend through Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pensylvania to Washington DC (blue line from Bar Harbr to DC), where we will end our trip. This second leg is over 2000 miles long, which means we may need to be quite fast and organized or take some trains to accelerate our southbound route to DC. Discussing our plans, we're getting very excited about riding on the east coast. But for now, we still have some time to enjoy this piece of heaven on earth known as California.