What was that creek-ing sound?

We seem to have hit a theme; meet some nice folks (aka Alicat and Merkeley) at a distant location and do a nice rural ride. On the 23rd we met the ‘Dots’ at a location in the Santa Lucia Mountains west of Paso Robles for a pre-holiday exploration of some of the rural roads in the area. The Wife had chosen the route, a loop following Santa Rosa Creek down to the town of Cambria, following Highway 1 south to Cayucos, then going up along Old Creek and back to the top. Out of interest I mounted my trusty old Garmin eTrex Vista to the Colnago and recorded the route; GPS Visualizer cranked away at the data and shows what The Wife already knew: there were a couple of sections a bit steep for her liking!

It was a great ride! Santa Rosa Creek Canyon was spectacular in late fall glory, as were the upper reaches of Old Creek Canyon. The oaks were resplendent, having shed much of their bumper crop of acorns. We wove by orange groves, wound past pastures, spent a short bit of time along the coast, and sailed through avocado orchards. We eschewed the standard energy bars for delectable treats from a bakery in Cambria, and enjoyed the scenery and company. The weather cooperated for the most part with beautiful blue skies, temperatures warm enough, and even the wind demons moderated to a degree. At the end of the ride we had a nice time sitting around and talking over wine and tasty snacks. A hearty thanks to hosts Merkeley and Alicat, who even gave us a good recommendation for a fine Zinfandel (Turley “Dusi”) to pick up at the winery on the way out. More photos are in the gallery here.