Seattle to LA on bike

End of the line. The bike out of its box, the train tracks in the background, the future all around. Georgia, sweet Georgia.

Even the subway station is slick in LA. On Sunday the 31st, I took the subway to the train station and boarded the Amtrak to Georgia. It was a 3 day trek that I won't delve into, in an attempt to keep to the spirit of seattletola.

Aneka and I having brunch at a hip slick and cool cafe. Aneka, what was the name of this place again? They had their own shirts that said random stuff like 'mayonnaise served here'.

And then there's the nightlife... its all glitz in Hollywood- I swear I saw Brad Pitt and Paris Hilton at least 4 times each... wait, is that Mandy Moore??

yummy meal!

View from her deck.

... which was... here!! Hollywood!! My friend Aneka lives there, just a block off Hollywood Blvd in this apartment building.

and the carnival slowly begins...the spectacle of LA invades my ireses like a sandstorm on Venice beach. I rode along a beach bicycle path to Venice, and, after an iced mocha and some people watching, began to weave my way through the maze to my final destination...

Day 40, McGrath State Beach to Hollywood, 81 miles

All good things must come to an end. Today was my final ride on the west coast. The day's ride was fairly flat, but still quite challenging, especially in LA. I had to pull out all my city-riding skills to escape with my hide. I kept imagining some El Camino with my skull as a hood ornament...

Oh, and this is the famous burning bush, Moses- style. (bite, drk, bite! :) :D

I stopped in Ventura for some dinner at 'The Habit', which is so named due to the sometimes compulsive consumption of their burgers. Then I rolled into camp for my final night in the tent for awhile. I must say I had grown attached to it.

Pic: I thought y'all should see some damned palm trees since I'm in socal and all, so I shot this one from the bike just south of Ventura. yeehaw!

Day 39, Carpinteria to McGrath State Beach 25 miles

After spending the morning in Carpinteria, I lazily rolled my arse to the next campground, passing many a motorhome perched precipitously between the pacific and the two lane highway. Like the ocean, the further reaches of this stretch of wheeled homes disappears before the eyes can reach them...

The ride was beginning to take on an 'anti-climactic' feel. I had entered the 'falling action' in the plot of this special story. I was turning the final pages of miles with my pedals, already hoping for the sequel...

The end of the day found me reaching Carpinteria State Beach the same time at Moritz, yet another 19 yo free spirited German vagabond. Moritz was on a Marty-esque two week Canada to Mexico pace. He is a triathlete and has already completed an Iron Man distance race. We decided to spend the evening in the refreshing and healing waters of the lady Pacific, body surfing and watching the sun set. Then we went out to pizza and had a good ole time sharing tales of the road.

Day 38, Refugio state beach to Carpinteria, 35 miles

Nearing the end of the journey, in an attempt to slow into some swirling loop of time, I crawled through the delicious falling action of the story- the pilgrimage. I spent some time in Santa Barbara, then found these calm swimming beaches just to the south...
bluh

Today was a day of big hills and bland scenergy. So, you'll get bland commentary and no pictures. I stopped and did laundry in the godforsaken town of Lompoc, which is basically one big strip mall out in the middle of the hot boring nothingness. the end.

The town of Oceano is surrounded by sand dunes, which perpetually try to engulf the town. The streets are regularly plowed, much like a ski resort town.

Day 37, Oceano campground to Refugio State Beach, 80 miles

Crawled out of my tent this morning and saw my man here throwing down a nasty beat on his portable yamaha keyboard. Mesmerized, I watched him freestyle for several minutes. He then segued into a lengthy rant about the ill effects of Mormonism on our society. As I get further down the coast, there are more 'homeless prophets' inhabiting the hiker-biker sites. The shared features of these folks seem to be brilliance, independence, and stubbornness.

turn the page

Setting sun gives fame to the subtle

Blue Heron, listening...

In the Pismo Beach area, I found a feathery flow- an impossible curve of pigment in space

Nearing San Luis Obispo, I saw this old farm. I almost passed it by, but realized that life is lived or skipped in these moments. I decided to live.

In the town of Cambria, I updated the blog and got some lunch at the grocery deli. On my way out of town, I saw a car stop on the shoulder and extend a thumbs up and this little yellow package for me to grab. The handoff was executed with commercial precision and spirit. I'm guessing it was someone in distribution for this company rather than a well wishing layman. I had seen these bars displayed in nearby stores, but never tried one... a couple hours later, low on energy, it saved my life.