Hot Bikes

I like old steel bikes. Drool...

Who is this man? Does he need a girlfriend?

This equation accounts for the linear resistence of wind, among other factors that play into how much work is required to ride a bike. So hot.

San Francisco (Day I-Don't-Remember-Or-Care)

We took the bus to San Jose, and from there the train to San Francisco. Now we're staying at a hostel and wandering around the city, drinking tea and buying books and drinking iced tea and reading books. It's a big THANK GOODNESS that we don't have our bikes in these steep hills (15% grade in places, easily) but already I want to get riding again. Still I'm lazily enjoying metropolitan life with the knowledge that I made it here on two legs (mine!) and five gears (my bike's!), with only three flats (my luck!) Yes!

Oh, and,
it wasn't hard. Really.

Day Thirty (?)

In Monterey. The farthest south we will set up the tent. Land-owners around here are chopping down their apple orchards to make way for the new GMO super-crop: strawberries. The anti-climatic 'final ride' from Santa Cruz was framed by strawberry fields in all directions. Of course I sang the song. In each field were twenty-odd Mexicans in brightly coloured clothes and hats, bent double over the ripened plants. The bumpy road was splattered with the sweet juices of exploded produce.

We're going for a short ride towards Big Sur (the most beautiful stretch of coast in California, we've heard). In two days, we'll box up our bikes and ship them home again while we while our time away idly in San Francisco's book shops. What a ride!

Day Twenty-Seven

In Santa Cruz at Alex's Gruncle's (Great Uncle) house. It is hot and cloudless and the house is full of books and animals. It's a little bit mad. I like it.

Three days ago I accidentally biked over 20 miles off course, putting my count for the day up past eighty. TOURING TIP #472: ALWAYS WATCH THE SIGNS!!!

That night the four of us slept under the stars in the Marin Headlands, right outside of San Francisco, and had a feast of tacos courtesy of two women the guys met earlier in a bar while waiting 2.5 hours for me to make my way back to the meeting place (Olema, Calif.). These women had ridden their horses into town for tequila and oysters, and they were VERY enthusiastic about our adventure. We received $20 for supper from one of them, because her son was "about your age and I'd like to think... well, don't feel icky about it, don't be freaked out or anything, just take it and think of me at exactly nine o'clock tonight we'll all think of each other..." (She was a bit drunk.)

Besides some sunburn and a much-needed 17 hours of sleep yesterday at Half-Moon Bay State Beach, my body continues to work like a precision machine. I am impressed with how much headwind, how many uphills and how little smooth ground for sleeping it can withstand. The experiment continues until June 23rd, with a week at the end for recovery and idleness in the City by The Bay!

Much love to everyone who is following my travels online. I think of you all on the long, flat stretches...I appreciate the encouragement and affection I've received from everyone.

Day Eighteen

We made it two weeks! We made it to California!
I am in Arcata (near Eureka) and my bike is being caressed by the loving hands of Life Cycle Bike Shop mechanics. The weather has been overcast and drizzly, but we've had some really beautiful rides. Oregon's coastal bike route is unbelievable. The state parks have neat little hiker-biker sites with free showers for four dollars a night. As we got closer to the California border we encountered other tourers with similar destinations, and now we're traveling with two solid guys from Minnesota.

The amount I predicted to spend on food has been doubled by my 100km/day appetite. We have been eating really well, compared to our friends who are having ramen and soup every night. Fresh vegetables, pasta, rice, local cheese and fruits, yogurt, peanut butter and CHOCOLATE... I am rarely full, but always satisfied. It's also satisfying to fall asleep with the sunset and stay asleep until sunrise. My body is a well-equipped, finely tuned machine (with funny tan lines).

The nature is wild. Everywhere new smells are whipping at my face as I tear along. Every sound is made weightier by the silence surrounding it. Every tree is taller and older than the last! I've seen bald eagles and sea stars and crabs and anemones and deer and elk and raccoons and there was a cougar in our campground at Harris Beach (but I didn't see it, luckily).

The rides have become increasingly difficult but we are increasingly stronger and now that we've hit the tough California hills, I don't even notice or care. Looking forward to Santa Cruz!