Illinoistocht

Day 20: Malibu to Dana Point / Capistrano Beach. 86.6 miles, 1,451 ft. of climbing (139.4 km, 442 m)
After leaving Malibu, I pedaled the route, which was often off of the Pacific Coast Highway, off-road on a lot of multi-use beach paths through Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan and Hermosa Beach.  But then the route went inland on surface streets through Torrance and Carson, and finally returned to the coast at Long Beach.   The sun broke through the fog by the time I made it to Long Beach and the beaches filled up, even with it being a weekday.  I finished at a Quality Inn in Dana Point / Capistrano Beach that was surprisingly affordable by LA standards (under $100), had a washer / dryer, and the nearby restaurant had a special on $1 bottles of beer with dinner.  BARGAIN!  Nice sunset and then a good night’s sleep.   Despite this being a flat stage of the tour, it was very slow going given the many stops and also the bike paths got more crowded with beachgoers as the day progressed.   It was one of my slowest days, and certainly the slowest of the “flat” days.   And while it’s near the beach, the part in LA was not at all scenic—for instance, BP oil refineries are certainly not very appealing to most people.