New Bikes in San Francisco

5/22,23,24 - San Francisco (50 miles)
Well actually that's looking at the glass half full. Our bikes were actually stolen one night when we were camping on top of a downtown rooftop. It was a nice neighborhood and the guy who showed us our dwelling thought our bikes would be safe... but alas the lock was snipped, the bikes gone, but thank God BOB remained. We spent the next day shopping for bikes, which if there ever is a place to buy a bike, San Francisco is it. We visited 8 bike shops all in walking distance. We found 2 older touring bikes (2003 & 2004) which were sold to us at cost from some sympathetic bike shop owners. You can see them in the pictures above: Rachel => KHS "tour montan~a " ~600$ european style complete with fenders, front light (fueled by front hub), kick stand, and bell; Scott => Cannondale T800 ~800$ sherman tank. Both bikes have mtn. bike rear derailleurs which means we are geared for the hills to come.

So now we are much poorer :( , but we probably have the right bikes for the 4000 miles in our future. One of the best things to come out of the San Francisco fiasco was meeting and befriending Hector, bike mechanic extraordinaire, world traveler, compassionate being. We stayed at Hector's place 2 nights (the nights our bikes were not stolen) and shared stories of bicycle touring. We are hoping to tour w/ Hector someday soon in Mexico and Central America. Hector is in the picture w/ Rachel above.

Other San Francisco Highlights:
*Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic Hep. A & B vaccination completions for free!! (cuz technically we are homeless and live in shelters w/ 0$ income)
*Haight Ashbury people watching => some of the craziest people and attire in the world (or at least the world i've seen).
*Riding across the Golden Gate

Home of the Banana Slug and Neil Young

5/21 - La Honda, CA (45 miles)
We became aware of an area along hwy 1 known as "Devil's Slide" which apparently is eroding the hwy from below. No cars or bikes are legally allowed to cross it, so we detoured into the hills south of San Francisco. Unfortunately, it began to rain very, very hard. This wasn't such a big deal on our 2 mile climb, but the 2 mile descent was miserable. Miserable for 2 reasons: you no longer need to pedal so you no longer produce heat and you are traveling much faster so the wind-chill is magnified... so we were pretty much hypothermic once we rolled into La Honda; second, your breaks don't work very well w/ a loaded bike and wet rims. We were pretty much breaking as hard as we could and still could not stop. The local La Honda Cafe became our salvation and refuge. We had a huge meal, dried off, warmed up and then acquiesced to the owner's suggestion of camping on the back cafe patio. Rachel went to the "Church in the Redwoods" service and got a local taste of Christianity. The next morning the 6 inch long banana slugs were everywhere and weren't adverse to tickling. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hangout w/ Neil Young.

Los Padres Mountains and Big Sur Rollercoasters

5/15 - San Simeon State Park (40 miles)
5/16 - Kirk Creek Campground (40 miles)















Nothing too exciting happened on our way out of San Luis and up the coast. Well Rachel regained about a 200 pt. lead in our trip-long gin rummy game. The riding was pretty easy and very scenic. We stopped often to enjoy the view and we especially enjoyed the loud and stinky elephant seals. The ones in the pictures were the girls and it seemed as they were in a constant flux of pushing, burping, and snuggling w/ each other. It seemed like they used burping as a defense tactic w/ one another. When one was getting pushed around by another and finally getting tired of it, it would open up its mouth a burp something fierce. The wind was blowing straight towards us, thus we quickly became overwhelmed by the stench of seal burps. Anywho, we saw Hearst Castle from the road and thought that was good enough (we were too cheap to pay the 20+ dollars/person for admission). We were also quickly amazed at how small the towns were which dotted our map and how expensive everything was. I think gas was 5$ a gallon, we had two 2$ candy bars and decided to eat through our emergency rations (power bars and peanut butter). The second campground (Kirk Creek) was by far the most spectacular of the trip. There were tons of friendly campers and one nice man hooked us up w/ 2 cans of chicken-noodle soup and BabyRuths. Life is good. We are going to have much to "pay forward" when this trip is over.

Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park (29 miles)





























The rollercoaster ride continued up the coast... up and down, up and down... we saw many bikers riding the opposite direction but so far no one traveling north. There were several more BOB buddies, but unfortunately we were traveling too fast down a hill to stop (Rachel has hit 37 mph and Scott was pulling away from her). We're being careful though, don't worry! It's fun to evaluate other people's bike touring setups as you pass. We seem to be on the lighter side and definitely are the only ones w/ racing wheels and frames (don't worry this will all be remedied down the road... a little foreshadowing). We talked to a cop during one of the road slide hwy delays and he stated that there have only been 7 bicycle accidents in the past 10 yrs along the coast. Most of them are bikers going too fast down the hills and hitting parked cars or flying off the road; one scary accident involved an RV who forgot to raise its steps and broadsided the unsuspecting biker. We had no problems w/ motorists what-so-ever. They all just kind of give you queer looks as if thinking "that doesn't look like fun, that looks like a lot work, i wonder why people would choose to do that".

5/18 - Carmel (28 miles)
First sign of trouble w/ our racing bikes. Scott broke a rear spoke while grinding up a steep hill in his smallest possible gear. A woman, Vicki Tackett, across the street recognized the seriousness of our situation and started flapping her angelic wings. We spent the night on her patio and got a guided car-ride tour of Carmel. Apparently this little town is right up there w/ the fanciest of the fancy (starter homes are in the millions). Vicki then dropped us off at the local "Rad Dog" Carmel bicycle shop where we repaired Scott's wheel (w/ a lot of spoke improvisation).














5/19 - Monterey (18 miles)
We got to hangout w/ the loonies in the park. One man, Donald Dean Carlson, Social Scientist (thestadiumcommunities.com), promised us employment when we're done traveling. He builds cities, has designed his own State Reserve Bank, and wants Google to buy 51% of his company because he likes google a lot. We didn't see much of Monterey, but they do have a fantastic bike path which leads out of town.

5/20 - Wilder Ranch State Park/just outside of Santa Cruz (62 miles)
The ride to Santa Cruz was pretty flat but we had our first encounter w/ a monster head wind. Someone asked us once if we would rather climb a hill or fight a headwind early in our trip. We naively replied... "headwind". I think we both see the light now... the wind is unrelenting. The highlight of Santa Cruz was riding along the coastal city bike path. There was an amusement park, tons of interesting people to observe, and many bobbing surfers which didn't seem to be doing much but waiting and freezing their wet-suited butts off. I don't get surfing on the Pacific Coast... It sure looks like a lot of work and waiting for the chance to fall on your ass and hurt yourself. That night, we camped "illegally", pray for our souls, along a state park mtn. bike path. We practiced our very best Leave-No-Trace camping techniques and left early in the morning. As I recall, the only trace we may have left was the removal of several dozen ticks. We developed a paranoia over the next few days that every tingle or itch was one of the little buggers looking for a new home. Rachel didn't sleep so good. Scott was busy rationalizing that they were better than leaches.

At Uncle Tom and Aunt Margie's

5/12,13,14 - Santa Maria, CA (60 miles)
We met up with Rachel's Uncle Tom and Aunt Margie (and Annie and Guizmo) just outside of San Luis Obispo. We didn't initially want to burden them w/ three days of our free-loading presence but all the Hiker-Biker campsites were abolished at Pismo Beach this year (too many homeless "hikers"). So we reluctantly called Uncle Tom on Friday night and he swept down from San Luis w/ his truck to save the day. The first order of business was laundry, then showers, then to go pig-out... and that we did. Margie is the GM at "Cool Hand Luke's Steakhouse" and we both enjoyed an endless stream of salad, breadsteaks and our first Prime Ribs in over a decade. And, that was just the beginning of good food... Saturday night, Uncle Tom whipped up a gourmet BBQ'ed meal with ribs, Italian sausage, boiled avacadoes, and tasty Merlot. We played old, scratchy records and talked until late that evening. As we left Santa Maria and the comfort of family, we had a sad heart but were also excited to once again begin our journey on the open road...

Riding along Hwy 1

5/9 = El Capitain State Park, CA (54 miles)
We finally arrived at the Coast!! We had dreamt of this moment often as we fried in the desert. The air was much cooler and filled w/ much more moisture. We woke up in a thick fog and our tent was covered in a thick morning dew (something we hadn't experienced since good ol' Missouri). Our bikes were now dripping w/ water and our chains red w/ rust. We loved every moment and every drop... we were done w/ the southern desert! We began riding up the coast, looking over at the ocean as much as possible and enjoyed relatively flat terrain w/ no-wind. Everyone had told us that we should expect a huge head-wind while traveling north up the coast and that MOST people travel south "down" the coast. Maybe for wimpy Californians but us flat-lander Missourians aren't bothered by such obstacles as wind. How bad could it be... :)

Extra note:
Santa Barbara was really neato (albeit confusing to ride through). The campus of UCSB was intertwined w/ the city's labyrinth of bike trails and really enjoyable to ride through. Many students looked at us w/ shifting eyes as they rode to class and we rode through their campus. I've never seen such a sea of bicycles as those in the UCSB bike parking lots.

5/10,11 Lompoc, CA (36 Miles)
We finally got off Interstate 101 and onto Hwy 1 and w/ this transition we became acquainted w/ our first series of CA hills. As I recall, this was related to riding only 36 miles. We were away from the coast and enjoyed the blooming May flowers and rolling green hills. Lompoc was ok, not necessarily an ideal place to vacation or spend a lay-over day, but our bodies were aching. The local camp-ground/RV park was filled w/ friendly locals, long nights, and the fragrance of burning herbs. But don't worry everyone, we were very safe and this is still a drug-free adventure.

Adventures at Patagonia

5/8 - Ventura, CA (90 miles)
Our original route did not include traveling as far south as Ventura, but when we met Sierra at Joshua Tree National Park, she invited us to take showers and get a tour of the Patagonia Headquarters where she worked. This seemed like a great opportunity, so we deviated our route by traveling the Sierra Highway over the mountains, dropping into the coast north of LA. This is where the land noticably changed from desert to green velvet mountains abundant with colorful wildflowers. We met up with Sierra (pictured above) at Patagonia and got our private tour of the facility. This was somewhat akin to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; we like to think of it as Scotty & Rachey in the Patagonia Factory. We saw the secret rooms of spool and thread, yards and yards of fancy fabric, electronic-gee-whiz sowing machines, and a lot of dull rooms with computers (much like the Genome Sequencing Center where we worked). We met and talked w/ (distracted) many of the employees and were thinking "wow, what a cool place to work". At the conclusion of our tour we were surprised w/ lightweight, snuggly soft Patagonia wind-shell jackets (seen above on Rachel and Scott). As I'm writing this many weeks after the acquisition, we now can't imagine traveling w/o them. The weather is constantly changing up and down each hill of the coast (sweating your buns off on the climbs and then freezing your teets off on the down-hills). THANKS PATAGONIA!!!!!

Our first night in a "hotel"

5/7 - Palmdale, CA (77 miles)
The road to Palmdale was challenging because the shoulder disappeared and the traffic increased the closer we got to LA. When we reached Palmdale, we thought we had crossed the border; Spanish was the main language spoken here. We spent the afternoon in a park with lush green grass, reading and drying our newly "washed" clothes on the fence. We were hoping to sleep in the park, but the local police and neighbors advised that this was a bad idea. We were very tired and thus resorted to looking for friendly Palmsdalers. And... we found some!!!!!
Tammy and Richard Chaney and family had just returned from a weekend outing on the coast and offered to let us stay in their deluxe, super-sheik camping trailer. They welcomed us w/ enthusiasm and some genuine small-town (actually-medium-sized) love. This was an answered prayer and a great relief as we were beginning to feel as if we might have to buck up for a commercial hotel. The yellow-burrito of love would beat any Holiday Inn out there...

That night we gobbled down the remnants of our third pizza of the day (a Scott splurge) and dreamt of ocean waves and sugar plumes.

The Three Witches of Lucerne Valley

5/6 - Lucerne Valley, CA (68 miles)
We had a beautiful morning leaving Joshua Tree NP - the temp was cool and the route was 14 miles downhill to the town of Joshua Tree. The day was full of some crazy-steep woop-dee-doos and fierce headwinds. Once we entered the town of Lucerne Valley, we knew we were in for an adventure because the town sign read "Lucerne Valley: A town full of character(s)". After chowing hard, we headed to the town library where we met Marjorie who was selling used books at the library. After chatting a bit, Marjorie insisted we stay in her house and come over for a party with Susan and Bernadette --> the "3 witches". We laughed and shared stories with these amazing, witty, interesting women until late into the evening. We attempted to take a true picture of the "3 witches", but this is where our camera unfortunately decided to malfunction...
We received word that the local Lucerne Valley paper published an article about us w/ links to this site. Welcome Lucerne Valleyers and support your local library (and Bernadette's soon-to-be history museum :)

Joshua Tree National Park

5/5 - Joshua Tree National Park (layover)
In the morning, Ben dropped us off in Joshua Tree National Park since he was heading that direction to camp with friends. The park is located in a region where 2 large ecosystems come together = the Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert, which is the special habitat of the Joshua tree. The park is also scattered with granite boulders which attract rock climbers galore. After we found a campsite at Hidden Valley Campground (cheap and awesome!), we noticed car after car seeking a campsite in a full campground and decided we could share... for some much desired chocolate. So, we posted a sign "will share campsite 4 chocolate" and that is how we met Kris. She had traveled to Joshua Tree from Orange County for a class on birds. Since we didn't know too much about climbing, we struck up a conversation with our neighbors who were obvious climbers. They invited us to watch their final climb of the day. That is how we met Sierra (that's her climbing below).

Gentle Ben and ChowChow

5/4 = 29 Palms, CA (47 miles)
29 Palms, CA was a military town (there's a huge marine base there complete with fake Iraq villages and underground mountain cities). Our first impression (riding in from the east) was of bewilderment... There was an endless stream of abandoned, dilapidated barb-wired houses. SPOOKY. But, the center of town was nice and after chowing down at the local supermarket we met Gentle Ben and Chow Chow (Buddhist Bicyclist and Crazy Ass Dog). Ben offered to have us over for dinner, lodging, and SHOWER! We threw our bikes in his truck, snuggled w/ Chow Chow and off we went on our private tour of 29 Palms. We had a relaxing and peaceful evening of conversation, quesidillas, the BBC, and green tea, then slept in our first clean bed of the trip.

The long, dry road to Joshua Tree

5/2 - Parker, AZ (85 miles)
5/3 - halfway between Vidal, CA and Joshua Tree NP on Hwy 62 (63 miles)
Thanks to a mega-tailwind, we were able to ride 85 miles from Aguila, AZ to Parker. We were loving life at 20mph! Although the winds shifted 17 miles from Parker, right as the 99 degree day was zapping our energy. We quickly found the library in town where we were able to escape the heat. We spent the afternoon in the AC where we read, napped, and researched a problem with our stove that was discovered on day1. That night, we stayed at Carlos' house after he finished a city council meeting. He generously offered his yard after he saw us seeking permission from the police to camp on the library lawn. We are discovering how many generous, curious, helpful people there are in the world.

In the morning, we traveled 17 miles to Vidal, CALIFORNIA! Here, we had to carefully plan our approach in the hot desert to Joshua Tree since there were no water sources the next 93 miles. We decided to relax in the shade during the day, then start traveling in the evening when the temperatures were cooler and we would consume less water. Well hydrated and fed, we filled up our collapsable 10L water jug then headed down highway 62 at 5:30pm. We watched the sun set and the stars appear as we cycled on the fairly deserted highway. This proved to be a good decision as we were less fatigued and had just enough water to get to 29Palms. That night, we stopped riding around 10pm and camped off the highway halfway between Vidal and Joshua Tree NP. It was quite a sight in the morning, not realizing how beautiful the land was we were traveling through at night.

Our first "BOB" buddy

5/1 = Aguila, AZ (65 miles)
While in Aguila, we met our first "BOB buddy" along the trip: Benjamin from Seattle. He was traveling from California --> Louisiana to volunteer for the hurricane relief effort. We decided to camp together, so we traveled 4 blocks to the town park. The community became alive after the temps cooled off with Mexican music, kids playing, and others just hanging out. It was as if we were in a tiny Mexican village. After we rolled up, a curious group of boys hesitantly approached, inspecting my gear. After asking them a few questions, such as "do you like baseball?"; "which teams do you like?", to which they responded: "the Cardinals; Albert Pujols!", they warmed up and became squirrely boys asking a thousand questions. They all spoke Spanish (with English as a second language) so we were able to practice un poco espanol. Our blunders made them laugh as they patiently corrected our mistakes (sometimes with dirty words, we think). As more kids approached, we rounded up a game of kickball and frisbee while others curiously watched. They just didn't seem to want to leave us, so we had an audience while cooking dinner and setting up camp. After dinner the boys seemed to disappear one by one. We shared stories, maps, and information with Benjamin before heading to bed early, then said an early "adios" at 4am to our new friend.

And, we're off!

We left Sun City, AZ this morning @ 6:40am for a journey that will continue 6 months across the US...

Although the temperatures were hot,hot,hot! the ride was pleasant and smooth with views of saguaro cacti and mountains in the distance. After 65 miles, we arrived at the first destination of our 4000 mile trip: Aguila, AZ. When we rolled into town, we spotted a tiny library (made out of adobe) to spend the afternoon. Tonight we'll camp in the town park and head out early tomorrow continuing our journey westward. We hope to arrive at Joshua Tree National Park, CA in a few days. Our estimated expense report for day1 is $10. 00; not too shabby, eh?