The road from Big Sur to Southern California took us through a series of transitions - from wetter to drier, mountains to beaches, and wilderness to one of the largest metropolises in the world. Landslides and storms slowed our progress. But each day of cycling yielded more farms and pasture. And those eventually gave way to tourist-friendly shops, waterfront villas, and the 150 miles of white sand beach of surfers’ dreams that followed.