Kinda glad I brought the earplugs

It was another fine day of biking yesterday from Lompoc to Santa Barbara (I was going to say that any day you could bike to Santa Barbara would have to be considered a good day, and then it occured to me it's probably equally true that any day you can bike away from Lompoc has to also be considered a good day).

But I'm becoming a connisour of road surfaces. Not for what they mean to biking comfort, but what they mean for tire noise from passing cars. There is a section of new pavement south of Monterey that sets the standard of excellence. Quiet as a mouse. Unbelieveable. Perfect. A stardard for paving crews everywhere to aspire to. 5 stars.

But the sections of pavement from Lompoc to Santa Barbara are on the other end of the scale, especially with the amount of traffic they get. Car tires just roar as they go by. And I knew the same road was going to go on for many miles so I didn't wait long before pulling out the weapons. I started with the iPod and headphones for only the second time on the trip, but the headphones aren't sealed so they don't block out the noise. About halfway through the ride I switched to the custom earplugs. Initially purchased for swimming, they do a great job of blocking the noise. I could still hear every car that passed, but not be at risk of being driven mad from the noise.
-----------------------
Sent from my Treo(r) smartphone