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Day Seven, Solvang to Santa Barbara - 48.6 miles

Route: This route features one A class hill at the top end of Alisal Road/ Old Coast Highway. The rest of the route is mostly easy if grueling riding along Hwy. 101, a series of rollers. Directions: South on Alisal Road from Solvang. Left where Alisal Road meets the Old Coast Highway. Left onto Hwy. 101 at the top of the Gaviota Pass. Stay on 101 all the way to Hollister Avenue. Right on Hollister Avenue. Hollister Avenue leads into Modoc Road. Straight on Modoc Road to Mission Street. Left on Mission Street to State Street. Right on State Street to downtown Santa Barbara.

    This was to be our last day of riding and a long and challenging ride as well. We were riding over the top of the coast range to Santa Barbara and had a choice of three routes to take. The recommended Adventure Cycling route started in Lompoc on Hwy. 1 and followed the road south to where it merged with Hwy. 101 just before the Gaviota Pass. Since we weren't in Lompoc, we had to choose our own way. An alternative was to take Refugio Road south from Solvang and ride over that pass to 101 and then ride along the coast to Santa Barbara. The final choice was to follow Hwy. 154 east out of Solvang and ride alongside Lake Cachuma and then up over the top to Santa Barbara.

    We picked a modified Gaviota pass route since it looked like the lowest altitude pass of the choices and was the one that the Adventure Cycling route followed. Instead of doubling back to Lompoc, we decided to ride Alisal Road south to its intersection with Hwy. 101, somewhere near the top of the pass.

    Knowing that the ride had some significant climbs, we left Solvang early after eating at the hotel's continental breakfast bar. Alisal Road was right outside the door and we were quickly out of town and riding along in the fog with the sun obscured. It was cold for the first few miles until we started to climb. Six miles into the ride the road began to increase in degrees and we were forced to stop and take breaks to catch our breaths. Alisal Road dead ended into the old Coast Highway. We decided to turn left even though we could see that the road was very steep. Turning right would have meant that we would have headed back down hill only to have to turn around and re-climb to the same altitude that we would have given up and then some.

    The climb was steep and we had to stop and rest about five times but it wasn't long before we found ourselves at the intersection of the old road and divided Hwy. 101. At the same time, the sun broke through the overcast. It was going to be a lovely day. We were happily surprised to see that we were at the top of the pass and that the next part of the ride would be a quick downhill. We had to run across the highway to the center island and then run again to the other side to the wide shoulder built so that trucks could check their brakes before the decent. We pointed the bike south and set the Arai drum brake so our speed would stay under 30 on the way down.

    A few minutes later we were at the rest stop at the bottom of the pass. A quick stretch and then we headed east on divided Hwy. 101 towards Santa Barbara. The noise of the traffic began to wear on us. We had 30 miles of four lane highway to transit and we both had headaches when we finally turned off the highway onto a surface road at Goleta. It was lunchtime and we were ready for a break. We saw a Baja Fresh and immediately decided we wanted Mexican food for lunch. 

    A look at the map was disheartening since, although finally off the freeway, we still had seven miles to go before we would reach Mission Santa Barbara. We plodded along and seemed to catch every stop light wrong. We finally reached the mission about three in the afternoon. 

    Mission Santa Barbara is known as the queen of the missions and is prominently located on a hill overlooking the modern town named after it. We took the self-guided tour and learned that the mission once housed a seminary making it the location of the earliest school in Alta California. It went through a similar history as most of the missions in that it was destroyed by earthquake and rebuilt several times in its history. Today it is in fully restored condition and a community focus point for cultural functions as well as church services.

    The several hours off the bike were rejuvenating. In addition, the ride from the mission to downtown was all down hill. We rode along surface streets until we reached State Street and turned towards the harbor. State Street is the hub of the old city, lined with restaurants, shopping and pubs. The sidewalks were crowded with people and a fair number of parked bikes. As we watched, a young man rode out into the street and was rapidly chased by two other young men on foot. They quickly ran him down and dragged him from the bike, one hanging onto him and another picking the bike up out of the street. The rider had attempted to steal the bike but had picked the wrong target. The culprit was half the size of the victim and it didn't look good for him but the victim just yelled at him and then let him go.

    We continued on, gawking at all the action, ready to park the bike at the hostel we were heading to and join the crowds on the street. The hostel, not part of the HI system, was located just a block off State Street and two blocks from the water. We were a little apprehensive and asked to see our room before paying. The room was fine and even equipped with a TV and Dish Network satellite receiver. Jeanette needed a shower after the day's ride. I needed a beer. I waited for Jeanette and once dressed, we headed off to State Street to find a pub. 

    Five or six blocks of walking brought us to Sharkeez sports pub, an open fronted bar full of people. It looked good to me so we pushed our way in and up to the bar. It was happy hour and they were serving beer at a two for one price. It suited me and I ordered one and got two 14 ounces of house draft for $3.00. Jeanette had a coke which cost her the same price. My thirst quenched, we walked up and down the streets for two hours until it was time for dinner. 

    We had checked out many of the menus and finally picked a Thai restaurant for dinner. We regularly ate at a Thai restaurant in Lodi and liked the spicy food. We ordered three dishes plus steamed rice and were served in fairly short order. We had always considered our Lodi restaurant to be outstanding but the food we were served at this new place was far beyond what we were used to. The flavors of the various dishes were beyond description. We licked our plates clean. I made sure I took a picture of the place just to remember it.

    We walked again after dinner and found our way to the post office so we could mail the pile of post cards that we had collected but hadn't mailed in the last two days. The idea of dessert sounded good but we were stuffed and it had been a long day. We walked back to the hostel and climbed into bed for some TV watching until sleep caught up with us.

Recommended:

Galanga Thai Restaurant
507 State Street, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 963-6799

We had three dishes plus steamed rice. The total for the dinner was under $25. The quality was fantastic. See the reviews linked to the restaurant name.

Day Eight, Last Day - 6.6 miles

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