Cycles and Surf- A Tour of the West Coast on Two Wheels: 2012

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The End of One Adventure, the Start of Another

Around 2am on August 7th we made our final destination, the Mexican border!

Now we go back in time to the last place we left off, Alex's couch in San Fran.

After taking our bikes to the local bike shop and getting the much needed repairs, we broke away from Frisco's allure and made it to Santa Cruz in one push. Santa Cruz possesses a cool surf town vibe without the superficial plaster of the infamous SoCal douchery. Although most cars have 'fear locals' bumper stickers we encountered nothing but good times, interesting people, and a love for this town. So much love in fact that we stayed three nights thanks to the hospitality of Sean's family friend which was cool enough to let us crash in a guest room during our stay. Despite our our high hopes of surfable waves we were tortured with low swell, an ever occurring problem throughout this bike and 'surf' trip'. Our days in Santa Cruz were spent walking the beach admiring volleyball players, eating, talking to people, and checking out the local bike co-op the Bike Church. Early one morning Max decided his bike was being neglected from so many rest days and checked out the University campus and scored a free bag of organic coffee beans at the local farmer's market thanks to Zach who also happened to work as a bike courier, which has us all scheming of employment opportunities. What's better than getting paid to ride your bike? Nothing, but we will keep you updated on that as well. Thanks to Sean's friend's (Evan) uncle (Rob), we got to enjoy a beautiful afternoon drinking on a sailboat which was a first for a couple of us. This experience, as well as another that will be mentioned soon, has peaked our interest in sailing. All in all, Santa Cruz was everything we hoped for even despite the lack of swell.

From Santa Cruz we headed south towards the affluent Carmel Valley where we stayed with a great host from Warm Showers, KG who blew our minds with knowledge of marine biology, satellite power and uses, and other remarkable topics. We took the 17 mile drive detour which led us through the infamous Pebble Beach golf course where we took guesses at how much certain houses costs and how much money was consolidated into such a small area. We agreed it had to amount in the multi-billions.

The next stretch was through the unforgettable Big Sur coast highway, and just as luck would have it we saw little of this scenery due to the thick all-day fog. What little pieces we did see were fantastic though, and yes very hilly with huge road side cliff drop offs. At Kirk Creek campground we met several interesting people and overloaded the hiker biker site by about fifteen people. We also had our first encounter with the cute but not so friendly raccoons. They were first noticed when I (Tavin) was laying in my bivy sack and felt something at the end of my sleeping bag. At first I thought it was somebody playing some type of prank on me, but was quickly dissmissed when I saw about 20 pairs of eyes illuminated in my headlamp. They ate our food but fortunately didn't try to snuggle.

One guy, Caesar, was cycling the same route as us and had plans to cycle all the Hawaiian islands with the idea of setting up a bike co-op in Waikiki after he made it to the border. He intends to travel between the islands through some type of inflatable pontoons that allow him to transform his bike into a self propelled raft! He also plans to start an organization to help homeless people. The site hasn't launched yet but told us it would be (cleverly) named Homeless Where the Heart Is. Certainly big plans, but the biggest shock of all was his all-black cycling attire (bike, long sleeve shirt, pants, helmet) and the fact that he did mostly night riding. Daring indeed, especially in Big Sur known for its small shoulders and constant fog.

Another couple had recently quit their jobs and decided to start bike touring to a destination where they would participate in WWOOFing for a period in time. They were very knowledgeable and were eager to inform anybody that would listen of the constraints and slavery of mediocrity and our broken political system. Also had a deep disdain for petroleum to the point that they used a wood burning stove for cooking and used a magnifying glass instead of a lighter for extra curricular activities, which was a first for many as well. Just an idea at the variety of people we have met on the road.

Also, the town of Lucia has absurd prices for everything. By far the most expensive town on our trip. Contrary in Watsonville, CA fruits and veggies were very cheap. Avocados were seven for a dollar!

In Los Osos we stayed with a couple again from WS who were great hosts and treated us to dinner with veggies from their garden and a great bed to sleep in. Los Osos has one of the best bakeries we had the pleasure of enjoying, so much in fact that we had to go twice. The bakery is Carlock's and is known for their bear claws but the clear winner for us were the assortment of danishes. At this point were becoming bakery connoisseurs, look for our West Coast bakery guidebook soon.

After Big Sur is the transition zone into the always sunny and over-crowded Southern California. Santa Barbra turned out to be a great town and we arrived at the tail end of an all day Spanish festival. The streets were covered in confetti and the inhabitants were clearing feeling the effects of the all day festival as noticed by the several individuals we met on the street. Unfortunately we couldn't find a place to stay in town so had to travel about ten miles south to the Carpinteria campground which we made to just after dark. Its here where we (again) encountered raccoons, but this time they weren't so scared of us and there were a LOT of them. They had food boxes which were nice, but we weren't convinced we would be left in peace for the night so we set up a barricade with our bikes, trailer, clothes, and anything else to protect us from the little demons. Thankfully we woke up unscathed and well rested.

From this point on it was very evident we were in Southern California and it's not a very bike friendly place so we decided to get to the border as fast as possible. To help combat this situation we arranged to have my dad pick up our stuff (panniers, trailer, surfboards) somewhere north of LA and cruise down to the border in a two day push.

Happily leaving Carpinteria and the raccoons behind we pulled into Ventura for lunch. Ventura was a mandatory stop for me due to my somewhat small obsession with Patagonia. Its here in a small building on the outskirts of town fondly known as the 'Tin Shed' where Yvon Chouinard started his revolutionary company Chiounard Equipment. Over the years and through a series of events has been re-branded as the Black Diamond Ltd. label. Its also the roots of Patagonia clothing, and where Fletcher Chouinard Surfboards are made. It was inspiring to see where the whole idea of 'clean climbing' was essentially brought to fruition through Yvon's insight and experience as a blacksmith in such a simple place. In case you've never heard of Patagonia check out their website and read Yvon's biography,"Let My People Go Surfing" along with his new book on ethical and profitable business practices in "The Responsible Company".

From Ventura we cruised down to Malibu where we had pizza at D'Amore's and met the owner Joe D'Amore himself. Mr. D'Amore was as stereotypical Italian as they come. He owns a pizza restaurant, wears too tight of a shirt for his bulging muscles, is a great host, and is so confident that while we were pondering of sleeping on the beach (illegal) he gave us permission to use his name if we had any trouble with the cops. "You just tell them your friends of Joe. All the cops in town eat in here and know who I am." Despite the fact that he may be telling the truth and had pictures with famous people covering every inch of wall to prove, we opted against this recommendation. Thanks for the pizza Joe!

From Malibu to Marina Del Ray where we contacted a host on WS to stay with, was full of excitement, good and bad. Due to some confusion and it being completely dark at this point we had our first crash with Max running into the trailer and wiping out in the middle of an intersection. Although it shouldn't be a surprise in SoCal, not one person asked to see if he was okay despite there being no less than 100 onlookers. Thankfully just a few minor scrapes and bruises were the result. We rode through the Venice boardwalk where there were only a handful of people, very unusual if you've ever been during the day. We stopped at some Olympic rings just off the boardwalk to get our gymnastics on. Besides how hard could it be to lift yourself like they do in the Olympics? Apparently very hard since we couldn't even get close. We'll stick riding our bikes and leave gymnastics to real men. When we finally arrived to Marina Del Ray we were greeted by our hosts, Charley and Lilly and welcomed aboard their sailboat where we would be staying for the night. They treated us to warm showers, cold beer, homemade sandwiches, and a box full of gourmet pastries Lilly brought home from work. It was our first time sleeping on a sailboat and was one of the best experiences of the trip. The best was truly saved for last.

Charley and Lilly have an amazing story which inspired us and had us asking so many questions and wanting to stay longer so I'll try to convey the raddness of this couple. I'm not going to get all the details or events in chronological order but its amazing nonetheless. Charley is from Wisconsin, Lilly from Australia. Charley wanted to do a human powered bike trip around the world. He started riding from Wisconsin and made it to Amsterdam where he met Lilly. Lilly had never bike toured and wanted to try it out, besides Charley was a pretty cool guy. They bike toured Europe and went their separate ways. Charley on his trip, and Lilly just travelling Europe and back down under. In Scotland Charley broke his foot but instead of going home and calling it quits rehabilitated in Scotland for a couple months till he recovered. Lilly sailed across the Atlantic. Charley eventually made it to Africa where he rode from West to East and ended up in Alexandria, Egypt. He shattered his femur from a bike accident. At this point Lilly and Charley were together so Lilly came to help Charley in Egypt. Charley is determined so he tried to recover in Egypt as long as he could. Eventually he went back to Wisconsin. His leg is still recovering after two years so his bike trip is put on hold. Being people of adventure and travel they bought a sailboat and are refurbishing till February 2013 when they plan to sail to Australia. Possibly the best story/ badass couple I've heard of in a long time.

The next morning my dad and his wife Angie picked our stuff up in my van with plans to meet in Huntington Beach and figure out the rest of our trip. We got lost in the confusion of the city and ended up doing about a 30 mile detour but finally met up in HB. It happened to be the finals of the surfing U.S. Opens and was crowded with people. In about two days we went from silence and solitude in Big Sur to the biggest surf competition in Southern California. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, just a big change in a short amount of time.

At Huntington my dad switched driving the van to my friend Alyssa, who had a couple days off work and didnt mind being our support vehicle for the last day an half to the border. That night we ended up sleeping outside her house near San Clemente since how we couldn't find a campsite and Walmart kicked us out of their parking lot.

The next morning we rode from San Clemente to the Mexican border which is only about 80 miles but had to use a detour since Camp Pendelton was closed to bikers and got lost in San Diego later that night so we ended up riding probably around 110 miles the last day. Before we decided to push to the border we stopped in Solana Beach just north of San Diego and enjoyed a dip in the ocean and a few cold ones. Around 8pm we got on our bikes for the last and final push of our Tour de West Coast and ended up at the border around 2am. It was our first true night riding experience besides the quick dash from Malibu to Marina Del Ray and it turned out to be quite enjoyable. No traffic, very few cars, and escaping the heat was well worth getting lost in San Diego where we got to see the Port of San Diego. We all agree that Ports are sketchy places. Not just to ride a bike but the people and vibe there all seem a little leery. The closer we got to the border the worse conditions got until we saw millions of bright lights which we somehow internally knew was Mexico. With less than two miles to go and the end in sight.............we saw a 24 hour bakery with the shelves stocked to the brim! So we all unanimously agreed and ate two doughnuts a piece as a pre-victory treat. We definitely should've written a guidebook for bakeries along the west coast. More doughnuts were consumed during this month than in the past ten years on my life. Besides, doughnuts will always taste better than powerbars.

We got to the border, took pictures that turned out so bad 'Mexico' is barely legible, and drove back to Orange County that night where we crashed around 5am. A very anti-climatic end to such an awesome trip.

The next day we were lazy. We ate, washed our bikes, and started to pack for our departure back to WA. Max decided to take a flight home due to a move-in date for his new apartment in Bellingham. Sean and I dropped Max off at LAX and started our long drive back to the Evergreen state. This is where the 'other adventure' begins. In a way, much more stressful and frustrating than riding our bikes.

At the beginning of this trip I had no intention of going back to Washington, but as time progressed and situations changed my return to WA was inevitable. In short, I missed the trees and mountains, family, and friends. This trip confirmed that truth to me. I've noticed that travelling and taking extended trips has a way of changing you. Whether its from the people you meet, or the things you see, or the little day by day enlightenments you experience on the road it has a powerful side effect to it. Personally it puts life into perspective. It's the simplest way to distinguish between wants and needs, things that are important and superficial, progress and sedentary. Life decisions are easy to make when your mind is clear and your in-tune with your inner self. So the decision to return to the Great PNW was clear.

After dropping Max off we prepared for the road. Snacks, comfortable clothes, and a huge selection of music and podcasts. We were on the road about 7pm and drove all through the night with nothing worth noting besides a thought provoking podcast called Radiolab which Sean introduced to me. The one thing that I remember from that is that your life is a story that you compose with your decisions and experiences.

At about 7am, 100 miles north of Sacramento outside a little town called Orland, I noticed that the engine was making some weird noises and the handling became a little jerky. About thirty seconds later I pulled off the side of the road, turned off the engine, and opened the hood which was smoking quite a bit. I checked the coolant which was gone so I rode my bike to the nearest gas station and bought a gallon of coolant and a quart of oil just in case. Thankfully, I ran into the owner of the towing company in the gas station and he gave me his business card just in case. Secretly I hoped I would never have to call or see him again. After returning to my broken beast I poured almost all the coolant into the tank which never raised above the empty line, but continued to spill all over the ground. At this point I knew there was a problem. So I proceeded to call the tow company and find a auto shop that could diagnose the problem immediately. After looking at it in depth the mechanic concluded my water pump gave out which then caused my serpentine belt to break, thus causing all the coolant to drain rapidly. Thankfully they had all parts in stock and assured I would be on the road in a couple hours. A costly fix but we were just glad to hear the good news. Until they tried to start it. Charging the battery, checking the starter and she still wouldn't spark. After doing some type of mechanic tricks they found that coolant was leaking from the rear exhaust. I know very little about cars and how they operate but even I knew this was not good news. Not sure exactly how it happens or what the mechanical term is but I essentially needed a new engine or new heads. Both solutions however require time and money, a commodity I dont possess much of either. With it growing later in the day and not knowing what to do Sean and I went to a hotel that his parents were gracious enough to get for us. Besides it was 105 degrees and it had a pool so it was an easy out, for now.

Friday morning Sean woke up and rode his bike to Chico, approximately 30 miles away (in 100 degree weather) where he was sure he could rent a car and drive up to WA since how he needed to be there the following day for a wedding. A couple hours later he returned in a taxi, gathered his essential belongings and went to Sacramento to catch a plane, train, or bus north. His parents were beyond awesome and got me another night in the hotel so I wouldn't have to worry about that. Again, Thank You. I said good-bye to Sean and hope there is someway I can make it up to him and his family for the unintentional problem and stress I caused. The worst part is that I somehow coaxed him into driving up with me instead of flying, somehow I think he'll never ride with me again except on a bike. At this point, despite loving the freedom and simplicity of living out of a van I hate engines, their costly maintenance and repair, and their dependence on oil. Bikes are the way to go.

After spending two days on the phone talking to close family and friends and getting their input and recommendations I had three options, 1)sell my van and lose lots of money,2) fix my wheels and spend lots of money, or 3) get the damn thing shipped up to WA somehow and deal with it later. Shipping seemed like the best option, especially if I could drive it myself. I went to the local Uhaul but they didn't have a trailer that was big enough to ship. I posted an ad on a transport online forum and got in contact with a couple companies who assured I'd be able to get it transported within the next couple days, despite it going on day 4 and have heard absolutely nothing. Just in case nothing else works I have a loan that I'll be able to use to fix it but that is last case scenario.

On the bright side my mother had great insight and through a series of phone calls got me in contact with a local family who I'm staying with who happens to be the head farmer for Cal Worthington's olive and almond ranch. I've been here since Saturday and feel that my welcome is wearing very thin, all the more reason I need to get out of here. Everything will work out one way or another and I'll be
in Washington at the end of the week with any luck. Its been a crazy, at times stressful and frustrating situation, but I keep reminding myself that I'm continually writing my story. The chapter of Orland, California will eventually end, and I'll be glad when it does.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Washington's Finest Have Arrived In San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco late Monday night after a long day pedaling which earned us a rest day for Tuesday. (Un)fortunately due to bike problems we may be spending an extra rest day here, but that's still to be determined. Either way we love San Francisco but will explain that later.

First off, since our last post which was about our time spent in Arcata so much has happened. Its hard to think back and realize that was only about a week ago. Each day seems like a week, we forget what day it is, and have no idea where we were the day before. For me (Tavin) I've realized that everything about touring on the road by a bike are magnified by 10. The sounds of cars are amplified to where conversation is impossible, small potholes becomes death traps, and the natural landscape can never be captured on a camera. Either way, a lot has happened and we meet so many awesome helpful people that its impossible to describe how much we love bike touring and traveling the West Coast.

The night after Arcata was spent at Burlington Campground. The ride was moderate and the campground was in the Redwoods which is always enjoyable and remarkable being surrounded by such gigantic living specimens. We are meeting a lot more cyclists the more south we get and sometimes have the pleasure of travelling with them for several days where we get to know a little bit about them and their touring goals which is always great to talk about and get insight. At the Burlington campground we met two guys from Minneapolis who we travelled with for a couple more days and a really cool family of four from Seattle bound for San Francisco. They rode tandem bikes with the parents steering each one while the kids helped pedal and practiced their multiplication skills with a chart taped to the back of the parent. At some campgrounds that have a Visitor Center we sometimes get to enjoy free coffee which usually also leads to long discussion to the Park hosts and volunteers which are amazing people and help out so much. It was at one of these 'we stand around and ask questions just so we can keep drinking coffee' discussions where we were introduced to the Reggae on the River Festival. We were told that it took place right outside Garberville and was a 2 day music and culture festival that was becoming very popular. In short Garberville is hippie capital of USA and draws some dirty, dirty people to its festival, even to three guys who ride bikes all day and have limited access to showers and laundry. One of the locals advice was not to swim downstream on the festival. Self explanatory.

We had a great time in Humboldt County and enjoyed a scenic but difficult ride to the Standish- Hickey Campground in the very green Mendocino county. The campground was very empty and we enjoyed a river wash up and a few beers with our Michigan friends before they raced down to Oakland in a two day push.
Friday morning July 22, we packed up semi-early and set our sights on the Leggett Market for some strong coffee to help psych us up for the biggest hill of the entire coast. Our guidebook mentions myths of ditched panniers and dead bodies on the side of the road so we drank a few extra as well just for a little more motivation. (Northern California has great coffee and microbrews) After completing the almost 5 mile uphill and 7 miles decent we concluded that it wasnt as bad a we thought and big, steep, hills are more a mental game than physical. Thankfully we are improving our mental capacity very quickly. Our hard work on the hills paid off tenfold when we were lucky enough to set up a last minute Warm Shower Experience in Fort Bragg with Melissa and Company.

We arrived in Fort Bragg Friday around 3 in the afternoon. With so much day left, our bodies feeling good, and a cool host we were stoked for a good time. Instead we had some of the best days on our trip meeting some really great people. After showering and unpacking for the night we headed off to glass beach which is basically an entire beach filled with ocean-smoothed pieces of glass instead of sand. We had never seen anything like it and was about the only uniquely cool thing that caused from a misplaced landfill. After the beach we drove to the adjacent town of Mendocino to meet Melissa's roommate Morgan who worked at a vegan restraunt and resort. To make it simple somehow Morgan hooked us up with a great time at 'The Raven' and would have never been able to afford or to enter an swanky establishment like that. Great food, unique drinks, and the coolest bartender ever named Virginia. Also thanks to Sid we are now experts on vegan ideals and practices. Many of which make sense but we all agree that cheese is too good to give up.

From The Raven we headed to the beach where we watched the sunset and pre-funked enjoying the local brewery nectar before walking down to the venue where a local band was playing. The beer was good, the people were nice, and the band was a cool folk-style group. Sean even managed to put us to shame in darts where he nailed a bullseye. The night ended passing out all over the floors and couches at Melissa, Morgan, and Gowin's house.

Saturday morning greeted us with clear skies and a desire for some good coffee. Gowin the garden master, picked some fresh veggies and cooked them up for a great breakfast while we started getting ready for the day. Over coffee, or sometime that morning it was decided that the fun and craziness of the night before and to continue. The master plan included us not having to carry any weight that day to our destination so we definitely 100% down. Before we departed FB for good we stopped by Gowin's community garden project and picked veggies for later that night. We rode the 50 mile stretch to Manchester Beach in good time and saw some of the best coastline so far, as well as the steepest section of road for the trip. Although there was no weight on Sean or Max's bike the surfboards still had to be towed since they wouldn't fit in Melissa's car. Max was honored with this section and said he was doing wheelies up it. Melissa, Sara, and Whitney met us there shortly after we arrived and had kid's grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. That night we talked around the campfire and enjoyed the brightest stars we've seen this trip. We also managed to complete a great feat by fitting six people in a very small tent. Sunday morning we walked to the beach and said our long- delayed goodbyes. We had a great time in Fort Bragg and met such interesting people. We appreciate it all so much.

Sunday night we stayed at Bodega State Park where we took showers and went to bed early so we could ride hard the next day and make it to San Francisco.

Monday July 23 was a long, hot, hilly, day but were again rewarded with a mandatory rest day on Tuesday to enjoy all that San Francisco has to offer. Whether you go for Alcatraz, the Bridge, the sourdough, the unique vibe, or simply because its a through-city, many people have a desire to experience the mysterious city of fog. For tourers of the West Coast its both a popular starting and stopping point for journeys on bikes. In our case it meant a rest day, with the hope of seeing the iconic sights. Again we hooked up with another Warm Showers host, this time with Alex and her roommates.

The ride was much harder and longer than expected. We were in such a rush to get to our destination that we ignored eating and drinking longer than ideal and got confused and somewhat lost at the maze of bike trails and roads on the south end of the bridge. We didn't get off our bikes till about 9pm. We found an Indian restaurant where we filled up on naan bread and great Indian cuisine that ended in ice cream before going to bed. Tuesday was our day to be tourists and had a general game plan in mind. After loads of laundry, getting mandatory coffee, and talking about things to do with our hosts we hit the streets of San Fran. Rest days have become strictly no-biking allowed days so we took the metro to the outskirts of downtown. Max having visited San Fran three times became our guide through Chinatown where we again gorged on a huge lunch. After Chinatown was Italianville and finally fisherman's wharf where we were told by Alex were sightseeing boats which allowed customers to bring their favorite personal beverages to enjoy the sights from the water. After a stop at Safeway and purchasing our tickets we were aboard the boat. The tour lasted about forty-five minutes and included a close up view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the ocean perspective. The rest of the night was spent exploring bars with Derrick and his girlfriend Kalina and eventually made it to the Mission district where we tasted the best and biggest burritos ever. Alex didn't get off work till late that night where we met her at a bar called Amnesia to listen to the local band Family Feud Explosion. They had a killer stage presence with psychedelic influences. As always, we met a ton of rad people and had such an awesome time. The night ended in a crammed taxi ride back to the house where we passed out quickly.

This morning we woke up with great intentions to get to Half Moon Bay but was tentatively put on hold when Derrick who happens to be a badass, really knowledgeable bike mechanic looked at all our bikes and delivered some grave news. Sean's back wheel was a little too battered to chance a full day's ride and decided to get it fixed immediately. So we are currently sitting on Alex's couch and just came to the conclusion to stay in San Francisco another night and get after it tomorrow, possibly making Santa Cruz Thursday's destination. Sometimes, like right now, we feel as if we are over-extending our welcome, but are very grateful for their hospitality. It's not too hard to come up with an excuse for a second rest day.

BikeTouringForLife,
Tc, Mb, Sw

Audio Inspiration (Music that inspires us to keep pedaling, especially up hills)
Tavin- Wake Up Lucid, Danzig, The Coast, Rebelution, Uh Yeah Dude podcast, The Men's Room podcast