Reasons 3783 - 4057

After a few days straight of camping it’s particularly refreshing to have a host lined up. We were really thankful to roll into the trendy, little, college town of San Luis Obispo and meet Tom and Nancy. Tom is a retired railroad engineer who now cycles a lot and delivers wine part-time for a friend’s vineyard. Nancy is an elementary, Montessori teacher. The four of us chatted on about the tour and their daily lives. I definitely appreciated Tom’s wit and sarcasm, and Nancy’s fantastic kung pow chicken.

Collin, Nancy, Tom and Rosie, their funny, little, blind dog.

Collin and I also took a walk through downtown San Luis Obispo and picked up some new reading material at Barnes and Noble. I recently finished reading Donald Miller’s A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. I’ve read it a few times and loved it again. Throughout the book, Donald mentions stories about riding in a vehicle-supported, trans-American bicycle tour. He mentions an idea that I definitely have experienced firsthand. The idea is that no matter where you ride in the US/North America we are all connected. My driveway at home is connected to wherever I am on this tour. And, the crazy thing is that it takes far fewer twists and turns than you can imagine to get here. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the odd phenomenon of being a few thousand kilometers from home and still not feeling that far away. And, it’s all because I rode my bike here. My mind still can’t fully accept the distance being possible by bike. Now, I’m reading Love Does by Bob Goff, as well as Feathers by Thor Hanon and loving both of them.

The next day we made our way to Santa Maria to another Warm Showers host, Jeff and his family. Jeff recently started a new job with UPS. A truck comes by every morning and drops off domestic packages in his garage for the surrounding neighbourhood. Then, Jeff has all day to ride around and deliver them by bicycle. We connected quickly with Jeff’s family over some Little Caesar’s Hot-N-Ready’s. I just laughed and laughed with Jeff’s son, Cheyenne while Collin talked bikes with Jeff and tried out Jeff’s crazy, extended cargo bike with the box in the front. Jeff showed us pictures of his whole, little family (wife, eight-year-old boy and infant daughter) all in the cargo box. It was very cute.

Cheyenne wearing Nathan's Braves cap. Nathan wearing Cheyenne's Yankees cap.

This is the type of cargo bike that Jeff has fit his whole family into. Awesome.

Riding from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara was quite a little adventure. We had to ride the main highway for most of it. There were some tricky spots of road construction where the shoulder completely disappeared over narrow bridges. Twice I was passed by semi-trucks on those bridges, zipping by me at 60mph. We gained 3,166ft of elevation and lost 3,232ft in the same day. Our max speed for the day was 34.5mph/55.5kmh, and that was riding into a full-on headwind barreling at us through a canyon. You can see our full stats and route from the day HERE. It was a pretty intense ride that ended with a great visit with another Warm Showers host, Curtis.

The following day we continued along the coastline as far as Sycamore Canyon Campground at Point Magu State Park. During the day we ran into a couple girls from Québec who were touring as well. The four of us laughed about the similarities in our touring gear. Once we got to the campground and set up our tents we went exploring and found another group of six cyclists from Vancouver and a girl from New Zealand. We joked around with them while they ate their dinner, but took off back to our campsite when our stomachs started to growl.

It was pitch black out as we finished our dinner and pulled out my laptop to watch a movie. We only got a couple minutes in and then a couple raccoons started crawling up behind us making that retched, rolling growl of theirs. Pretty much immediately I closed the laptop and announced to Collin, ‘Sorry, movie night is over. I just cannot stay comfortable enough with those raccoons around. I won’t be happy unless I’m in my tent or they are dead.’ So, we put on our headlamps, found some big sticks and rocks and spent a long while trying to attack the raccoons. We scared them off for a few seconds here and there, but then they’d come right back with their creepy, glowing eyes. I went right to bed, even though it was only around six o’clock. But, Collin stayed up to try killing the raccoons in the hopes of reviving Movie Night.

Although I had a somewhat fitful sleep due to nearby, rambunctious boy scouts and the fear of potential raccoon nightmares, I couldn’t help but be excited about the coming day. We would be staying with a host in Long Beach aboard his 40ft sailboat.

Reasons 3285 - 3783

After two beautiful sunny days in San Francisco we headed out towards our next destination. The morning that we rode out on was really foggy and decently cold. But we didn't complain, it wasn't rain. We just rode down the lane. Enjoying the terrain, which wasn't mundane.

It was a little tricky getting out of San Francisco, but we managed and found ourselves on highway one going South. Everything was going well. Throughout the day we had a lot of hills to climb, but it eventually flattened out for a stretch. Being on flat land felt good, so we were riding along at a good pace. Then disaster kind of struck. There were a bunch of nails on the shoulder of the road. Nathan was ahead of me and a nail went through his back tire and out through the side of his tire. The head of the nail was sticking up a bit and caught the edge of his fender which scrunched it up really good and pinched his wheel in place. Nathan’s back tire stopped and was shredded on the bottom where it was in contact with the road. He fell almost immediately.

I was behind Nathan and rammed into him with my bike. I was slowing down so I didn't hit him as hard as I could've. I topple over him and not even sure how I fell or even how my bike fell. I was okay so I frantically went over to Nathan to make sure that he was okay. He had some scrapes and some bruises but he was altogether whole.

The whole situation was very dramatic. It could have led to a broken bone or a sprain, which in turn could have delayed our tour. Our bikes for the most part were fine as well, just some minor touch ups. We crashed right outside of Half Moon Bay Airport, so there were a few people who saw us crash and came over. One of the guys to come over was a deputy officer and called over the fire department to come take a look at us and see if we were okay. The firefighters were really close by and they were really nice about it. The Deputy Officer drove us in his truck to the next bike shop which was in Half Moon Bay, about 10 miles away. The bike shop was kind of useless, they didn't have anything we needed. So we walk our bikes to the Half Moon Bay State Park where we were going to stay at for the night. When we got there we felt kind of defeated. But we ran into Caroline again after we had split ways in the redwoods. It was very welcoming to see her again, so our misfortunes didn't seem as bad.

The next morning we left for Aptos, but after Caroline made oatmeal for breakfast. Also Nathan had to fix his bike. Last night he took off his fender at the bike shop so he could at least roll his bike. In the morning, he put on my spare tire. I had just gotten a new set of tires in San Francisco, so I was carrying one of my old ones around.

Without a back fender Nathan was kind of hoping for no rain, at least for one day. However we did have pockets of rain. During one especially fierce rainfall we took cover underneath a gas station roof and quietly ate our cold Chunky waiting for the rain to pass. We got kind of lucky because there was no more rain till Santa Cruz.

We found a bike shop that had what Nathan needed and we left for Aptos which was about another 10 miles. Half way there it started to rain and Nathan's back end was getting soaked. It's incredible how fantastic a good pair of fenders are.

We arrive at Bart's place in Aptos and we quickly get under the cover of the garage. Bart was a very freindly host. Right off the bat he had snacks out for us which mainly consisted of peanut butter filled pretzel snacks from Trader Joe's. Trader Joe’s has quickly become our new favorite grocery store. Those pretzels didn't last long as Nathan and I devoured them, leaving Bart feeling bad becuase he felt like he should have gotten more of them. But really we just devoured them. We were still able to eat more and we had an amazing dinner prepared by Bart.

Nathan still had to fix his bike the next morning, so he used Bart's bike stand. The new fenders and a new tire and the bike was ready to go. We had arrangements with one of Nathan's friends’ Aunt who lived in Seaside and it wasn't too far away. We were supposed to be there by two, so we were trying to race to get there. But due to Nathan fixing his bike, having a flat, visiting a really awesome market with cheap produce, going to REI (the American version of MEC) and among other things we didn't get there till six.

Dorothy looking smiley.

No one was home, but Dorothy set a key aside for us. It was kind of strange being in someone's house alone who you've never met before. But for some reason Dorothy trusted us. Karen, a friend of Dorothy's was visiting the same time we were there and she got there before Dorothy. So we started chatting and we were all getting along very well.  Dorothy showed up a little later and the conversations just kept going. It was getting late and I was getting tired, and I tried to fight it. It was a losing battle and Dorothy basically told me to go to bed in the nicest way possible.

The conversation was put on hold for the morning and we all went to catch up on our sleep. We continued our conversation over Belgian waffles. We had a really great time with Dorothy and Karen, and it was hard to leave and to say goodbye after only one night.

Cycling Pebble Beach. The Pacific to the right. Fancy-times golf courses to the left.

From Seaside to Monterey was this really nice bike bath that we took for quite awhile. Then we kept following the coast around Monterey Bay, ending up on the 17 Mile Drive. It was nice for us because we didn't have to pay to get into this section of the coast, unlike those driving. I didn't know, but apparently the 17 Mile Drive is a big deal. It also goes around Pebble Beach and the Golf courses that are there. Biking that was really cool and we saw some spectacular views of the coast.

Nathan stopped to take pictures at Bixby Bridge and put this Death Cab For Cutie song on.

We then made our way to Big Sur. We slowed ourselves down for Big Sur, only riding around 40 miles a day. We did this because we weren't sure how many hills there were going to be and how high they were going to be. We camped three days in a row and every night was cold, probably the coldest we have had so far. The days were very beautiful and very sunny, with little wind, breath taking views and great hills to go fast down. Some parts of the road had small shoulders, but the drivers were generally very nice towards us. It is a touristy road and many people weren't going too fast. The windy, hilly road helped as well. Even though it was filled with a lot of hills, it was manageable because of our shorter days. Also to be honest climbing the hills was kind of fun because you knew you were going to rip downhill.

A small, wounded bird I saved from the middle of the road.

If you look really hard, I'm right, smack in the middle climbing that huge hill.

Three Italians taking a ten-day trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles. They were cheerful, happy people.

Camping out for the second night near Big Sur.

Sometimes we see hilarious vandalism along the highway.

Trying to warm up the feet on the third camping night in a row.

Elephant seals are exciting. They don't look it in our photos, but they are huge.

Nathan rips down a hill near Big Sur. This video is in real time.

Nathan rips down another hill and catches up with me near a construction zone. This video is in real time.

Our first night having a place to stay again was in San Luis Obispo. I was glad to not be camping again, mostly because of the cold.

Reasons 3177 - 3285

We were pretty darn excited the whole day riding from Santa Rosa to San Francisco. Navigating our way through the various cycling routes was confusing at times, but at one point we tagged along with a helpful, local cyclist that lead us through the more labyrinthine sections. We passed dozens of tourists on rental bikes, smiling and laughing while only partially paying attention to where they were going. We also passed many stern, serious road cyclists with high-end bikes. No smiles there. But, the more cyclists we passed the closer we got to the Golden Gate Bridge.

From our previous night’s hosts to San Francisco was around 67 miles/108 kilometers, so we had a pretty full day of riding. When we finally ascended the many hills to the north side of the Golden Gate we were pretty bushed, but we pushed ourselves up to the top of a vista point above the bridge. It was quite possibly the steepest grade we’ve biked yet, but we didn’t care. We needed our pictures. Fortunately, we lucked out completely and arrived at the vista point a half hour or so before sunset on a completely clear day. Often the bay area surrounding the bridge is fogged right in.

These tourists were exceptionally astounded when we told them how far we've ridden our bikes. We had to tell the one a few times over before he believed us. They called us 'Supermen.'

By the time we took our pictures and got back on the bikes to cross the bridge it was after dark. It was a little bit intimidating getting through all the hilly streets of San Francisco in the dark, but we managed. And, finally we arrived at our destination just behind Cha Cha Cha’s on the famous Haight Street.

Our trek across the Golden Gate in 1min.

My friend, Chris Jardin has been living in San Francisco for the last couple years. He is actually originally from Peterborough, Ontario. The two of us met a few years ago when we both worked for the Mustard Seed. Chris worked and lived in Edmonton for only seven months as part of his hitchhiking journey to San Francisco. Chris is a gentle-hearted, fun-loving, grounded guy. He shares a tiny apartment with a few roommates. While we were there Chris was kind enough to give up his room for us. He and his girlfriend were pretty busy working on a campaign for a state proposition to end capital punishment in California, so we only got to have a couple, brief, quality hangouts. It was really great to have some real, heart-to-heart chats and pray together. It was kind of hilarious, because Chris was a little bit turned off when we told him that we did some of the blatantly touristy things like going to Fisherman’s Wharf and riding the cable cars. So, he took us out to a great taqueria for authentic Mexican food and to a show of local bands that he’s friends with.

Another big highlight for us was hanging out with Chris’ roommates Marc and Lizzie, and their friend, Jenny. They had actually only moved in only a couple weeks prior to our arrival, but were super accommodating in such a tiny, shared space. We had some lively discussion about spirituality and our general worldviews which somehow lead to me paraphrasing the entire Exodus story from beginning to end for the girls. We laughed about all sorts of things, and watched Romney and Obama’s speeches on election night.

Whoa, is that a Mustard-Grilled Three By Three and Animal Fries!?! Yes, it is.

Is that a Neopolitan milkshake? Like, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate in one shake? Yes, it is. We love secret menu items.

Golden Gate from Fisherman's Wharf. Collin's sweet second-hand kids backpack and serious face.

At Boudin Bakery they make sourdough breads resembling a million different things, and they have little birds flitting about eating crumbs.

Views from the cable car.

Some friendly New Yorkers we rode the cable car with us.

Collin, Anne, Gary and Me.

When Collin and I explored Fisherman’s Wharf we had to go hit up the first In-N-Out Burger we saw on the tour. After walking around for a couple hours we made our way back to the cable cars. While in line, we met Gary and Anne. They are this really laid-back, insightful and kind couple from Chicago who were in town for the weekend. Honestly, I had felt prompted by God to start talking to them. And, it was funny, because after a few minutes of introducing ourselves and talking about the tour Gary asked me outright why I had started talking to them. I think he just knew that God had prompted me and he kind of wanted to push me to openly admit so before establishing that we’re all Christians. It’s been pretty cool for me to be on the road and just start conversations with strangers wherever we go, and this particular time was very special. We chatted with Gary and Anne for quite a long time in line, and the whole cable car ride. We talked about their home-life and family, Gary’s event production business that takes him all over the world, and our common spirituality. When the four of us got off the cable car we asked them if they would be willing to pray for us, and allow us to pray for them. And, so, we stood in a circle with our hands on each other’s shoulders in the middle of hundreds of tourists and locals and prayed. It was pretty powerful. God gave me some pretty specific things to pray for them as a couple and as parents. We were all moved.

All in all, we had a fantastic time in the bay area. We lucked out completely by having really nice weather the whole time we were there. But, the morning we left everything completely fogged over.

Reasons 3038 - 3177

After our the previous, full day of torrential rain we were really thankful that we only had to ride twenty miles to our next host. In the town of Ukiah there is only one Warm Showers host. An incredible group of young, hospitable hippies live together in a large, communal home they call Spring House.

Our main contact, Jen is an active cycling advocate in the community. She organizes community bike rides for the town on every first Friday of the month. We were fortunate enough to participate in November’s ride which ended in a house concert at Spring House. Something particularly amazing about the band that played, Clan Dyken is that they literally tour by bicycle with all their amps, drums, guitars and other sound equipment. When they’re on the road they can actually set up anywhere, because they bring along bicycle-powered generators and ask volunteers to power their equipment. They are an inspiration. And, as if that isn’t amazing enough, they sound great.

Oooh, there's a party in there.

Clan Dyken is very peaceful, yet lively and entertaining.

Lots of dancing and laughing.

Collin just chilled while I got right in the middle of the little dance-fest.

Another thrill for us in Ukiah was visiting Dave’s Bike Shop where we received extraordinary service. The guys there were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Both Collin and I had to replace our middle cog in the front and our cassettes in the back. For the most part we’ve been riding big hills nearly everyday since we left. All that climbing meant that we chewed through a whole lot of the cog teeth in our drive-trains.

Dave, Ginny and Me.

Anyway, the bike shop owner, Dave was kind enough to invite us over for dinner. His wife, Ginny made a fantastic meatball pasta dinner. The two of them are both avid cyclists who have ridden imperial double centuries together. For those of you who aren’t completely in with the cyclist jargon, a century just means a distance of one hundred. So, an imperial century is one hundred miles. That means that this crazy couple has biked two hundred miles in one day. That’s a little more than 321 kilometers. Our visit with Dave and Ginny was so quality. They are both fantastic storytellers and the four of us laughed an awful lot together.

After a couple great days in Ukiah we continued on through some incredibly beautiful wine country to Healdsburg where we stopped for lunch at The Wurst. The two of us ate the best bratwurst of my life while laughing at tipsy tourists wandering the streets of downtown Healdsburg from one wine tasting to another.

Wine country.

Pat, Ken, Me and Collin.

A huge embroidery of a French painting that Ken did.

That evening we stopped in Santa Rosa at the home of Ken and Pat of Warm Showers. The pair own a beautiful, Japanese-inspired house high up in the hills of the city. Ken is in his late sixties and still cycle-touring. We both shared our own GoPro videos and admired each other’s dramatic descents down mountain passes. We had some healthy philosophical discussion with Pat, and then she was kind enough to combine two of my favourite passions in one activity. Pat introduced me to the movie American Flyers which wraps cycling and Kevin Costner into one entertaining package. Needless to say, we really loved the movie.

The next day would be one of our most exciting as we approached a significant milestone in the tour, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.