we effing made it! actually, we just fucking made it. sasq just gave me shit for typing effing, so i had to correct it there. anyways. we just fucking rode 5000+ miles across the country!!!!!!!!!!! (i hate it when people type more than one !, but i feel like it's warranted here hahahha). okay, so the past few days have been wicked epic and not, all at the same time. it's been slow and fast simultaneously. kinda surreal really. i'm finding it a wee bit difficult to find the words to sum it all up, but happy that i'm typing on a compy instead of a smart phone.
so i'm not exactly sure where the sasq left off, but i believe it was before santa cruz. we did a pretty cruisey short day into the SC where we met up with the big bro's SC & DC. it was fun and stupid and i effortlessly made a proper ass of myself drinking too much tequila. so sorry for that mess. sasq of course was left with the duty of cleaning up after me, which i might add, that she's gotten wicked good at. but hey, another story from the road, eh?
we rode on from there to half moon bay, which was a very sloooooooow day of riding. we properly dragged ass all day. all we had to do was ride 50 miles, and we dragged that shit out as long as humanly possible. we then dragged it out for so long, that it was too cold for being outside and sasq had a craving for some greasy food, so we did the only thing that broke cyclists can do--eat at mcd's. for the record, this was the first time that we've actually eaten mcd's on the road... other than ice cream... which hardly counts. we then snagged a sixer of all american bud heavy's and made our way to the HMB hiker/biker. it was cold and wet, and the tent was soaked, but we tucked in and watched some stand up comedy, drank our beers, and attempted to sleep as best we could.
we cracked open bright and early, and got ourselves sorted before the homies arrived for the final leg of the journey. the last 25 miles! we were joined by justin, reeni, john, and stu... and sag LB! it was awesome to ride into SF with a crew and have some company other than the sasq for a wee ride hahahaha just kidding; i'm gonna miss that girl, love you sasq! we cruised in, dipped our tires in ocean beach, partied on the beach, had a champagne shower, and are in the process of tearing it up. i reckon i owe sasq an eve or two, so needless to say she's hitting the bottle harder than i hahaha. feels wicked to be back in the city by the bay. cold, but wicked! thanks for all that came out and welcomed us back :)
cheers,
b.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Three short days to go!
I know we haven't been good about blogging lately but with the end so close its hard to find the time or energy to write a post, but here I go....
Lil foot and I didn't make it woo the way to Santa Barbara when Eric caught up to us. We were going to continue on but decided to just get dropped off a couple days later where we were picked up. Eric's uncle Joe and aunt Carolyn live in the Redlands of southern California. We arrived in time for them to return from dinner and they were amazing enough to bring us back some dinner! So yummy!!!!
The ride that day would be our last one before we hit the cali hills and monster head winds. We woke up late that morning as usual and instead of riding as hard as possible we chatted the whole way and dragged ass. It was great and lazy! Eric picked us up 15 miles south of Santa Barbara and brought us to the Redlands. The next day we went to the Big Bear healing animal sanctuary, then a boat tour and then Aunt Carolyn made dinner and Uncle Joe picked up some chicken. It was very much a relaxing day off!
Sunday morning it was time to get back on the iron horse... Ugh this was not something either of us wanted to do but the thought of getting closer to the end kept us moving.
As I'm writing this I'm kind of getting bored... Nothing funny or interesting has really happened since the sanctuary, which had a three legged bear, loved him. Overall summary, the cali coast has been foggy, mostly cold and no cyclists going our way. We've camped out since Sunday and tomorrow we will arrive in Santa Cruz to join up with Double chin and Sweet cheeks! It's almost party time... We cant wait.
Today was kind of cool, besides doing our last long day, 78 miles we met a bunch of firefighters and retirees who are riding from san fran to la, and they are part of the same department that is riding from la to NY... Those guys are staying at fire houses across the country and plan to make it to NY on Sept 10th! Amazing guys!!!
Although the riding has been mundane the convo has been amazing and lil foot and I have bright plans for the future. It's going to be an amazing few years to come!
I know this post is a bit weak, but its all I have in me right now... Maybe tomorrow or Friday one of us will give some good details and stories but for now this is all you get!
Tata for now....
Sasq
Lil foot and I didn't make it woo the way to Santa Barbara when Eric caught up to us. We were going to continue on but decided to just get dropped off a couple days later where we were picked up. Eric's uncle Joe and aunt Carolyn live in the Redlands of southern California. We arrived in time for them to return from dinner and they were amazing enough to bring us back some dinner! So yummy!!!!
The ride that day would be our last one before we hit the cali hills and monster head winds. We woke up late that morning as usual and instead of riding as hard as possible we chatted the whole way and dragged ass. It was great and lazy! Eric picked us up 15 miles south of Santa Barbara and brought us to the Redlands. The next day we went to the Big Bear healing animal sanctuary, then a boat tour and then Aunt Carolyn made dinner and Uncle Joe picked up some chicken. It was very much a relaxing day off!
Sunday morning it was time to get back on the iron horse... Ugh this was not something either of us wanted to do but the thought of getting closer to the end kept us moving.
As I'm writing this I'm kind of getting bored... Nothing funny or interesting has really happened since the sanctuary, which had a three legged bear, loved him. Overall summary, the cali coast has been foggy, mostly cold and no cyclists going our way. We've camped out since Sunday and tomorrow we will arrive in Santa Cruz to join up with Double chin and Sweet cheeks! It's almost party time... We cant wait.
Today was kind of cool, besides doing our last long day, 78 miles we met a bunch of firefighters and retirees who are riding from san fran to la, and they are part of the same department that is riding from la to NY... Those guys are staying at fire houses across the country and plan to make it to NY on Sept 10th! Amazing guys!!!
Although the riding has been mundane the convo has been amazing and lil foot and I have bright plans for the future. It's going to be an amazing few years to come!
I know this post is a bit weak, but its all I have in me right now... Maybe tomorrow or Friday one of us will give some good details and stories but for now this is all you get!
Tata for now....
Sasq
Friday, August 19, 2011
PCH!
Yesterday, Wednesday, lil foot and I covered 65 miles making it to Newport Beach to stay with Mr. Abbey, my friend Matt's father! Huge thanks for letting us stay in the guest apartment and for providing dinner, beers, and breakfast!
The ride was amazing. We're enjoying all the bike paths and bike lanes all up the coast. A much better ride than the side of a shoulderless two lane highway packed with Mack trucks! The past few days have been pretty foggy and a little chilly by the water, but its perfect riding weather so we can't mplain too much. The only probably is that our beautiful tan lines just keep getting worse. Lil foot is slowly looking like a leather jacket wearing motorcyclist with her sunglass tan and I belong in the fields with my biking tshirt tan. What a pair we make. Haha.
The ride yesterday was pretty uneventful but our night was amazing. After a few calls and favors we pulled together I was told by my friend Alissa that we would be able to stay with her boyfriend's parents right by the water in Newport! As we pulled up we could hear the Beatles playing, that was the first sign I knew I would enjoy my night. Then Mr Abbey greeted us and showed us to the garage where we kept our bikes. After teaching us how to start the washer and dryer her offered us a beer, second sign! You might be wondering who wouldn't know how to start a washer and dryer but lil foot actually couldn't start the dryer at one point during the night. Haha. After we had a beer in our hands he showed us around and said when we were all cleaned up we can join him for pizza and to chat about our journey, Pizza = third sign. I think three signs are enough!
We showered up and then spent a couple hours chatting about some of the best stories so far. Then it was off to the monster sized bed. Lil foot and I shared the bed bit it was so big 4 more people could have joined us and I wouldn't have noticed at all.
This morning, Thursday, we were actually up early and out the door by 6:45am. Mr Abbey walked us down to the bike path by the water and we went our separate ways. Thanks again for everything!
Today was a long but great day. We were fully rest and had about 50 miles until we me Mike (of the brothers Rich and Mike whom we met at the mayor's house in nickerson. The original plan was to be hosted by Mike and his wife, Suzie, but life on the road OS very unpredictable so they offered to take us for lunch on Venice! Soo yummy, thank you Mike and Suzie!! After catching up for a bit it was time to move on and keep the riding going. Then a miracle happened and the sun was back out. Since Mike informed us that the rest of our ride would be flat, we decided to lay out on the beach and work on those previously mentioned tan lines! We laid out for an hour that it was time to move on. Only 30-35 miles to go as the sun slowly began to sink and the temperature as well. Tonight we're camping at the Leo Carrillo State Park. It's a pretty sweet campground for just $7 each for person. hiker/biker sites.
Now we are relaxing in the tent and preparing for our 65 miles for tomorrow into Santa Barbara!
Eric will be joining us around lunch and then off to his aunt and uncles for a night or two!
I'll be sure to let you know how our next couples days are as we begin to get close fro the end.
Later days.
Sasq
Ps I forgot to mention how we were asked a few stupid questions by a homeless guy in Brawley. First, "Have you seen any UFOs?" He was dead serious. Then "do you smoke weed?" Guess that second question pretty much answers why he asked the first.
9 days til san fran and less that 2 weeks til I'm home!
Now I'm finished!!!!!
The ride was amazing. We're enjoying all the bike paths and bike lanes all up the coast. A much better ride than the side of a shoulderless two lane highway packed with Mack trucks! The past few days have been pretty foggy and a little chilly by the water, but its perfect riding weather so we can't mplain too much. The only probably is that our beautiful tan lines just keep getting worse. Lil foot is slowly looking like a leather jacket wearing motorcyclist with her sunglass tan and I belong in the fields with my biking tshirt tan. What a pair we make. Haha.
The ride yesterday was pretty uneventful but our night was amazing. After a few calls and favors we pulled together I was told by my friend Alissa that we would be able to stay with her boyfriend's parents right by the water in Newport! As we pulled up we could hear the Beatles playing, that was the first sign I knew I would enjoy my night. Then Mr Abbey greeted us and showed us to the garage where we kept our bikes. After teaching us how to start the washer and dryer her offered us a beer, second sign! You might be wondering who wouldn't know how to start a washer and dryer but lil foot actually couldn't start the dryer at one point during the night. Haha. After we had a beer in our hands he showed us around and said when we were all cleaned up we can join him for pizza and to chat about our journey, Pizza = third sign. I think three signs are enough!
We showered up and then spent a couple hours chatting about some of the best stories so far. Then it was off to the monster sized bed. Lil foot and I shared the bed bit it was so big 4 more people could have joined us and I wouldn't have noticed at all.
This morning, Thursday, we were actually up early and out the door by 6:45am. Mr Abbey walked us down to the bike path by the water and we went our separate ways. Thanks again for everything!
Today was a long but great day. We were fully rest and had about 50 miles until we me Mike (of the brothers Rich and Mike whom we met at the mayor's house in nickerson. The original plan was to be hosted by Mike and his wife, Suzie, but life on the road OS very unpredictable so they offered to take us for lunch on Venice! Soo yummy, thank you Mike and Suzie!! After catching up for a bit it was time to move on and keep the riding going. Then a miracle happened and the sun was back out. Since Mike informed us that the rest of our ride would be flat, we decided to lay out on the beach and work on those previously mentioned tan lines! We laid out for an hour that it was time to move on. Only 30-35 miles to go as the sun slowly began to sink and the temperature as well. Tonight we're camping at the Leo Carrillo State Park. It's a pretty sweet campground for just $7 each for person. hiker/biker sites.
Now we are relaxing in the tent and preparing for our 65 miles for tomorrow into Santa Barbara!
Eric will be joining us around lunch and then off to his aunt and uncles for a night or two!
I'll be sure to let you know how our next couples days are as we begin to get close fro the end.
Later days.
Sasq
Ps I forgot to mention how we were asked a few stupid questions by a homeless guy in Brawley. First, "Have you seen any UFOs?" He was dead serious. Then "do you smoke weed?" Guess that second question pretty much answers why he asked the first.
9 days til san fran and less that 2 weeks til I'm home!
Now I'm finished!!!!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
"Excuse me ladies, can I talk to you?"
Made it to California and have a few new stories for all of you!
It seems everywhere little foot and I camp happens to also be the place where all the cats like sleep, pee and eat. Thursday we made it into cali and rode pretty late into Palo Verde I had called ahead to the fire department hoping to get a place to sleep for the night but I was informed theres a trailer park that allows cyclists to camp for free with bathrooms and showers also proved! We rolled into town around 9 something and noticed the only place open was a pub. As we put our bikes up against the front of the pub a hot mess of a woman began talking to us. She slurred the whole time, but that's not what made her a mess, it was her outfit that took the cake. Cutoff jean shorts with huge slits up the side, a hole filled tshirt and she was holding a 32 oz styrofoam cup. At least she was nice and was able to kind of point us in the right direction of the trailer park. We went inside and ordered a couple burgers for dinner which hit the spot, at least it did for me! Before ordering, a man sitting at the bar came over to inform us it was buy one get one half off burgers, then he put his hand on lil foot's shoulder. Haha. It's come to our attention that for some reason people like to just place a hand on lil foots shoulder when telling us anything. I tend to just crack up and then we both laugh when the awkwardness is over. Oh man, its too funny!
After eating we headed to set up camp and get some sleep, this was one of those nights where we had to share the space with multiple cats. Ugh, I'm so sick of cats I could really use a good dog chase just to change things up.
Friday we went from Palo Verde to Brawley where lil foots Aunt Debbie Put us up for the night at the Brawley Inn. Such a good nights sleep there but first let me tell you about our ride there. We began for about 40+ miles of no services through the desert and we were riding along side of a two lane highway with no shoulders. Perfect for bikes, NOT. We were stopped for the first time by a highway patrol officer who told us to be careful of the white line and make she if we stop on the sides to get over as far as possible to the right. Thanks officer for your great wisdom, I don't think we would have made it much longer without it. We continued on and made it to a closed store that had a vending machine! We had lunch and put done 4 cans of drinks each. Probably not the best idea hut we needed anything that was cold.
The next 7 or so miles we rode through massive sand dunes. It's crazy how much the scenery changes and so quick. One minute we can be riding on the edges of boulders and canyons in Utah, to deserts in Arizona and now sand dunes of California. I felt like the only thing missing during this part of the ride was Aladin singing 'S whole new world' to me while riding a flying carpet! Haha. We made it to Brawley around dinner time, we bought sandwiches and makings for sandwiches and a 6 pack then headed to the lovely AC of our hotel room. Not too excited happened the rest of the night, just relaxed and got some shut eye!
Saturday we originally wanted to make it to san Diego but because of our late starts and crazy heat of the desert we weren't going to get there til Sunday. But Saturday we went from Brawley to Live Oak Springs Resort. Let me tell you about a bump. Oh man. First the journey there was more desert, long climbs, and another run in with an 18 wheeler. Before you all jump the gun we did not get hit by another truck, nope this time we had a Mack truck call the highway patrol on us. As usual we were riding on narrow highways with no shoulders but as always we ride single file so we don't.block traffic. Apparently this wasn't good enough for one truck driver because a few hours into our ride we were stopped by an officer to chat. Hence the title.... The officer informed us that a Mack truck called in and said we weren't allowing traffic by, what an asshole. How could I or lil foot, being only 2.5 feet wide prevent an 18 wheeler from passing us especially with no oncoming traffic. Such an idiot, but I thought it was funny at the same time. Right where the officer pulled us over there was a boarder patrol station. We walked over to them and asked if they had water, and they did! Ice cold, filtered water, yum!
It was time to ride on, and we stopped in Ocotillo for something to eat before beginning our 3500 ft elevation climb. While eating two guys chatted us up. Jimbo and Clint, who both didn't think we would make it up the hill and be able to continue on. Well we showed them, we dragged ass up and then cycled another 12 miles to get to our intended campsite. As we arrived at the Live Oak Springs Resort our spirits were raised because the bar was open and it was 10pm. The bartender talked up the Campgrounds so much that we were actually excited to pitch the tent and shower up, what he forgot to mention is that he's a massive liar. Oh man, bad enough the sites were all overgrown with weeds and grass, the bathrooms weren't even suitable for a homeless person to want to pee in, and don't get me started on the showers. On top of that there was a monster party going on at some house or trailer and the crazies were walking around. Lil foot was encountered by one when she went to check out the toilets, that was enough for me to not even bother walked to the bathroom, I just peed by a tree. Haha
We couldn't get out of there quick enough on Sunday morning. I slept with a rock on either side of me so every time I rolled over my hips were not happy. Knowing that we would be sleeping indoors on Sunday was motivation enough to get up and get going. It was a 72 mile ride into San Diego and of course the winds picked up the closer to the coast we got. It seemed like we were never going to make it, but finally we reached the last road which becomes a bike path all the way to the ocean! It was amazing to see so many people out on the path. Civilization ay last! No more smells of road kill, instead just the smells of salt water and restaurants. No more mullets on grown men, and some women haha. No more middle America, it was now time for coast riding!
Lil foot had arranged for us to stay with her friend Max who lives in San Diego and he would be meeting us at the beach with his truck to pick us up! He arrived 10 minutes after we go to the beach, with his girl friend Melissa. They helped us inlaid our bikes and head to the water for the dipping of the wheels. It was now official, lil foot and I traveled from the northeastern coast to the southwestern coast on bicycles!!!!! It was now time to celebrate, we went back to Mac's got showered and changed and then headed to lil foots friend from Maine, Kim and Eric's apartment. Kim is originally from Maine and moved out to san Diego after meeting Eric about a year ago. We started off BBQing by the pool then moved back into the apartment to keep the drinking going. I would get into more details of the night but it would take too long and its just a bunch of drunken craziness I'm sure our families can do without hearing about.
Monday was Kim's birthday so of course we had to keep the party going. Before I forget, ee ended up sleeping on the balcony of Kim and Eric's place instead of staying with Max like originally planned. I think that says enough for the kind of night we had. Lil foot decided she would bake Kim's favorite cakes, funfetti cake and cherry cheese cake it was! After a day filled with eating and napping it was time to start the celebrating and games playing! Nothing beats playing board games and seeing how ridiculous it becomes as the drinking continues.
This morning lil foot and i were supposed to get about 60 miles done but due to our 2:30pm start and the shape we were in it was clear that our goal wouldn't be met. We covered almost 40 miles and 30 of them were done right next to the water. So beautiful! The cool constant breeze was perfect and now we are camping right at the beach.
Tonight we'll be sleeping to the sounds of the ocean and of course there's a train only about a hundred feet away, so that will probably wake us up a couple times. Yay.
I believe you are all now caught up. Tomorrow we hope to stay either in Newport Beach or somewhere around the LA area! Then two more days til Santa Barbara and lil foots boyfriend, Eric, will be down to visit.
10 days of riding to go then finito!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Ps. Big thanks to Aunt Debbie for the Brawley Inn night, Max and Melissa for picking us up and housing us a night, Kim and Eric for feeding us and also housing us a night. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!
It seems everywhere little foot and I camp happens to also be the place where all the cats like sleep, pee and eat. Thursday we made it into cali and rode pretty late into Palo Verde I had called ahead to the fire department hoping to get a place to sleep for the night but I was informed theres a trailer park that allows cyclists to camp for free with bathrooms and showers also proved! We rolled into town around 9 something and noticed the only place open was a pub. As we put our bikes up against the front of the pub a hot mess of a woman began talking to us. She slurred the whole time, but that's not what made her a mess, it was her outfit that took the cake. Cutoff jean shorts with huge slits up the side, a hole filled tshirt and she was holding a 32 oz styrofoam cup. At least she was nice and was able to kind of point us in the right direction of the trailer park. We went inside and ordered a couple burgers for dinner which hit the spot, at least it did for me! Before ordering, a man sitting at the bar came over to inform us it was buy one get one half off burgers, then he put his hand on lil foot's shoulder. Haha. It's come to our attention that for some reason people like to just place a hand on lil foots shoulder when telling us anything. I tend to just crack up and then we both laugh when the awkwardness is over. Oh man, its too funny!
After eating we headed to set up camp and get some sleep, this was one of those nights where we had to share the space with multiple cats. Ugh, I'm so sick of cats I could really use a good dog chase just to change things up.
Friday we went from Palo Verde to Brawley where lil foots Aunt Debbie Put us up for the night at the Brawley Inn. Such a good nights sleep there but first let me tell you about our ride there. We began for about 40+ miles of no services through the desert and we were riding along side of a two lane highway with no shoulders. Perfect for bikes, NOT. We were stopped for the first time by a highway patrol officer who told us to be careful of the white line and make she if we stop on the sides to get over as far as possible to the right. Thanks officer for your great wisdom, I don't think we would have made it much longer without it. We continued on and made it to a closed store that had a vending machine! We had lunch and put done 4 cans of drinks each. Probably not the best idea hut we needed anything that was cold.
The next 7 or so miles we rode through massive sand dunes. It's crazy how much the scenery changes and so quick. One minute we can be riding on the edges of boulders and canyons in Utah, to deserts in Arizona and now sand dunes of California. I felt like the only thing missing during this part of the ride was Aladin singing 'S whole new world' to me while riding a flying carpet! Haha. We made it to Brawley around dinner time, we bought sandwiches and makings for sandwiches and a 6 pack then headed to the lovely AC of our hotel room. Not too excited happened the rest of the night, just relaxed and got some shut eye!
Saturday we originally wanted to make it to san Diego but because of our late starts and crazy heat of the desert we weren't going to get there til Sunday. But Saturday we went from Brawley to Live Oak Springs Resort. Let me tell you about a bump. Oh man. First the journey there was more desert, long climbs, and another run in with an 18 wheeler. Before you all jump the gun we did not get hit by another truck, nope this time we had a Mack truck call the highway patrol on us. As usual we were riding on narrow highways with no shoulders but as always we ride single file so we don't.block traffic. Apparently this wasn't good enough for one truck driver because a few hours into our ride we were stopped by an officer to chat. Hence the title.... The officer informed us that a Mack truck called in and said we weren't allowing traffic by, what an asshole. How could I or lil foot, being only 2.5 feet wide prevent an 18 wheeler from passing us especially with no oncoming traffic. Such an idiot, but I thought it was funny at the same time. Right where the officer pulled us over there was a boarder patrol station. We walked over to them and asked if they had water, and they did! Ice cold, filtered water, yum!
It was time to ride on, and we stopped in Ocotillo for something to eat before beginning our 3500 ft elevation climb. While eating two guys chatted us up. Jimbo and Clint, who both didn't think we would make it up the hill and be able to continue on. Well we showed them, we dragged ass up and then cycled another 12 miles to get to our intended campsite. As we arrived at the Live Oak Springs Resort our spirits were raised because the bar was open and it was 10pm. The bartender talked up the Campgrounds so much that we were actually excited to pitch the tent and shower up, what he forgot to mention is that he's a massive liar. Oh man, bad enough the sites were all overgrown with weeds and grass, the bathrooms weren't even suitable for a homeless person to want to pee in, and don't get me started on the showers. On top of that there was a monster party going on at some house or trailer and the crazies were walking around. Lil foot was encountered by one when she went to check out the toilets, that was enough for me to not even bother walked to the bathroom, I just peed by a tree. Haha
We couldn't get out of there quick enough on Sunday morning. I slept with a rock on either side of me so every time I rolled over my hips were not happy. Knowing that we would be sleeping indoors on Sunday was motivation enough to get up and get going. It was a 72 mile ride into San Diego and of course the winds picked up the closer to the coast we got. It seemed like we were never going to make it, but finally we reached the last road which becomes a bike path all the way to the ocean! It was amazing to see so many people out on the path. Civilization ay last! No more smells of road kill, instead just the smells of salt water and restaurants. No more mullets on grown men, and some women haha. No more middle America, it was now time for coast riding!
Lil foot had arranged for us to stay with her friend Max who lives in San Diego and he would be meeting us at the beach with his truck to pick us up! He arrived 10 minutes after we go to the beach, with his girl friend Melissa. They helped us inlaid our bikes and head to the water for the dipping of the wheels. It was now official, lil foot and I traveled from the northeastern coast to the southwestern coast on bicycles!!!!! It was now time to celebrate, we went back to Mac's got showered and changed and then headed to lil foots friend from Maine, Kim and Eric's apartment. Kim is originally from Maine and moved out to san Diego after meeting Eric about a year ago. We started off BBQing by the pool then moved back into the apartment to keep the drinking going. I would get into more details of the night but it would take too long and its just a bunch of drunken craziness I'm sure our families can do without hearing about.
Monday was Kim's birthday so of course we had to keep the party going. Before I forget, ee ended up sleeping on the balcony of Kim and Eric's place instead of staying with Max like originally planned. I think that says enough for the kind of night we had. Lil foot decided she would bake Kim's favorite cakes, funfetti cake and cherry cheese cake it was! After a day filled with eating and napping it was time to start the celebrating and games playing! Nothing beats playing board games and seeing how ridiculous it becomes as the drinking continues.
This morning lil foot and i were supposed to get about 60 miles done but due to our 2:30pm start and the shape we were in it was clear that our goal wouldn't be met. We covered almost 40 miles and 30 of them were done right next to the water. So beautiful! The cool constant breeze was perfect and now we are camping right at the beach.
Tonight we'll be sleeping to the sounds of the ocean and of course there's a train only about a hundred feet away, so that will probably wake us up a couple times. Yay.
I believe you are all now caught up. Tomorrow we hope to stay either in Newport Beach or somewhere around the LA area! Then two more days til Santa Barbara and lil foots boyfriend, Eric, will be down to visit.
10 days of riding to go then finito!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Ps. Big thanks to Aunt Debbie for the Brawley Inn night, Max and Melissa for picking us up and housing us a night, Kim and Eric for feeding us and also housing us a night. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
New Fundraising Website Setup!
After hearing from many of you that our fundraising website was no longer accepting donations, I've taken the liberty of setting up a new one! My apologies if any of you have had trouble with the old site. We will now be fundraising with Susan G Komen for the Cure. You can access the new site here:
If you have enjoyed reading the blog and following along on our adventure, think what we're doing is inspiring, interesting, cool, or down right insane... then please consider making a donation and helping us to reach our goal of raising $1 for every mile cycled! Many thanks to all of you who have donated directly to us by shouting us hotel rooms. We would not have made it this far with you :)
-Jerry, Steph, & Nugget (Pittsburgh, KS)
-Lindsay & Dave (Pueblo, CO)
-Eileen Tynion (Pueblo, CO)
-Karen & Craig (CO)
-Denise & Steve (UT)
-Grandma Tynion (UT)
-Debbie & Steve (Brawley, CA)
-Chris L. (all the room crashes!)
-Gary & Jo D. (for making space for us even if we never made it there haha)
Thanks again! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
little foot. and sasq.
If you have enjoyed reading the blog and following along on our adventure, think what we're doing is inspiring, interesting, cool, or down right insane... then please consider making a donation and helping us to reach our goal of raising $1 for every mile cycled! Many thanks to all of you who have donated directly to us by shouting us hotel rooms. We would not have made it this far with you :)
-Jerry, Steph, & Nugget (Pittsburgh, KS)
-Lindsay & Dave (Pueblo, CO)
-Eileen Tynion (Pueblo, CO)
-Karen & Craig (CO)
-Denise & Steve (UT)
-Grandma Tynion (UT)
-Debbie & Steve (Brawley, CA)
-Chris L. (all the room crashes!)
-Gary & Jo D. (for making space for us even if we never made it there haha)
Thanks again! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
little foot. and sasq.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
We Are the Champions My Friends!
Where was I? Yes, a huge day we had on Monday! As you previously know SC and DC cycles 130.8 miles in order to beat our 122, well their victory was short lived! We road 135.8, that's right 5 more than them!
Although this was a great day, it came with a lot of bumps along the way... I first had a flat after 20 miles and also noticed my back tire was bald so I changed my flat and flipped around my tires. That wasn't soo bad, but then about 15 miles later lil foot got a flat, but her flat also meant the end of her fat crappy temporary tire. A huge construction staple got stuck in hers. She changed the flat and we crossed our fingers Nd continued. After 75 miles it was only lunch time, we were looking good. After lunch lil foot had another flat, but it wasn't the tube so much as the tire. We went to a local bike shop where we both bought more tubes. Then we sat outside at lil foot which her tires and replaced a tube. By the time we took care of tires it was already 4pm and we had a lot of miles to cover. Joce caught up at this point and would go ahead to the town we planned on camping in. As we rode on it became later Nd later the. It was dark. Joce to the rescue! She had our head lights so he met back up with us and after we were lit up she decided to trail behind us and be our headlight! I felt like a celebrity or something with this kind of support. We made it to a gas station and o ly had 4 miles til our next camping location. So off we went. As we pulled in it was plain to see this was going to be a rough night. The spot we pitched our tents eS also home to7 feral cats. Not a good sign. It spelled like pee and there was cat food on the ground close by. Lil foot Nd I were having Kentucky Dave's flash backs.
The plan for the next day, get the Hell out of there and into a hotel near by. Lil foot had her tires delivered to katoes and Kevin and they finally showed. We met katie halfway in phoenix, az where we had lunch together. Then it was movie time. Yay! A month of waiting to see harry potter and what a disappointment. Such a crap last movie, lil foot informed me the books were 1000% better. If only I liked reading. Ha.
Back to the hotel for an amazing.night of sleep on what felt like a cloud!
This morning we didn't get an early start. In fact we didn't start until 11:30, not so smart in the dessert. Joce stayed with us til 3:30ish, then we were back to supporting ourselves. Only roughly 55 mules today because of our late start. Tomorrow we hope to start riding by 6am and over the border into Cali by lunch. I think we'll get it down!
With only one state to go and 15 days til we reach San Fran, the end is near and we can taste it. Beach camping, seeing some of lil foots friends and Eric will be amazing. Can't wait to actually reach the coast so I can dive right into the ocean!
Peace out cub/girl scouts!
Sasq
A little too tired for side notes tonight, but tomorrow I'll write a few you all may enjoy!
Although this was a great day, it came with a lot of bumps along the way... I first had a flat after 20 miles and also noticed my back tire was bald so I changed my flat and flipped around my tires. That wasn't soo bad, but then about 15 miles later lil foot got a flat, but her flat also meant the end of her fat crappy temporary tire. A huge construction staple got stuck in hers. She changed the flat and we crossed our fingers Nd continued. After 75 miles it was only lunch time, we were looking good. After lunch lil foot had another flat, but it wasn't the tube so much as the tire. We went to a local bike shop where we both bought more tubes. Then we sat outside at lil foot which her tires and replaced a tube. By the time we took care of tires it was already 4pm and we had a lot of miles to cover. Joce caught up at this point and would go ahead to the town we planned on camping in. As we rode on it became later Nd later the. It was dark. Joce to the rescue! She had our head lights so he met back up with us and after we were lit up she decided to trail behind us and be our headlight! I felt like a celebrity or something with this kind of support. We made it to a gas station and o ly had 4 miles til our next camping location. So off we went. As we pulled in it was plain to see this was going to be a rough night. The spot we pitched our tents eS also home to7 feral cats. Not a good sign. It spelled like pee and there was cat food on the ground close by. Lil foot Nd I were having Kentucky Dave's flash backs.
The plan for the next day, get the Hell out of there and into a hotel near by. Lil foot had her tires delivered to katoes and Kevin and they finally showed. We met katie halfway in phoenix, az where we had lunch together. Then it was movie time. Yay! A month of waiting to see harry potter and what a disappointment. Such a crap last movie, lil foot informed me the books were 1000% better. If only I liked reading. Ha.
Back to the hotel for an amazing.night of sleep on what felt like a cloud!
This morning we didn't get an early start. In fact we didn't start until 11:30, not so smart in the dessert. Joce stayed with us til 3:30ish, then we were back to supporting ourselves. Only roughly 55 mules today because of our late start. Tomorrow we hope to start riding by 6am and over the border into Cali by lunch. I think we'll get it down!
With only one state to go and 15 days til we reach San Fran, the end is near and we can taste it. Beach camping, seeing some of lil foots friends and Eric will be amazing. Can't wait to actually reach the coast so I can dive right into the ocean!
Peace out cub/girl scouts!
Sasq
A little too tired for side notes tonight, but tomorrow I'll write a few you all may enjoy!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Joys of Car Camping!
Sorry for the wait. We've had a busy friend filled week!
As I last mentioned we joined Katie and Kevin Thursday night and camped at the Dogtown Lake an hour south of the Grand Canyon. Since Katie and Kevin were driving up, they were able to bring a ton of stuff which helped big time. Their tent sleeps 8 and ours sleeps two so it was pretty funny to have them set up right next to each other. They also brought a cooler of food and beer! Two of our favorite things. After setting up camp we hung out Nd stared at the stars for a while, it was probably one of the clearest nights yet. As the night died down we all hit the hay.
Friday morning lil foot and I wanted to sleep in but now of course when we can, our bodies are used to getting up super early so up at 6:30 am. This turned out to actually be great because our camping hosts (katie and kevin) were already up as well and making us some yummy pancakes for breakfast!! We offered to help but they insisted they were fine. After our tummies were full it was off to the canyon to shower. Haha. I should have mentioned that the Campground didn't have showers and lil foot and I hadn't showered in a couple days so it was important for everyone's help that we shower at least once during the weekend.
Well as I was saying, off we went. About an hour later we entered the park, it took another half hour or so to find the showers then when we arrived they were being cleaned. Ugh. What else to do in this situation? Crack open a beer! 11:30 am and we were cheers that we all made it to the Grand Canyon. At the same time we were waiting on the arrival of Jocelyn and Chuba, both flying from the east. I was spending an entire weekend with northeastern alumni, it was like visiting my sister in college all over again! Missed you though Katie.
The showers were open again so we bathed then got a call from Jocelyn to let us know they were about an hour away. We rushed to see an Outlook and take pictures, then hit the gift shop and headed back to Williams where we met the other two at the Route 66 Diner. A beer and a burger later it was time to get the party started at the campsite. I was soooo excited for the night time, smores, fire, beers, friends and fun! Chuba had never been camping like this so it was fun to see some of his reactions but he sure was a trooper for the weekend!
Next morning, Saturday, we all got up and had another tummy breakfast but chief Kevin! Baton and eggs. Although I just made myself a sandwich because eggs when I'm a little hungover doesn't go down all too smooth. It was time to head back to the canyon, and instead of paying for another car we parked one cat just outside the entrance and squeezed lil foot into the trunk area! She was definitely in stealth mode for this! We went straight to Dessert view lookout and took a ton of pictures, climbed a tower to get more angles then shopped again. Not to spoil the fun for anyone but the views are pretty much all the same, not to say that's its still not amazing but it gets a little boring after an hour or so of staring at it.
We all decided it was time to head back to camp. Chuba was flying out early the next day so not much drinking for him and Kevin, Katie is pregnant so NO drinking for her and Jocelyn had a couple but lil foot and I took advantage of the fact we wouldn't be riding the next day! We drank PBRs all afternoon and a little of the night, under the caps were card numbers and symbols so we played poker. Lil foot got a full house and crushed me, damn. For dinner we had hamburgers and hotdogs, which once again the chief made the burgers but it was roasted your own weenie. As it got later it was time to call it quits. Again the next morning we were up early to say by to Chuba, Katie and Kevin. Jocelyn decided to hang out with us til Wednesday!
The three of us went to a KOA campsite Sunday morning. I stayed behind to relax and set up camp. Lil foot and Jocelyn went back to hike a bit in the canyon. The next morning we planned a huge cycling day! With Joce there to be our support we decided this would be the day to crush the boys.
Next post has our last few days.
Sasq
Ps, Chuba snores, not only snores but almost sounds like a bear. Maybe he protected us without even knowing it.
Also it was smokey the bear's 67 th bday on Friday, so happy bday Smokey!
As I last mentioned we joined Katie and Kevin Thursday night and camped at the Dogtown Lake an hour south of the Grand Canyon. Since Katie and Kevin were driving up, they were able to bring a ton of stuff which helped big time. Their tent sleeps 8 and ours sleeps two so it was pretty funny to have them set up right next to each other. They also brought a cooler of food and beer! Two of our favorite things. After setting up camp we hung out Nd stared at the stars for a while, it was probably one of the clearest nights yet. As the night died down we all hit the hay.
Friday morning lil foot and I wanted to sleep in but now of course when we can, our bodies are used to getting up super early so up at 6:30 am. This turned out to actually be great because our camping hosts (katie and kevin) were already up as well and making us some yummy pancakes for breakfast!! We offered to help but they insisted they were fine. After our tummies were full it was off to the canyon to shower. Haha. I should have mentioned that the Campground didn't have showers and lil foot and I hadn't showered in a couple days so it was important for everyone's help that we shower at least once during the weekend.
Well as I was saying, off we went. About an hour later we entered the park, it took another half hour or so to find the showers then when we arrived they were being cleaned. Ugh. What else to do in this situation? Crack open a beer! 11:30 am and we were cheers that we all made it to the Grand Canyon. At the same time we were waiting on the arrival of Jocelyn and Chuba, both flying from the east. I was spending an entire weekend with northeastern alumni, it was like visiting my sister in college all over again! Missed you though Katie.
The showers were open again so we bathed then got a call from Jocelyn to let us know they were about an hour away. We rushed to see an Outlook and take pictures, then hit the gift shop and headed back to Williams where we met the other two at the Route 66 Diner. A beer and a burger later it was time to get the party started at the campsite. I was soooo excited for the night time, smores, fire, beers, friends and fun! Chuba had never been camping like this so it was fun to see some of his reactions but he sure was a trooper for the weekend!
Next morning, Saturday, we all got up and had another tummy breakfast but chief Kevin! Baton and eggs. Although I just made myself a sandwich because eggs when I'm a little hungover doesn't go down all too smooth. It was time to head back to the canyon, and instead of paying for another car we parked one cat just outside the entrance and squeezed lil foot into the trunk area! She was definitely in stealth mode for this! We went straight to Dessert view lookout and took a ton of pictures, climbed a tower to get more angles then shopped again. Not to spoil the fun for anyone but the views are pretty much all the same, not to say that's its still not amazing but it gets a little boring after an hour or so of staring at it.
We all decided it was time to head back to camp. Chuba was flying out early the next day so not much drinking for him and Kevin, Katie is pregnant so NO drinking for her and Jocelyn had a couple but lil foot and I took advantage of the fact we wouldn't be riding the next day! We drank PBRs all afternoon and a little of the night, under the caps were card numbers and symbols so we played poker. Lil foot got a full house and crushed me, damn. For dinner we had hamburgers and hotdogs, which once again the chief made the burgers but it was roasted your own weenie. As it got later it was time to call it quits. Again the next morning we were up early to say by to Chuba, Katie and Kevin. Jocelyn decided to hang out with us til Wednesday!
The three of us went to a KOA campsite Sunday morning. I stayed behind to relax and set up camp. Lil foot and Jocelyn went back to hike a bit in the canyon. The next morning we planned a huge cycling day! With Joce there to be our support we decided this would be the day to crush the boys.
Next post has our last few days.
Sasq
Ps, Chuba snores, not only snores but almost sounds like a bear. Maybe he protected us without even knowing it.
Also it was smokey the bear's 67 th bday on Friday, so happy bday Smokey!
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