Video Time

Life in the Past Lane

SF to TJ Bike Trip 08/03/11 - 08/11/11 , two days later on

I took a bike trip this past August, and kept somewhat of a diary. I just typed it out, and would like to share it with you now. There are pictures from this trip here.

Day 1 SF Civic Center to Half Moon Bay State Park

Took a while to get out of Berkeley & SF. Said my last byes, dropped off library books. Met a tourer Paul at ocean beach. He and his girlfriend are biking down the coast too. Wanted to get to santa cruz but with the late start seemed unfun. Sprinkling when I came out from new leaf grocery – mostly organic. Ate a watermelon. Gonna go wash my feet, they smell. Gonna sleep well tonight. I can feel it. Devil’s Slide was gnarly, as was going down Sharp Part St into Pacifica. Outta the house at 11:45am outta downtown SF at 1:30 into Halfmoon Bay around 5:20.

Fuel: 4 melons in AM, dates while riding & red bell pepper, whole seeded watermelon at 5:30

Water: not much in AM- 40 oz til Montara, then almost a gallon.

Day 2 HMB to Santa Cruz

Recumbent 12 hours, slept 10. I’d like to lighten my load, but may wait til I get to SC. Drank date juice. Left 11:45, arrived 5:00. Clouds/drizzle ends at SC county line. Lotsa ocean cliff farms. Swanton Berry Farm = awesome. Ate ½ flat day olds $9 (10% biker discount). Broke a spoke as I came into town, met up with upStairah, got a new spoke at Bike Church. Rob (1^st Vipassana course manager) helped me out. He and Sarah share a house, a 3 story Victorian. Jumped in the ocean. Made a big salad from lotsa farmer’s market scores, hung with Sarah Eve and Jordan.

Day 3 SC to Monterey

Ate late last night. Slow start to the day. Sarah’s friend showed me on my map which way to go. Passed through hella strawberry fields. Didn’t eat enough in the AM, hit a wall / wheel lost true. Stopped and watched seals on a dock. Unloaded bike, trued wheel, got rid of “nada chair”, started eating dried persimmons, still no meal, continued on, saw a big outdoor produce market got 12 mangoes: 6 tommys, 6 manilla. Just what the Dr. ordered. Met another biker, Pilar, rode together to Monterey Veterans Memorial Park as it was getting dark. Getting to Julia Pfiefer tomorrow. Up for a big day. Would love it if there was space for my backpack in one of my buckets. May mail some stuff to lighten the load. Spokes need more adjusting before I go tomorrow. 1:15 – 8:45 slow day. Would like to start earlier. Good night!

Day 4 Monterey to Kirk Creek

Started with a flat front tire. Lightened the load by mailing a bunch of nonsense to LB in a flat rate box. Back up up UP to Skyline to 68 to 1 south past Carmel. Had to stop a BUNCH of times to retrue wheel like 9 or 10. Another late day, left Monterey around 1:30, got to Kirk Creek at 10:20pm! Kept on trucking past Pfiefer Big Sure, then kept striking out. Julia Pfiefer State Park was day use only. Hit Esalen as it was getting dark, they wouldn’t let in (thought maybe I could sleep on Emily’s floor), kept going, considered sleeping on the side of the road. Kept thinking happy thoughts about things I love, made it to Lucia, no vacancy at the hotel, filled up on water, went 6 more miles to Kirk Creek. Good thing I filled up on water, there was no drinking water there. Best Idea – yesterday pitted a bunch of dates for a quick and easy high calorie hit. Drank 4 Odwalla juices at Big Sur, got the last celery. Ate hoshigaki and Peacotums. Too tired to eat when I landed.

Day 5 KC to Morrow Bay

Wow KC hiker/biker site is gorgeous! right on the coast on grass amongst eucalyptus. Got a pretty late start again, par for the course. 12:40. Passed by Loren, Paul and gf at Plasket up two big windy slopes and down! Very fun going down and freaking beautiful cliffy coastline with kelp forests and pine trees. Met Clay from Texas. On out of Monterey County into SLOC saw the elephant seals. Flatter, still beautiful. Past San Simeon, Harmony population 18, reminded me of Laguna Canyon, cows and rolling hills. Broke a spoke d’oh! I think my spoke issues could’ve bee due to the wheel not being put on straight. Wheel see tomorrow. Straightened it out, seems to be riding better, passed Cayucos, ate ½ the apricots in the market there. Really craving some juicy fruits after all these dates. No overripe bananas since Moss Landing but I have hope for the coming days. Gonna try to make it to the coast by SB tomorrow, I hear there’s three big hills.

Day 6 Morrow Bay to Lompoc

Into Los Osos, bike shop closed. Want to get a new tire and see about a truing. Into SLO met a nice retired lady road biker who took me to the bike shop. New tire, fancy! Got some nectarines and melons – score!! Into Pismo – super nice and Laguna-y. ran into Clay again then broke a spoke. Gah! Only one spare left! Back inland through hella farms – strawbs and brocc and romaine mostly. Up a couple big hills – saw dead beautiful owl. Got bananas!!! In Guadalupe, just into SB County. Mexican farm town. Thank goodness for “over” ripe bananas! 9 pounds for $4.50. Into Lompoc met a can-collecting biker who told me where the campground was. Met 4 ladies from Vancouver “Birds on Bikes” sharing a camp spot with them. Borrowed a phone and called my momma. Scored an extra day, I was mistaken on the date of my HS reunion.

Day 7 Lompoc to Carpenteria

It was nice hanging with new friends. In AM got up earlier like 7:30, ate 2 melons, pitted dates, put on the bar tape at last. Went with the Birds to the grocery store then didn’t want to wait around / antsy to get riding. Felt really slow going on rough road into the wild. The big hill I was trippin’ on wasn’t so bad, easier than yesterday’s & really fun to go down. Passed the Austrian couple couple I met last night 20 miles outside of SB. Thankful for the leftover bananas and pitted dates., At ‘em in Goleta. Biking along and recognized Taylor’s street, but he don’t live there no more. Went to FedEx to use internet, speed round texted Tay, Rob-ot, the Birds, found out about farmer’s market down state street SB. It was poppin. Not used to so many plastic bags at the FM. Lotsa melons, avos, tomatoes, stone froot, fresh organic produce again at last! Asked around for seconds, scored hella free white peaches – delicious! Ate ‘em all there, got lettuce & a bunch of tomatoes & melons to go, one discount cantaloupe one “santa clause” aka “piel de sapo” (so says Happy Boy Farms). After that cruised down to Carpenteria as it was getting dark. Dang $10 hike n bike, double the usual. Ventura or LA tomorrow. Too tired to eat the lettuce and tomatoes.

Well that's as far as my diary went. The rest in summary:

Day 8 Carpenteria to Inglewood - Ventura farms, Malibu beach houses, no camp sites in LA, met some freak-bike builders who let me stay at their warehouse in Inglewood.

Day 9 Inglewood to Laguna Beach - triumphant hometown return. Broke a spoke on the LA/OC border. Dramatic clouds over Crystal Cove. Simultaneously happy to be home and sad for the trip to be over...

Then a week later, took another two days' travel with the Birds on Bikes to the Mexico border.

And now I've got my bike with me in Indonesia! (the adventure continues...)