Solvang Weekend - Day 3 - Ostrichland & Santa Barbara

It was a sad day checking out of the Circle Bar B. We had a hearty breakfast, packed up and then enjoyed a little picnic lunch under a tree.

So what next? On the half-century, I rode along the highway and noticed a group of ostriches grazing in a field. I knew where I wanted to go: OSTRICH LAND!

We drove back to Buellton to Ostrich Land. There, we were able to pay $5 for admission and $1 to let us feed the emus and ostriches.

The birds aggresively ate the food from our doggiedish/dustpan contraptions. We enjoyed watching the food slither down their long necks and pondered as they ran off.



Back in the giftshop, they sold fresh ostrich eggs, ostrich patties, and even ostrich jerky. None of which was purchased by us. We also managed to overhear a women discuss taxidermist recommendations.

We drive down the coast on a pleasant clear day down to State Street in Santa Barbara for some ice cream and window shopping. All in all a nice easy day to finish our weekend.

Grace's Fantasy World

Solvang Weekend - Day 2 - Solvang Century and Half Century

Jason and Mike started their 100 mile ride around 6am. Meanwhile, Meespace and I grabbed a couple more hours of sleep for our ride at 9:30a.

At about 53 degrees, the bike ride was pretty cold. We biked 50 miles through the very scenic hillsides of the Santa Ynez Valley.

Meespace and I eventually break off due to our different paces. While riding, I manage to probably feel every emotion I can feel as you're left with only your thoughts for hours. At our rest stop 25 miles in, I probably enjoyed the best pb&j of my life. (Later, I found out that Meespace actually trucked on through without stopping. wow!)

2 flat tires and a fallen chain later, I'm back on track and go on to finish.

My stats: 50 miles, 1800 ft of climbing, avg speed: 16.1 mph, completed in 3 hrs 20 mins.
Mike's stats: 100 miles, 5000 ft of climbing, avg speed: 19.1 mph, completed in 5 hrs 15 mins

After the ride, I happily and guilt-free purchased a butter cookie tub from the Solvang Bakery

Solvang Weekend - Day 1 - Circle Bar B

A narrow single-lane road winding through the Refugio State park brought us to our accommodations for the weekend, the Circle Bar B Ranch in Goleta, CA, aka the middle of nowhere. A perfect way to get away.

We got there just in time to prep bikes for our ride the next day and eat at the family style dinner. At dinner, we ate all of the surprisingly good food with the other guests staying at the ranch who were a mix of horseback riders and weekend excursionists. None of whom knew about the bike ride we were going to do, but were all very excited for us. We wandered around the ranch and noticed all of the taxidermy animals decorating the lobby.

Afterwards, Mike and I played hours of ping pong. There's no tv, radio or cell service here, so we were left with the game room and some books for entertainment, but we liked it that way.

Jason and Meespace arrived later at night. We laid out all of our lycra bikewear, our water, and our snacks for the ride, so we could ride out in the morning.