i finished the coast to coast mission yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 8th April). I arrived at the Pacific coast in san diego on a windy overcast day. unfortunately there were no crowds lining the streets cheering me down to the sea but Brad picked me up at the beach so at least i had a place to stay last night. had a fun day riding through the hills behing san diego and coming down the mountain. decided to treat myself to a decent lunch so i went to an italian restaurant in Lakeside. couldn't quite believe it when the waitress said: "do you want the buffet?". i had to ask her to repeat the question before demolishing about 5 plates of pasta, pizza and salad. then caught the end of the champions league footie game betwwen liverpool and arsenal and had a pint. then i ambled down to the coast using the momentum of my belly to take me down to sea level.
the whole trip has taken six and a half weeks including breaks i took in austin and new mexico. i feel like i should be getting back on my bike but i have to keep telling myself that its all done. anyway i am hoping to do a bit of cycling in northern california through some of the redwood forests but i will have to see. i wonder if i will get used to life not on a saddle! am going to get a CD made with some more photos so please wait for me to get round to it. think i will write some conclusions about the trip at a later date. just need some time to reflect and take it easy.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
last bit
i ended up staying in Quartzsite for a rest day as i met a nice teacher called Kurt who was my age. we went to mexico on saturday to drink a few beers in the sun and listen to mexican music. the border town was quite strange as there were lots of shops selling medicine to all the retired americans. chilled out in the afternoon watching the semi finals of the college basketball tournament. am starting to enjoy american sports much more now.
on sunday i did a big day of over 120 miles. at first the scenery was rough desert terrrain but that slowly turned into flat field of lush green wheat crops with the odd palm tree (I imagine that is what the nile flood plain looks like) and then i travelled through sand dunes at a place called Glamis where there were loads of people riding quad bikes (some of them costing over $100, 000 for the buggies). finally made it to brawley which is in the imperial valley (below sea level).
monday was a challanging day as the wind was against me and from el centro the road was terrible. the bumps indeed vexed me and the steep incline pasted ocotillo on the highway 8 vexe more! it was tough fighting the wind and going uphill but i eventually made it to Jacumba which was a chilled but slightly rundown village. it is supposedly the drug capital of the states being on the border with mexico in the hills but i saw no evidence of any of that instead i met loads of really nice people, one of whom Jerry from yugoslavia, let me sleep in his shop and bought me some beers and a sandwich. he was an interesting man who was very bright and we had a long chat before i slept on the carpet.
on sunday i did a big day of over 120 miles. at first the scenery was rough desert terrrain but that slowly turned into flat field of lush green wheat crops with the odd palm tree (I imagine that is what the nile flood plain looks like) and then i travelled through sand dunes at a place called Glamis where there were loads of people riding quad bikes (some of them costing over $100, 000 for the buggies). finally made it to brawley which is in the imperial valley (below sea level).
monday was a challanging day as the wind was against me and from el centro the road was terrible. the bumps indeed vexed me and the steep incline pasted ocotillo on the highway 8 vexe more! it was tough fighting the wind and going uphill but i eventually made it to Jacumba which was a chilled but slightly rundown village. it is supposedly the drug capital of the states being on the border with mexico in the hills but i saw no evidence of any of that instead i met loads of really nice people, one of whom Jerry from yugoslavia, let me sleep in his shop and bought me some beers and a sandwich. he was an interesting man who was very bright and we had a long chat before i slept on the carpet.
Friday, 4 April 2008
almost there!
i ended up having a great time in phoenix even though i didnt warm to the city. stayed with jay who was a cyclist and it was fun to chat with him about his trip across the states and have a few beers. also i bumped into a friendly guy called terry and i went over to his house for some pasta with his wife. thanks terry and heather!
on thursday i rode through downtown phoenix and out of the city with terry who very kindly guided me through some nice areas and quiet roads for cyclists. yesterday afternoon was fairly uninspiring as the road was staight and uphill all the way to wickenburg. stopped off at a grocery store run by vietnamese people in a place called wittman. was really strange as everyone seemed high (perhaps it was all the meth-amphetamine that i hear is rife in small town america?). one guy even said he would come to england in a couple of weeks and asked if i wanted to phone home on his mobile.....i politely refused the generous offer! camped in wickenburg and raced all the mexican kids around the RV park trying not to win (was quite hard as i still have that bording school competative streak). read my book outside a mcdonalds in true hobo style. getting used to this lifestyle.
today has been a pleasure to cycle as i have made lots of progress without too much effort as i have been going steadily downhill most of the way. keep passing loads of RV parks where all the retired people from the north of the states come down to avoid the cold (snowbirds). it is a odd because they pick some pretty uninspiring places to park themselves for the entire winter. am now in quartzsite (just short of the california border). think i have 240 mile till i finish the trip so it should be 3 more days to go.
on thursday i rode through downtown phoenix and out of the city with terry who very kindly guided me through some nice areas and quiet roads for cyclists. yesterday afternoon was fairly uninspiring as the road was staight and uphill all the way to wickenburg. stopped off at a grocery store run by vietnamese people in a place called wittman. was really strange as everyone seemed high (perhaps it was all the meth-amphetamine that i hear is rife in small town america?). one guy even said he would come to england in a couple of weeks and asked if i wanted to phone home on his mobile.....i politely refused the generous offer! camped in wickenburg and raced all the mexican kids around the RV park trying not to win (was quite hard as i still have that bording school competative streak). read my book outside a mcdonalds in true hobo style. getting used to this lifestyle.
today has been a pleasure to cycle as i have made lots of progress without too much effort as i have been going steadily downhill most of the way. keep passing loads of RV parks where all the retired people from the north of the states come down to avoid the cold (snowbirds). it is a odd because they pick some pretty uninspiring places to park themselves for the entire winter. am now in quartzsite (just short of the california border). think i have 240 mile till i finish the trip so it should be 3 more days to go.
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
epic scenery to artificial suburbs
i manged to get my tent semi fixed with the help of an ex-marine Tom, who was starting his first tour aged 68. it was at loads of strange angles but it did the job in the end.
on tuesday i got an early start and without much wind i managed to rinse it on the arizona highway 60. went through apache territory which reminded me a bit of tibet as the surroundings were stunning but the local people lived in realtive poverty, shifting through the post office in the morning (i asume to pick up their pay outs). also on many of the native american land there are huge casinos which i think is a bit off key as the only jobs many of the indians have is working in an industry that many people feel is morally degrading. however i had a so much fun cruising that i made Globe by lunch and then Superior by the end of the afternoon. i managed about 100 miles in fantastic weather and i think i am actually starting to enjoy climbing up hills. seems a bit strange to me as well! the ride coming down was breath-taking as the road winded down through bare rock faces (sometimes at a 7% slope which was fun but a little scary at times with all the lorries passing by). managed to get a trailor to sleep in at an RV park where the woman said i should borrow her car to do some shopping. nice 1!
this morning i think i have seen the best views all trip. just past Superior there is some incredible scenery with huge cacti, rolling hills covered with yellow flowers and if thats not good enough, mountains with impressive outcrops of rock. then it was all downhill from there, in both senses. coming into phoenix (tempe/apache junction if you know it) was extremely surreal. loads of 1 story houses spread out in the middle of the desert but all with nice little gardens and trees. it is so artificial and the architecture is offensive. There are all these gated estates with the same house replecated over a whole block and then the next block will be a different style of houses. it seems i am in lego land and they even have golf courses with lush green turf in the middle of this monstrosity. i apologise to all phoenix residents but after the views of this morning i cant say i am too impressed. am staying with a cyclist tonight so hopefully i will see some of the cooler stuff that phoenix has to offer. i havent actually made into phoenix after cycling for about 20 miles through the city! aparently it is 90 miles from end to end.
think i have only about 400 miles till i reach the pacific ocean so i should be done in less than a week. cant believe it is coming to an end.
on tuesday i got an early start and without much wind i managed to rinse it on the arizona highway 60. went through apache territory which reminded me a bit of tibet as the surroundings were stunning but the local people lived in realtive poverty, shifting through the post office in the morning (i asume to pick up their pay outs). also on many of the native american land there are huge casinos which i think is a bit off key as the only jobs many of the indians have is working in an industry that many people feel is morally degrading. however i had a so much fun cruising that i made Globe by lunch and then Superior by the end of the afternoon. i managed about 100 miles in fantastic weather and i think i am actually starting to enjoy climbing up hills. seems a bit strange to me as well! the ride coming down was breath-taking as the road winded down through bare rock faces (sometimes at a 7% slope which was fun but a little scary at times with all the lorries passing by). managed to get a trailor to sleep in at an RV park where the woman said i should borrow her car to do some shopping. nice 1!
this morning i think i have seen the best views all trip. just past Superior there is some incredible scenery with huge cacti, rolling hills covered with yellow flowers and if thats not good enough, mountains with impressive outcrops of rock. then it was all downhill from there, in both senses. coming into phoenix (tempe/apache junction if you know it) was extremely surreal. loads of 1 story houses spread out in the middle of the desert but all with nice little gardens and trees. it is so artificial and the architecture is offensive. There are all these gated estates with the same house replecated over a whole block and then the next block will be a different style of houses. it seems i am in lego land and they even have golf courses with lush green turf in the middle of this monstrosity. i apologise to all phoenix residents but after the views of this morning i cant say i am too impressed. am staying with a cyclist tonight so hopefully i will see some of the cooler stuff that phoenix has to offer. i havent actually made into phoenix after cycling for about 20 miles through the city! aparently it is 90 miles from end to end.
think i have only about 400 miles till i reach the pacific ocean so i should be done in less than a week. cant believe it is coming to an end.
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