Brandon on a Bike

Day 39: Pacific Beach to Tijuana Border Today's Distance: 31 miles Total Distance: 1,994 miles It just wouldn't be right if I didn't make it all the way down to Mexico.  It's more of a "just to say I did it" sort of thing because it's such a short ride and technically i'm already back home.  But nonetheless, I actually do want to say I did it!  It's been a long, difficult road (literally) to get here and I'm not done until I touch that border.  It rained yesterday, so I decided to wait it out for some better weather today.  I met up with my buddy Landon in PB and we set off this morning towards the border.  I realized I've actually never been on a "ride" in San Diego and if you've been following from the beginning you already know the reason for that is because I started this adventure with really no experience  at all. It was a cloudy day with a little wind, but nice enough.  When we made it into downtown San Diego, w...

Day 38: Newport Beach to San Diego Today's Distance: 90 miles Total Distance: 1,963 miles After a much needed rest day, I carried on towards home.  I'm very familiar with today's ride, it's one I've driven hundreds of times.  Today was my first time doing it on a bike but I was so amped to finish this adventure that nothing would've stopped me.  I took MacArthur Blvd down to PCH where I would spend the morning.  A beautiful but uneventful ride down the Newport Coast to Laguna Beach, with a few other older cyclists struggling on the uphills.  I took a quick stop at my one of my favorite spots in this area called Crescent Bay, where I have lots of other memories, just so I could add one more.  After Laguna I made my way towards Dana Point and through Doheny State Beach.  When I got to San Clemente, I had some fun riding through the residential maze that was the recommended bike route.  I had no problems navigating my way through, with help fro...

Day 37: Malibu to Costa Mesa Today's Distance: 84 miles Total Distance: 1,873 miles Being back in Southern California means I was actually able to camp last night, but still have a cellphone signal.  My buddy Crespo has been telling me for a while now to let him know when i'm in his area because he wanted to ride with me.  It ended up working out with his schedule, so last night we went over all the details for today.  All I knew was that Crespo has a low-rider beach cruiser, so in my head I was thinking this whole time that he would just ride a stretch near the beach with me.  It's difficult to time out where you're going to be at a certain time, so I was stressing a little bit about where and when he could meet me to ride with me for like 10 miles or so.  I was genuinely surprised when he said he was going to ride the whole day with me, to the point that I didn't fully believe him until he actually showed up this morning.  His girlfriend Jeannette d...

Day 36: Refugio to Malibu Today's Distance: 84 miles Total Distance: 1,789 miles As I packed up this morning I spent some time talking to the older peeps for a bit.  It was another dry morning, a little windy, but sunny.  My tent almost flew into the ocean when I was packing everything up.  Luckily I was able to chase it down before it was fully submerged, but I was ready to get going after that.  After a quick 12 miles or so, I reached Goleta and flew through town on the smooth, level road.  Right after Goleta I hit Santa Barbara, which at least for today could be called the land of yoga pants and luxury cars.  I made a special side trip down State St. specifically for Chipotle.  It felt peculiarly touristy for a Tuesday afternoon in Autumn. After Santa Barbara, the book suggested I stop at Carpinteria State Beach for the day, but I had already made up my mind long ago that I would combine today's route and tomorrow's route into one long ri...