Homecoming 2021 Tour: Final Thoughts

 

It’s hard to imagine a more relentlessly scenic bicycle tour than the 1,800-mile Pacific Coast route from Canada to Mexico, but there are some bumps in this road.

I personally loved the way the route mostly hugged the craggy coastline but at times shot up inland for a stunning detour through the dense ferny forests of majestic redwoods and Douglas firs.

I also loved being able to stay most nights in the low-cost “hiker-biker” campsites most state park campgrounds in Washington, Oregon and California set aside for visiting cyclists.

The fact that the fees for the hiker-biker sites are capped at anywhere from $5 to $12 per night made it possible for me to ride this route on an extremely  lean budget. 

The availability of the hiker-biker sites also made planning the trip a snap.

But before you load your panniers and start pedaling,  be forewarned that the route, which includes more than 100,000 feet of climbing, is not easy, and it traverses some sketchy areas where homelessness and drug abuse abound.

In addition, as I discovered while riding the route during peak tourist season this summer, the high volume of automobile, truck and RV traffic on Highways 1 and 101, the major arteries the route follows, can be hazardous and intimidating.

The traffic is especially problematic on the many road sections that have little or no shoulder to ride on. 

To protect myself while riding my bike, I wore brightly-colored jerseys, checked my rearview mirror assiduously and ran up to three flashing taillights simultaneously.

I also adopted a safety-inspired routine: Whenever I approached a chokepoint in the road’s shoulder, I glanced at the traffic approaching from ahead and used my rearview mirror to check on the traffic approaching from behind. If vehicles were approaching from both directions simultaneously, or large vehicles were approaching from behind, I pulled over and waited for the traffic to pass. This stop-and-start strategy was inconvenient, but my priority was survival, not pedaling cadence and efficiency.

If I did the route again, I’d probably put it off until after Labor Day, in hopes that there would be less traffic then.

The biggest eyeopener for me during my journey was how large the homeless population is on the coast.

In downtown LA, there seemed to be homeless people on virtually every block. There were also pockets of homeless individuals in many of the smaller towns on the route, including some of the more rural ones. I even met and rode with several other cyclists who had no permanent abodes.

I am happy to report that I had zero significant mechanical issues with the bicycle I used on this ride: A 2011 Surly Long Haul Trucker equipped with rim brakes.

I replaced the brake pads and chain after 1,000 miles, but the brake pads had a couple thousand miles on them before I started this trip.

I am also happy to report that I got zero flats using my favorite touring tires: the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, HS 440, 26-inch by 1.5-inch. (A new friend I rode with from San Francisco to LA, who was riding on a different brand of “performance” tires, got several flats, including two in one day.)

Since I planned to camp as much as I possibly could during this trip, I invested in a new one-man freestanding tent for the adventure. It was very comfortable and had zero condensation issues. My one complaint was that it was too small to fit all my gear inside with me, something I occasionally would have preferred to do to better secure my possessions. So it’s possible that I will trade this tent in for the two-person model.

My other sleeping gear, which proved to be an ideal match for the chilly night-time temperatures I encountered on the coast (mostly 50s and low 60s), included a lightweight air mattress and air pillow; a down sleeping quilt rated to 40 degrees, and a sleeping bag liner that supposedly adds 15 degrees of warmth to the ensemble.

I regularly wore a wool watch cap and a lightweight puffy jacket first thing in the mornings and at night.

The only things I had mailed home by the time I reached Santa Barbara were a lightweight hammock, a third pair of cycling shorts, two extra shirts, spare socks and my rain pants.

I kept my rain jacket but never put it on because it didn’t rain in the day during the entire 43-day adventure. It did rain lightly one night while I was asleep in the tent.

 

 

 

Homecoming 2021, Day 43, 7/28. 69.3 miles to the US/Mexico border; TM: 1,844.9

US/Mexico border

 And that’s a wrap, folks.

Very much enjoyed today’s ride down memory lane, since I grew up in San Diego and attended the University of California, San Diego.

I noticed that one of the Pacific Beach roach palaces I lived in briefly back in my college days is still there, and looked the same. Must really be nice now!

My brother Jerry joined me for the first part of today’s ride, which moved very quickly until I reached San Diego harbor and had to wait for more than a half hour for the ferry to Coronado.

It also took me more time than I imagined it would to find a reasonably decent photo of the fence at the border itself on the south side of Imperial Beach. A sign on the road said unauthorized vehicles were barred from getting any closer.

Thanks again to the two young Marines who helped me figure out how to take the San Diego trolley from the border to the Old Town bike shop that is shipping my bike home.

 

My son, Andy, is a Marine, and we have high regard for the Marines in my family.

Si se puede!

Doug

Jerry escorts me through Oceanside

Homecoming 2021, Days 41 & 42, 7/26 & 7/27, Rest Days; 0 miles

Jerry trying his luck at Emerald Lake

So my brother Jerry and I drove 370 miles from his house in Fallbrook CA to Mammoth Lakes to do some fishing.

Well, we didn’t catch any fish. But I did get a very aggressive nibble from a brook trout that was barely larger than the worm on my hook, and I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Jerry.

 

Homecoming 2021, Day 40, 7/25, 68.3 miles to Oceanside; TM:

 On the bike path paralleling Hwy 1 south to San Juan Capistrano today, virtually every other bike besides mine was an e-bike, and there were a lot of them.

So I stopped at the first bike shop I saw in town to investigate.

The proprietor of the bike shop told me that local surfers were the first to buy the electric vehicles in the region. The surfers wanted the e-bikes to make it easier to get their boards to the beach, he said.

Now entire families in the area are using the devices and fighting for the right to use them on paths that have long been intended for users of traditional bikes.

“It’s the sedentary lifestyle,” he said

The proprietor said that that e-bikes, as motorized vehicles, are technically banned from using the bike paths in the area.

But the e-bike owners routinely flout the law, and nobody enforces it, he said.

What starts in California eventually spreads to the rest of the country, alas. So I guess we all can expect more and more of these e-bikes on the bike paths in our own home towns.

On a related note, two young kids who were riding tandem on an e-bike in Dana Point just up the road stopped with me at a traffic light.

The kid in front asked me how fast my bike went.

“As fast as I can pedal,” I said.

“Oh,” he said, as if he hadn’t realized that some bicycles don’t have battery-assist modes.

His bike goes 21 to 22 mph, he said.

That’s almost twice as fast as I usually can pedal on the flats with a load.

Easily the most exhilarating part of today’s ride was the 8 miles of I-5 that I had to ride to get around Camp Pendelton to Oceanside, where I am meeting my brother.

He wants to go fishing on Monday. So I am taking a rest day to join him.

Homecoming 2021, Day 39, 7/24; 77.8 miles to Santa Monica; TM: 1,707.3

 

Possible celebrity sighting to report today.

 

As I was cruising through a commercial section of Malibu, I noticed a scraggly-haired guy and a young woman preparing to get on a motorcycle by the curb.

It was Brad Pitt, or his clone.

I caught his eye and tipped my sombrero as I sped by. He nodded back and said: “Hey, man.” 

Totally cool.

Another odd sighting: A couple of miles of RVs lined up on the Rincon Highway.

Apparently, it’s a very hot camping spot.

By the time I reached the Santa Monica pier, Brian, mi compadre joven, had already taken the train home.

But I had his address and eventually figured out how to get to the proper metro stop, and he met me outside his building.

He’s living in a converted loft, either in, or close, to LA’s skid row, right across the street from the Hotel Cecil, where the mass murderer Richard Raimirez once stayed. The hotel is closed, but there are still lunatics, panhandlers, human excrement and pee on the sidewalks, and sirens galore.

Considering the neighborhood, Brian and his roommate have a sensible rule requiring visitors to leave their street shoes at the door.

But for some reason, they don’t lock the door to their apartment.

It was unlocked when I went out for dinner. It was unlocked when I returned. And it was unlocked the next morning when I headed back to the metro.

I slept soundly, though.

Thanks, Brian. Best wishes to you and yours.

And fare thee well, LA.

Homecoming 2021, Day 38, 7/23; 70.4 miles to Carpenteria State Beach; TM: 1,699.9

Brian and I said good-bye to Shadow this morning, then continued riding south. 

Shadow said he wanted to stay at the motel until the noon checkout deadline to figure out where he should go next.

The climb up the 1 to the 101 was not hard but sustained.

However, the 7% drop down to Gaviota was scary, due to the heavy traffic, uneven quality of the road shoulder and the erratic gusts of wind.

Enjoyed the long bike path through the Santa Barbara region. 

Passed by some lads playing polo on a field in Summerland.

The hiker-biker site at Carpenteria State Park was already packed when I arrived. Most of the campers were with a touring group from LA that included Brian’s ex-girlfriend. (Small world?) 

Brian has generously invited me to stay at his place in downtown LA tomorrow.

It’s way off the route. But Santa Monica hotels seem to be priced at $200 plus.

So what the heck? The plan is to ride to Santa Monica, then take the Metro to his place.

Homecoming 2021, Day 37, 7/22, 70.4 miles to Lompoc; TM: 1,629.5

 

Today’s ride from Morro Bay State Park to Lompoc was not scenic, unless you have a thing for agricultural fields.

But the strawberries, which were ripe and being harvested, sure smelled nice.

Had a great green smoothie and turkey sandwich at a small cafe south of Oceano.

 

Seemed like everybody else in town was getting their lunch at the supermarket across the street, though. 

Shadow, Brian and I are modeling tonight at the Lompoc SureStay Plus, which is actually a pretty nice place.

We’re divvying up the bill three ways, with Shadow paying 1/5 to sleep on the floor while Brian and I are each paying 2/5 to sleep on the 2 queen-sized beds.

Plenty of room for our three bikes, too.

We had dinner at the Taco Bell across the street. It was pretty good washed down with the quart of chocolate milk I purchased earlier.

Shadow, Brian, at the SureStay

Homecoming 2021, Day 36, 7/21; 64.5 miles to Morro Point State Park; TM: 1,559.1

One of the longer-mileage but easier days of this tour today,  thanks to a sustained tailwind that helped push me almost 40 miles from Ragged Point to Morro Bay.

Not sure exactly how hard the wind was blowing. But I was moving consistently at speeds ranging from 14 mph to 23 mph for much of the afternoon, without spending too much energy pedaling.

I am usually lucky to average 10 mph on the flats on a fully loaded touring bike without wind assistance.

I am definitely hoping for more of the same over the next several days, now that the most challenging ascents of this route are behind me and I am stepping up the pace in an effort to reach San Diego no later than next week.

Weird note: After loading up on goodies at the Albertson’s in Morro Bay (never go grocery shopping when you are famished), Shadow and I swung by the local MacDonald’s. 

Since the walk-in dining room was closed, we lined up on our bikes with the cars in the drive-thru.

My order got processed successfully, apparently because my bike slipped under their radar screen.

But the franchise’s manager declined to process Shadow’s order, on grounds that bicycles are prohibited from using the drive-thru, allegedly on safety grounds.

Seemed like a clear case of discrimination to me, and I told the manager so. 

I also vowed to complain to corporate but not sure it’s worth the trouble and Shadow didn’t seem to be interested in following up on the issue.

Homecoming 2021, Day 35, 7/20; 34.8 miles to Plaskett Campground; TM: 1,494.6

 

Got nailed today by a yellow jacket, or some kind of wasp, right on my jugular vein today.

It got caught in my helmet’s chin strap as I was swooping down a steep hill.

Very unpleasant.

Thankfully, I am not allergic, and had the presence of mind to keep the bike on the road’s shoulder.

Today’s route crossed an area on Hwy 1 south of Big Sur that has been plagued by rock slides and washouts, and it’s easy to see why.

On the east side of the road there is an enormous, steep, rocky, eroded hill that just looks like it could collapse at any moment.

From time to time, especially after a rain, significant chunks do come down.

Huge engineering problem.

Stopped at Lucia Lodge for lunch. Great view but steep prices.

Had the fish and chips, which was $30.

Got my first decent sunset shots in more than a month this evening.

It’s generally been too overcast in the evenings for weeks to watch the sun go down.

Flush toilets but no showers or running water in the bathrooms at the Plaskett Campground.

There’s never seems to be soap in the California state campground bathrooms either. Seems odd during this Covid era. But be forewarned and bring your own soap or hand sanitizer, BYOS.

Lucia Lodge

Homecoming 2021, Day 34, 7/19; 35.7 miles to Pfeiffer Big Sur campground; TM: 1,459.8

 Another beautiful day for a bike ride, this time a relatively short one from Monterey to the Pfeiffer Big Sur campground.

Great scenery, great campground, and enough restaurants and small grocery stores nearby the Pfeiffer Big Sur campground to make the living easy.

This would be an ideal spot for a rest day.

Two of the campers that we saw at Monterey’s Veteran’s Park yesterday were here: Shadow, 30, a touring cyclist who says he is “homeless by choice,” and Gwyneth, 78, who took a bus to the Pfeiffer campground. 

Gwyneth, who is very nice and offered to share her pastries with us, provides proof that you don’t need to drop a bundle at REI to camp.

She uses a plastic painter’s tarp as her tent and newspapers as her ground sheet.

The hardest part of the day was riding a mile and a half up a steep hill to to a deli south of the campground, where I bought two huge sandwiches and a large can of Mexican beer for a late lunch and dinner.

Shadow

Gwyneth and Brian clowning around

Cute wedding in the woods