Mexico

As before, I'll begin with abject apologies for lack of updates, but suffice it to say that I will fill in the blanks at a later time WITH photographs of unusual splendour. Today we rode to the Mexican border which was a grand moment of great accomplishment in a very desolate field with water contamination that is better known as a California State park. Tomorrow we set off on our journey east through the desert and it should take a little over a week to get to Phoenix, AZ. Looking forward very much to the change in scenery and terrain as well as the challenge of the desert crossing. We're hoping to really make up some time as much of the terrain flattens out and becomes quite desolate. I'm doing much better riding these days, but climbing hills still tires me very quickly. It will just take time to regain the strength I lost and time is something I seem to have a lot of, these days! It's been great to ride with Don, and Camille is happy that I finally have someone else to badger! She got a thorough cleaning and tune-up and is ready for the next leg of the journey. Almost half-way! Happy riding!

latest update regarding accident

Thanks to everyone for reading and encouraging me on with this big adventure! It's been a rough couple of weeks, but things are beginning to look up again. I had my accident a week from last Monday, and was back on the road on that Thursday. Don and I took things slow for a while and we're starting to pick up the pace again. I apologize for the infrequent updates of the last few weeks, mostly due to the scarcity of libraries with internet along this part of the route! For those interested in Camille, after a night in the highway patrol station, she got another tire and front rim and brakes. There was a huge hole in her front tire and the handlebars were bent beyond belief, but she's doing just fine now. I still have a lump on my head, and still don't remember anything about the accident, but other than some bad headaches when I make a strenuous climb in the hot sun, that's doing much better. My arm is also healing: road rash is going down nicely and the strained muscle is nearly there as well. Still a bit of a black eye, but on the whole everything is healing up very well. I'm currently in Morro Bay, CA, and back up to regular riding days, so I'm excited to make up some miles! Thanks so much for all the well-wishes and prayers!

-from Morro Bay, CA

Kirk Creek Campground to San Simeon, CA - 44.3 miles

Great day today! According to Don, it's a "bluebird day". The ocean is roaring just yards from our campsite, but the tent is pretty wet from the dew and there are lots of insects now that it's getting warmer. One of the bugs had a huge pincer on its end, so I decided to let him stay where he wanted! It was pretty frustrating not to have potable water, but we tried out one of my water purification tablets and it seemed to work well. We rode to Plaskett Creek and got water at the campground there. We locked up the bikes and walked up the rode to Jade Cove where at the end of the headlands, we climbed onto the rocks and enjoyed the sunshine and the waves. It was a definite revisit spot. There was the thrilling dusky blue of the ocean laced with crashing white surf on the large boulders that made up the beach. Flowers of all kinds dotted the white and grey hillsides and crags rising abruptly from the rocky beach. Pink and white morning glories, red paintbrush flowers, purple lupines along with every imaginable shade of yellows and greens in the bushes. They lent the timeless bluffs elegance and charm and further inland the hills changed quickly to brown scrub-covered mountains. Butterflies chased each other in dizzying unending circles while the lizards scurried through the brush. There was a crisp cool breeze that brushed passed on its way up to the mountains and we lounged on the high rocks enjoying the sun's glorious rays as we soaked in the roar of the ocean. The huge climb over Big Sur was our next challenge and we slowly made our way to the top and began a thrilling descent into Ragged Point where we stopped for a long-overdue lunch. A burger with cheese and bacon and honey-jalapeno sauce and perfect curly fries was just the ticket. It was downhill from there to Piedras Blancas where we stopped to watch the elephant seals molt. Such funny creatures! Apparently elephant seals are not born with the ability to swim, which I found very interesting. They make the oddest noises as they mock-fight and flip sand continually over themselves. Just as we left, a German Harley motorcycle tour pulled in and we had to laugh at the fact that they had a SAG wagon! Onto Hearst Castle where we enjoyed the visitor's center and read up on the castle's story. It was pretty interesting to find out that William Hearst got tired of always camping on their land, so he decided instead to build a castle. Of course he also managed to do it in the great and grand European tradition and it's a pretty magnificent collection of art as well. While there, we learned that at Pacific Grove, there's a $500 fine for butterfly molestation, and that Kirk Creek campground formerly housed convicts who behaved well! The castle is huge and takes all day to tour, so we rode on to San Simeon Station where we stayed at the state park for the night. $2 for the both of us...a pretty good deal! The showers were hot and it was great to be clean again! We strolled down to the beach and enjoyed the ocean tides by moonlight and accompanied by the sounds of the freeway right next to it!

-from Morro Bay, CA

Pfeiffer-Big Sur SP to Kirk Creek Campground, CA - 48.9 miles

This morning after we packed up, we hiked up to Pfeiffer Falls. It was gorgeous, but full of mosquitos and we were glad to get back on the bikes. There was a nice big hill that warmed us up, and on the way up we passed two baby skunks! They puffed up their tails, but didn't seem to quite have the rest of the process down, which we were very thankful for!!! We stopped at the famous Big Sur Bakery and consumed lots of carbs! It was upwards and onwards to Julia Pfeiffer-Burns SP where we saw an 80-foot waterfall drop into the Pacific Ocean. Pretty incredible! The bay looked just like an oyster and it was a beautiful place. Finally we headed downhill and it was definitely a sunscreen extravaganza! When we pulled into Lucia we were the talk of the place and everyone gathered around to ask us all about what we were doing! We picked up dinner and gasped at the restaurant prices ($10 artichoke appetizers and 21.95 for a ravioli dinner) while we munched on a root-beer float cookie. It was downhill all the way to Kirk Creek and we were out of water only to discover too late that the water at the park was not potable...nice. We watched the sun set as we ate our spaghetti dinner and munched on shrimp crackers. Pretty awesome day!

update regarding accident

so...some may have heard a bit about my accident, and i'll post further about that soon, suffice it to say that i'm ok. lots of road rash, broken molar, concussion, black eye and some very sore muscles, but that's a lot better than it could have been. i'm staying in foster city, ca with my cousin john and riding partner don and working on recovering. the accident involved a downhill turn and a front-tire blowout and a lot of rocks, but it could have been so much worse! i'm very grateful for all your prayers as i recover. thank you all! :)

* Standish-Hickey SRA to MacKerricher SRA, CA - 40 miles

It's cold again! My food and I were safe through the night after all, and the sun was soon shining brightly to warm things up. My ears have been badly burned and blistered the last few days, so I have resolved to make a point of keeping them well-covered. I don't have far to travel today on account of the climbing to do. The very famous Leggett Hill is the first task of the day. I love the quote regarding this hill from Cycling the Pacific Coast by Spring and Kirkendall,

"Contrary to popular rumor, abandoned touring bags do not line the road, nor are there graves of cyclists who did not make it."

I set off and enjoyed the wonderful abundance of flowers by the roadside. Each day they seem to change just a bit and I love today's combination of buttercups and forget-me-nots which, with the ferns, carpet the forest floor. I psyched myself up for the big one, and found to my surprise that I was at the top without too much trouble. I was very pleased and decided that I was now in excellent shape! The descent was a bit hairy, tight switchbacks and narrow road. Luckily there was not much traffic and I zoomed down safely only to stop and fall over at the bottom of the hill! I quickly realized that there was another hill ahead, and it was equal to the first. Much tougher, actually, due to the fact that the first had worn me down a bit! Up to Rockport, and then the most amazing view coming out from the forest hills to the cliffs above the ocean!

I stopped at the first turnout and had a power bar picnic while watching the vultures wheel above the cliffs and the ocean waves crashing on the beach below. A beautifully scenic ride into MacKerricher State Park and I met my first manned ranger booth at the campground! The ranger directed me to a site already occupied by two hikers - Tracy and Adam. It was very interesting to meet them because they are on their way to Seattle and then onto Thailand! I took a hike out to the beach to catch the sunset, and met a couple traveling by RV. Andy and Kelly invited me to share their campfire and we talked for hours about pirates, bicycling, car shows, music, photography and life. It was pretty dark when I returned to my campsite, and I was very nearly lost in the maze of campground circles. Note to self...always carry a flashlight! :)