Post by Ray on Feb 9, 2018 12:33:03 GMT -5
Another "bucket list" item on the schedule.
Not nearly as grand an adventure as riding across the entire country, but the views should be spectacular.
I'm headed to the California State Square Dance Convention taking place from April 20 through 22. After the convention, I'll make my way down to Sausalito where I've got reservations at this nice looking place.
On Monday the 23rd I'll be crossing over the Golden Gate, riding nearly 100 miles to get to Santa Cruz. I'll be spending the night in a hostel, the Hi-Santa Cruz Hostel.
The next stay is only 50 miles away in Monterey. There's an organization started by bicyclists called Warmshowers.org. If you've got a place for a biker passing through and can share a room / meal / shower, great. If you're the one doing the passing, perhaps someone can find a place on a couch for you. A fellow bicyclist is opening up his home that night.
I was a little concerned over going through the Big Sur area about the cost of lodging. Most places start at $400 and up per night. In searching through Google Street View, I encountered Deetjen's Big Sur Inn. It also has rooms that are ridiculously priced . . . but it's got a room they call The Van Gogh. It'll still be the priciest stay along the way -- $140 for a shared bathroom! -- but that's way better than $400. (All the places along here are astronomical because it's among the most beautiful scenery in the world.) It's a short ride from Monterey. Only 35 miles. I plan on taking my time and snapping lots of pictures.
I've got a hotel for the next night in San Simeon, then an AirBNB in Santa Maria the following night. (I asked the lady running the AirBNB if she'd had a spot for my weary bod after riding nearly 80 miles to reach her. She replied, "I would enjoy having you and I have a nice quiet place for your weary body. The tub in your bathroom, air bubbles and jets massages and a tempuredic queen size bed that massage too." I told her that would be a big problem as I would probably never leave.
Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Long Beach are the next places. The final day will be 67 miles from Long Beach to Oceanside, where a good friend is picking me up and taking me to her place in San Diego. The trip should take 9 days of riding for a total of 583 miles.
I bought myself a new toy at Christmas: A DJI Spark drone. Since I'm going to be going through some amazing vistas, I'd love to take it . . . but I honestly don't know that I'd get better shots with the drone than I would with my camera phone. (Which takes amazing pictures, itself.) If I carry it, it's less "other stuff" I can tote as space is certainly limited on a bicycle. I've given thought to a stand-alone digital camera, but I don't know that there'll be shots it'll do better than my phone. I'm open to suggestions.
If you'd care to follow along, I set up a blog website: pchbybike.com and a dedicated Twitter feed: twitter.com/pchbybike. (I have a Gab.ai that I prefer over Twitter . . . but, Twitter handles pictures and video better than Gab.) Both of those sites have crap content right now as I was simply testing that they'll work when the time comes.
Not nearly as grand an adventure as riding across the entire country, but the views should be spectacular.
I'm headed to the California State Square Dance Convention taking place from April 20 through 22. After the convention, I'll make my way down to Sausalito where I've got reservations at this nice looking place.
On Monday the 23rd I'll be crossing over the Golden Gate, riding nearly 100 miles to get to Santa Cruz. I'll be spending the night in a hostel, the Hi-Santa Cruz Hostel.
The next stay is only 50 miles away in Monterey. There's an organization started by bicyclists called Warmshowers.org. If you've got a place for a biker passing through and can share a room / meal / shower, great. If you're the one doing the passing, perhaps someone can find a place on a couch for you. A fellow bicyclist is opening up his home that night.
I was a little concerned over going through the Big Sur area about the cost of lodging. Most places start at $400 and up per night. In searching through Google Street View, I encountered Deetjen's Big Sur Inn. It also has rooms that are ridiculously priced . . . but it's got a room they call The Van Gogh. It'll still be the priciest stay along the way -- $140 for a shared bathroom! -- but that's way better than $400. (All the places along here are astronomical because it's among the most beautiful scenery in the world.) It's a short ride from Monterey. Only 35 miles. I plan on taking my time and snapping lots of pictures.
I've got a hotel for the next night in San Simeon, then an AirBNB in Santa Maria the following night. (I asked the lady running the AirBNB if she'd had a spot for my weary bod after riding nearly 80 miles to reach her. She replied, "I would enjoy having you and I have a nice quiet place for your weary body. The tub in your bathroom, air bubbles and jets massages and a tempuredic queen size bed that massage too." I told her that would be a big problem as I would probably never leave.
Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Long Beach are the next places. The final day will be 67 miles from Long Beach to Oceanside, where a good friend is picking me up and taking me to her place in San Diego. The trip should take 9 days of riding for a total of 583 miles.
I bought myself a new toy at Christmas: A DJI Spark drone. Since I'm going to be going through some amazing vistas, I'd love to take it . . . but I honestly don't know that I'd get better shots with the drone than I would with my camera phone. (Which takes amazing pictures, itself.) If I carry it, it's less "other stuff" I can tote as space is certainly limited on a bicycle. I've given thought to a stand-alone digital camera, but I don't know that there'll be shots it'll do better than my phone. I'm open to suggestions.
If you'd care to follow along, I set up a blog website: pchbybike.com and a dedicated Twitter feed: twitter.com/pchbybike. (I have a Gab.ai that I prefer over Twitter . . . but, Twitter handles pictures and video better than Gab.) Both of those sites have crap content right now as I was simply testing that they'll work when the time comes.