The long-awaited surfing pictures!

This is probably going to be my last post, as I leave on Friday for Guatemala. I'll likely be making a new blog for that trip, details to be determined...

Reflections from San Diego

Well, the trip is now officially over. I just parted ways with Alan downtown, where he will catch a bus to the airport. Nathan is already home, having finished his journey in Los Angeles. And I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Saint Louis.....

Our final few days were filled with forty miles of city riding in L.A., innumerable beach towns along the coast, a foray through a Marine Corps base, boogey-boarding and Mexican food in Carlsbad, and the logistical nightmare of packing/transporting our bikes & gear to the airport.

While it was exhilarating to arrive in San Diego, and my legs are thankful for the rest, it is certainly a new and interesting feeling to not have my day already planned with biking.

Also -- keep an eye out for pictures of me and Alan surfing (we were horrible!)

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the last supper at mcd's: 10 mcdoubles, 2 large fries, 4 apple pies, and 6000 calories for nadav and alan...

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our parting of ways, venice beach for nathan after about 1900 miles. San diego or bust for me and nadav.

1/3 of our group has finished!

Yesterday, Sunday the 27th of September I ended my trek in Los Angeles. Nadav and Alan continued on today towards San Diego where they should be finishing I two or three days. the numbers for my portion of the trip are:

1734 miles (1900)
74,102 elevation gained or 14 vertical miles (77,578)
69.9mph max speed (comp malfunction but likely in mid 40s)
12.4mph average speed
~150 hours of bicycling
$534 spent fixing bikes
18 flat tires
9 splattered bugs picked off my bike
at least 32 lbs of cheese eaten.

The numbers in parentheses are our assumed numbers to compensate for when Alans garmin was turned off.

Yesterday

A long slog through inland california with soaring temperatures and a mean sun. Rode in a group of 8 most of the way to a campsite on a palm-lined beach at refugio. It was a nice long sleep after we rehydrated on corona in cans.

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Our campsite, finally in socal!

Catching up on the last few days

our last few nights were spent in santa cruz, monterrey, and bi sur, and Tonight we are just south of san simeon. The riding is some of the hilliest we have encountered but with more fog than coastal views. Today we spent most of the day skipping above the marine layer before shooting up a couple of good climbs. Lately we have been sharing the road and campsites with lots of other tourers. The picture is of john and chase who i rode with on tuesday.

Adios san francisco

And we depart for a 90 mile day.

Pictures i have not posted

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A couple of days ago we finally hit the stretch of hwy 1 that i was most looking forward to and most fearing. Jusg north of jenner the hwy winds along cliffs perched about 600 feet over the coast. Long uphills, tight turns, and fast descents that leave you convinced the road is simply a chute destined to slide over the edge and to the watery rocks below, turn an already gorgeous ride into something magical. Something only a descent through old growth redwood forests has compared with. Though perched precariously, just feet from sheer cliffs (and me having a HUGE fear of hights) we stopped to take pics of eachother riding, celebrate achieving 50,000 ft of climbing on the trip, and feel the amazing inspiration of real eagle screeches from just meters away. Incredible.

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pics i took from bodega dunes at sunrise.

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My return to blogging:
so as was mentioned i have been having major issues with my achilles (feels like is being sawed on) so i made the fateful decision to ride from bodega bay to sf in a single day. What looked to be an easy sixty miles with not a lot of climbing turned into an 80 monstrosity with over 4k ft of climbing including the huge hills of sf with a grade of 30%. More than a little ridiculous for even an in shape biker not toting a load. However i made in aroune 630 despite bike problems and getting lost. Worth it though for the vistas and getting to ride next to none other than robin williams. VERY COOL. Thankfully the achilles are feeling a bit better and it nice to be staying with my friend tasha.

Foggy

A they from the north side of the bridge!

The days split.

Today alan biked ahead to san francisco alone to give his ankle some medical attention and Nadav and i rode ~40 Miles to samuel p taylor state park. Nice rolling hills with california pastureland. We stopped twice, once to hawk at sea lion pirates and again at point reyes national seashore. Sadly we biked 20 miles in the park only to have our shrouded in the afternoon fog. You may have to zoom in on the picture from tomales bay.

Sept 13 and Sept 14

Yesterday:
cool fans morning. 5k run on coast. Quaint coffee in Mendecino. Ecology walk. Afternoon rain for 20 miles. Hottub and guy from scotland.

Today:
65 miles on picturesque coast. Croissant sandwich for breakfast. Gorgeous. Russian fort and cool drugstore. Bonked because i didnt eat enough. Bought a frozen apple pie for dessert. Its demolished. Sunset over Bodega Bay.

Time to play catch up!

So, in case you were wondering why i haven't posted in a while, my cell phone was run over by a car as I crossed the California border. It was a terrible tragedy, but I am rearmed again with a new cell picked up in Eureka. Since I have the rare opportunity to sit at a computer, I thought I'd try to write a recap of the last few days.

After Humbug Mountain, we took a quick stop at a blackberry bramble in Brookings before saying goodbye to Oregon. Once in California, the landscape quickly turned to farmland and the temperature rose significantly. We rode a punishing 70 miles that included the triple-peaked Crescent City Hill (elevation 1100 ft), followed quickly by another 900 foot climb. They were definitely two of our hardest hills. The ride ended on a good note, with a long & level downhill on backcountry roads through a spectacular redwood forest in which we camped. The next day took us through Arcata, the highlight being a commercial campground that provided free untimed showers and a hot tub. Luxury!

We next passed through Eureka, the highlight being a much-needed stop at our first bike shop since Astoria (probably ~600 miles). We ended the day again in redwoods, along the famous Avenue of the Giants. My favorite part of the ride by far, the avenue passed along groves of old-growth redwoods, alternating with small farm towns where we bought fresh vegetables & homemade blackberry popsicles. A rest day in the redwoods allowed for even more time to explore the forest.

I'm writing this now from Fort Bragg, another two days out of the Avenue of the Giants. We've ridden some of the most difficult terrain in the past couple days, including dual 3000+ foot climbing days. We're in the final push to San Francisco, where our biggest challenge is to find a place to stay.

Back to the ocean

After scaling two sizeable hills we are back to the ocean and its marine climate. No more sunny 90s

Coastal weather

We have been very fortuitous on our journey so far with only 3 days of rain of which only one was a riding day (our entrance to astoria.) the mornings are very cool with nighttime temperatures requiring a fleece and often a heavy layer of dew. During the day we can get up in the mid seventies in the sun but for the most part the afternoon highs are very pleasant even while cycling uphill. The most remarkable thing for of is how the sun has changed during the trip. We have travelled some 950 miles (34k feet climbing) which is enough to start seeing the effect of latitude on the sun intensity. What was once a nice warm glow has now turned into a sunburning heat. It looks like i might need more than one bottle of sunscreen after all.

Big climb

Three thousand foot peaks about to begin descent on 'rough road'

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Day from hell part 2: We returned to our now soaked bicycles and gear in order to don some ill fated gore-tex and soggy bike shoes. Now biking back over those three miles of hills we resumed our quest for astoria a warm shower and motel. Our miserable situation prompted us to unspokenly adopt an "every man for himself style of biking" and soon i, being the last to leave, wasfar behind. Slipping and sliding, water slinging in our faces, and bodily extremities numb we made it about five miles out of ilwaco. Now what could make this watery limbo even more pleasurable?... Yep, a flat 200 feet into a loooong flat straightway with no shoulder. Woe oh woe is me and nathan and nadav are loooong gone...(chapter three coming soon)Dont mind the random pic of a shipwreck at fort stevens

Last night in Oregon

Tonight we are in Harris Beach state park. Cooking hotdogs over the fire and looking over our photos of the oregon coast. We saw massive ocean waves, deer in our campsite, and a mixture of great and terrible food. We also met a variaty of cyclists of many walks of life biking for fun, exercise, and transportation. Probably my favorite fay of cycling was on friday when i rode 20 miles with a guy from france who is finishing his first trip to the united states with a solo bike tour to san francisco. I was also mistaken for a native german and offered pot by a hippee. It was one of the few days that i spent a decent amount of time meeting new people instead of just pedaling. Hmm... Other items of interest a recent inclusion of vegetables in meals, finally getting used to sleeping without a ground pad, and a real respect for oregons numerous state parks with free showers.

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Finally cell service! Time for some belated blogging. Im writing this from the beach at Humbug Mountain, where the mountains collide forcefully with the gray-blue water and a few brave boulders stand offshore. We are only a days ride from California, and both proud and exhausted by that fact. This week we rode 300 miles down the Oregon coast, meeting fellow bike tourers, fighting our way up steep climbs, and enjoying the occasional quiet moment to absorb the beauty of the scenery through which we pass. Today was meant to be a rest day but due to a rainy forecast we pushed on. Im eager for tomorrows rest day to explore nearby hiking trails, eat some Smores, and perhaps even take my bike out for a spin (minus all of the weight).

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Enjoying the beautiful scenery on what is the undisputed most gorgeous stretch yet in Oregon.

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A late start today after last night' festivities, when we met up with two bike tourers from vancouver. Alan, cold and tired, napped thru lunch

Oregon coast south of

Waldeport

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Day from hell part 1:
So now that a few days have passed I am prepared to relate to you a tale of bravery, perserverance... And ridiculously bad luck. It all started on dreary washington friday morning in a small town called bay center. We made the fateful decision of adding some extra miles onto our sojourn by venturing to the infamous cape disappointment. After passing up a perfectly good saltwater taffy and ice cream shop we began a three mile climb that the guide book had not told us was there! So now the legs were sore, the stomach mutinous, and the butt...hrrrmph. All of us could only think of peanut butter ane some ice cream at the shop; however, after biking all these extra miles and hills we were damn well gonna hike the mile or so to the point to see th lighthouse. Well... No sooner had we arrived than the sky opened up and started an annoying drizzle that soon turned into a relentless rain. Cape disappointment was a huge disappointment except for a few nice vistas

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From our stop to the Tillamook cheese factory. Alan is eyeing the impressive 5lb Loaf of cheddar cheese as we contemplated upgrading from our daily 2lb Baby Loaf. Other highlights included copious amounts of cheese samples + huckleberry ice cream.

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A cold night on the beach in Oregon. We had a fn time pulling our bikes thru the sand to the campsite

A great sign

A any backs into a propeller... udder destruction

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Sunset over the Pacific from Twin Harbors State Park.