Barbara Ann

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If you ever find yourself visiting Solvang you should consider staying at Pea Soup Andersens* Inn in Buellton.  It is 3 miles from Solvang and a mere $200/room...compared with $300+ in Solvang itself.  It had a nice pool and hot tub and the receptionist had hair-free ears.

*you should Google the whole 'Andersens pea soup' thing.

It is probably worth pausing for a moment to discuss our journey.  The core group has already ridden 1500 miles....with Parkinsons!  They have done this with less moaning than many I have led.  Depending on how advanced their condition is, the meds they take and many other complicated factors, they show the strain to a greater or lesser extent, but they are all digging deep.  The new arrivals in San Fran kind of self-selected a shorter distance matched to their strength/experience but they are also getting their miles done in style.

Today was a case in point.  The road from Solvang back to the coast in Santa Barbara involves a sodding great hill, the busiest road we have yet endured and a shoulder which occasionally disappears.  Also, it was a sunny Sunday (and Mother's day in the US) and the whole world was heading to the beach.  I did my best to shepherd them to the top but I could see that, for many, exhaustion and fear were competing for space on their faces.  Probably they were wondering why the hell I made them go that way (too complicated to explain here) but did they complain?  They did not!

The reward for their fortitude was Santa Barbara,  the gateway to Southern California.  It was busy as hell but the palm-lined coastal bike path is hard to dislike and their final 28 miles should be in stark contrast to the first 38.  We are heading to Ventura where our hotel boasts the lowest room rates of the entire trip.  This is unlikely to be a good thing.



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