Return to Solvang

We just got back from a return visit to Solvang. We decided to take the trip up north to celebrate our one year anniversary and to get a nice bike ride in. The trip up was easy, traffic was generally good with a few slow patches in right before Camarillo and right around Santa Barbara. Because we'd had a great deal of rain, the skies were beautifully clear and the views of the coast and the mountains just east of us were breathtaking.

Though the skies were bright blue, we did have weather concerns. Daytime highs were supposed to be in the mid to high 60s but as we rolled up to our hotel in Buellton, just a few miles down the road from Solvang, it was pretty crisp. At around 3:30 or so it felt like it was barely in the 50s-- fine for walking around in the sun, which is what we planned to do that day, but it didn't bode well for the morning bike ride we had planned for the next day. Especially since Tom realized later that afternoon that he'd forgotten some of his cold weather riding gear. All he had were regular bike shorts nothing to cover the rest of his legs.

After checking in we drove over to the town of Los Olivos and did a little exploring. Despite frequent protests from Tom, we visited several little shops and galleries. April enjoyed the merchandise, mostly little knick knacks and objet d'art made by locals. She especially liked all the organic lavender harvested from local farms. Tom, who professes to hate "smell" was not nearly as excited.

We spent the remainder of the day in Solvang checking out the sights there. While April made sure to visit one of Solvang's famous bakeries, Tom went off in search of a bike shop where he could find something warm enough to wear for the next day's ride which, if the evening temps in the 40s were any predictor, would be very, very cold.

Tom found a bike shop got his cold weather gear. The cashier invited us on a 9am group ride scheduled for the next day but we declined. It would probably be preeeeety cold that early in the morning and we had a ride route planned out that we wanted to follow. After a little bit more browsing, we were starved so despite the fact that it was still a little before 5, we decided to head over to the Hitching Post for dinner.

We got to the Hitching Post right along with the rest of the blue hair crowd but although the place was empty- the hostess told us that she couldn't seat us until 6 though the place had been open for dinner since 3pm and the place was empty. It was straight out of an SNL skit. She literally looked around the empty restaurant then looked at her reservation list and apologetically told us that we'd have to wait until 6. It was insane. We put our name on the list then took off to get some stuff for our ride and get snacks to sneak into the movie we planned to see later that night.

We got back to the Hitching Post around 5:20 or so. The place was still pretty empty and we waited till about 5:40 before we were seated-- in a cluster of tables that had been empty the whole night. Dinner was good -steak and a their own syrah- but the apple cobbler dessert April chose left a lot to be desired and it put us too late to catch Seven Pounds at the one theater in the area.

The morning of our big ride dawned clear and icy cold! We decided to wait until after 10am so things would have a chance to warm up a bit but even at that point, temps were still in the 40s. We put on a few layers of gear including our new Showers Pass windbreakers from the Andersons and went out into the elements. It was freezing as we started onto Santa Rosa Road but within 10 minutes are so we were all warmed up. The sun was really warm and the windbreakers were phenomenal. In addition to the clear blue skies, the hilly landscape and animals we saw were extremely cool. The roads were pretty quiet-- we were passed by a few cars but mostly just a few random mail trucks. One of the coolest things about the ride is how peaceful it is. There are several stretches where all you hear is the sound of your own breathing and sound of your bike on the pavement. It's very relaxing.

After a few climbs and some really nice scenery, we got back to the hotel in just about 40 miles. We felt really good and it had gotten a little warmer so we decided to continue and pick up the individual time trial route from the Tour of California race that usually comes through Solvang in February. April's favorite part of the entire trip came when we passed by a mini horse farm. She demanded that we stop and check out the horses. It's a great little hilly route that passes through a couple of farms where cows and horses stare at you as you gut it out climbing then turn back to their grazing. That part tacked on about another 20 miles or so of good solid riding and we got back to the hotel just in time to shower and do a late check out. It was a great ride and a nice way to end a really pleasant trip.

We stopped into the town of Santa Ynez to catch a late lunch before heading home and were saddened to see that everything shut down at 3:00-- we grabbed snacks then decided to eat in Summerland outside of Santa Barbara then just head on home.

Another nice trip. Looking forward to our next visit-- perhaps in March for the 100 mile Solvang Century bike ride.