Bill assures me this is the last 40 mile ride of this trip. As we approach the end, he has broken up the final miles for tomorrow and Tuesday so that we have about 25 miles each day to ride. Can you believe this trip is almost done? I can’t.

For the previous three nights, sleep was evading me and I was so tired last night I fell asleep at 8:30 and did not wake up until 7:00 AM. Thus, the title for this day’s ride. It is amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for one’s energy level and attitude.  We stopped for breakfast at a small cafe in San Clemente called, Ellie’s Table – excellent croissant sandwiches and quiches. I managed to love on a sweet puppy to make up for the fact that I haven’t seen my granddogs for months.

As we left the cafe, we discovered one of the cycling teams that will be Racing Across America

– they were working on gear and bikes in the driveway and we stopped to talk. The rider they were supporting is from Austria, we think. The support person was from Switzerland and we shared our stories of riding down the Rhine River last year. The Race starts Tuesday, just as we finish. I’ll be watching for news of the riders, especially the one from Austria – who we think is Gerhard Gulewicz.

3000 miles nonstop from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis MD. Wow.

Anyway, we continued on through the hilly neighborhood streets of San Clemente – a fun ride because you could gather speed going down the hill and have enough to get up the next hill, just like a roller coaster. After San Clemente we were out on the beach road through San Clemente State Beach, past the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant (very well-protected).

We cycled for about 10 miles through the State Beaches then onto Camp Pendleton.

We saw so many cyclists today – guess it has been the first sunny day for the past three and a Sunday to boot. Many stopped to ask us where we were from and where we were headed. The pannier bags give people a clue that we are long distance cyclists. We passed one young man on a very inexpensive bike who was traveling to San Diego from Long Beach and was having trouble with his bike. I thought he said my tires are like jelly. BIll stopped to pump his tire up and we left. Bill noticed that he was walking and rode back to see what was wrong. He said the bike rode much better but his thighs were like jelly! Guess I heard him wrong the first time, but I’m glad we stopped.

On to Camp Pendleton, what a big base! No pictures allowed, though.

When we exited the base,

we cycled into Oceanside, where the Race Across America will start – it’s a town, with a beach and a pier, just like all the other seaside towns in California – well almost. There are more and more surfboards!

and more and more Woody’s

Leaving Oceanside, we cycled into Carlsbad which Bill described as a more blue collar beach town. It is not as typical as the other seaside towns have been – then two more state beaches – Carlsbad and Leucadia.

We have stopped for the day in Encinitas and are enjoying the patio with a view of the ocean.

Tomorrow we will head to Coronado and then Imperial Beach and the End on Tuesday. Can’t believe the end is in sight.