2 Lefts

We awoke at Doheny Beach to a somewhat chilly but clear morning. Mike did a great job of navigating us through San Clemente, which had many, many, many turns through residential streets. The route then took us through dry scrubland along the coast. There was almost no traffic with us since those in cars prefer to zip along at 70 mph on the adjacent freeway. When we reached the military base of Camp Pendleton we had to join the traffic on the I-5 freeway since they no longer allow cyclists to just show up and ride through the base. Happily, the shoulder on the freeway was wide, well-maintained and mostly free of debris. We all enjoyed the extra boost that comes from the tail wind generated by large trucks passing you at high speed. Our mileage for the trip crossed 9000 miles somewhere on the I-5. Eight miles later we exited the freeway safely and began a tedious slog through the built-up and congested cities of Oceanside and Carlsbad. I think somehow I was expecting a magical final da...

It was intensely windy as we woke up at the Leo Carrillo campground in Malibu. My Dad's tent nearly blew away as he was taking it down. As we pushed our first few pedal strokes back on Pacific Coast Highway the breeze blew up clouds of dust and grit that made it hard to see. Thankfully it was worst at the start and eased off as the miles rolled by. Then, on to familiar sights: Topanga Canyon, the Getty Villa, the Santa Monica Pier and the beach bike path. After a lunch time break of a few pizza slices we rode over to the marina to check on the boat. All is well. A little dirty but it looks largely the same as we left it and ready to be restored to its former glory, or even better. We had a few more miles to go so we waved goodbye to the boat and hopped back on the bike path toward Hermosa Beach. My Aunt Kellie, Uncle Randy, and cousin Will live there and were very gracious to host us for Halloween. We ate an incredible home-cooked dinner of chili and corn bread and Caesar salad. ...