Brandon on a Bike

Day 28: Point Reyes to San Francisco Today's Distance: 47 miles Total Distance: 1,349 miles Last night, before bed I ended up meeting a Mom & Daughter from Berkeley.  They shared their Milano cookies with me as we chatted and got to know each other.  I thought it was such a cool thing for a mother and daughter to bond over being outdoors together surrounded by nature.  They absolutely made my morning by offering to give me and Sabrina a lift to the bottom of the hill.  It's not cheating because I didn't let them take me any further south, just to where I left off yesterday.  Although I'm super sore, after a little warm up i'm ready to get going. To be completely honest, my main goal for the day was just to make it to San Francisco in time to catch the Raiders vs. Chargers game.  I had no lack of motivation today, but of course like any other day on this trip I know there will be some type of adventure.  The first notable moment of the day...

Day 27: Stillwater Cove to Point Reyes Today's Distance: 70 miles Total Distance: 1,302 miles With little to no cell phone reception, my only option at this point is to trust my book that says there is a bike shop about 30 miles south in Bodega Bay.  As i've learned time and time again on this trip, having to put trust in this book is chancy at best.  On the bright side, it has made this trip that much more adventurous...which is what it's all about right?!  So I get up as early as I can and ride as hard as I can to Bodega Bay.  Trust me when I say, that's much easier said than done.  After several "warmup" miles, it was 10 miles or so on steep cliffs with a white line of paint for a shoulder.  That was not fun.  The rest of the way to Bodega Bay was easier the closer I got.  Once I got into town, I wasn't really that surprised to find out the Bike Shop was actually permanently closed.  Sweet. So now what?  I'm obviously not...

Day 26: Van Damme State Beach to Stillwater Cove Today's Distance: 69 miles Total Distance: 1,232 miles The plan was to ride with Stu today, and he's one of those early morning guys so that meant packing up camp by 6 and on the road by 7.   Well, I did it...I woke up at 6...too bad I only made it to the bathroom and back before I decided that it was too early and way too cold to start riding my bike today.  I told Stu that I think he's crazy and I'll do my best to catch up, but I'm going back to bed for a little bit.  By the time I got up and on the road, the weather was beautiful.  The Seattle girls are taking it a little easier and I have to have a couple of bigger days to make it to SF on Sunday, so I said my goodbyes.  I'd be spending the whole day on the Highway 1 and its mostly  narrow and winding, full of short, steep hills.  Gorgeous, but challenging...story of the trip so far.  Somewhere in the first 15 miles I was aggressiv...

Day 25: Leggett to Van Damme State Beach Today's Distance: 63 miles Total Distance: 1,163 miles Again I was one of the last out of camp. And not because I got a really late start, I just think the others got really early starts.  I talked to my tent neighbors in the morning while breaking down my tent.  They were a couple from LA riding up the 1 and back on a motorcycle.  During breakfast I had a really good conversation with Bob the recently retired truck driver.  He retired about a month ago and is riding his bike and belongings north to find a place to settle down.  He's a believer, so we had a good talk about Christ-centered things.  Really nice guy. When on the road, I finally reached the 1...only problem is that I took a wrong turn at Leggett.  I mixed up the town with the name of the big hill I was supposed to climb at the beginning of the day.  Instead I climbed up the wrong big hill and ended up 3 miles off course.  Luc...

Day 24: Burlington Campground to Leggett Today's Distance: 47 miles Total Distance: 1,100 miles I was the last one to leave the campgrounds this morning. Only a 47 mile day and no huge hills, so I figured I'd take it easy.  Mistake. Today just felt like one big, long climb. I guess technically it was. I just didn't think it would have as much as an effect on me as it did.  Crap. Today was tough.   At the start of the day I finished the rest of Ave of Giants.  The road opened back up to the 101 after that.  It was sunny and the closest thing to hot as it's been.  Cool with me!  That lasted for about 20 miles and then back into the shade of the redwoods at Richardson Grove for a couple miles.  All the while, still increasing in elevation steadily.  The hills got steeper and higher for the last 15 miles or so.   At some point I started talking outloud to myself for encouragement. Weird, but I needed it though!   I left ...

Day 23: Eureka to Burlington Campground Today's Distance: 50 miles Total Distance: 1,053 miles Woke up today feeling so much better.  My eye is still a bit irritated but I feel refreshed and ready to get back on track.  The weather was really good all day long so I'm sure I defined my weird tan lines even more.  Most of the ride today was spent on the 101. I had some alternate route options but I didn't mind the highway riding today.  I like being in the sun and I think 101 was probably my best bet to stay in it.  According to my guidebook, at about mile 20 I hit the official halfway point between Vancouver and the Mexican Border.  People in their cars must've been weirded out seeing me take a selfie with a mile-marker...if they only knew! I stopped for lunch at Rio Dell and met a couple dudes from Switzerland and Portland hitchhiking their way to Ukiah for a 10-day meditation retreat. Very interesting guys that shared some good travel trips. ...

Day 22: Trinidad to Eureka Today's Distance: 26 miles Total Distance: 1,003 miles I didn't mention that last night a bug flew into my eye because I didn't think it was a big deal at the time. It was getting dark  near the end of my ride, so I took off my sunglasses and then almost immediately it happened.  Right before I was about to go to sleep it started getting super irritated and I couldn't get it out until really early this morning. It actually ended up not being a bug, but a little piece of asphalt.  The combination of the lack of sleep and irritation made me feel like I was sick today.  Needless to say I did not feel like riding a bike anywhere today. It was another gloomy day and I decided pretty early on in my ride that I would just stop in Eureka.  This way I wouldn't be pushing it too far but at the same time it wouldn't be a complete waste of a day.  About 7 miles in it started raining but not hard enough for me to stop and put ...

Day 21: Crescent City to Trinidad, CA Today's Distance: 69 Total Distance: 977 It's a perfect day for a bike ride!  I woke up super stoked to see some redwoods today.  All I know is they're the largest/tallest trees in the world and live for thousands of years and  I've never seen one in real life .  I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure they're the oldest living things that I'll ever see in my life, so how could I not be excited?!  Although, as I've learned with all amazing sights on a bike, I'm going to have to work for it.  The day starts with a climb through the Redwoods National Forest to a triple summit called the Crescent City Hills.  Three summits. No bueno.  The first is the most challenging as I climbed to over 1200ft in elevation over a few miles.  As most hills that are at the start of the day, it was challenging.  Some people like the harder stuff first because you don't have much fatigue at that point, but I prefer mi...