Bay-Bikes-Bakery-Blog: Fabulous Flowers Near Solvang

Day 1 – San Antonio Reservoir Loop 44 mi, 2500 ft ascent

For the past 7 years I have made a March pilgrimage to Solvang for a few days of cycling. This year four of us headed out early on Thursday and stopped at the Jolon Road exit near Bradley, so we could pedal the San Antonio Reservoir loop. I have ridden this route before (see biketobakery.blogspot.com/2014/03/3-days-of-solvang), always in the counterclockwise direction. This time we rode the loop clockwise, and found it to be a great improvement. In the clockwise direction, the ride starts with a long, gentle climb up Nacimiento Road. After 10 miles of gentle up, the route takes a right turn onto Interlake Road, and after a brief view of the reservoir, the long climb is rewarded by a fabulous and exhilarating descent, followed by several miles of rolling, pastoral landscape. We pedaled past Bee Rock, and arrived at the Lockwood store about 2pm where the four of us encountered the biggest problem on the ride. There were only 2 Hagen Das Ice Cream bars in the freezer. Understand that the store is 30 miles into the 45 mile ride, and we were all ready for ice cream. Moreover, they were ‘snack size’, adding insult to injury! We managed to survive, and I took a couple pictures of some old tractors along the way.

The drive on into Solvang passed through miles of rolling landscape and the green hills were vibrant with wildflowers, mostly poppies and wild mustard. The orange and yellow on the hills was fabulous.

Thursday evening, several in the group at the local brew pub for drinks and dinner. Debra, Robin, Steve and I stayed longer and enjoyed Crème Brulee for dessert.

Day 2 – Foxen Canyon Loop 61mi, 3100 ft ascent

The morning fog in Solvang can be fairly heavy and cool, as it was this day. We anticipated the fog would burn off a few miles into the ride, but this year it remained with us until much later. I believe we were still in fog well after 11 am.

Buffalo Stop

This story actually begins at a sandy piece of shoulder along the road, a couple of miles before the Buffalo stop, . It is a spot where I have stopped at twice now. The first time was last year while riding the same loop in the fog. My glasses were fogging over, and I could make out what looked to be a clear spot of shoulder where I could stop and wipe them. Turns out it was a ‘sand box’ and I nearly went down when the front wheel dug into the sand. Fast forward to this year, and as I approached the same spot, Denise had pulled over with a flat. I helped change the flat, and we rolled on. The rest of the group had stopped to wait a short way ahead of us. We joined them and we all pedaled on for a mile so, when we spied these fellows grazing peacefully in a pasture.

The group stopped for a photo-op, and the big guy below came over and gave a few bellows, letting us know that we were an unwelcome disturbance.

It was then that Denise noticed that her tire had gone flat again! The flat wasn’t totally surprising, as we never found the cause of the first flat, despite 3 different folks examining the tire. What was surprising was the difficulty I had getting the tire off the rim. Somehow, in the short time between flats, the tire had cemented itself to the rim and did NOT want to come off. After some strong language and serious exertion, the tire yielded. Luckily, we had SAG support and a spare tire. Tire changed, we rolled on and left our woolly friend in peace.

The sun came out and we could see that the poppies along Foxen Canyon Road were spectacular.

Bob’s Well Bread Bakery

In past years the group has stopped at Quackenbush in Los Alamos for lunch, and were disappointed to find it had been sold, and the new restaurant at that location is only open for dinner. Our disappointment didn’t last long as we quickly discovered ‘Bob’s Well Bread Bakery’ a short distance away. This is an excellent bakery with an assortment of sweet and savory pastries and sandwiches that are works of art. They also make a good cappuccino and have an array of artisan breads. The location is a converted gas station, and I was impressed by the imagination it took to envision this very fine bakery. I shared a Croque Monsieur sandwich, along with a chocolate croissant. Both rated high marks. Here is a link for the bakery https://www.bobswellbread.com/

After lunch, we ascended Drum Canyon, and the poppies along the road were eye-popping.

And if the poppies weren’t enough, Rob kept us entertained with a brain teaser involving stacks of coins and a scale.

After the climb, we enjoyed a fabulous descent through the hills and vineyards of Drum Canyon.

Day 3 - Solvang to Jalama Beach and Back - 75 mi, 4500 ft ascent

The ride to Jalama Beach heads West from Solvang to Buellton and then along Santa Rosa Road to Highway 1. The hills along the road were festooned with yellow mustard, and while it was a bit foggy, the scenery was great.

We even saw a bit of wildlife.

We turned left on Hwy 1, and continued about 3 miles to Jalama Beach Road. This is a 14 mile trek into the back country of central California.

The wildflowers along Jalama Beach road were nothing short of spectacular this year.

We reached the beach, and while enjoying burgers and fries from the Beach Hut, were treated to a display of Model A’s.

Did I mention that Jalama Beach Road has a climb? The ride back out is always a bit of a slog, but good company and great scenery helps get the pedals around.