November 2011 – buff3ysbicyclingblog

Part Eleven – LA to San Diego

November 26, 2011November 27, 2011buff3ystanley

The comments, cards and letters just keep on flooding in to buff3ysbicycling blog and this blog now runs the serious risk of eclipsing the bulk of those purported ‘adventure’ cycling blogs out there in cyberland. I fear that the narcissistic pleasure that goes along with my new found notoriety as a hardcore cycling adventurer may get the better of me on occasion but I here declare that I will do all that I can to contain my ever-expanding ego as the miles rack up and my global reputation for cycling daring-do balloons correspondingly.

Its been a busy time on the hardcore adventure cycling road since San Francisco and this posting finds your weary yet satisfied correspondent on the southern border of The US of A and at the end of the Canada/USA road. San Diego at last! It’s a long way South still to go till this cyclin’s done but it soothes the soul to stop, reassess and savour the moment of a minor victory along the way. It is now four months and 7,400 km since my first tentative pedal out of Deadhorse Alaska in late July yet it is sobering to think that San Diego is about a quarter of the total journey to the bottom of South America.

I have to note here for the record that the good people of the west coast states of the USA have been nothing but kind, helpful, polite and cool. The coastline has been a dramatic and magnificent backdrop to my incredible exploits and feats of daring-do and although it is satisfying to be finished with Alaska, Canada and the lower 48, I will miss this place and no doubt be back before too long. On-on to Mexico [after a brief respite, including a cultural study trip to Vegas! (by plane this time)].

22nd November (Santa Barbara – North of Zuma Beach) (60 miles)

Managed to get out of bed after the Blue Man Group night and on the road out of Santa Barbara. Met cycling Andy (UK) on the road and we camped just north of Zuma Beach in the state Camp site there. A quick hit of bourbon for breakfast and am on the road again.

23rd November (Zuma – Hermosa) (40 miles)

The boys in the buff3ysbicyclingblog lab have come up with yet another incredible innovation. This time it is the technique for ensuring that you don’t get your bike stolen during the ride through LA. Take the thing into the public toilet with you. So simple yet so very effective! Might raise an eyebrow or two but this is much preferable to having some low-life scamper off with your bike. Zipped through Malibu (which only has septic tanks I’m told!) and Santa Monica (which has very nice plumbing). Its warmer south of SB so can show off the increasingly sexy cycling legs.

Andy in SM — Andy and Buff3y Santa Monica

Venice Beach had all of the mandatory professional freaks. Great beach services where you can stock up on your medical grade pot and get botoxed on the beach in one hit (so to speak).

There. This is for all those happy snappers frantically clicking away at the Californian coast line. We here at Buff3ysbicyclingblog can give it a bit of silhouette action as well. I spent the night at Hermosa Beach, a bit south of Venice Beach. None of the nightmare scenarios of LA traffic have eventuated, mostly due to the Thanksgiving weekend.

24th November (Hermosa Beach LA – San Clemente (60 miles)

Hard to know where to start with ‘Navajo Dave’. It would be too easy to fob him off as another cycling space cadet on the road in southern California. He did have a very passable patter in new age cycling stoned philosophy and an interesting theory that we could somehow travel back in time by pedaling backwards. Fascinating. In his defense he gave me a bottle of water.

25th November (San Clemente – San Diego) (70 miles)

Arrival in San Diego:

San Diego marks the end of the USA ride and in a way the end of the first chunk of the journey. Next will be Mexico, Central America with South American thereafter.

Just north of SD I met Irish Ian once more and we cycled the last leg into town together. It has to be noted that on arrival in San Diego we did ask a guy to take our photo to record the moment of USA cycling victory for posterity …..and he refused. It was clear that this was because he felt that Ian looked more than a little bit tatty and bum-like and rightly suspected that Ian might be after money. Happily he then focused on your more classically attired humble correspondent, the mistake appreciated and the photo taken.

Part Ten – Santa Barbara

November 22, 2011November 22, 2011buff3ystanley

“Me, I’m still on the road headin’ for another joint,

We always did feel the same

We just saw it from a different point… of view,

Tangled up in blue…” (Dylan)

Don’t panic! It’s not another one of my excruciating rhymes. This one is from Dylan (‘Tangled Up In Blue’ – Bob Dylan). Yes, I do appreciate that sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference. On Dylan, there is evidently some odd rabid hag running about claiming that Dylan didn’t pen original lyrics. What a ridiculous scrubber! It would be equally idiotic to critique Willie Shakespeare for lifting Henry 4-I, 4-II or 5 or Lear. (By the way I had a take a look at the movie Anonymous the other day and it – a bit silly and not very pretty).

Well your humble correspondent is, “headin’ for another joint”, and another, and another. We head now into southern California careening southwards along the coastal highways and rapidly approaching the end of the USA west coast. Will Buff3y go on? Can he somehow endure more hard travellaiin? Will he cast of the hard carapace of the adventure cyclist and go soft by returning to civilian life? Could he possibly abandon his new-found adoring public, especially given that since San Francisco an additional 1.75 people have subscribed to this site? Not on your Nelly! I am very happy to report, therefore, to all 5.75 of my followers on this Blog that the current intention is very much to push the hardcore envelope into South America. We roll on, literally and figuratively.

13th November (Montara – Santa Cruz) (61 Miles)

14th November (Santa Cruz – Monteray) ( 48 Miles)

The aquarium in Monteray is a wondrous wonderous place and well worth a few hours. All manner of beastie is on display there, the highlights being the jelly fish and the seahorses. They conduct lots of research and rehabilitate orphan creatures. See the video of a shark that has been rescued after being flattened by a bulldozer.

15th November (Monteray – Big Sur) (52 Miles)

Fantastic scenery all the way through Big Sur and one or two big rises. In response to the myriad requests for more pictures of my bike, here is another. It is truly a thing of rare and wondrous beauty, now boasting its new mud guards that glisten in the afternoon sun.

16th November (Big Sur – San Simeon) (73 miles)

Was blasting over the coastal hills south of Big Sur. Not a camp site nor motel so had to keep going into the dusk to get to Sam Simeon. Just north pf San Sameon, however, there is a beach with a large bunch of Elephant seals, all laying – farting – fighting – plooking away merrily (see video).

17th November (San Simeon – Oceano) (55 miles)

18th November (Oceano – Solvang) (60 miles)

The tourist trap of Solvang is a little bit of Denmark that has been given the Disneyland treatment and stuffed just north of Santa Barbara. Here, along with enjoying the most expensive caramel toffee apple in the history of the world, Buff3ysbicyclingblog can here answer one of those enduring questions of guard duty. Its all a trick! The guards don’t actually wear their uniforms; they merely stand behind a painted effigy of a uniform. The scam is here exposed by your humble correspondent out in front of my motel. In its defense of the place, this town did have the loveliest pastries imaginable. The good people of Solvang should just be thankful that someone is willing to stand on that wall.

19th November ( Sovang -Santa Barbara) (30 miles)

A lovely rise of 2,100 ft and an even lovelier 8 miles blast into Santa Barbara where I will rest for a day or so.

20th – 21st November (Santa Barbara)

Now, this blog has, in the recent past gone into bat for the fashionistas of North America (‘In Defense of The Pant’ – Vancouver Posting). Here at Buff3ysbicyclingblog we like to keep our fingers right on the pulse of fashion trends. Being the epitome of sartorial elegance on the bike, we feel amply qualified and therefore justified in making disparaging remarks on what others are wearing. It is with a heavy heart that we have to report that in Santa Barbara is in the grip of am Ugg Boot, Wellies and Head Muff plague.

Now this is just a leg crime! What was she thinking? Its simply indefensible. It is, however, getting a bit weird (not to say a bit risky) to continue roving the streets taking pictures of women’s legs, (especially with the intention of ridiculing them) so will revert to shooting pre-crime photos. People are actually mixing and matching their leggings, head things, wellies, and Ugg boots (see below). If one were in Brisbane and witness these atrocities then that would be one thing, but surely not here in such a sophisticated fashion hub and the home of beach volleyball!

Am off tonight to see Blue Man Group. Will report back.

Part Nine – San Francisco

November 13, 2011November 22, 2011buff3ystanley

Welcome to another thrilling chapter in the travel, life and times of Buff3y the Hardcore Solo Adventure Cyclist. There has been a lot of activity on the blog of late with subscriptions way up on the previous quarter (up by 1.3 people) and comments becoming 23.7% less abusive (Paul didn’t comment this quarter). This blogging thing is threatening to go completely viral so please don’t tell your friends, family or corporate sponsors about this site as I just get inundated with emails, cards, donations and letters of support that I simply have to ignore.

I am now blasting down the California coast with Oregon a mere distant memory and LA now firmly in the sights. It is therefore with a skip in my pedal stroke that I offer the latest posting which covers in and around San Francisco.

2^nd November (64 miles) (Miranda – Westport):

3^rd November (55 miles) (Westport – Manchester)

4^th November (68 Miles) (Manchester – Bodega Bay)

There have been a lot of requests recently in the comments portal for recipes of the food that I have been preparing along the way. In anticipation of the forthcoming travel cook book I’ll be sharing a few tasters with you on the blog.

1. Noodles & Spam: Instant Noodles – Open pack and put contents in hot water. Heat Water more. Add Spam. Mulch up a bit. Eat.

2. Noodles & Chili: Heat the noodles (as per above) and drain the salty stuff. Add canned chili con carne (p.s. ensure that the noodles do not stick to the pan).

3. Gravy and Biscuit Do not eat this. It’s rubbish.

There has been some stunning scenery all along the coastline north of San Francisco. I have joined the army of people snapping away at the California coast looking for that perfect shot of the roacks and headlands.

California Coast X — California Coast North of Fort Bragg

One of the great disadvantages of hard-core solo adventure travel is that you do not enjoy the luxury of duty division at the campsite that others enjoy. Couples I’ve camped with can have the tent pitched and the noodles on the boil long before your long-suffering solo correspondent has had the chance to scratch himself. Am tempted therefore to look for a woman who can share some of the load and duties. The task that is easily the most onerous (for me at least) is getting the sleeping bag stuffed back in the sack each morning: A song therefore (after Cat Stevens):

I’m lookin’ for a bag-stuffin’ woman,

One to stuff my sleepin’ bag-a-a-ag….

When I find that bag-stuffin’ woman,

I won’t be stuffin’ my own ba–hag -ag, no, no. no-o-o

I’m lookin’ for a bag-stuffin’ woman, [- stuffin’ woman]

I can cook and do the rest, -est -est,

When I find that bag-stuffin’ woman,

I’m goin’ ta watch her get undressed – yes, yes, yes….yes I will…

I know a lot of fancy campers,
people claiming they’re hardcore –ore, -ore.
They move so smooth but aren’t good sleeping bag stuffers
When you ask “Why’d you come here for?”
“I don’t know” “Why?” ……

5^th November (75 Miles) (Bodega Bay – San Francisco)

The ride into town was complicated by two hours of rain and the delay of stopping at an oyster bar 30 miles up the cost (Hog Island Oysters – highly recommended). It was therefore a very sodden cyclist that hit town via the Golden Gate Bridge.

What a wonderful wonderful city. This is a seriously beautiful city with scale and class and great eateries, drinkeries and gritty bits. OK, I’ll grant that it is full of a lot of odd people and there are some parts that smell a bit of wee, particularly in the inner suburb of Tenderloin where your correspondent is now ensconced. But this is all part of SF’s charm and coming over the Golden Gate Bridge (see video) I’m elated just to arrive here and very much looking forward to spending time here exploring the place.

Downtown in The ‘Loin’ there are loads of people talking to themselves – gibbering away in a meth-induced haze. A cop car is chasing some guy who is riding a bicycle and my money is on the cyclist escaping as he has some clever cut-back maneuvers that are frustrating his pursuer who needs to reverse and start after him again as he darts up another side street. The veterans Day (Armistice Day) parade is on with people dropping their wooden twirling rifles and batons with under-practiced aplomb to great hilarity. Its all happening. China Town, Alcatraz, North Beach and The Loin – have done some serious tourist work this week.

Tucking into huge fry up hash brown and sausage breakfasts each morning and exploring the entertainment districts each night. I tried grits but am disappointed in the sloppy (not very ‘gritty’ at all!) nature of the stuff. My hotel here (The Abigail) is regrettably falling to pieces. At one point the receptionist chap has the temerity to knock on my door and announce that, “No bicycles are allowed in the hotel rooms after 9pm”. I’ve heard some truly idiotic things in my time but this ranks right up there. Was compelled to politely request he go and get knotted: (and pen the below in honour of this hotel):

‘Ohhhh Theee… Abigail Hotel is a load of shit

Be very thankful if you’re not in it,

Heating doesn’t work so get a blankit

Toilet’s stuffed and its not fixed yit…’

It’s amazing but the word-smithing just seems to reach new heights with every mile I pedal. So much so that Buff3ysbicyclingblog has been approached to provide an entry in the ‘Song for San Francisco Competition for 2011′. We have therefore toiled for some hours to come up with an ‘Ode to Tenderloin’, the downtown slumish area of central San Francisco in which my (monumentally average and rapidly disintegrating) hotel is located. Tenderloin’s odd name reportedly is due to the high quality of steak that the police who had this lucrative beat could afford because of rampant corruption here (I didn’t make this one up). It’s now a pretty shoddy example of urban decay and a haven for drug dealers, drunks, addicts, the disenfranchised and people who just mumble to themselves a lot; a place to score or just while away the afternoon gibbering incomprehensibly to ones self. In amongst all of the human tragedy there is, however, something here that’s got real soul (The Maltese Falcon was set and filmed here!) and which is an oozing, throbbing part of San Francisco. We’ve set the words here with a bit of a jazz feel, free style spewin’ the words onto the page, which seems somehow appropriate to the setting (jazz the Ricky May way – forget about that beat yeah!):

[Blues: piano, bass, guitar, harmonica, kazoo]

Oh Tenderloin,

You’re tough but you engender….

in me such feelings of delight,…

The boys trans-gendering,

Its very lovely in the Spring

In good ol’ Tenderloin.

Oh Tenderloin,

Despite the odor of urine

It’s back to you that I do pine…..

to beee, if only fleetinglyyy….

and mumble incessantly

in good ol’ Tenderloin.

Oh Tenderloin,

Your lollies metholated

stir feelings constipated…

of psychosis, schitzophenia

in me,… or him,

in good ol’ Tenderloin.

Oh Tenderloin,

Ideas rarely sensible

words incomprehensible

to me,…it’s great to be

so very very fleetingly,

in good ol’ Tenderloin.

12th November (25 Miles) (San Francisco – Montara) .

It wasn’t easy to leave San Francisco. The Irish and Welsh contingent have been great pub surfing companions in the past few days and I miss The Loin already. I did, however, manage to get through the city streets and west to the beach then turn left for LA cruising south along the coastal road for a few miles today. It was good to clear the city limits and get back int the cycling after a week of beer and hashbrowns.

The equipment feels good and the bike is now proudly sporting a new set of lovely mud guards and it is even more of a touring weapon.

Montara Coastline 1 — Montara California

Montara Lighthouse 1 — Montara Lighthouse

San Francisco

November 10, 2011November 22, 2011buff3ystanley

Dramatic vision of Buff3y’s entry to San Francisco. The first time in recorded history that a hardcore touring cyclist has completed the journey from Deadhorse to San Francisco [*with a belt drive and Rohloff Speed Hub bike] – [maybe].

(Will provide the San Francisco posting in all of its glory, exaggerated tales of daring-do including those rare insights into the human condition that visitors to buff3ysbicyclingblog have come to expect when I could be arsed writing it.)

Part Eight: Southern Oregon and Northern California

November 3, 2011April 11, 2013buff3ystanley

There has been an overwhelming response to my song writing efforts of the last posting. all requests for a recording of same will be addressed as soon as we can find a banjo player. No further comments on my poetry will be entertained.

23^rd October (40 miles) (Corvallis – Eugene)

24^th October (Eugene)

The good people at Co-Motion Cycles have been looking after me very nicely. The bike has had some serious love and attention from Teryk and an overhaul including a new rear pulley and carbon belt. I’ve been instructed in the art of belt tension checking and adjustment as the previous pulley and belt had suffered from my neglect and both had worn prematurely. It is, however, worth noting that the new rear pulley is steel rather than aluminum, so it should last the distance. With drive train, brakes and other minor adjustments, the bike now feels like a new beast. It is actually the first time that both the bike and I have been in good condition at the same time (as on the Dalton Highway in Alaska I was in anything but good condition). Man and beast are therefore now morphing into the one being capable of astounding feats of mile devouring daring-do (see man-and-bike photos).

25^th October (61 miles) (Eugene – Florence)

The cities of Washington State and Oregon have been very cool places and it has lead to some speculation on this blog as to where the not-so-cool places are – as some there surely had to be. Alas in one or two of the little towns along the coastal strip of southern Oregon into northern California it has become apparent where the Oregonians dump a lot of their somewhat-less-than-cool people, some of whom appear to have developed very enthusiastic affection for their siblings. On-on.

26^th October (58 miles) (Florence – Sunset Beach Bay)

Did the wheel dipping in the Pacific here (Ocean to Ocean – Arctic to Pacific). Camping can be a chore on occasion and when you have the combination of overly officious camp rangers and raccoons fighting and trying to get into the packs, it is just a complete pain in the arse. I had to move my tent to be in the ‘hiker/biker’ section even though this section was closed. I’ll write them nasty letter: that’ll show ‘em. A raccoon managed to make off with the salami!

27^th October (55 miles) (Sunset Beach – Port Orford)

At Port Orford the road at the end of the main street leads up to a magical panorama across the bay. I decided to take a room at the motel at the top of the ridge and stroll down to the wharf for a seafood dinner and was very glad I did. Other oysters around the world will hold their oyster-hoods cheap for not being on my plate in Port Orford this night. After a few bad experiences with piddling little grotty oysters up the coast, ‘Griffs on the Bay’ out on the wharf came through with six huge pump jobbies.

Earlier that day I again met John and Kate who are cycling across USA and down the west coast for FarmAID (foodcyclists.org) visiting farms along the way. We shared the Seven Devils coastal road out of Sunset Bay beach. At lunch we also met a couple of guys doing the speed biking trip heading down the coast of USA in 11 days which is 150 miles per day! (see photo).

USA in 11 Days — USA North to South in 11 days

28^th October (50 miles) (Port Orford – Brookings)

29^th October (58 miles) (Brookings – Orick)

There are a number of statues around the USA of Paul Bunyan the giant woodsman and his side-kick ‘Babe’ the blue bull. The Wiki entry casts some doubt on the origin of the tales of Mr Bunyan and Babe and doesn’t really tell you what they did so here I will fill in the blanks. Paul was a popular chap because he was very large. Just why he befriended a bull and called it Babe is not clear but suffice to say that life on the frontier could be pretty lonely. This bull ‘Babe’ had rather large testicles whereas Paul, despite his large size, had small testicles. This infuriated Paul for people would come from far and wide to marvel at the size of Babe’s testicles. They were less and less interested in a giant man who cut down trees – who had meager testicles. Paul was, of course, very jealous of both the attention that Babe and his large testicles were getting and that he too did not have big testicles. He locked Babe away from sight. Being locked up, Babe was not able to date any cows and he became sexually frustrated. Having only hooves he was not able to masturbate (bulls not having thumbs of course). After a while of being without sex, Babe began to turn blue. This is where we get the term, ‘to have blue balls’ i.e. a male being deprived of sex. One version of the tale has it that Paul chopped Babe’s huge balls off in a jealous rage and some statues around the country reflect this in that Babe appears sackless.

30^th October (55 miles) (Orick – Eureka):

31^st October (45 miles) (Eureka – Weott):

The ‘Avenue of the Giants’ south of Eureka is a wonderful stretch of road running alongside the main 101 Highway that takes you through some breathtaking forest with majestic tree trunks on either side of the road in many sections (see photos). Chance had it that a good bunch of cyclists congregated at the camp site near Weott and being Halloween we had a campfire and your correspondent took the opportunity to get completely ratted on cheap whiskey. In the campsite there were a good few of us who are doing the pan-American ride (see photo).

Cyclists in Avenue of Giants — Lovely people and sexy bike

Trans Am Bikers — Hardcore Pan-Am Cyclists

1^st November (10 miles) (Weott – Miranda):

Left camp with Rob the Welsh biker (twatonabike) who is traveling south from Alaska alone after his colleague abandoned the trip very early on (after 30 miles!). After the excessive drinking of last night it was a minor miracle that we made it even the 10 miles we somehow managed, sweating whiskey all the way. Best call this one a rest day.

2^nd November (64 miles) (Miranda – Westport):

A hard but lovely climb and plummet over the Coastal Range west to the coast and onto Route 1 which hugs the coastline for the 200 mile run south into San Francisco. Legs pumped along like over-sized steam powered pistons mercilessly battering the hills into submission. A long climb through the woods in the afternoon and then swoop to the coast and a magnificent view up and down the rugged coast line. Rob managed to get himself bitten by a spider by the road side so he repaired to the hospital for a patch up.