A day of finishing things.

We woke up early with Andy (the guy who heads up the Bicycle Tourism Network for the US) and we rode to get some breakfast from a local restaurant we all enjoy, which required a few miles of backtracking.  We then made our way south and found Fred again.  We decided to bike to the border together.  First we tackled the legendary climbs at Torrey Pines and then saw the sea lions at La Jolla Cove.

Final night of the tour.  The sunset and weather did not disappoint.

To rewind to the beginning, we began the day heading out from out loud campsite next to the train tracks but content that the sky was clear.  A boat that drifted in the night ended up washed up on our beach.  Lifeguards, police, and locals were with a tugboat trying to pull it back out to sea.  It was only supposed to be a 40 mile day, but we got lost in Camp Pendleton.  Camp Pendleton is a military base that touring cyclists are permitted to enter and cross pending notification approval of ID.  However, once in the base, we missed our turn and ended up seeking help from a marine.  12 miles off route, we hightailed it out and exited in Oceanside.

​Gorgeous weather and waking up in the backyard of some ultra-cool Warmshowers hosts is a good way to start the day (here’s to you Steve and Linda!)  We jumped back on the bike path beachside but found ourselves moving to the interior of the city to get across both LA and Long Beach.  It was a day of 90% city and 10% beach.  The turns to get through Laguna Beach and Newport were struggles on a bike with cars zipping by.  We got a chance to bike along the LA River, with all its concrete sadness.  A pinch flat was repaired outside Dana Point where we pulled into the campground and saw the biggest waves of our whole trip.  Serious surfers and SUPers flooded the ocean for much of the evening.  We finally met some other tourists heading south as well.  We ate dinner with Fred, a cyclist from Montreal.  He’s finishing up his electric engineering degree and doing this for the summer.  To finish, I’ll say my tan lines from the SoCal sun and lack of marine layer are ridiculous.

​Long day of road beneath us.  We started early at 6:15 and caught an epic breakfast in downtown Ventura.  After, we rode through Malibu.  The waves were gorgeous aquamarine and the opulence of the houses was both breathtaking and stifling.  It made me realize how much of the coast has been lost to the churn of development; a deeper appreciation of the Lost Coast in NoCal ensued.  Hwy 1 turned out to be an adrenaline rush coming into Venice Beach where the bike lane on the highway was also used for parking, which forced us onto the road.  However, the Santa Monica Pier was pretty awesome.  Venice Beach also had a conglomerate of culture, character, style, and people which left an indelible positive impression on us.  Tonight, we camp in the backyard of Warmshowers hosts who live right up against Hermosa Beach.

​Beautiful blue skies started the day night with no marine layer.  We packed up camp and jumped on the 1/101 and made our way to Santa Barbara where…the gray marine layer returned.

​With fitful sleep, we woke early.  The marine layer hung dank in the sky as we attached our panniers, downed some oatmeal, and headed east towards Santa Maria again.  After getting hit on Harris Grade Road outside Lompoc last year (and  owing to its lack of sufficient shoulder), we opted to avoid the same route and travel inland on roads with sturdy shoulders.  The 101 would be it.  However, as soon as we got going, I ripped over this little-shit metal piece and punctured my tire.  I rode all last year with not a single tire issue.  No matter – fix the flat and move.

​One month to go one year in the past found Janna and I a week from the end of our bike tour on the PCH.  We pushed hard and enjoyed the explorative sense.  Here, a week from the end, outside Guadalupe, CA, we were hit by a car from behind.  Shortly to cover it all, I’ll say that bikes were totaled, Janna smashed through the windshield, panniers and supplies were ripped and tossed on the road, ambulances came along with fire trucks in tow, but we came out, relatively speaking, okay.

Pestered by a glimpse of the end, it whispered away.

Unfortunately, due to a serious collision with a car today, we are unable to continue our journey. We are now safe, but we are physically unable to move forward due to the condition of both bikes and bodies. We plan to finish the last leg come next summer. 

Below is the story of what happened.

Very short day (15 miles) because we arranged a Warmshowers host nearby. This is good active recovery before our final push to finish our trip by next weekend. But oh what a day.

​Short day. Slept in late and enjoyed the city of San Luis Obispo (including an Indian food buffet that hit the spot after long days cycling). Headed across the dry interior of CA for a bit and now outside of Oceana.

Woke up to hot waffles smothered in maple syrup and vanilla ice cream – excellent. Murdock, our host, was awesome.

We got on the road for a 68 mile day and climbed two large climbs with steep grades affording classic views of the ocean around Big Sur. We exited the rugged coastline as the grain smoothed. Suddenly, signs appeared that we were entering an area for Northern Elephant Seals (so-named for their tremendous size – like a car – and large bulbous noses males develop). I was stoked. So far on the trip, we had seen sea lions and harbor seals at a distance…but motherfucking elephant seals!!??…this was a dream.

Woke up to blue skies and a grand view of the Big Sur coast. Only 35 miles today so we took it easy with every viewpoint possible.

I have concluded that after this ride it will be damn near impossible for me to get over the pros of biking anywhere you want to visit. Take for example state/national parks: throughout our ride, we’ve been able to enter anywhere we want pretty much whenever we want – no lines, no reservations, no waiting. Passing state parks today, lines of cars would stretch for a half mile outside of parks, waiting for a chance to enter, pay a fee, and battle for a single parking space. On the other hand, we rode past the line to the front, entered for free, the Rangers watched our bikes, and we hiked to a waterfall. Each evening as we approach the most popular campgrounds in each state/the nation, a permanent “Campground Full” sign would prelude the entering. Meaning if you want to camp, you should have payed $40 per night months before. Us, we ride up. $5 per rider per night, no reservations needed, never turned away on policy, and community-centered communal hiker/biker sites right by all the facilities.

So I accidentally miscalculated how far we had to go this day because I skipped a map, and thus we had to crank out 80 miles.

The night was filled with marauders from raccoons to skunks (both of which walked up to sniff us under our tarp). In the morning my towel was covered with dirty paws as can be seen in the photo above.

Awoke on the beach for a 70 mile day. Blue skies erupted from the fog, the sun rained down, and a huge tailwind smacked our backs allowing us to cruise near 20 mph as an average. And it was beautiful and glorious.

It is truly wonderful to lighten the eyes from the covers of a bed.

After waking at our Warmshowers place, David, Janna, and I biked to the Golden Gate Bridge. It seemed like a monumental moment for me – an official marker of sorts that indicated, “hey, you’ve fucking biked from Canada to San Francisco!” This badass feeling was immediately supplemented by comments from other road bikers training around the city. They would catch up to us and ask where we started/were going. They seemed to drool (my interpretation) from our responses and gave us mad props. Fucking badasses…at least to some.

After being in extremely remote/rural areas of Northern California for a week, a return to cell reception is a return to speak.

First moment reception brought speak was a text from Harrison coming through to let me know that SCOTUS had ruled in favor of health care and gay marriage. Janna, Adam, Brianne and I quickly turned our phones into news feeds and celebrated with shouts of joy in a small grocery lot in the middle of no where by the ocean. Love won.

Bodega Bay, CA

Gualala, CA

Mendocino, CA

Leggett, CA