Leaving the Land of Lalas

I woke up early, and Adel and Maha were up shortly after I got ready to leave.  I was pretty much ready to leave right away, but I spent a little time easing into the morning with them.  And then after our goodbyes, I was off.

The climb up into the Hills of Beverly was a grueling ordeal, but for every once of difficulty I experienced tackling those hills was made up for with the exhilaration of zooming down those hills.  It took me only 45 minutes to get to the Santa Monica pier, so 1/4 the time it took going the other way.

I rode down the pier, which I did not do the previous year, and reflected and remembered the Route 66 tip I took, thinking about my compadres and the great time we had.  

I took my time taking in the scenery and the beauty of the pier.  There were a smattering of people already exploring at this early time.  One woman I saw, I thought was a mime, but she just had tons of zinc oxide on her face to protect her from the sun.  

As I made my way past Muscle Beach and the gorgeous homes of Venice Beach.  I think if I had the money and decided to leave in the Beach, Venice Beach would be where I'd live.  Out the door, and you're on the boardwalk, and the beach.  I stopped and took some pictures of people enjoying themselves in a skate park, before it got too hot and busy.

I welcomed the flatness of the path and serenity of the area as I left Los Angeles.  But before I could get used to it...

I had to maneuver between kids and families who were involved in some kind of lifeguarding games.  Lots of lifeguards in training were competing in lifeguarding drills.

Eventually I got close to the LAX and spent a bit of time relaxing under the flight route, watching planes pass over me every minute or so.

After that, I started encountering some industrial buildings.

But I was never terribly far from the beach.  The path followed the beach line pretty much the entire time.

I took rests here and there, mostly just to take some pictures of anything interesting.

And I took this picture for my buddy Jay whose nickname is Schumy after his favorite Formula 1 racer.

I liked the art on the side of this building.  I was no longer on the beach in this area, but still not far from it.

And then I encountered the weirdest part of the route.  The bike path took me through a strange maze into and around a mall parking lot of sorts.

It was interesting that they maintained the bike path through this area, but I certainly appreciated it!

And then a bit more hills but lots of beach!  Part of me wanted to take a swim break, but I was eager to get to San Diego to see more family.

I didn't see much in terms of Bible Thumping, which was more prominent on my trip the previous year, but there was still evidence of it.

Selfie with the Jesus-mobile!

I was considering asking about the price of this car, but I have too many as it is.

I stopped at El Burrito, and made sure it would be spicy.  It was still too early, even though it was 4 hours after my departure, but I figured I could eat the Burrito a little later.  The girl who served me was happy I asked her name and asked her to give me her favourite burrito.  It was while I was waiting for it to be made that my Auntie Kathy called to let me know when her and the family were free.  Turns out I didn't need to do the 100 miles (even though I thought I would anyway) as they were available on the Sunday, and it was only Thursday.  I figured I would play it by ear. It seemed the campground I'd be staying at wasn't far from my cousin Monica's place.

I never tire from the awesome commercial establishments.  This one reminded me of Route 66.  I noticed lots and lots of car wash places.  Either there's a huge demand for having a clean car, or it's just a good business.  Low overhead, easy money.

There were a couple of guys running in front of this awesome donut place.  Maybe they need to, with all those donuts.

Even though I wasn't close to the beach anymore, the bike paths on the road were adequate, and I felt safe.

I finally arrived in Orange County...

And then Anaheim Bay... Where I wasn't allowed to fish... From the bridge... Which was just as well since I had no fishing rod.

But if I couldn't catch fish, I could at least eat fish at Don's, but I still had my burrito, so I passed.

And then I passed the most awesome, House?  Lifeguard station? UFO?

I passed this diner, and about a minute later I heard someone screaming for me to stop.  "Hey! Hey!!!"  It ended up being this guy who was biking north, and loved meeting other bikers! When he saw me ride by, he left his breakfast and chased me down.  He introduced himself a Juan, but he didn't speak English, so we signed and tried to find a way to communicate.  He told me to follow him back to the diner, with hand gestures.

His friend Brooke came out and translated.  They asked me to join them, but they were half done their breakfast.  I told them I would eat my Burrito and waited for them.  I finished my burrito around when they exited and we chatted about our adventures.  I ended up giving them my "Biking the Pacific Coast  Highway" book, tearing out the parts they still had ahead of them and keeping what I still needed to get to San Diego.  I thought of my #PIF (Pay It Forward) friends who were going to be doing PIF in the next few days, so I beat them to the punch, but in the same spirit.

Juan loved his machine, and took every opportunity to explain his intention with signs and stickers on his bike.  I got their contact info, and Brooke said she would send me the book if I supplied an address. I told her that she could send it back if she didn't find someone to give it to, but otherwise, to feel free to pass it to someone else.

No sooner had we parted ways and I was back on the road to find I was back on the beach along a great bike path!

I took a photo of some Helicopters flying offshore.

I made it to Laguna Beach and decided around then that although it wasn't super late, I wasn't in any hurry since I had a few days to kill.  

So when I saw Doheny State Beach campground, I decided I would hit the hiker/biker site and stay the night there.  It was a great decision as I met Joe, who was one of the first hikers I met.  He taught me the importance of packing super light since everything you're carrying is on your back.  I was in awe of this mode of transportation.  And it gave good reason for why they call them hiker/biker sites.  And hiker should definitely be first, as they have a much harder time getting through the miles!

After setting up my tent and coming back from the beach leaving Joe to read, I got a call from my cousin Monica who invited me to stay at her place whenever I arrived in San Diego.  I told her I was not too far, and could arrive in the early afternoon the following day.  I was excited to stay with her and her kids and catch up.  I hadn't seen her since we were in single-digit age.  And now she had 4 kids!  While I was talking to her, Dirk came over and was checking out my trike.  I motioned for him to sit down and give it a try and so he did.  When I got off the phone with Monica we started chatting.

Although they had their camper, Dirk, Donna and their dog Tripod (see if you can see why he got that name) were bikers and did a lot of bike touring themselves.  When Joe got back, they invited us to join them for beer and gin at their campground, and gave us the site number.  Joe and I decided to eat a bit and then head over.

We had a new visitor with a really awesome rig setup.  I certainly didn't pack light, and if memory serves, he had a car battery for power.  He had every luxury I had given up, with tons of electronics.

Joe and I detoured to check out the sunset which was truly magnificent!  The clouds and colours wer amazing.  Dirk and Donna had already seen it, and back at their campground.

I brought some snack, salmon jerky and slaty/spicy dried mango.  Dirk really liked that!  I had a couple of beers but didn't want to go overboard and get dehydrated.  Dirk mentioned that I would be going through camp Pendleton the next day, and how there is this stretch of path which is actually a military landing strip that is used for training on occasion.  He said to make sure I had my passport to get through the military base.  

I promised Dirk I would put a link of his website for the Winchester CA Pleasant Valley Cycling Epicenter  and so here is my promise fulfilled, even though I'ma few months late!

Joe and I finally decided it was time to hit the hay.  I was woken up in the wee hours by what felt like two people having sex right outside my tent.  The next morning I realized why.  Their tent was almost beside mine on the other side of the bushes.  They could have chosen a more secluded part of their site, but they didn't.  It was actually pretty funny.  When it was finally over, the girl said something like, "Oh... My.. God.  Wow." to which the guy chuckled and was immediately followed by a very audible smack on the ass.  And I was finally able to get back to sleep.  I had a short, but exciting day ahead, but plenty of time to get rest and leisure before leaving.