10 Days and 660 Miles on a Bike I am going to tell you about my 40-year-old son's latest undertaking. I think it was quite a feat. I was against it all the way, however, after the fact, I must report on what I think is a great accomplishment.

When he first told me he was going to ride his bicycle from San Francisco to San Diego I thought he was just joking.Then, he told me he was going to ride alone. He insisted it was something he had to do. He assured me that he had trained hard over the last several months.He had studied the route and gathered information from many places during his planning.  He timed the trip so as to arrive in Newport Beach to join a group of cyclist riding to San Diego for the annual Multiple Sclerosis (MS) charity ride. All this planning and assuring did little to relieve our anxiety. But what can you tell a kid? They never listen. Thursday morning he dressed for the first day's journey of 75 miles to Santa Cruz where he would spend the first night. However, sometimes the best-made plans are delayed because of one item being forgotten. He forgot his riding shoes! That required him to wait around for a shoe store to open so he could buy a new pair of riding shoes. The shoes were finally obtained and he put them over his riding socks that he planned to wear each day of the trip, without washing them. They would then be framed and presented to the contributor who made the largest donation. What a prize! He finally got under way shortly after 9AM to start the 75-mile trip past Devil's Slide, Half Moon Bay, Ano Nuevo, and all the other sights along Highway 1 to Santa Cruz. The next day, Friday, Bob continued on the next 78 miles through Salinas and Monterey to Big Sur; then, the next day 68 miles from Big Sur to San Simeon.

The weather was cold and fog reduced the visibility for most of the trip. He peddled in the fog at the lower levels hugging the shoulder in case a car came upon him unexpectedly in the fog. The scary thing was hugging the rail next to a shear cliff being unable to see how far it was down to the water below. He knew there was water below because he could hear the crash of the waves and feel the salt spray.The Highway twists and turns along the steep cliffs and continually goes up for several hundred feet then back down, a total climb of 4,500 feet. The great thing about finally getting to the top of a ridge was being above the fog and enjoy the sun. However, he would soon be going down hill back into the fog again. The last several miles the wind came up and held him back even more.

At times he would peddle up a steep hill requiring him to shift down to his lowest gear, he has 24 gears on his Trek 7700 bike. He said he never had to stop and push the bike, he was always able to make it to the top.

He spent Saturday night in San Simeon.