1st bike overnight - sort of

Basic setup but also took a trunk bag.

On Saturday, May 17, I set out at 5:00 A.M. with the goal of riding from West Hollywood to Long Beach.  I left that early to #1 be there before a 10:00 gathering of Youtube friends and #2 to avoid traffic on both the PCH and Anaheim boulevards.

It was dark when I left, but I had on 3 tail lights and my headlight, and I noticed within a couple of blocks that my odometer was not working.  There was battery power but it wasn't registering any mileage.  I checked the magnet at some point in the ride but it never registered any mileage.  This was a major bummer to me as I wanted to know how many miles I rode.  Overall I think it was about 40 but I'll have to do it again to be sure.

6:08 A.M. at the Ballona Creek Bridge

The southern bike path begins below the Ballona Creek Bridge

My route went as follows:  La Cienega Blvd south about 5 miles to Venice Blvd.  Right on Venice and get in the bike lane several miles down into Venice and turn left on Lincoln Blvd/PCH.  Rode a few blocks and turned right on Washington Blvd.  Went down a few blocks to Mildred Ave. where the Martin Braude Bike Path picks up, crossed left on Washington to the other side of the street and got onto the bike path.  The path takes you alongside Admiralty Way and eventually crosses the street and winds its way through the marina parking lots. The path stops at Fiji Way and you turn right and take the bike lane around to just past the Coast Guard station to where the bike path picks up again.  After about 70 feet, you come to the Ballona (pronounced BYE-YOH-NAH) Creek/Channel path and you turn right and go down to the bridge.  Crossing the bridge takes one to the beach bike path where the markers read 11.75 miles to the end - the end being at Redondo Beach.  So off I went down the path.

Manhattan Beach Pier

Hermosa Beach Pier

The temperature was in the 60's and it was misting in places.  At the end of the bike path in Redondo Beach (there is a definite end, and you are forced to go left), I went left and turned right onto Harbor Blvd where there was a bike lane.  Part of my goal of getting to Long Beach was to take as make bike friendly streets as possible.  I had been at sea level on the bike path, but now I began to climb out of the area towards an area that was on top of the cliffs.  So up Harbor Blvd. about to Beryl Street and turn left at the Crown Plaza Hotel.  Take the first right on Catalina, catch the bike lane and climb up again.  About 3/4 of a mile later, take a left on Esplanade.  I knew there were a couple of blocks of hills but the reward at the top is breathtaking.  A cliffside bike lane with a fantastic view.  It's a slight downhill.

From the beauty of Esplande, I took a left on Avenue H and connected with the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway or the ONE) after 2 blocks and turned right.  Immediately more hills, and at this point, which was about 7:15 and perhaps 25 or so miles into the journey, I had not taken a true break.  I had only stopped for quick pictures and a swig or two of water.  Although I had made 4 scrambled eggs before leaving and although I wasn't hungry, I hadn't refueled either.  Not one bite.  The exertion and lack of sleep were starting to wear heavily on me, especially with the hills.  And PCH is rolling with hills with its close proximity to Palos Verdes which is nothing BUT hills.  Also, although there is a bike lane marked, the bike lane isn't much wider than the cars parked in it. A little further on it is devoid of cars. Thankfully the traffic was very light and just taking the far right lane wasn't a problem.  In fact, with the whip pole on the bike, traffic was very good at avoiding me the whole time I was on surface streets.  

I had only done about 2 miles of rolling hills on PCH and I felt myself starting to bonk.  I pulled into a church parking lot to take an official sit down break and refuel and drink, but at first I felt too shaky to even get off my bike.  I was still also nervous about dismounting and catching my leg on the whip pole again and taking a fall.  Yeah, that happened a few days ago.  I wasn't hurt, just annoyed.  Catching my leg at this point, when my legs were starting to shake, however, would not have been a good thing. I noticed that the front doors of the church were open and that they seemed to be having some sort of garage sale/fund raiser.  When I finally felt confident enough to dismount the bike, I walked it to the front door and asked if I could use the bathroom.  No problem!

Coast Christian Fellowship

The church, Coast Christian Fellowship, was very welcoming to me.  After using the bathroom (and bringing the bike INTO the building), I mentioned to the gal who helped me (whose name I did not get, regrettably) that I was also a sister in the Lord and that I attended Core Church.  She had not heard of Core, but if I'd had enough wits about me to mention that my pastor had been an associate pastor under Greg Laurie at Harvest, she would have surely known.  She prayed over me which I gratefully accepted, I ate one peanut butter cup (which gave me stomach cramps), and I was on my way again... for more hills.  Now, I was starting to feel spent - with the realization that I had 10-15 more miles to go.  Would I ever find flat streets?

Just past the Torrance Airport, the PCH bends, and I was looking for a cross street called Eshelman.  Why get off PCH and not take it directly into Long Beach?  I felt that to take another street, Anaheim, would be less traffic, which proved to be true.  Eshelman showed a bike lane for two blocks at which point I would turn left onto 262nd Street and take that a few blocks until it ended at Anaheim.  Oh, I thought I had planned that well.  However, although there was a bike lane on the very quiet little street, the second half of it was a steep incline, and I could not do it.  Really, my legs were giving out.  So I walked it up, then turned left and got down onto Anaheim.  Finally things started to level out but not before I turned too early onto what I thought was Ahaheim but turned out to be Western... and I found myself going up another steep incline.  So I had to walk up that, turn around and come back down.  Thankfully I only went one block wrong.  I went back down to 262nd street and turned right, then a few blocks later turned right onto Anaheim.

After going under the 110 Freeway, I went 1 block to Mar Vista Street and turned south (right) to G Street, then turned left.  G Street is parallel to Anaheim and very flat and quiet, and I needed a traffic break.  I followed it right to the end where it curves around to the left and puts you back onto Anaheim... and a bike lane!  Now a new kind of "hill" came up - the arched bridges.  There are three of them between where the bike lane picked up and Long Beach, and they come at about 1/2 mile intervals.  I knew I did not have the strength to cycle up them, so I got off the bike each time and walked it to the top, then rode it down the other side.  About the time of the 2nd bridge, my left leg began cramping to the point that I almost couldn't pedal, even going downhill, even just coasting.  This has never happened to me before.  

Walking to the top of the bridge over the 710 and Los Angeles River.  Downtown Long Beach in the distance.

Riding down the backside of the third bridge, you might think I'd be sailing down with glee, but I was shaking with exhaustion and going cautiously.  After a couple of blocks I turned right on Daisy, a nice quiet street, then turned left on 4th Street another quiet street and took it to Atlantic Ave., my approximate destination.  I should mention that I was probably going only about 8 mph at this point. It felt like I was barely moving.

When I arrived at the home of my host at about 9:30, my shirt was completely soaked over the whole back and also the back of my pants in the lower back area.  So I changed, and then my host, Liz, and I walked down to the beach to some little shops and restaurants on Shoreline Drive to meet up with the others.  In all, there were 5 of us.  We ate at a restaurant called the Yard House.  I started to rehydrate with some lemonade.  I hadn't peed since the church, and 3 glasses of lemonade weren't prompting anything either.  And that was on top of the glass of water I consumed immediately upon arriving at Liz's house.  Of course, I was practically falling asleep too.  I ordered onion rings and they came in a stack on a 12" pole with two little containers of ranch dressing.  Eh... bring the ketchup, please!

One of the gals drove Liz and I back to her place, and it wasn't long before I had to excuse myself for a nap.  I probably only slept 15-20 minutes, but it sure did help!  And finally I was hydrated enough to pee again!  That may not seem like the most pleasant thing to read about, but it's important to know how your body responds when you are dehydrated.  It wasn't for lack of water on the bike that I was dehydrated.  I probably had close to a gallon of water.  I was a little sparing with it, however, because I was nervous about having a place to pee if I needed to.  The church came in very handy, but what if I couldn't find another place?  So that was in my mind.  Then there were the unexpected amounts of hills causing a lot of extra unplanned exertion.  

Liz's son made us individual shepherd's pie for dinner, and then Liz and I relaxed and chatted until about 10:00 at which point it was time for me to go to bed.  Liz was my unofficial Warm Showers host and put me up in her office which had a fold out sofa bed.  I went to sleep with an open window and a fan blowing on me, and I woke up about 5:00.  I tried to force myself back to sleep and partially succeeded, but I finally rolled out of bed at 7:30.  My stiffness from the day before was pretty much gone, but I was still feeling the effects of lack of sleep and dehydration.  We had a wonderful breakfast of omelette, artisan bread toast and watermellon.  As Liz and her hubby were off to a Tai Chi class at 9:00, that's when I also departed.

I had originally thought I would ride home today, but after yesterday's exertion and the need to still recover from the lack of sleep, I decided affirmatively to take the MetroLink train from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, then change trains and get off in Hollywood and ride the three miles home from there.  The total cost to get to Hollywood was only $5.

In Long Beach on the MetroLink Blue Line.

I am such a dunce when it comes to taking the train.  To me the ticketing and which is the right train is confusing.  So I have to look like a moron and just ask, "Is this the train that goes to downtown LA?"  Then when I changed trains, I had to ask, "Is this the train going to Hollywood?"  Really, I just don't get it, but I got to Hollywood!

Hollywood!

After arriving in Hollywood, I rode the 3 miles back to home, arriving about 11:30 A.M.  I was still feeling shaky and weak and found my confidence a little wavering.  A couple days of recovery and I'll be over that!

And strangely, as soon as I arrived in Hollywood, the odometer began working again.  Arrghhh.

So although I am still processing my journey, here's what I would for certain do differently next time.

1.  Get more sleep before the trip.

2.  Take a break every 10 miles to drink at least 8 ounces and to eat a bite of something.  I didn't take Gatorade or Powerade.  I did have some electrolyte water, but it was in the panniers, not the water bottles.  Wrong place!
3.  Don't forget to take reading glasses.

Things I did right:  not trying to force my body to do things I knew it couldn't - like going up the steep inclines or bridges.  There is nothing shameful about having to get off and walk at some points.It gives your legs a little rest to walk as well.

I have a touring bike!

My bike is finally framed out the way I want it for touring, thanks again to I. Martin Cycles for their help in putting it together for me (and at no charge - but I did pay for the parts!).  The things they did on this last  bit of work was to add fenders, install the Surly front rack, and to put on the foam grips.  This is their second bit of sponsorship of me, and I am so very grateful for their support.  Ryan said it was a very strong bike.  I will take it back in later during the summer to have it looked at for getting the cogs replaced, the chain replaced and whatever else they think needs replacing, because these parts are 15 years old and need to be replaced before I hit the road.  Greg Valenzuela of www.thestarvingcyclist.org  also suggested they should look at the rear rim.  Definitely don't want that cracking on me, and the rims are also 15 years old.

So the bike is part Surly, part Bontrager, and the main frame is Gary Fisher which I think was bought out by Trek.

Right now we are in a heat bubble of weather in Los Angeles.  Today I forgot to load my water bottles on the bike.  So I had to grab some bottled water from work to make it home without the dry hot air choking me.

I'm planning a bike overnight on Saturday by riding down to Long Beach.  It will be interesting and challenging. Although it's only about 36-40 miles, and although I've ridden that far and more before, I've never ridden that far in one direction.  Whether I ride it back the next day or take the train to DTLA, I don't know.  I am sort of thinking I will ride just to do it and push myself.  Wish I had a GoPro camera to capture the journey.

Different types of touring cyclists

One size does not fit all, and this is especially true of touring cyclists.  Some travel the country as fast as they can because they've got to get back to work.  They self-fund their trip or have raised funds. Some have private sponsors, some have corporate sponsors.  Some raise money for charity, some don't. Some go for longer tours by saving up, maybe renting their house or subletting. Others may give up all they own, get on the bike with few resources, and just go and live a lifestyle of being on the road.  Some camp, some stay in hotels or hostels, some eat out every night, some cook at their campsite every night.  One guy I followed on Facebook last year even raided dumpsters behind grocery stores for all his meals just to highlight how much waste there is in this country (and he ate like a king, btw).

So when the question was posed recently in a Facebook group about financing a trip, well the answers were as varied as the types of cyclists who make those trips.  I have yet to start my big journey but no matter how you make the journey, you always have to have some preparation.  Some cyclists recommend travelling very light.  Some cyclists travel heavier.  There's no right or wrong way.  It is a minimalist lifestyle but you still have to be prepared.  If you're traveling in the summer, no need to have a heavy sleeping bag that goes down to 20 degrees.  If you're traveling in the winter, you need to have warm clothing to protect you, and you may need different gear.

I am starting my journey in the winter, but I am starting in southern California where the weather is moderate pretty much year round.  Nevertheless, I will be getting into higher elevations before Spring officially begins, and I may run into some cold temperatures and even very cold temperatures.  So I have to be prepared for that. Then as I head more towards summer and the country begins to warm up, I will store some of my warmer clothing and gear with a family member and have lighter gear.  Because for me it's going become more of a lifestyle.

So it's hard to tell anyone how to prepare for a journey because there are so many things to factor in.  However, I do recommend 2 things:

1.  Have a Paypal debit card.  That way people can put money into your Paypal account and you can access it instantly. INSTANTLY.  And sending money Paypal to Paypal as a personal thing does not get any fee charges.

2.  Send re-supplies ahead.  You may need them, you may not.  But to send yourself care packages to friends or family you will be visiting will help you.  If you don't need them, send them to another station.  I plan to travel with about 4 days worth of food, and that will get me through any patches where I might not have a host family, but I will also have food gift cards, maybe even some common grocery store gift cards. I even bought a little credit card wallet thing to hold gift cards.  Now I just have to stock it.

I am not expecting to leave California with any kind of real bankroll behind me that will fund me.  My "bankroll" is in being prepared up front and using Warm Showers and churches as much as possible.

God will provide.

Elusive sleep and alternate routes

Sleep has been elusive for days, so much so that I've had to indulge in some Advil PM to force myself to sleep.  One pill and I'm off in dreamland.  Last night's dreams centered on finding an alternate route from Pueblo, CO, up to the northside of Colorado Springs, a route I will be taking.  Having lived in Colorado Springs and the area until 1989, I know that area, and originally routed myself through some heavily congested parts of traffic.  My dreams kept telling me there is another way to the east, but even when I woke up at 6:30 and looked at Google Maps on my Iphone, I could not find that way.  It was only when I got onto a much larger computer screen that I found the path.  But it adds 14 extra miles on my route, and from Pueblo to Colorado Springs, at least the part I am going to, is an elevation increase of about 3800 ft.  Yes, it's all uphill from Pueblo... Still, traffic slows you down, so putting in extra miles on quiet country roads may get me there faster because I'll be able to maintain a good, constant speed. On the flipside, when I leave this area on my cross country trek next year, it is all downhill to the TransAm.  About 100 miles of pure downhill.  That will be one heck of a ride.  If I were going to be in Colorado longer than 4 days in June (and two of those are flying days), I would be seriously tempted to ride that route, but if I were going to be there longer, I'd also take my own bike on the plane.

The interesting thing is that in two months I'll be visiting that northern part of Colorado Springs, and I am going to do a bit of exploring via a borrowed bike.  How wonderful it will be to be on long, empty roads.  I hope to even ride for a bit on Hwy 24 going east towards Limon, but I won't go further than Calhan, because it's 33 miles just to get there, and Limon is 71 miles from my start place.  I'd gladly ride to Limon (it's all downhill!!!) if someone would pick me up but I don't want to put anyone out, so that's not going to happen.  At least, however, I will get just a taste of what I long for - to be on the open road.

In the meantime, my fenders have come in to at I. Martin Bicycles, and I need to pick them up, even though I won't have them installed until I also get the Surly front rack.

And in other big news... I have had overtures of a potential job in Scotland. It would be a private job, so I would only be able to work the max time my passport would allow me to be in the country - which is 180 days per calendar year.  So the possibility is to work the winter months there, like Oct-March, then use Britain as a springboard for touring in Europe or returning to the USA for some cross-country touring for the other months.  Might even be great to do the TransAm, then the Pacific coast, and by that time I might be looking at heading back to Britain.  I'd still like to do Nova Scotia to the Florida Keys, and I'd love to do the Mississippi River Trail.  Anyhow, the Scotland thing is a ways off.  We'll see.

The news is out!

Greg Valenzuela at REI in Santa Monica

With Greg Valenzuala (www.thestarvingcyclist.org) now on his way to Southeast Asia to begin 8 years of touring wherever he can, my place feels empty.  Hopefully someone else will come along needing Warm Showers hosting, but since I am 10 miles inland, I sort of doubt it.

One thing Greg suggested was that I start doing lots of hill training and camping.  Well, today I rode into Beverly Hills and did about 2-3 hrs of climbing hills and going round and round up the same hills.  Put about 20 miles on the bike just doing that.  Was in a section of Beverly Hills called Beverlywood which is just south of Beverly Hills.  Conquered some hills I had been thinking of doing for a long time but didn't have the confidence for.  Some of the hills I didn't conquer completely and had to stop on the way up to catch my breath and let my muscles stop screaming at me, but then I was able to continue the rest of the way without stopping.  Greg said he just relaxes when going up hills, and I just kept thinking, "Relax, relax" and maybe that actually helped some because although I had to stop on occasion, I wasn't fighting my gears or the bike.  I just rode without too much struggle.

New handlebars and Surly front fork

I think that the new Surly front fork is making a difference in the smoothness of my ride as opposed to the previous shock absorber.  The new handlebars still need to be cushioned and taped, but otherwise they were fine.  I mounted a new bell on the bike since the old one, which was thumb activated, could no longer be in a good position for that, but the new bell needs to be repositioned as well.  

The really wonderful thing is that I. Martin Cycles installed the front fork and the handlebars for free.  Greg said I should consider that a kind of sponsorship since whenever a company gives you free stuff or services, it's sponsorship.  Well, I just adore the folks at I. Martin, and I now need to really pour the love on them because of their generosity to me.  

Tonight my mother called me about a planned family reunion in June for her and my Dad's 60th anniversary.  I finally mentioned that I was leaving California in Feb. 2015, and I was expecting a ton of naysaying but I didn't get it.  She knows I've been planning it and talking about it for a while.  So that secret is out, and now I just have two important people left to tell - my boss and my landlady.  It's too early to tell either of them, but I do expect to tell them sometime in the late summer.

By the way, for all you touring cyclists, I do recommend getting a $7.99 per month Netflix subscription.  Put the app on your phone or tablet device.  You will not run out of things to keep you entertained on the road when you are in your tent or at a hostel or a Warm Showers.  

New thoughts on my touring

I think I have moved away from the idea of having a trailer and just going with the two pannier sets plus the handlebar pannier.  Touring cycling as a lifestyle, which is what I want, is about minimalism.

Before Greg Valenzuela of www.thestarvingcyclist.org came to stay with me as a Warm Showers hostee, I was thinking my voyage had an end.  I would find some place to settle down where I felt  at home and start my life over.  In reality, I will prefer to keep traveling, at least as long as my joints hold out.  Greg still has another 8 years of planned touring before he wants to stop.

In all reality, I'm not sure that this world will last much longer before the Lord returns to rapture His church and the seven years of Tribulation begin.  This peace deal in Israel, which is a false peace deal brokered by the Vatican which is trying to take over Jerusalem, may very well trigger the events, in which case all my planning for touring is for nothing, but I plan nonetheless and carry on because the Lord is tarrying for His purpose.  Do I sense in my spirit that He is very close to coming?  Yes.  Nevertheless I plan.

My new butterfly handlebars have arrived but still need to be installed and then wrapped with tape.  The Surly front fork should arrive this week.  After the fork is installed I will look for a Surly front rack at a decent price and then will begin to purchase panniers.  Orange panniers for the best visibility (in my mind).

I've put together a wish list of items on Amazon:  http://amzn.com/w/3JXCFXKZ4ERP8

One thing I've learned this week from Greg is not to use bunjee cords because they can come loose, fly down and entangle in your spokes and break a spoke.  He said to use straps.  So I will be buying some straps to tie things down.  We went to REI a few days ago and he bought some straps and other little doodads, and I got a couple of little doodads as well including an ISO-butane fuel can for my camp stove.

Greg is still resting today.  He was feeling poorly yesterday but today seems a little more revived.  A good breakfast omlette works wonders!  I'm not sure what I'll make us for dinner tonight.  Probably more stirfry and rice.

Warm Showers hosting

I am currently hosting touring cyclist, Greg Valenzuela, of www.thestarvingcyclist.org who is here recovering from being a little under the weather before he heads out for a year of cycle touring in Thailand and Southeast Asia on March 24.  I picked him up in Marina Del Rey on March 6, and he will stay here the 18 days.  Didn't know my first hosting gig would be more than one night, but I honestly asked him to stay as long as he needed to rest and recuperate, and I am delighted with him being here.  I have known a little of Greg from his Facebook page as I follow many touring cyclists, and so when he indicated a need to hunker down and rest, I offered my apartment and went to get him.  After cycling 22,000 miles since April 2012, he needs some R&R in a safe place not hopping from hostel to hostel hoping for rest and decent meals.

It has now been a week that he has been here, and good food and rest have made a lot of difference.  I am still so happy to have him here.  He gives me any information I need about touring, equipment, what to take and what not to take.  I have the dog trailer that I thought I would take as just a regular trailer, but he thinks I should try to go without any trailer and just have panniers.  Wow, really have to wrap my brain around that although I totally understand what he is saying.  You see, I was thinking I was going to tour for several months and then settle down, but really, I don't want to settle down again.  Would prefer to just travel by bike.  I don't think I have much longer on this Earth anyhow before the Lord calls us home.  Nevertheless I am planning for my journey as if He will tarry for a long time.

I've hitched the trailer to the bike twice and taken it out.  The first time I took it to the beach on a round trip of 25 miles with no real issues.  Then on March 9, Greg and I rode to my church about 6.5 miles away and I towed it again.  Greg was hoping to ride to the beach but getting to church nearly did him in.  The trouble was, it nearly did me in too.  I couldn't figure out what was going on with the trailer, but I felt like I was slogging home.  It didn't feel right.  I pulled over wondering if I had a flat.  Really couldn't put it together.  I got back and was completely spent in a way that i wasn't even spent after riding nearly 100k.  The next day at work when I was walking the bike down the hallway, I felt that same slogging, and I knew the brakes were rubbing.  When I got home, Greg took a look at it and discovered I had a broken spoke and the wheel was out of true, which is why I slogged home from church (took me a couple of days to recover from that).  Greg also said the wheels of the trailer needed to have the bearings greased, but he just doesn't think I should take that trailer at all so he didn't want me to put any money into any repairs on it.  So we tallked about a Bob Yak trailer, which he thought was a better idea, but he still wants me to try to get away from the trailer idea at all.

But I've made a couple of missteps in buying stuff, like the sleeping bag and maybe the tent, but especially the sleeping bag which is just too dang bulky.  Need something lighter and smaller.

We also talked about food.  His feeling is to have a breakfast and dinner handy at all times for emergencies, maybe one other meal, but not much more than that.  Here I was planning to take 7 days worth of food with me in case of emergency.  But there is so much good will towards touring cyclists on the road that it is unnecessary.

One good thing is that he said my current bike would be fine for touring - with some modifications.  When I said it was only aluminum, he said his Cannondale is aluminum and that it's a myth that touring bikes should be steel.  In fact, he's put over 22,000 miles alone on his current bike.  So while he is here I have ordered a new handlebar - butterfly, and a new Surly front fork to replace the mountain bike fork.  Then I will get a Surly front rack and begin to build my Ortlieb pannier sets, including a handlebar bag.  Oh, and fenders.  Need those too, plus Schwalbe marathon tires.  And then I will see if I still want a trailer.  At least I am moving forward on the bike.  Before he came I really wasn't sure what my next step was.

So I have about 10 more days to pick Greg's brain.  Tomorrow we are going to REI in Santa Monica so he can get some parts and doodads.  I'll have him take me to the sleeping bag section and show me what he thinks I should take.  Maybe look at the tents too.

We were thinking of riding up to Leo Carillo State Beach this weekend to go bike camping because he wants me to test out all my gear and to know what it's like to ride a day and have to set up, then turn around the next day and do it again, but I don't think he's up to it, and now neither does he.  We are going to try to go to the beach again this weekend.  We'll see how he does. I won't be towing the trailer!!  In the meantime I will be planning a time to go to Leo Carillo now that I know where camping is.  I really didn't know where any Los Angeles camping was.  I guess Point Mugu is another camping spot.  Wish I had someone to walk me through it the first time, but perhaps going alone and figuring out stuff the hard way is the best way for me.