This girl. It was totally this girl.
24 June 2010
4 Days to LA: Postscript
And what was the best part of a week in LA?
This girl. It was totally this girl.
This girl. It was totally this girl.
Oh, LA...
Day 4 was a nice day. We woke up to the sound of the ocean. It was early enough for us to not have to deal with having not paid the full camping fee (we only had half on us the night before). We broke down and started southeast. We stopped in La Conchita for a breakfast of strawberries and sparkling apple juice then kept on to Ventura where I used to live.
It was still pretty early so everything was closed. We stopped at a grocery store and I got some coconut juice and a chocolate muffin (second breakfast is important on bike tour!). We used what I knew about the area to head in an odd direction. It's weird to try and navigate through somewhere on a bike when you've only ever done it in a car. I never really rode my bike south of Ventura when I lived there, but we managed fairly well. Leo and I munched on a chocolate bar that he'd picked up the night before. Having chocolate slowly melt in your mouth while you ride is great.
Finally, we made it though the flat farmlands of Camarillo and past Point Mugu.
As we got into Malibu, I started to struggle with fatigue. I just don't think I was ready for more hills. We stopped off at another grocery store at Point Dume and ate more food.
We continued on until we could actually see Santa Monica and thats when Leo got excited. He was thinking of the thing that he loves to do the most there and that made him sprint. It was all I could do to keep up! He rolled hard right into Santa Monica, onto the bike path, under the pier, and straight to...
All I could think about doing was getting my shirt off and getting some sun! It's a good thing that I remembered my lawn chair.
Well, here we are. The end of the trip. Leo stayed there in Santa Monica and I rode to my friend Anna's apartment to bring the total milage for the trip to 396 miles. My IT Bands felt like they had knives stuck in them and I figured out a few days later that the insert in my shoe was messed up during the entire ride which left me crippled for about a month.
The trip was amazing. I would definitely do it again, and I can't think of anyone else with whom I'd rather do it.
It was still pretty early so everything was closed. We stopped at a grocery store and I got some coconut juice and a chocolate muffin (second breakfast is important on bike tour!). We used what I knew about the area to head in an odd direction. It's weird to try and navigate through somewhere on a bike when you've only ever done it in a car. I never really rode my bike south of Ventura when I lived there, but we managed fairly well. Leo and I munched on a chocolate bar that he'd picked up the night before. Having chocolate slowly melt in your mouth while you ride is great.
Finally, we made it though the flat farmlands of Camarillo and past Point Mugu.
As we got into Malibu, I started to struggle with fatigue. I just don't think I was ready for more hills. We stopped off at another grocery store at Point Dume and ate more food.
We continued on until we could actually see Santa Monica and thats when Leo got excited. He was thinking of the thing that he loves to do the most there and that made him sprint. It was all I could do to keep up! He rolled hard right into Santa Monica, onto the bike path, under the pier, and straight to...
All I could think about doing was getting my shirt off and getting some sun! It's a good thing that I remembered my lawn chair.
Well, here we are. The end of the trip. Leo stayed there in Santa Monica and I rode to my friend Anna's apartment to bring the total milage for the trip to 396 miles. My IT Bands felt like they had knives stuck in them and I figured out a few days later that the insert in my shoe was messed up during the entire ride which left me crippled for about a month.
The trip was amazing. I would definitely do it again, and I can't think of anyone else with whom I'd rather do it.
Day 3
Day 3 was the longest day ever.
We got up late and moved like people in an overly hospitable environment. We ate slowly, talked for a long time, and packed as if we had no where to be. In reality, we were going to push for the other side of the Santa Ynez Mountains. I had a flat from the previous afternoon that Id forgotten about, so even when we finally did get out to our bikes, it was another ten minutes.
Finally with everything together, we pushed out. We'd listened to two or three different people give us directions, so we were guessing which person to listen to at every turn. Eventually we ended up in Pismo Beach - Leo had to listen to approximately 15 Bugs Bunny references from me which he did not understand ("Wait a minute! This ain't Pismo Beach." Honestly, it was all I could do to not stop and get Leo to bury me and a map in the sand so I could pop out and say that it was Pismo Beach... oh, the hilarity).
From there, we went south, and it was gorgeous. There were lots of views of the ocean. The coast was beautiful.
After a while the wind was hitting pretty hard on our right sides. I felt like I was struggling pretty hard, and Leo made it clear that he wasn't enjoying it either. We went through another tiny rundown town and finally made a left. Boosh! The wind was at our backs again. We kept a brisk yet relaxed 29 mph for miles and miles until we finally stopped in Orcutt for water refills and snacks. We sat in front of Orcutt Liquor & Deli and some random barflies wandered out of the bar next door for a smoke. The woman knocked on my seat and said that we must have asses of steel. I think that we agreed that we did, and she tried to get us to come in so she could buy us a drink. "Tempting, but sorry, no." We got back on the bikes. There are still a lot of miles left, and some mountains to climb.
25 miles later, we hit San Marcos Pass Road. We shot across the Santa Ynez Valley like two firecrackers. (Enter Troy McClure: "You might know Santa Ynez Valley from such films as Sideways.") I think we were both feeling how late in the day it was, and we both knew what the climb ahead was going to be like.
1500 feet of climbing and the most amazing views of the valley. It took a while, and Leo and I climb at very different speeds. I might have to struggle to keep up with him on the flats, but when were climbing, it a little different. I got the the top which is, I think, 2,400 feet, and it was nearing sunset. I was covered in sweat and it was cold. Unfortunately, I got quite a ways a head of Leo, so I had a ten minute wait for him in the cold wind and wet clothes.
Leo finally found me, and we headed down the mountain. We cut through Santa Barbara as quickly as possible. We arrived at the beach-side campsite in Carpinteria around 8:30pm - after 113 miles of riding. I was so tired that I didn't even eat dinner. We set up the tent, and I climbed in and fell asleep.
We got up late and moved like people in an overly hospitable environment. We ate slowly, talked for a long time, and packed as if we had no where to be. In reality, we were going to push for the other side of the Santa Ynez Mountains. I had a flat from the previous afternoon that Id forgotten about, so even when we finally did get out to our bikes, it was another ten minutes.
Finally with everything together, we pushed out. We'd listened to two or three different people give us directions, so we were guessing which person to listen to at every turn. Eventually we ended up in Pismo Beach - Leo had to listen to approximately 15 Bugs Bunny references from me which he did not understand ("Wait a minute! This ain't Pismo Beach." Honestly, it was all I could do to not stop and get Leo to bury me and a map in the sand so I could pop out and say that it was Pismo Beach... oh, the hilarity).
From there, we went south, and it was gorgeous. There were lots of views of the ocean. The coast was beautiful.
After a while the wind was hitting pretty hard on our right sides. I felt like I was struggling pretty hard, and Leo made it clear that he wasn't enjoying it either. We went through another tiny rundown town and finally made a left. Boosh! The wind was at our backs again. We kept a brisk yet relaxed 29 mph for miles and miles until we finally stopped in Orcutt for water refills and snacks. We sat in front of Orcutt Liquor & Deli and some random barflies wandered out of the bar next door for a smoke. The woman knocked on my seat and said that we must have asses of steel. I think that we agreed that we did, and she tried to get us to come in so she could buy us a drink. "Tempting, but sorry, no." We got back on the bikes. There are still a lot of miles left, and some mountains to climb.
25 miles later, we hit San Marcos Pass Road. We shot across the Santa Ynez Valley like two firecrackers. (Enter Troy McClure: "You might know Santa Ynez Valley from such films as Sideways.") I think we were both feeling how late in the day it was, and we both knew what the climb ahead was going to be like.
1500 feet of climbing and the most amazing views of the valley. It took a while, and Leo and I climb at very different speeds. I might have to struggle to keep up with him on the flats, but when were climbing, it a little different. I got the the top which is, I think, 2,400 feet, and it was nearing sunset. I was covered in sweat and it was cold. Unfortunately, I got quite a ways a head of Leo, so I had a ten minute wait for him in the cold wind and wet clothes.
Leo finally found me, and we headed down the mountain. We cut through Santa Barbara as quickly as possible. We arrived at the beach-side campsite in Carpinteria around 8:30pm - after 113 miles of riding. I was so tired that I didn't even eat dinner. We set up the tent, and I climbed in and fell asleep.
22 June 2010
And now for the rest of the story...
OKay, you can say it. I'm terrible at updating my blog. I have all sorts of fun stories to tell, but first, I suppose I owe you the rest of the story from 4 Days to LA.
Day 2:
We woke up on day two and broke down camp as quietly as possible. We'd noticed that there was a house just over the side of the cliff from where we slept, so it was all whispers and hand gestures while we packed up. We walked our bikes down a lot of the fire road because of the shape it was in, deep ruts and loose gravel, and decided to try finding a short cut back to the 101 down a random road we could see from the vantage of our campsite. It worked out and we headed south.
I discovered that I was pretty stiff from the previous day's milage. No joke, it took me fifteen miles just to warm up. I've never experienced that before. I was completely out of water so we looked for a town. The first one we found was San Ardo.
San Ardo was kind of adorable, but a bit run down. We went to the only convenient store in town and I got some fruit and some juice. We started to refill our water bottles at the spigot on the side of the building, and I noticed the mold in my bottle - I'd been drinking from a moldy bottle all the previous day and who know how many weeks before. Yum!
I went across the street to San Ardo Café (the only restaurant in town) to use the bathroom and clean my bottle. I ordered a breakfast burrito and started cleaning the bottle with a napkin on the end of a butter-knife. The lady who took my order (and made the burrito) noticed what I was doing and offered to clean it with dish soap and a brush. With much gratitude, I agreed. She filled the bottle for me with ice-water and gave me my burrito. I told her muchas gracias to which she responded with de nada, and I left.
We stopped for a nice long break in San Miguel and Paso Robles. The terrain was rolling and the sun was hot at times, but we continued on until we hit the grade down to San Luis Obispo. We had a long stretch going directly into the wind as we made our way back to the 101 from a pleasant side road we'd been on, and I was exhausted. Leo thought it was a good idea to check his brakes before beginning the descent which gave me plenty of time to rest and stretch (and eat cookies).
We got in the bike lane on the 101 heading down into SLO. It was, in a word, scary. I remember, at one point, glancing down at the speedometer and seeing that I was doing 36 mph, then a gust of wind hit hit me so hard that the next moment I was doing 21 mph. Yeah, I think that about covers it.
We made it down in one piece and rode to our friend's house, the Establishment. The Establishment is a 19-room, former hotel turned housing co-op. If you're not familiar with the concept, just imagine 19 people and one kitchen. It worked amazingly well, which was probably a result of most of the people we met that live there being amazing.
We hung out, went to the grocery store, drank some beer, ate some food, made some friends, and went to bed. Our friend Brant put us up in his room. He gave me his bed and he slept on the couch (Leo refused to sleep on anything except the floor).
Another day passed - 85 more miles closer to LA and an unexpected bed in which to sleep - this is the good life.
Day 2:
We woke up on day two and broke down camp as quietly as possible. We'd noticed that there was a house just over the side of the cliff from where we slept, so it was all whispers and hand gestures while we packed up. We walked our bikes down a lot of the fire road because of the shape it was in, deep ruts and loose gravel, and decided to try finding a short cut back to the 101 down a random road we could see from the vantage of our campsite. It worked out and we headed south.
I discovered that I was pretty stiff from the previous day's milage. No joke, it took me fifteen miles just to warm up. I've never experienced that before. I was completely out of water so we looked for a town. The first one we found was San Ardo.
San Ardo was kind of adorable, but a bit run down. We went to the only convenient store in town and I got some fruit and some juice. We started to refill our water bottles at the spigot on the side of the building, and I noticed the mold in my bottle - I'd been drinking from a moldy bottle all the previous day and who know how many weeks before. Yum!
I went across the street to San Ardo Café (the only restaurant in town) to use the bathroom and clean my bottle. I ordered a breakfast burrito and started cleaning the bottle with a napkin on the end of a butter-knife. The lady who took my order (and made the burrito) noticed what I was doing and offered to clean it with dish soap and a brush. With much gratitude, I agreed. She filled the bottle for me with ice-water and gave me my burrito. I told her muchas gracias to which she responded with de nada, and I left.
We stopped for a nice long break in San Miguel and Paso Robles. The terrain was rolling and the sun was hot at times, but we continued on until we hit the grade down to San Luis Obispo. We had a long stretch going directly into the wind as we made our way back to the 101 from a pleasant side road we'd been on, and I was exhausted. Leo thought it was a good idea to check his brakes before beginning the descent which gave me plenty of time to rest and stretch (and eat cookies).
We got in the bike lane on the 101 heading down into SLO. It was, in a word, scary. I remember, at one point, glancing down at the speedometer and seeing that I was doing 36 mph, then a gust of wind hit hit me so hard that the next moment I was doing 21 mph. Yeah, I think that about covers it.
We made it down in one piece and rode to our friend's house, the Establishment. The Establishment is a 19-room, former hotel turned housing co-op. If you're not familiar with the concept, just imagine 19 people and one kitchen. It worked amazingly well, which was probably a result of most of the people we met that live there being amazing.
We hung out, went to the grocery store, drank some beer, ate some food, made some friends, and went to bed. Our friend Brant put us up in his room. He gave me his bed and he slept on the couch (Leo refused to sleep on anything except the floor).
Another day passed - 85 more miles closer to LA and an unexpected bed in which to sleep - this is the good life.
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