Our original ride was to be a two-day event in Carpentaria but due to camping limitations, we enjoyed a great one day cycling event in Goleta through the Ellwood Mesa Open Space. Before we could cycle, we had to go through the Bicycle Safety Checklist for the Cycling merit badge and learn the California bicycle law. With our bikes tuned up and our helmets properly fitted we set out on a sunny morning on well used dirt trails.
The terrain was pretty flat, on the mesa overlooking the ocean. There were some technical areas to the trail that we had to navigate through though most of the ride was pretty easy. Too early for the butterflies, we cycled by the large grove of eucalyptus trees home to the Monarch Butterfly Preserve. Between November and February thousands of monarch butterflies make these trees their home. We experienced no first aid problems or mechanical issues with our bikes other than a derailed chain. After our 8-mile ride we finished up and had lunch together. Some of us were working on miles for our cycling merit badge and the rest went just for a fun day with other scouts.
