Dec 22, 2009 - Salome to Gilbert, AZ

One word scribbled in my journal this evening: "Epic!" .... My first double metric century on this tour..... the day included waiting out a thunderstorm at a gas station in Tonopah, a teeth-rattling 9-mile stretch of washboarded dirt road west of Buckeye, and 3 fl_t tires.

Weather was a grab-bag:  Grey, low clouds and sprinkles of rain in the morning on the Salome Hwy, warm sunshine mid-morning; Around midday, storm clouds race into the Phoenix valley from the west, high winds, thunder, rain, and blowing dust....then back to sunshine by late afternoon...!

A strong westerly wind blowing me into Phoenix in late afternoon, the storm just ahead of me soaking the valley. 

Cotton bales in Buckeye, west of Phoenix

 

Long shadows eastbound on Buckeye Road

Late afternoon, the staff at the Visitors Center in Buckeye helping me chart a course east across the city to Gilbert, 60 miles away. Instead of holding up here as I had originally planned,  I decide to push on to Jeff's house; The wind is favorable, so GO FOR IT!.... Through Avondale and Liberty, Phoenix, Tempe, then Mesa.  Evening, I'm in the 'numb' zone....nothing will stop me now...not even the 3 fl_t tires I get before rolling into my brother's driveway. 

 While traveling down the Pacific Coast, I often thought about coming home to Arizona....I thought about how great it would be to see my family, and to spend the holidays with them. But until yesterday, when I crossed the Colorado River, and saw that sign: "Phoenix 153 Miles", I didn't really think I was gonna make it home in time for the holidays. Things just went right.....I call Jeff from a convenience store at 40th Ave and Baseline Rd...he says "Come ahead!".....

Photo of my bike computer showing 200.05 kilometers on the trip odometer; Taken 8:45 PM, on Gilbert Road, a half a mile from my brother's house

Dec 21, 2009: Into Arizona !

Just after crossing the bridge over the Rio Colorado, Parker, Arizona

Sunrise, campsite off Highway 62

Vidal Junction

Crossing Rio Colorado into Arizona

Rio Colorado

Long day, arrived in Hope, Arizona at 6:30 PM....Stopped in at the Victory Lane Cafe at the junction of Hwy 72 and Hwy 60 for a short stack of pancakes and coffee, then cycled northeast on Hwy 60 to Salome, AZ.

Dec 20, 2009 - Joshua Tree to Rice

Today there will be a few more minutes of daylight than yesterday; Tonight will be a little shorter than last night.   Touring in the shorter days of winter can be a challenge.  At this time of year, it seems as if the day is only just started,.... and then it's time to start looking for a campsite again. Long nights spent in the tent, with nothing to do but read and sleep.

The Mojave:  Flat valleys stretched between low reddish-brown jumbles of volcanic rock;  Sagebrush and creosote and smokebush and sand

Morning sun hits the snowcovered San Bernadino mountains, Joshua Tree

Sheep Hole Mountains, Highway 62

At milepost 103 on Highway 62, Danny and his dog Jimmy are camped in a roadside pullout; They spend their days pedalling up and down the highway picking up plastic bottles, glass, and aluminum cans; The sign on the back of his bike trailer reads: "Recycling our Highways. Anything Appreciated".  He has a small tent, a propane cooker set up on makeshift table, tobacco and a corn cob pipe, cases of bottled water...."I'm out here fer another 3 weeks, y'see"....He explains his arrangement with the county, a sly smile breaks from beneath his handebar mustache: "They come out and pick up my recyclables, then I pick up my money in Blythe"....

Camp, Mojave Desert

Dec 19, 2009 - Victorville to Joshua Tree

Set out across the Mojave desert this morning; Filled every water container I carry at Twenty Nine Palms, the sign leaving town warns "Next services 100 miles";  Passing through Yucca Valley,then east to Joshua Tree National Park

Chimney Rock, Highway 247

Somewhere in the Mojave

Resting after lunch, near Giant Rock

Dec 18, 2009 - Soledad Canyon to Victorville

  Said goodbye this morning to Uli, Sabine, and Mark, my touring companions for the last month.  We will be taking different roads from here - they're headed south towards El Centro, then into Mexico and down the Baja Peninsula. 

  Travelling the Pacific Coast Bike Route with them was such a great experience. I was glad that they didn't just follow the 'bible' ( "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" )....sometimes it's better to find your own road, to travel at your own pace.

 

Soledad Canyon Road, near Acton

After two days cycling into the Santa Ana winds, I was greeted by this sign on the outskirts of Littlerock,...

Dec 17, 2009 - Fillmore to Soledad Canyon

"Revenge of the Santa Anas" :   Today we meet the famous Santa Ana winds, rushing down the western slopes of the San Gabriel mountains towards the Pacific. Is this Neptune's divine retribution for turning our backs on the Pacific?  Battling the heavy winds all day, through Santa Clarita, and up Soledad Canyon Road.  In our campground tonight, we listen to the roar of lions, coming from the wild animal park just a mile up the canyon.

  

Santa Clara River ( Did you spot the heron wading in the river?)

Ballin' the jack - Soledad Canyon Road

In late afternoon, I stop in at the Rio Market for a rest and a cold drink.  A fellow cycle-tourist, heavily loaded and headed in the opposite direction, stops in for a break. He is Kokoro Ito, circumnavigating the globe by bicycle.  He writes a regular travel piece which is published in a couple of Japanese newspapers, and apparently he is somewhat of a celebrity in Japan.  On his panniers are painted the names of countries he's visited. If you happen to read Japanese, you can check out his travel blog here

Koko, the famous journalist and cycle-tourist

Dec 16, 2009 - Ventura to Fillmore

At Ventura, California, I've decided to leave the Pacific Coast Bike Route  and head east, skirting north of L.A., cross the San Gabriel mountains and into the Mojave Desert.  I will head for southern Arizona to visit the old homestead - hope to spend the holidays with my family.

A rendezvous this morning with friends Shari and Ken in old downtown Ventura, reviewing maps over coffee; Shari plots a course for us, following the valley east to Santa Clarita, then up through Soledad Canyon over Soledad Pass.

 

Shari and Ken escorted us through Ventura

Groves of citrus and avocado (Yeah!) cover the bottom of the Santa Clara river valley

To Shari and Ken: Many thanks for all your help in planning out our route east, and for the escort to Santa Paula. 

Dec 15, 2009 - Lompoc to Santa Barbara

The morning spent climbing up and out of Lompoc Valley in warm sunshine, ascending to a pass, then dropping down to Highway 101 and through a narrow canyon of orange-colored rock, rejoining the Pacific Coast Highway 1 again at Gaviota. 

Lunch spot at the rest area off Highway 101 near Gaviota

Coastline near Refugio State Beach

El Capitan State Beach

Mark leads us into the campground at El Capitan State Beach. 

View across to Channel Islands from El Capitan SB

Uli disgusted tonight with the insult of the hike-in/bike-in site, nothing but a washed-out dirt lot. Like so many of the other state parks, they put bike-in campers in the worst sites. "Not even any grass....A tent site should at least have grass"...so we take one of the regular sites.  Below our pitch, the surf pounds, the clattering of undertow pulling across the stones on the beach; A huge turkey vulture soars above us in late afternoon, his wing feathers tipped in white on the underside.

Sunset, El Capitan State Campground

Sunrise, view of Channel Islands

The 'Bible' for the Pacific Coast Bike Route....."You must follow the book!"

Sun, sand, and surf - Santa Barbara

View of Santa Barbara from Stearns Wharf

Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara

Bike path, Santa Barbara

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good ride!

Dec 13, 2009 - Morro Bay to Lompoc

I reunited with fellow ToC Course Marshall Janet, and caught her son's soccer match at the High School in Morro Bay. Later I had dinner with her family at their favorite Chinese food restaurant in Los Osos. Thanks so much to Janet and her family for their hospitality.

From Morro Bay, a beautiful route inland up through Los Osos Valley, passing the string of morros ( volcanic mounds ) to San Luis Obispo, then back out to the coast and Pismo Beach, where we spend three days waiting out a big Pacific storm; After the rains, our campsite at Oceano is mostly underwater, so we are forced to move our camp to higher ground.

Met this gentleman on the road outside of Pismo Beach. 

Fuel stop at Guadalupe

A message left on the road at the top of Harris Grade

Dec 8, 2009 - San Simeon to Morro Bay

Morning, heading out from campsite at San Simeon

Visited breeding grounds of a colony of elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. This is a younger bull, coming ashore....sometimes the young bucks will try to challenge the older bulls for their harems

A female elephant seal, bored with the whole scene

Had to stop in at the famous Cambria Bike Outfitters in Cambria, CA

"The Rock" at Morro Bay....A north wind was howling when we arrived at Morro Bay State Park - I thought one of the trees in our campsite might come crashing down on me in my tent....

Monarch butterflys winter over here

Morning, packing up at Morro Bay