Just three riders – the other David G., Doug, and I – met in Hollister Sunday for a terrific day of riding. I had never done this route before, so it was all new ground for me.
David’s route took us out Hollister and up into the coastal ranges, past the entrance to the GrantiteRock quarry, and into funky little Aromas (so named because of the odors of a sulphur spring, according to ePodunk.com) for our first stop.
There’s not much going on in Aromas on a Sunday (or any other day I expect, unless the CrossFit Games in town), so we continued east after a short rest. After a few more miles, we turned right down Elkhorn Road, and proceeded through the Elkhorn Slough. Elkhorn is a huge tidal slough and estuary, the largest in California except for San Francisco Bay, and we rode for about 6 miles through this most beautiful, largely deserted place, surrounded by birds, tidelands, mud, and mudhens.
Coming up out of Elkhorn, we climbed a small hill now named “the hill of dropped chains,” a new tourist attraction something like the Mystery Spot. Both Doug and David experienced the same mechanical difficulty within a few feet of each other.
Through suburbia now for lunch in Castroville at the Giant Artichoke!
Then more mostly flat riding into Salinas before our big climb of the day back over Fremont Peak and a bumpy descent down the poorly-maintained road. (David told us to observe road quality as soon as we got to the San Benito county line, and the difference was truly remarkable.) Finally, screaming tailwinds took out of San Juan Bautista after our last regroup and home to Hollister.
A great day, and an extremely well thought-out ride.
The Chain Letter 
And many critters, some alive, some roadkill: llamas, possums, goats, sheep, cattle (including one with a an injured hoof who brayed like a donkey), skunks and snakes, to name a few!
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