Live for the Path

69 miles in 7 hours

I got up fairly early and headed out of Lompoc at around 7:45.

I took another ‘fun’ road with some switchbacks for a while, but was rewarded with a great ride down the hill (again thanks to Nicole the Ultra-Marathoner).

Once I got back to the PCH I talked to a family who was out taking a morning ride. The father said he had toured the Pacific Coast 20 years ago, but couldn’t imagine doing it now with all the traffic. I have heard similar things from other people throughout the trip, and am always a little amazed. I would imagine that it is probably safer now to do something like this than it was years ago, but I think people always think that things were better, safer, etc. back when they were young.

I also went under an overpass with the strangest bird nests I have ever seen.

I then rode through the towns of Orcutt, Guadalupe, and Oceano on my way towards Morro Bay.

I stopped at a Subway in Pismo Beach for lunch and relaxed for a while, and then ended up rolling out, knowing that I had a ways to go still. I started back northbound and then turned on Los Osos valley road. Of course, since I turned West, the headwinds started again. I grinded along slowly, was called a faggot by a group of guys (it goes without saying they were in a pickup truck… very brave of them to yell out the window while going past me), and eventually made it to my campground for the night, Morro Beach State Park.

I set up in the hiker/biker spot and then walked around for a while. This was a very pretty park, situated right on the bay and next to a marina and golf course.

Best of all, the showers there were free (but cold). I headed back to my tent after my first walk around and read for a while, before heading back out to take some pictures of the sunset a couple hours later.

With that taken care of, I went back to the tent and went to sleep early.

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35 miles in 3 hours

I woke up in the middle of the night, not suspecting that anything was wrong, but confused as to why I woke up. Suddenly I realized that my face was wet, and not only that but it was getting wetter. RAIN! I hustled up, threw my shoes on, hopped outside of my tent, and hastily threw up the rain fly (which I never put up, mostly due to laziness). With that emergency taken care of I went back inside and back to sleep.

When I actually awoke in the morning, I noticed that it was still raining, and because my I did not stake down my rainfly, it was only half effective. I was nice and dry though, so I sat inside and pondered what to do next.

I ran outside to brush my teeth and all that, and noticed that it really wasn’t too bad out. I also didn’t see my friends from the night before, and was sad that they probably got rained on in the middle of the night and had to move on. I then returned to my tent to again sit and plot.

I eventually packed everything up inside my tent, loaded my bike, and then quickly packed my soaking wet tent. Yuk. On my way out of the campground I saw my friends from Berkeley again, who had chilled under and around the canopied restrooms and showers when it started to rain. I said my goodbyes to them, and headed north, into the rain.

I got through the famous tunnel that terrifies bikers, and it was pretty terrifying. It wasn’t a long tunnel, but it was pretty narrow, and it was nearly impossible to stay to the right; you just kept getting sucked back to the middle.

Afterwards I started up by far the biggest hill of the trip thus far. This sucker was not only steep, but it was long.

I spent probably an hour going 4 mph up this hill. I was rewarded with an easy ride through the sun down into Lompoc. It was around 12:30 when I arrived and stopped for some fast food. With no campground within striking distance, a right knee that was having some issues, and a soaking wet tent that needed to dry, I decided to stop at a Motel 6 and make it a very short day.

I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and sat at Starbucks for several hours working on the site. I also bought some supplies in Albertsons and ate a few more meals. All in all a relaxing and productive night.

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64 miles in 6 hours

I got up in the morning and Nicole decided to ride with me for a while, which was quite useful because the path out of town was a little confusing. (They seemed rather stunned that I didn’t have any maps. I dared not tell them that I had recently sent home my cooking supplies as well. Everyone tours their own way.) Anyway she rode me all the way up to Carpinteria, which is the first suburb of Santa Barbara. I felt bad for being slow (since she is a world class athlete and all, and I am not to say the least – plus I was fully loaded and she was on a road bike). Thanks again to Jae and Nicole for being so inviting!

After that I headed through Santa Barbara, and rode along the beach. This was a nice because it was beautiful out and because Santa Barbara is a very attractive town. Wow. Anyway, I eventually got through the downtown beach section, sadly.

I took the ‘Coastal Route’ as opposed to the ‘Crosstown Route’ at Nicole’s urging, despite ‘a small hill’. It was the first small hill I have ever seen that required frequent switchbacks to climb! Despite that, it was a beautiful route, and I am glad I did it.

After I got through town and to the 101, I stupidly realized that I didn’t eat since a late breakfast, nor did I pick anything up for later. This was poor because the park I was going to for the night was in the middle of nowhere. So I turned around and went back to town and stopped in a 7-11 for trail mix (three kinds!) and at a Baja Fresh, which has somehow become very expensive in the last few years.

Having taken care of that, I hopped back on the road and went back to the 101 and got on it. I did around 10-15 freeway miles before hitting my exit, and the beautiful state beach that awaited. I paid the $5 for the hiker/biker site, wrote some for my blog, ate some trail mix, and turned in early, with the ocean in the background.

As I was laying in the tent I heard these people suddenly chatting next to me. How strange I thought, so I put my glasses on and took a look. Two more bike tourists had arrived! I excitedly donned my shirt and hopped outside. It turns out that the two of them, boy and girl, had just graduated from Berkeley and were doing San Francisco to Los Angeles. They were really going bare bones, with almost nothing, just a pretty sweet stereo strapped to the back of his bike. They just had a tarp to lay down and some sleeping bags. I was a little jealous of their set up. I chatted with them for a while, and then returned to my tent to go to bed.

37 miles in 3.25 hours

I wake up rather early (not surprisingly) and lay in the tent for a long while doing nothing. This is because I know I have a short day ahead of me, and also because it is quite cold out. I eventually get up and pack up and head up the road. I quickly blow my back tire, which has had a slow leak for a while, so I throw a new tube in. However, as I am doing this, it begins to rain. Brilliant.

Anyway I trudge on past various Naval Bases (there are either several here or the one that is there is HUGE).

I stop for some T-Bell for an early lunch in a cute town called Port Hueneme, and talk to two people there – one who bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker frame (the bike I have) for his brother who turned it into a fixed-gear (!!), and another older couple whose daughter had done a bike tour around Europe with some friends when she was in high school.

I headed back out into the gloom and made it to Ventura pretty early. I called my Warmshowers host and then found a Starbucks. This always seems to be more of a hassle than it would seem because when I search for them half of the time they turn out to be the kind in grocery stores, which is not what I want. Eventually I found one, spent a few hours updating the website, and then headed over to my hosts’ house, not sure what I would find.

Anyway, I spotted the house pretty quickly because of the Race Across America painted van sitting in the driveway. This is a fairly large cross country bike race that occurs every year. It turns out that one of my hosts, Nicole, holds the record for fastest two woman team in this race (around 8 days… yikes). RAAM seems like a good time, and is something I would like to do recreationally one day, perhaps in a 8 man team (definitely not two… nothing recreational about that).

Turns out Jae and Nicole were great hosts, and I got a shower, to do laundry, and a fantastic dinner. Jae, a bike mechanic, even looked at my bike and made some tweaks for me. Thanks guys for being great hosts. Anyway, shortly after dinner everyone did some reading and then went to bed. I suggest that any tourers check out www.warmshowers.org.

48 miles – 4.5 hours Saddle Time

I left Ian’s at around 8:15 and headed back down the bike path towards the ocean. I stayed on that around Marina del Ray and headed up another bike path on the beach through Venice and Santa Monica.

Eventually I was forced onto the Pacific Coast Highway (known forevermore in this blog as the PCH) and began the trek northward in earnest.

I was rewarded with some stunning views that cannot be captured in my pictures, and some ridiculous hills that cannot be described. None of the hills were very long, but their steepness was obscene. I both had to use the granny gear for the first time of the trip today, and also set a new speed record at 30mph, and I was holding back big time. But I will have to get used to these hills, as they are going to be with me for at least the next month.

Anyway I headed through Malibu, stopping at a McDonald’s (of course) and then at a Bank of America (I was very low on cash).

I got to a Starbucks and sat online for a little while, and then headed to my campground.

I got there at around 2:15, and set up my tent early. The best part about the campgrounds I will be staying at for the next month is that they all have hiker/biker spots specifically for people in transit by bike or on foot. They are between $3 and $5.

I walked to the ocean a few times before heading out to meet a friend from school for dinner at a place called Neptune’s Net at around 4:00. I hung out outside at the cliffs while I waited for him to arrive.

I ate a lot of fried seafood, had a 24 oz. Miller Lite, and then departed for the campground. I return to find nothing disturbed, and get into the tent and quickly fall asleep at around 6:30 (!!).

Day 8 – Yorba Linda to Pico-Robertson – 81 miles – 7.25 hours saddle time

Woke up in the morning, ate some breakfast at Tim’s house, and lazed around a little bit while I put off leaving. I eventually got going, and got on the Santa Ana River Bike Trail, which took me literally from right outside Tim’s door all the way down to Huntington Beach and the Pacific Ocean. This trail was convenient, but not all that nice, but there were a lot of bikers on it despite the nasty weather (it had been overcast and cold since Day 6 in LA).

I got down to Huntington Beach and took a nice bike path on the beach for a while.

I then hopped on the Pacific Coast Highway for quite a few miles, which was nice for a while with a wide bike lane, and it was horrible for a while, with no bike lane and the most narrow right lane I have ever seen. And of course this happens in the bad neighborhoods, but I had to get on the sidewalk for a while to not be run over. Once I got back down to the ocean again I got back on another bike path, and lo and behold – the sun was there!

I ride down this path for many miles and love it. If I were to ever move out here though, I would have to work on my beach volleyball skills. It seems that is what everyone 18-34 does on the LA shore. I guess I could handle that since my dad allegedly played volleyball for his college team. Anyway, I talk to some people for a while on the bike path about my Surly and touring, and then head inland.

I get to Pico-Robertson and go to Wendy’s to get a burger and then to Starbucks to update my site. At right around 7 I get a phone call from the friend I am staying with that night, and I head over at around 7:30. We go get ice cream that they make in front of you, and then we relax for the rest of the night over tea.

Day 9 – Zero Day

Another day where not much happened, much to my delight. My buddy and I went to Venice Beach for some tasty breakfast (Benice – recommended) and then he swung me by REI so I could get a few more tubes and patches. They didn’t have the normal tubes there though in my size (700×35 presta if you must know) so I had to get some of the slime tubes. I figured they are worth a shot anyway, and once I change one in I will let everyone know how they work. I have also had a slow leak in the back tire for a while, but it stays full for an entire day if I just fill it in the morning, so I haven’t done anything about it yet.

Anyway, after that we head to his work (a tea shop in Century City – nice place) and then I walk back to the Starbucks near his apartment and get a ton of work done on the website. I chill for 6 hours or so there and then go back to Ian’s apartment, play him in a game of Chinese Chess (kinda sorta like Shoji – but with some really strange pieces) and then go to bed. Thanks to Ian and his roomates for their hospitality. I also want to thank Facebook, because without it I would not have seen Tim for the first time in 12 years or Ian for the first time in 8. So thanks Facebook, and thanks to my old friends for being so inviting!

Day 6 – Banning, CA to Rowland Heights, CA – 73 miles – 6.5 hours saddle time

I got up fairly early (especially considering that I was in a real bed) and got cranking towards my buddy in Rowland Heights. I went through a small town called Beaumont which I thought was cute and then (after taking a road closure detour…) up a great pass called San Timoteo Canyon Road. This is another bike ride I recommend if you have the opportunity.

I came out in Bryn Mawr and went through Loma Linda (nice) and then crossed the highways and started the long ride through the inland empire (not as nice). I got the pleasure of having someone sneak up right behind me in a lane that was literally wide enough for two cars, honk, and then squeel around me. Screw you Herbalife salesperson. First time that has happened, but I figure that since the people that honk encouragingly have outnumbered this ass at least 20-1, it is alright.

Anyway, I am having trouble getting in touch with my friend by the time I make it over to close to his place, so I chill at a McDonald’s and relax for a while. He eventually calls me and says that he is almost home and he wants to pick me up in his pick up truck. Okay, sure. I head a little down the road towards his place, he gets me, and we head back. I am treated to a great dinner and a relaxing night watching the Lakers-Nuggets game. Thanks to the entire Blessman family for their hospitality. Sorry for the reduced number of pictures… I assume you have all seen suburban sprawl before.

Day 7 – Zero Day – Rowland Heights, CA to Yorba Linda, CA

Great day. I sent probably 15 pounds of stuff home (including my cooking stuff which had not been used once). The rest of the day I relaxed, either on the couch, at Starbucks updating my site for a while, or again on a different friend’s house. Special thanks to Blessman for driving me from his place to my other buddy’s place, and thanks to Tim for the hospitality and driving me from Starbucks up his mammoth hill. Tim and I finished the day playing a game very like Acrophobia, which we played non stop probably 12 years ago. No pictures today.

PS – Route was rode in a car, not biked.

42 miles – 5.5 hours saddle time

(A note on saddle time: this is automatically calculated by my bike odometer and only counts the amount of time I am actually moving. Therefore, really hard days like this are going to show less saddle time than there actually was because I was off the bike resting, cursing the wind, etc. more often than days that are going well.)

I got up a little late, and set out at around 8am.

I stopped at a Burger King on the main street of Palm Springs, which was quite nice (Palm Springs, not BK). Anyway, heading north out of town I thought everything was going great, only to find when I reached the 10 that I did not take a turn that I was supposed to take to stay on the 111. Along the way I rode through one of the largest wind farms in North America.

So now I was a few miles farther East than I wanted to be. I spent around an hour trying to follow a path that I found on Google Maps to take me through the first part of the pass without getting on the 10 (now apparently illegal). I got to the road that was supposed to take me there, I got stopped by a fence saying it was private property. Lame.

I turned around and went back down the hill I had climbed, looked around, and saw no alternative to taking the 10, so I got on it, apparently illegally. (Note: it may have actually been legal and missigned, as I found out later that night on the internet.) Anyway, I hauled ass for the next two miles to the next exit, and got off and took a gravel path for a few miles. This was a horrible idea, and I ended up walking my bike for a while.

I eventually got to another road that I could actually ride on. I stopped at a McDonald’s and chilled for a little while, because I was exhausted from the wind.

I eventually got going, and had a route planned out to get to Banning without getting back on the 10. I start out up Fields Road, and come to a checkpoint for the Native American tribe who owned the land. I told them my situation, and they had no sympathy, and told me it was private land, and they turned me around and sent me back towards the I-10. I sighed, and turned around and looked for another route. I saw a Railroad Avenue that may or may not have been a real road the entire time, and started along it. I was going along (slowly due to the wind) and sure enough, another dirt and gravel path. I pushed the bike again, and eventually, finally, got to Banning. I was cruising down the main street of the town, saw a Travelodge, and got a room. I ordered takeout, and relaxed for the remainder of the night after such a brutal day.

Two quick postscripts: First I finally figured out how to use Google Maps correctly, so no more scrolling needed. Second, remember that this blog is updated M-F… so see you next week!

I get ready and head to the cafe at around 6:45 (but note I can see it, and I know the pastor is not there). Anyway, I sit inside and talk to the waitress for a while, but still no pastor. Oh well, no harm done. I order an omelet and get out of town.

I head up the hill and stop again to eat and to buy some stuff in Chiriaco Summit.

I talk to a trucker who offers me a ride to Indio. However, since I am in a town with Summit in the name, I decline, and am rewarded with an absolutely amazing ride down San Andreas Fault on Box Canyon Road. I highly recommend it to absolutely anyone who likes biking in the area. It is gorgeous and totally downhill all the way to Mecca.

In Mecca I go to another Starbucks for a few hours of WiFi. When I am done I head north on the 111 through the towns of Thermal, Coachella, Indio, and into the rich areas of town. The best part is that I have a tailwind the entire time. Once I get to places like La Quinta, Indian Wells (gorgeous), and Palm Desert it is getting dark, and I know that the police (and residents) of an area like this would not appreciate me free camping, so I begin to look around for lodging.

Someone who was next to me at a stop light yelled out if I was going to Palm Springs, but he was pulling away by the time I responded, and I never saw him again. Alas. There was not really any space which was not inhabited, so when I saw a Motel 6 in Rancho Mirage, I went to investigate. At $39.95 the price was right, so I got my first room of the trip, and immediately had my first shower of the trip. It felt good. I also managed to do laundry there (much needed), and watched a little bit of The Ultimate Fighter. It was a great day beginning to end, the best thus far on the trip.

I woke up at 5:30, made some adjustments to the still duct-taped rack (near disaster averted… mental note: fix in LA), and got on the road at around 7.

I quickly made it through Brenda, and onto I-10 towards Quartzsite.

I climbed a pass and then drifted down into Quartzsite (hit my max speed thus far: 28 mph – woo).

I rode along the main street there for a while and then stopped at McDonald’s. Thumbs up for them letting me charging my cell phone. Thumbs down for having a broken ice machine.

I left there and climbed another pass out of Quartzsite. I rode down another huge mountain into Ehrenberg and then crossed the Colorado River into Blythe, CA.

Now, I have never heard anyone say anything good about Blythe, but I thought it was fine. It is certainly industrial and farming driven, but people on the main street seemed friendly. I stopped at a Starbucks there for a few hours for some Wi-Fi and to get out of the heat.

(Editors note: I wrote the above in the Starbucks. After I went outside and went down the main road (Lovekin) to get some food, I see a little more where people are coming from. There were around a zillion homeless and otherwise depressed looking people around, but only on that stretch. Unfotunately that is the only part of town most people will ever see. Blythe needs to do something about this if they want to fix their reputation.) Anyway, I figured that I would do another 20-30 miles after Blythe and stop somewhere outside of Desert Center for the night. So I set out after my 3 hour rest at around 3:30 and got back on the road.

I did a couple of solid hours, the first one pretty sharply uphill. At around 6:30 I began looking around for a suitable stealth camp spot. Problem was there was absolutely nothing. The desert just had no plant life around at all except for really tiny bushes that offered no protection. I was forced to keep going and do my first night riding of the trip. It was miserable – I was tired, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Luckily I read a story earlier in the day by a guy that said that said that the proprietors of the Desert Center Cafe had let him camp outside. So I decided to keep going through the darkness. Finally, at around 8:45 I reached Desert Center, and walked into the empty cafe and asked the lady who was working if I could camp somewhere. She insisted that I just go to sleep in the post office across the street instead. I know plenty of bike tourers sleep in post offices regularly so I figured I would do it. Sure enough as soon as I walk in and start unpacking, two guys walk in (remember it is only 9:00 – late for me but not for regular people), and an awkward conversation begins (see video for more). Anyway it turns out to be fine, and I talk to one of the guys for a while who turns out to be one of the town pastors. Eventually, he needs to leave but offers to take me to breakfast at 6:30 in the cafe. Sweet.

I go to bed shortly thereafter, and am only awakened once by someone checking their mail during the middle of the night.