Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Long Bike Ride


Corn skiing conditions on the Cascade Volcanoes eventually turned to summer glacier conditions so I decided it would be cool to do something other than read guidebooks and dream about future skiing. For this reason, I decided it would be a good idea to go on a nice long bike ride. Lehua was planning on riding from Portland Oregon to Tijuana Mexico along the Pacific Coast. About a 1,600 mile ride. I figured this was about the length of the long bike ride I was looking for, so I decided to go and see how a Boyz GOSB collaboration epic would go. I initially thought I was going to start in Portland on the 8th and ride to San Fran in order to fly back for work on the 22nd. I found out along the way that I didn't need to be back for work until the 3rd of August, so thus committed to ride at least to Los Angeles. In short, we rode along the coast for about 60 miles a day, camping at state park beach campgrounds along the way. I towed a bob trailer behind my bike, carrying our clothes, tent, sleeping bags and Lehua had panniers on her bike carrying day use items, rain gear, cooking gear, etc. The weather was cold and damp, to the point that your really never got warm. Along the way, I got to see almost the entire Oregon Coast, amazing Redwood Forests and agricultural land in Humboldt County, rode over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco and was amazed when I learned first hand that Santa Cruz really wasn't that cool of a town. I planned to be in Los Angeles this weekend to box up my bike and head to work. That was my belief at least, until last Sunday when I broke the frame of my brand new steel frame bike in Monterrey. Learned first hand that too much gear in a bob trailer for 1200 or so miles will break a frame. Decided to call it good, 320 miles from my goal of Los Angeles and take a train home to Salt Lake for work. Lehua is riding on solo, into Big Sur with the goal of making a wedding in San Diego later next week. Adam M. Lawton