We’ve got snow. LOTS of snow. And it’s pretty cold now (for humans, that is. Us dogs can stand just about anything!). Yet I am surprisingly happy. The colder weather suits my coat. It would be perfect except for the arthritis aches and pains.

Here’s a photo of me enjoying the snow before a walk. I like to stick my whole face in it, that’s why my nose is white! ;-)

Sadly we have no Burley riding going on now, though Dad does still ride his bike to work during the winter.

Happy “Whatever YOU celebrate”! and best wished for the New Year.

-Cinder

Mom and I had a long drive home with Paul and Karen, but we made it safely and are unpacking and cleaning up from the trip. It feels good to be back.

I saw Daisy yesterday and whew!, she didn’t forget me. Mom, Dad & I even went for a bike ride in the afternoon. Mind you, nothing big, but it was still fun for me. With the warmer weather this week, we may even get some more riding in. Who knows?

Thanks for following me on my big adventure.

Nap time, at last.

-Cinder

Our last day. We climbed out of Lompoc on Route One to Highway 101. Then we said ‘good-bye’ to Route One. It has been good to us. After we had a rest stop at a REAL rest stop, we rode 101 down to Goleta. We saw oil rigs right off the coast all the way to SB. When we got to Goleta, we picked up a really nice bike path which we took all the way into Santa Barbara. We rode right through the heart of UCSB! What a lovely campus and so bicycle friendly. Then we rode along the beach, through a slough and some neighborhoods and then finally to the wharf in the heart of Santa Barbara.

Yeah! We are done! I am so ready to have a break from the Burley. It was fun, and I met some cool people and dogs, but I’ve been gone from home a long time. Daisy and Charlie- I’m coming home!

We rode past a lot of conventional farm fields today. It was kind of boring since it was all I could see. Lunch was in Orcutt where we found out that the road we were supposed to take was closed. SO, we ended up taking Route One through Vandenburg Air Force base to get to Lompoc (pronounced lom-poke). It was still pretty hilly going through the base and very windy. I lost one of my flags just after we passed the base entrance. Bummer. At least I still have my whirlygig. It’s prettier anyway.

Only one more day of riding..

What a lovely [READ: no big hills] ride today. We stopped for a cookie snack in Cayucos and I finally saw a human surfing. Not just bobbing in the water, or swimming out to a wave, but honestly surfing. Cool.

We saw lots of other cyclists on the road today as well- people just out for their Sunday ride, I guess. We had lunch in the happening place of San Luis Obispo. SLO is a college town and it was really busy when we went through.  There are lots of vineyards/wineries and olive groves in this region, though I didn’t get to taste anything. Come to think of it, neither did my mom & dad!

We’re staying at a campground in the Oceano Vehicular Recreational Area. It’s a place where people come to drive their “dune buggys” on the sand - up & down the beach. Why would you want to drive on the beach?

This was our last night camping and we had a really BIG campfire. I made sure to stay a safe distance away from it. I like my fur the way it is.