Day 20 
Lompoc, CA to Carpinteria, CA   
Daily Miles - 72.4 
Cumulative Miles - 1,453.2 
Average Speed - 12.4 MPH 
Max Speed -  29.0 MPH 
Ride Time -  5 Hours 48 Minutes 
Daily Elevation Gain 2.536 Feet, Loss 2,615 Feet 
Cumulative Elevation Gain 58,474 Feet, Loss 58,708 Feet 
Flat Tires - 2 

I took a look at my ride for today ahead of time and noticed that there was a big climb at the beginning and then pretty much flat the rest of the day.  When I headed out of Lompoc, I made a right turn and there it was...

When you see the hills like this on both sides, you know that there is a pass that you have to go through to get over the hills.  This just happened to be an 18 mile climb.  It was not a huge incline thank goodness.  It was just long and steady.  I was rewarded with a 2 mile downhill with a 7% grade.

While on this pass, I think I started to get a little grouchy.  I was talking to myself wondering why the construction workers put the cones in the middle of the shoulder.  The shoulder is the space that I use for riding my bike.  As you can see, there are three of them just in this picture.  They go on for a while.  They are not in a straight line either, so it is like a slalom trying to get through all the cones.  I was grumbling the whole way.
 

Then I came to the next set.  Must have been a construction worker that also rides bikes.  These cones were all put off to the side of the shoulder.  I apologized for my grumbling.

Here was the payoff sign.  It meant I had finished the 18 mile climb and the reward was coming up.  I did slow it down though on the downhills.  A few days back when I had my second flat, it happened during a downhill section with some tight turns.  Due to the loss of air in the tire, when I took the turn at a high speed, the tire started to roll on the rim.  In order to not crash, I had to quickly adjust and move toward the lane with oncoming traffic.  Needless to say, it was not something I want to experience again.  Therefore, I have slowed things down a bit.

This picture is not really much to look at.  It was kind of cool to me to see a golf course that was green and lush after riding through the brown that was over the past 25 miles.  Also, pretty nice golf course that is adjacent to the ocean.  You can enjoy the view while enjoying a nice game of golf.

My route took me through the University of California Santa Barbara campus.  They have a very nice bike path that goes through the entire campus.  There are a lot of bicycle riders.  At the end of the path, I saw all these people.  It just so happens that I picked graduation weekend to ride through the campus.

Across the street from the graduation reception is this area.  I am not sure that if I went to school here, I would be able to focus much on my studies knowing that the ocean was just across the street.

These pictures were from a pier and marina in Santa Barbara that is adjacent to a park.  There were a lot of people out and about today.  Cars were actually allowed to drive out on this wooden pier.  Pretty scary if you ask me.

 I made it to Carpinteria as planned.  It is the next town past Santa Barbara.  When I stopped into the grocery store and was checking out, the lady ringing up my purchase asked me what was the cause of the tan stripes on my forehead.  I was just saying yesterday that no one had asked yet.  I showed her my helmet and told her about how far I had come.  She gave me a high five.  I thought the person in line behind me was going to get upset because the we kept talking, but then he chimed in the discussion.  Everyone was interested to hear all about my adventure.  They were so excited for me that there are only a few days left.

One closing funny thought.  I saw this sign as I reached Carpinteria.  I wondered if I was losing my mind and it was Christmas time already.   Thankfully, I didn't have to ride down Santa Claus Lane.  I took the next street.  Its only June.