Bike Touring Day 9: Pt. Mugu to Los Angeles

When you  are on the last day, you let yourself think about all the nice things you are going to enjoy when you get home.  You suppress these thoughts during the trip because you don't want to torture yourself - it messes with your mind.  Once the trip is almost finished, however, you start thinking about the people you've missed, being able to cook in a kitchen, having running water and a sink to wash dishes, sleeping in a soft bed, and taking a warm shower without wearing flip flops.  (We were happy to have showers, but I had no problem letting these guys be a part of my past).

Even though we were looking forward to the modern conveniences of home, we knew we'd miss some things too.  We'd miss the great views of the countryside and ocean, the simplicity of life on the road, and being on our bikes together.  Although it is convenient to get places quickly in a car, we love the slower, more interesting way of travel.  So as you can see, the last day would have its ups and downs - much like our trip.

We did our usual morning routine and cleared the campsite.

I rode with the guys to the entrance of the park and waved goodbye.  My wife arrived only minutes after they left.  The guys would be rolling through Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, and Redondo Beach.  Then they would take surface streets for the last 20+ miles to get home.

They suffered through lunch at Chipotle in Venice without me.  From what I hear, the last day went well.  I think Payton managed to get one more flat, but otherwise they were able to keep a good pace.

In talking to Rob after the trip, he also mentioned having more aches and pains than in past tours.  The knee pain was probably from our IT bands tightening up and getting more use than usual.  We trained before the trip, but our 40 year old bodies needed more than we gave them.  (The boys had no complaints :)

Other than some strain on the body, the trip was a great experience.  The boys were proud of their accomplishment and excited to tell their friends about it at school.  God blessed us with 500 miles of fun times, beautiful views, and safety.  Amazing.

Bike Touring Day 8: Santa Barbara to Pt. Mugu

Rob and I woke up to the sound of sprinklers.  Uh-oh, was our tent about to get soaked?  Thankfully it was only the sprinklers for the bushes and plants - nothing to worry about.  We were now wide awake, however, so we got dressed and started making coffee and breakfast.  We ate, packed, said goodbye, and made our way out of the beautiful town.  It was another cool, overcast morning.

As you might guess, we encounter restrooms of all shapes, smells, and sizes.  We aren't picky when touring, but a clean and well ventilated restroom is always a nice surprise. 

We often meet other cyclists at restroom and food stops.  In Ventura we met a couple of guys who were doing a similar trip to our own.  They were college roommates twenty years ago, and plan cycling adventures each summer.  I believe one of them lives in California and the other in Minnesota.

The guys also stayed at the same campground at Pt. Mugu that night, so we got to visit with them during the evening as well.








The day went pretty much as planned.  We stopped for lunch in Oxnard and pedaled around the point and into the campground in time to put up our tents and hang out at the beach before dinner.

 Late in the afternoon a young guy - probably in his late teens or early 20's - started setting up camp near us in the hiker/biker group site.  He was a nice guy, but he was acting a little strange.  While we were finishing dinner a Ranger came buy to ask him some questions.  At first it appeared as though he was going to make him leave.  I'm not sure what the situation was, but the Ranger let him stay the night.  

After hanging out with the two guys we'd met in Ventura, we called it a night.  I was a little disappointed to be picked up in the morning.  It felt funny to leave Rob with the three boys. 

Bike Touring Day 4: Pt. Mugu to LA

Day 4 (August 9) was the last leg of our trip: Pt. Mugu to Los Angeles.  We had two options for getting through LA.  We could catch a train that went from the airport to a station about 4 miles from our homes or ride our bikes the entire way.  The advantage to taking the train was that it would shorten the trip by almost 15 miles and aleviate riding through city streets with lots of afternoon traffic and stoplights.  The advantage to riding the whole way on our bikes was to make the whole trip a bike trip (as apposed to a bike/train trip - ya dig?).  So... we really wanted to cycle it the whole way and we decided the train could be our "plan B".

Our trip home would include hwy 1 through Malibu, a coastal bike path from Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance, and surface streets for the last 15 miles to get home.  The ride to and through Malibu had its ups and downs both literally and figuratively.  I was riding near the back of the pack and noticed that Dal had stopped and was checking a tire.  I told my son to keep riding and let the others know I would u-turn to help Dal out.

Since the tire was not completely flat (30 instead of 100 psi), Dal wondered if it was a slow leak that could wait changing until we had a better place to change the flat.  We filled the tire and gave it a try.  Within a quarter of a mile he could tell it was losing too much pressure, however, and we knew it was time to change the tube.

We hustled to get the tire changed and catch up to the rest of the group.  We'd hoped they hadn't stopped to wait for us and that we could just catch up to them at some point later on.  Instead, they had stopped about a mile down the road to wait.  Since they did not know how serious of a problem we might have had, they didn't want to go much further before knowing we were okay.

We continued on for a bit and then stopped for a water/rest after climbing one of the last hills before Malibu.  After getting back on our bikes to resume riding we realized that Payton had managed to get a flat - probably during our stop.  I suggested the others keep riding while Payton and I changed the second flat of our day.  Upon closer inspection, we found a small thorn lodged in his tire.  We changed it as quickly as we could and pursued the rest of our group.

As we pedaled onward we noticed a couple of riders who also had packs on their bikes.  Once we caught up to them we were able to introduce ourselves and find out that they (David and his daughter Catherine) were from Ireland, cycling from San Francisco to the Mexican border.  They were alternating stays in campgrounds and hotels during their trip and were planning to spend the night with friends that lived in Redondo Beach.  Since our destination and pace was approximately the same, we were happy to enjoy each others company for a time.  We were also able to let them know about the Will Rogers bike path.

Rob, Dal, Joseph, and Zac were waiting for us at the entrance to the bike path, so we introduced them to David and Catherine while we refilled our water bottles and used the restrooms.  David had cycled from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on the Pacific coast in the past with one of his sons and now was taking his daughter on a shorter version of the trip.

Santa Monica

Lunch Time!

Our stops for flat tires had definately slowed our day down, but we wanted to make it to Venice Beach before stopping for lunch.  Once we got there we contemplated a couple of options for lunch.  We could stop at Cow's End Cafe, (which is right next to a Cold Stone :) , or eat at Chipotle (which is Joseph's all time favorite restaurant).  We opted for Chipotle.  It did not disapoint.  It did, however, make it hard to get back on the bike.  Note to self: do not eat a huge burrito until finished riding for the day.

I was much too full to be on an already overloaded bicycle, but we could smell the finish line.  We were in familiar territory now and knew the end was only 30 miles away.  Again, we confirmed that we would pedal all the way home and bypass the train.

Once we got back on the bike path I found myself in a reflective mood.  I realized that I was eager to get home, see my family, have a nice shower, shave, use my own bathroom, ...    I also was pondering several questions.  Would Payton want to go on another bike packing trip?  If so, what would be our next trip?  I knew that we would need days, maybe months to answer these questions.

The trip had been Rob's "brain child," as I called it, from some 6+ months ago.  He had asked me if Payton and myself would be interested.  When Payton said he wanted to try it my wife and I wanted to support it and help him be prepared and successful in making it happen.  Now that we were coming to the end of a journey that had begun months ago, it seemed strange to see it coming to an end.  As we neared the end of the bike path my thoughts returned to riding.  We would have a good chunk of riding on surface streets and I wanted to review the route in my mind before leaving the friendly confines of the bike path.

After riding on highways and bike paths, with only occasional stops for traffic signals or pedestrians, surface streets can feel so cumbersome and inconvenient.  (I was starting to wish we had taken the train!)  Right turns, crosswalks, train tracks, left turns, honking cars, exhaust fumes, ... we must be in LA county.

  
Once we got within a few miles of home we started to perk up.  We were really close now!  Wait a minute - Joseph's rear tire looks low.  Another flat?  I suggest we fill it with air and see if we can make it home.  Everyone agrees.  Quick, get the pump!  Back on our bikes and away we go!

When we got to the corner of Carson and Bellflower, where Dal would split off the group to get to his house, we asked a jogger to take one more picture of our group.  Thankfully Joseph's tire was still looking good.

From there we continued on to Joseph and Rob's house where Zac's family would pick him up and Payton and I would continue on to our house.  Once home we greeted our happy family members, unloaded our weary bikes, and quickly showered.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

(Hey, I think I might finally be hungry again.  How about some food :)