I just can't believe it is already November- this warm weather makes it seem impossible. We were woken up by the sound of tractors in the nearby fields. The farmers didn't seem to notice that we were there, or if they did, they didn't care. It was a lot easier to find our way in the daylight then it would have been last night. We found the road that we were looking for that would parallel the 1. There was a "Missle Park" that we took a quick look around before continuing on. Again, the weather was perfect. After we got past the base, we were riding along the ocean. This time, the scenery was completely different- almost no greenery and dry barren hills. We were definitely close to the desert now! As we wound along the ocean, we kept watching the waves. Joey has been looking forward to going in the waves for so long now- and the water here should be warm enough to go in without needing a wetsuit. The terrain was very enjoyable to ride since it was a bunch of small rolling hills, just enough to keep it interesting without making it a strenuous ride. We made it to Malibu and decided that we would have our lunch break there (we didn't plan on making it too far past there because we figured it would be too hard to find a good camp spot if we got too close to the city. There was a perfect place for lunch by the picnic tables right next to Zuma Beach. The three of us decided to go for a swim before having lunch. My first time swimming in the Pacific-how great it is that we could go swimming in the ocean in November! We got changed in the bathrooms that were right next to the picnic area and headed for the water. The nice thing is that there was hardly anyone there, just a few surfers, so we didn't have to worry too much about our bikes, which were in view from the water anyways. One of the surfers said the water was around 60 degrees, so it was a little cold, but once you got used to it it was bearable. Loic didn't last too long in the water, but still had fun. It took me quite a while to get in, but once I was in, I had fun playing in the waves. Joey on the other hand, went in right away and could stay in there playing in the waves all day if we let him. He was as happy as a "witch in a broom factory." Eventually the cold started to get to me and I had to get out. I think I stayed in a few minutes too long because my fingers went numb and stayed that way for about a half hour. The sun did a good job of warming us up and drying us off as we were having lunch though. We had "Loic subs" again today and were just so happy to be where we were. I loved just standing in the hot sand and watching the waves. It took so long to get here, so that makes it even more special. Even though we didn't want to leave, we still had a few more miles to do. After about 5 more miles, we stopped at a grocery store, that was just like a Safeway, to use the internet and plug our phones in to call home. While we were there, the 3 of us split a half gallon of Bryers Snickers ice cream! From there, we rode through the main section of Malibu and it got a little hillier. We could see some tall buildings across the water where Santa Monica was and were getting excited because we were so close to the city. Loic had looked on Google Earth to see where the "city" started so we wouldn't end up going to far before looking for a place to camp. It was a little challenging to find a place just because it was pretty residential and there was either the ocean on one side or a huge hill on the other side of the road. We ended up riding up a side road for a little over a half a mile. It wasn't an easy ride up, but it was worth it for the place we found to camp. The boys found a nice spot on top of a hill, so they pushed the bikes up (it was too steep for me to be able to push my bike up by myself). What a view! Another great spot to watch the sunset over the ocean. We could also see a bunch of the beautiful homes in the area and the lights from the city peaking around a hill in the other direction. Loic and I worked on exchanging photos again and we had a little mac and cheese for dinner. Such a great day- especially since we FINALLY went swimming in the ocean! We only rode 36.52 miles today.
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