First Tour of 2011

This is the moment I have been waiting and training for. All preparations are complete - bike, gear, route, time. I am almost ready to hit the road!

I plan on rolling from San Francisco to Los Angeles on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) or Highway 1.

I have been studying "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Vicky Spring and Tom Kirkendall. This is how my itinerary looks so far:

1st day: From Montara to New Brighton State Beach 2nd - Vets Memorial Park 3rd - Kirk Creek campground 4th - San Simeon State Beach 5th - Oceano campground 6th - Gaviota sate park 7th - Carpenteria state beach 8th - Leo Carrillio state beach 9th - Home Stretch! I have been packing and there is the list of things I am taking: Clothes: Lycra recumbent pants Synthetic jersey Long sleeve jersey Keen cycling sandals Socks (for evening campsite use with sandals)

Long sleeve shirt for campsite

Pants for campsite

Hat

Bicycle HP Velotechnik Streetmachine GTe Arkel T52 panniers Fastback Double Century with 3L bladder Bicycle maintenance: Pump 2 spare tubes (different sizes) Patch kit Tire levers Multitool Kevlar spoke kit Chain links Dry lube (2oz) Camping & Food Tent Sleeping bag Silk liner Inflatable pad White gas stove with .5l bottle worth of fuel Lighter One pot with lid One lexan cup One spoon Swiss army knife Paracord (to dry wet clothes) Multi use liquid soap (dr bronner's) Tea bags Instant oatmeal First aid kit Liquid bandaid Band aids

Water supply solution for Streetmachine GTe

Years ago I traveled to Baja Mexico with Greet Tortoise bus. While we stopped at Cataviña to see the cave paintings, I chatted with a lonely bicycle tourist. I remember asking him what was the most difficult part of his trip. He thought for a second, then said - water. In Baja it was difficult to find drinking water.

Now I have been planning a trip through baja of my own. I have read Graham Mackintosh'es first book - Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk around the Coast of Baja California. His trip takes him to the extreme - he goes way of the beaten path. Graham distills fresh water from the sea at a times, he is so hard core.

My plan is to stay on the paved road, Highway 1 most of the time. Riding in the morning and resting in the afternoons. My goal is 30-50 miles per day. I will camp. I will carry a emergency dry food rations, and about 6L of water.

Now about the water - instead of giant plastic jug I have been having nightmares about I have invested into two 3L Nalgene CXC bladders, and Terracycle FastBack Double Century hydration pack. According to Bicycle Touring 101 website there are truck stops/shacks every 50KM or so, so there are places to get food and water.

Long Trip - a conversation with travelers

Couple weeks ago I was riding on the beach path in Santa Monica.

I saw two cyclists with full camping gear pass me. Later I saw them pulled over talking.

I stopped and asked them where they were coming from. Two guys - Pip and (name to be inserted later, when the brain comes back from vacation) where from Rotterdam, Netherlands. They started about 5 months ago in Toronto, rode across the continent to San Francisco, then spent a month coming down to L.A. They were leaving LAX for home in 3 days. And now they were looking for a motel to stay at.

I was able to recommend a local motel on Pico blvd. and 11th street in Santa Monica. I showed them which way to go. Later I was going by and saw their bikes, so I asked them if they had any plans. They did not, so I offered to show around L.A.. Later we met up, and I took them out for Mexican food (La Playita on Lincoln blvd. near Rose), then drove them around - we went to Beverly Hills and Hollywood. It was at night, so we could not see Hollywood sign, but still my guests were excited. They haven't been in a car for over 5 months!

I was very interested in their trip. I asked them what they would change if they had to do it over again, and first thing they said that they might bring warmer clothes. Also, they would wash their sleeping bags more often - after 5 months they felt very dingy.

They tried budgeting themselves to $40 per day. They camped - outside California costs were about $5 a person per night, inside California the costs doubled. They ate a lot of Top Ramen and hot dogs. At first they bought firewood, but later they started collecting fallen branches around the campsites. Later they acquired a saw to cut more wood.

Pip had 3 flats, Yelle (memory is back) had 7. One broken spoke. Because they were running ahead of schedule, they were cycling slowly. Some days they rode only 7 or 10 miles - from one campsite to another.

They said that their trip was not hard. Most important was to find a place to camp. Then, to get fire going - it was getting dark pretty early, and you had nothing else to do if you had no fire. Last, get the food going on the fire you started. Everything else was non essential.

So, what did I learn from their experience?

You need to have a clothing to protect you from the elements.
You need a roof over the head (tent + site).
You need food.
You need transportation.
You need destination.

Everything else is optional. Yellu and Pim did not have laptops, hell, they did not have cell phones. They had no gps, they were traveling "old school". Their bikes were just simple 24 speed mountain bikes with fenders and racks. They did have some maps and guidebooks, but most communications were done through internet at local libraries. They were living "off the land".

I feel they were living at most basic level, yet it was very satisfying. Sometimes, less is more.