Christian's Blog - Miles' Blog
August 16, 2009
Whew, what a week.
Miles and I have been hauling ass the past week making sure we get to the border on time. It's not that we were in danger of being late or anything, we just had a lot of setbacks on the way. Ever since Malibu it seemed like we couldn't get more than five miles without having to change flat tires. Literally, I can tell you what is at every five mile incriment on the Los Angeles Coast. The source of the problem was my rear tire, so we caved and bought a new one in Hermosa Beach. This didn't get us far though, for I got a huge tear in it the next morning. Ugh. Luckily we were close enough to Long Beach at the time that our friend Carlos, whom we met through Craigslist, to come out and hook us up with an old, but flawless tire.
And now we're in La Jolla. Only 30 miles to go. I don't want to sound cliche, but I can't believe it is almost over. I don't know if I'm ready yet. This summer has seemed so long and so short. I have sure done plenty of soul-searching on the trip, which is exactly the reason I did this. It has been a lot of work and a real test of my limits, both mentally and physically. I guess I'm just not looking forward to going back to the consistency of my life back in Northridge. But I know it is all for the best, and a summer like this is how to take it all in and gain some perspective.
Anyways, we're heading into downtown San Diego right now to give away Kengi's Do Something Kits. We plan on leaving early tomorrow and having a good day with our family and friends. It's so surreal thinking of all the lasts I am having right now. The last time I set up the tent, the last time I shower in a strangers bathroom, rushing my teeth with baking soda with water from a camelback... But I know these are only lasts on THIS journey, for I won't rest until I can do something like this again. And then a few times that.
Well, here goes. Wish us luck on our last day and thanks everybody for watching, reading, and giving us your feedback while we take a trip of a lifetime. My only wish is that you all see what we did and realize that it doesn't take much to have an adventure. Just a dream, some hard work, and maybe a little bit of mom and dad's money... But I hope everybody is inspired now to expand their horizons. Don't let the small world around you keep you thinking that is all that exists. The world is far too big people; let's share it.
August 7, 2009
Howdy
We're in Los Osos right now, but we should be on the road to Lompoc soon. The past week has been really exciting in so many ways. From Santa Cruz we headed for Monterey, but didn't quite make it in time before the sun set. So we set the tent up in an abandoned building in an old army base. There were beaten-up shacks all over the place and it kind of eerie to be there. We could tell lots of teens had destroyed the place with acts of mischief. We woke up and headed into Monterey where we met a group of 20-something people all hanging out on the beach. Turns out they're all in a band together and we decided to stay and chill with them for the day. They took us to an apartment and we spent the afternoon with them having fun and watching the X-games. They were really nice and even let us shower and do laundry, which, of course, we could always use.
The next day we headed for Big Sur. I was kind of dreading this ride because the book we're using to guide us showed the elevation to be very gruesome. We instead got into the area with great ease and met some kind locals. I can tell Big Sur, like most towns on the coast, has become a tourist trap and the prices for food reflected just that. We instead made ourselves some PB & J by a creek and discussed living in Big Sur with Dakota and Sam, who had both grown up there. They told us about a party going on that night, which sounded too good to be true. The Henry Miller library is a place dedicated to the memory of the artist and writer. But this particular night it was filled with drunk people and carnival games. We had no idea this would be going on. Five dollars got us all the beer we wanted and the night was great. A local showed us a good spot to sleep on the side of the road (overlooking the Pacific Ocean) and we slept extremely well.
The next day we decided Big Sur was too beautiful to pass up that quickly, so we spent the entire Wednesday on the beach or in the woods exploring, hiking, and climbing the rocks. This was by far one of the best days on the trip because I realized that this part of the coast is WHY people take on this journey. The water was every shade of blue, the skies were clear, and the sun was high. It was a perfect day and we really enjoyed the outdoors.
From there we biked 60 miles to San Simeon and camped for the night. There we met Bill Soder, another traveling cyclist who had been all over the U.S. He told us story after story (which we filmed) about his travels and why he continues to live on the road. I tend to fall in love with these people because they have been, by far, some of the happiest I have met. Without much else to worry about but the road in front of them, these vagabonds take great pleasure in enjoying the little things. I kind of envy this lifestyle, for it is completely devoid of stress, drama, or bullshit. Even without money, they live like kings.
We got to Los Osos the next day (we biked alongside Bill for a good part of the day) and got to Dorothy's house around 3:00. She is a family friend who was kind enough to take us in for the afternoon and feed us. And by feed us, I mean stuff us stupid until we pass out. I got 12 hours of sleep last night. But I really needed it, so I'm not complaining.
The next few days should be easy riding; plus we'll start getting into my neck of the woods, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. I've been pretty anxious about this because I haven't seen a lot of familiar faces or scenery in almost two months. It'll be nice to have some good weather, warm beaches, and friends to enjoy it all with.
July 31, 2009
Hey all,
I know it's been a long time since the last posts, or updates for that matter. We've been hard at work biking and filming a lot. The journey had become kind of predictable on the coast; riding from campground to campground and seeing the same bikers/hikers along the way. Miles and I decided to go back to how the trip started and really rough it. Ever since Fort Bragg we've been camping behind schools, on the beach, etc. Basically, we aren't paying for a place to put our tent anymore. We lost Bruce at Fort Bragg. He was getting impatient with our long stops so he continued his journey. Hopefully we'll see him again, mnostly because we never got him to sign a release form...
When we were in Sea Ranch, just south of Gualala, we spent the night on a beautiful beach. It wasn't exactly legal, but nobody seemed to mind two guys spread out in the sand. It was so perfect out that we didn't even need the tent. That was by far the best night's sleep I've had so far this summer.
Anyways, we met some other guys doing the same exact trip as us who also have a very unique idea to go with it. They're running SWAEsports.com, which is a new, inventive way for people to research, organize and plan outdoor adventures with local outfitters. Daniel, Will, Elliot, and Alex are from Colorado and they're doing this bike trip to begin the launch of their site. Check out their blog from the road at www.swaesports.com/blog. They've also got a friend named Jesse with them who, as an aspiring journalist, is photographing and documenting their trip. We met up with them in San Francisco and did some good interviews. I wish them the best.
We saw my high school buddy, Clay, in San Francsico and had a good time hanging out with him and his roommates. We also made it all the way out to Berkeley to see Mel, Miles' classmate, and spent a day in yet ANOTHER hippy town. I had no idea before we started this that we'd be touring right through all of the hippiest parts of America.
From San Francisco we headed to Santa Cruz and met up with Miles' friend from middle school. It's funny that we're hanging out with so many other college students; one pad to another. Right now we're editing and doing the usual updates, then we'll head to Monterey tomorrow.
July 21, 2009
Hello from Fort Bragg!
This is a small town on the coast, but big enough to have a starbucks. We've been riding a lot for the past week and making sure we aren't behind schedule. The cycling got hard for a bit there, including a 2,000 ft. mountain plus MANY more hills. But we made it. That's the best way to look at it from the beginning of each hill as well, "I don't have to rush it, as long as I make it." We just cruise up in our lowest gears. The best part was learning what everybody was talking about when they told us to watch out on the PCH. Logging trucks galore. Don't worry though, we're plenty careful. It just takes a bit of patience on everyone's part.
But this trip isn't just about us, it's also about the people we meet. And boy, did we meet some people. I don't know if I mentioned Leo at all yet, but he certainly had an impact. He's apparently a descendent of Pocahontas and a former Cherokee Chief. He spoke for almost an hour about his ability to heal people and how he does it for a living all over the place. Check out his website at
www.sageworkz.com. The guy said a lot of things, some of which we don't know whether or not to believe, but he was damn sure of himself. That's what I respect most about the people we've been meeting on the road. All of them, as crazy as they seem, believe every word they say. They give 100% with everything they do. I sort of envy the people who have everything figured out; they may not be rich or famous or even have family, but they have their ways set and they know, KNOW, what their lives are all about. I don't know how intuitive Leo is, but he sure knew I felt this way, for he told me I will find my answers. Now, I didn't exactly find them on the beach where he predicted I would, but he got the ball rolling.I also forgot to mention Bruce. We got back to Jesse Honeyman State Park after the Country Fair to find other bicyclists on their way south. This was new to us because we had been inland (where most cycling books don't go) and had been the only people around on such a journey. All of a sudden we felt VERY unoriginal, but knew we had a different angle being film students and such. Anyways, Bruce is from Portland and he packed up or sold everything he owns and decided to leave the life he knew. He's on his way to San Diego and will probably just travel around the country for a while until he find a place he likes to settle down. He's been fun to have with us because he's a new perspective on our travels and also helps film and take photos. He has no real schedule he's sticking to, so he's biking with us for a while, at least until San Francisco.
We should hit San Francisco by Friday. Once there, we'll take a few days off to see the city and do updates. Right now I've got to go buy some warmer clothes because we got spoiled with sunlight when we were inland. There's nothing but fog and cold wind out here on the coast. This just makes me appreciate So-Cal summers more.
July 19, 2009
What's up, everybody. As some of you may know, Friday was my birthday and I gotta say it was really great. I don't think I had a typical 21st, which I find to be more suitable for me. After a couple of grueling days over several steep hills and foggy, cold, weather, we finally had some sunshine. We took it nice and easy through more redwoods and small towns. We ended the day in Eureka where we decided to relax at the harbor for a little bit. Miles and I had separated from Bruce by this point and hadn't even thought about where we were going to stay that night. As always, people walking around the beachfront stopped occassionally to ask where we started, where we were going, etc. One couple, following their curious one year-old around, offered their lawn for us to set our tent. They seemed very nice and we accepted. It was dark by the time we found their house, but the hospitality was tremendous. They not only let us shower and do our laundry, but, upong hearing it was my 21st, they proceeded to fill me with moonshine (straight from a jar) and beers. Not a bad way to spend a birthday.
Other than that the riding has been pretty uneventful. Lots of beautiful scenery, of course, but no crazy characters or anything. We should be in San Francisco in 4 or 5 days though, which will be a whole new story. Right now I'm sitting in an ice cream shop in Garberville, population 350. Hopefully the weather stays like it is now for a while: sunny, blues skies. It's days like this that remind me why I love this state and why I can't wait to get to Southern California.
July 15, 2009
Has it really been 10 days since I last blogged? Wow how time flies. It has been an interesting week, to say the least. Last time you heard from me we were in Eugene and everything seemed to be going wrong. Well, we found the missing battery (from Miles' headlight) and our luck turned around. We made it to Florence and got set up at Jessie Honeyman State Park. The next morning we met a guy who was hitch hiking to the Country Fair, which was back in the direction we came from. This wasn't news to us, for everybody (literally EVERYBODY) we met in Eugene told us we should have stayed for this event. So we decided it couldn't be missed. We locked our bikes up and decided to hitch hike to the fair. We walked a few miles before somebody picked us up on their way to Eugene (perfect!). They dropped us off right in front of the fair entrance. Only problem: the fair didn't start until the next day (Friday), plus we had to buy tickets somewhere. Out with the thumbs again. This time we got a ride from a woman named Mandy who was on her way to pick up her daughter from her parents' house. We explained our situation and she said we were welcome to use her computer to buy the tickets online. After meeting her parents, sister, and Zora, her two-year-old daughter, we went back to her house (only a mile from the fairgrounds) and made our purchase. We also got to take showers! When asked where we were staying that night, we kind of shrugged and said 'wherever we can.' (We hitch hiked with only our backpacks, a change of clothes, and our sleeping bags). She offered her living room for us to sleep in, which, of course, we couldn't refuse. The next morning we woke to eggs and pancakes, then she drove us right to the fair. This is the kind of hospitality I love, and will someday pay forward. (Did I mention we watched 'Pay It Forward' with Haley Joel Osment at her house?)
So let's get to the fair. I had no idea this kind of thing existed until a week before we went, and I have a feeling I won't see anything like it as long as I live. Just imagine your typical fair: booths and stands and attractions and such. Now take all of that and put it in a forest and replace the carnies with hippies, oh and don't bring your sense of direction, it is utterly useless in this maze of wilderness. There were shops that everything from capes to incense to the most obscure artifacts I've ever heard of.
We woke up and began our journey back to Florence and our bicycles. A total of four cars and many interesting conversations got us right to our tent. We slept all day. Afterwards we met all of the other campers in the hiker/biker spots around us. As it turns out, plenty of other people are doing the same journey we are, we just haven't noticed because we hadn't been on the coast until now.
The journey suddenly got very beautiful. No longer are we mindlessly pedaling through farmland, but instead stopping constantly in awe of the gorgeous shorelines and sunsets. I really love the coast. I didn't realize how much it would lift my spirits to fly downhill with the help of the cool ocean breeze and constantly hear the crashing waves. This is why I did this trip.
Tomorrow we're going to California and also starting the second half of our journey. It's a huge state and we've got one month to cross it. Not too bad, I say. At the rate we've been going, that shouldn't be hard at all.
July 5, 2009
Hey Eugene! I really like this town. For those of you familiar with Ventura County, picture Ojai with a lot more people. We came here intending to meet up with my childhhood friend, John, but he is sitting in trees this summer, and the cellular reception is apparently nonexistent out in the woods. We ended up getting in touch with Miles' distant relative, Paul, who lives with his partner, Carroll. They are really nice and were more than happy to let us stay with them during the holiday weekend.
The past few days haven't been without setbacks, but that's just something I've learned to live with on this trip... We had just unloaded all of our equipment and were speeding downtown screaming "freedom!" when, barely a half-mile down the road, Miles rode up a driveway and all hell broke loose. His light fell off of the handlebars and essentially exploded. The batteries scattered everywhere. We found three of them and were scouring the grass for the fourth when we heard a dreadful, yet familiar, noise. A hissing sound filled our ears and we looked back at his bike just in time to see it lowering a few inches closer to the ground. I don't know how it happened, but the back tire deflated with such perfect timing that I had no other reaction but laughter. It's always something is all I could think. That has been the punch-line of this journey. We gave up on the battery because the sun had dipped behind the mountains by that time, and headed back to Paul and Carroll's house with our heads down and our spirits broken. Priceless. We walked back downtown, but not much was happening and we ended up walking all the way back and sleeping very well.
The next day we decided to fix Miles' bike. It turns out it wasn't just a deflated tire, one of the spokes came loose as well. Not thinking, we headed into town in search of a bike shop on Independence Day. Of course they were all closed, and the house where John lives was empty. We walked for miles either trying to hitch a ride or find a bus. Oh and did I mention it was one of the hottest days ever for Eugene? About 95 degrees. We got back to the house and borrowed Paul's bike to finally get to the saturday market we had been hearing about.
The market was colorful and filled with interesting characters. A blues band was twanging out rythms while old guys swayed to the music awkwardly in front of the stage. We hadn't made any plans yet for the night, but soon found some other people our age who were going to hike into the hills where there is a good view of the entire town. This is when the heat started getting to Miles. I guess this whole time he hadn't been hydrating as well as I had, so the exhaustion caught up and he started feeling terrible. We biked (slowly) back to the house and he slept for an hour and a half. We lost contact with our new friends (now OLD friends) and decided to lay low (literally) in the grass nearby and watch the fireworks. It was a good show put on by locals (I guess) all around us.
With a good nights sleep and lots of TLC from Paul, Carroll, and their friends from out of town, Miles felt 100% this morning. We're currently waiting for his tire to be fixed. Then this whole Eugene experience will be behind us. We're hoping to leave tomorrow for the coast. That's when the real beauty of our trip will begin. I have been waiting anxiously for this part to come. I mean, the whole point of this journey is to bike down the COAST. So here goes.
And now some firework photos for your enjoyment:
July 1, 2009
I think it is safe to say that Portland is now my favorite city. Not only does it have the 'big city' demeanor, but it's got a totally laid back feeling about it. The people are all really cool (just like most of the Pacific Northwest) and the air is clear (Another strike against L.A.). We adventured in this town by looking for people our age and inquiring where a good place to meet interesting people is. This took us down to Skidmore by Voodoo Doughnuts where we met Trash, a homeless guy, also our age, who was very entertaining. He had a great theme going: Striped overalls, a matching conductor's hat, and a railroad spike for protection. Priceless. On top of this, he was the drunkest I have ever seen a person be and could hardly speak, let alone stand.
The next day we explored more of the city on our bikes after leaving our bags and luggage at the hostel. This freed us up to do a lot, like 'Zoo Bomb' down the hill from Washington Park. We had heard about this from some of the people we met the night before, and had to try it. They said it was about 8 miles of all downhill, which really meant a few miles of twists and turns which required us to pedal half the time to keep from stopping. As disappointing as that was, the surrounding scenery was gorgeous so I have no complaints. Voodoo Doughnuts is not nearly as interesting in the daytime, but the doughnuts are delicious (we got peanut butter oreo chocolate).
From Portland we headed west to the suburbs of Beaverton. We made some updates and finished editing the new video at the library then set out to find a place to sleep for the night. I had heard from another cyclist that churches are great places to go when in need, so we stopped at the first one we saw. This was a catholic church and as we entered a huge congregation of mostly Mexicans was just leaving from an evening service. I asked around for who was in charge and was introduced to Alberto, 30 year old man with very kind eyes. I explained what we were doing and he instantly sought to help us. He took us out back and showed us a little park next to the church where we could set our tent up. We were content with that, but he kept up the kindness and bought us burritos for dinner. We ate with his friends in the park while sipping on good old fashioned orange sodas and talking about life. Alberto was an illegal immigrant to this country over 10 years ago and has since gained his citizenship. He chose Beaverton because of it's beauty and how kind all of the people are. The interesting part was when he told us the story of how his fiance of almost 8 years left him a month ago just before their wedding. This led him into a serious depression which brought about alcoholism and put him on the streets. His friends and family got him back into shape and now he spends every day after work at the church praying for some kind of closure. He appeared to be ok when we met him, but I could tell this is a hard time in his life, especially since he has to balance this with caring for his ailing father back in Mexico. I really hope he finds his way. He also told us about his experience crossing the border to America. He was freezing in the rain and decided that he would go up to a house near San Diego and, desperate for his life, tell the resident to turn him in. The man instead took him in, gave him dry clothes, fed him and sent him on his way. He said that's been a lesson in his life to always help others, because it always comes back. And we, of course, were a part of him doing his part. I know after this trip I will take in any travellers or people in need, for I have been blessed with others' kindess all throughout this journey.
We woke the next day and visited an old family friend, Dorann Dodson. I knew her late sister, Jan Vail, from when I lived next door to her back when I was 3 years old. She was by far the kindest person I have ever known and miss her dearly. It was great to see her sister because she is practically a replica of Jan. Even her house is decorated the same. She fed us well, let us shower, nap, and do our laundrey, then saw us off as we headed to Champoeg (pronounced shampoo-ee), a state park where the early pioneers first settled.
The campground was alright ($4 is WAY better than Washington's outrageous pricing) and we met some more people with stories, as always. This family was on the road from Colorado and was camping around Oregon after losing their home. They had been traveling for a month now and already had plenty of stories from the road. It was a man (I forgot his name already, but he was about 22 or so), his pregnant wife, brother, sister, mom, and three year old baby. Oh yeah and they have two dogs and two cats. Quite a group. They told us about the various other homeless people they've met, but the most fascinating part was when the man explained the UFO sightings throughtout his life. According to him, aliens are interested in geneology and the sightings have been prevalant in his family for decades. His father was apparently abducted and tested, for he bears unexplainable scars on his body with no memory of how he got them. That was my first time meeting a true believer, yet I can't decide how I feel about the whole matter myself. I sure hope aliens are out there, I just wish they'd stop being so discreet about it.
We're in Woodburn now, which isn't too far from Champoeg, but we needed to escape the heat and do our updates. Tomorrow we head for Tangent which is just south of Albany and visit Tim Jenks. He's the man from our train video who lives on a farm. He really liked what we were doing and offered his place for us to stay at. From there we're going to Eugene to visit my old childhood friend, John. Should be a good couple of days, I can't wait to head for the coast.
June 28, 2009
Wow I finally get a chance to write. It's been a great week with plenty of stories. I'll tell a few here; the rest you have to get out of me when I get back, or watch the documentary, or read my mind. Your choice.
Karaoke: I know it sounded strange at first that our bike trip led to singing, but if I tell you it was with a gaggle of hicks and hippies in the backwoods of Washington, then you'll want to know more. Well, it was with a gaggle of hicks and hippies and it was a blast. Not only were they all singing (some better than others), but they became consistently more and more intoxicated as the night went on. Bob and Shelley sang their songs (Walk The Line by Johnny Cash was great), a few others bellowed other tunes, and we filmed the entire event. We made sure to interview several people, including Wade, who told us all about his hippy days and drug use (and finished every sentence with "man..."). Oh and I should also mention that we met Ted Vigil, who happens to be a John Denver impersonator who has apparently won contests all over for how well he looks and acts like the Rocky Mountain High guy. We packed up the next morning and headed to Olympia.
Olympia: We began our tour of Washington's capital by deciding to find some colorful people. As luck would have it we found more hippies. They were sitting in the grass at a downtown park smoking weed, of all things, out in the open. Their stories were mostly about how the cops don't do much about pot smoking there, and after being invited to bunk with a few of them at a motel for the night, we opted to camp out someplace on our own.
From here on the trip became a little redundant. Little else happened because it became more about bicycling the distance than interviewing. We also didn't see as many people because we refused to pay for camping anymore. We figured anywhere we can pitch our tent is good enough.
I gotta say, biking is great. We took Old Pacific Hwy a lot of the time as we headed south through Washington. It was nothing but rollling hills through the woods that would occasionally pass through a small town. And boy, were those hills fun. It became a head game to me, much like in my old days of cross country running. I would power up every hill and using my gears for all they're worth, fly down the other side and do the same thing all over again. I've become addicted to the pain felt with every push. I even hate stopping, which happens often because Miles is always so keen on shooting the documentary. It's a good thing he is though, because otherwise all I would do is bike. We decided that next time we take on a journey like this we will bring a cameraman along with us so we aren't faced with too many tasks at once.
We camped by a river in Kalama after finding out that the campground nearby wanted $21 for two guys on bikes to set up a tiny tent. Even our puppy-dog eyes couldn't knock a few dollars off. But free is way more in our price range, and the fishermen didn't seem to mind our tent being placed out in the sand. They told us it was ok to camp there, unfortunately they knew about as much as we did because the fishing and game warden told us never to do it again. It's too bad; I was really starting to love Kalama.
Yesterday's ride was exhilerating. We covered so much distance and every mile passed like a second. Our bikes worked with us the entire way and the breeze kept us cool. It was smooth sailing all the way to Portland. Until we got lost. Apparently Portland is so conveniently set up that we got lost thinking it was difficult. That's what we get for living near L.A. where there's no such thing as numerical, alphabetical or even parallel streets. We found the hostel (thanks Mrs. Dahl!) and slept easy knowing we are done with Washington and will begin Oregon in the morning.
According to our calculations, it should take us about a week to span Oregon, with a few stops along the way. Eugene should be fun.
Portland at Night
June 23, 2009
We're at the Riverbend campground outside of DuPont, WA and my, what an adventure. Miles and I had covered a lot of distance yesterday, so we decided to call it a day, set up the tent, and see what we could see. Our campsite is right next to a river which runs through some of the most beautiful woods I have ever seen. But it wasn't the forest that I'd like to talk about; it's the people. We began exploring to see who else camps (or rather, inhabits) this remote location and were greeted happily by Bob and Shelley Love. These two are a traveling couple who spend their time seeing the world and having good times. Their stories were incredible, and also very believable. They are real people who don't take anything for granted. We enjoyed their hospitality and amusing tales until we called it a night and slept under the stars. Our plan was to continue on the next day, but couldn't resist the invitation to attend karaoke tonight with these characters. The footage will be priceless. Well that's all I've got for now, I can bet I'll have plenty more to say after tonight's events.
June 22, 2009
Wow, what a Father's Day.
First of all, Downtown Seattle was better than we expected. We had intended to go in and give away Kengi's care packages, but had no idea the results we would get. After shipping off a whole box of stuff we didn't need anymore, we headed for the Emerald City. The first person we came across was Alvin Graham Jr., a triathlete who was severely injured in a malicious hit and run last year and is trying to raise money so he can buy a bike and compete in Ironman Canada. Not only is he a triathlete, but he used to be in a coma and raises awareness for diabetes, cancer, and teaching underpriveleged children. He was truly amazing. My favorite part was when he said, "If you have a setback, don't step back, make it a comeback." He was a very inspiring individual and I wish him the best. If you want to contact him and give support or any words of wisdom, you can email him at trimakingadifference@gmail.com We continued down the road underneath the two Seattle stadiums and found Whitney Miller. He is a homeless person originally from Oregon who told about his various acts of kindness and the life he lives. The poor guy had nobody, so he found great delight in having us to talk to for a while. After this, we ventured into Pioneer Square where we stumbled upon a ton of homeless people. There was an organization giving out Vegan food to anybody that wanted it. We took a lot of pictures and interviewed a couple of very colorful people. One guy had been to just about every town in the U.S. by way of hitchhiking. Another claims he saw Barack Obama emerge from a stall in a bathroom seconds after taking a terrible dump.
Something I am noticing more and more is that people love what we're doing and enjoy telling us their tales of travel as well. Most of the homeless people we meet aren't just homeless where we meet them. Usually they have been traveling all over the place and just happen to be in that place at the time we are. The life of a vagabond; just like Vladimir and Estragon. Except I don't know if these people are waiting for something, or in search of something. I think they're just taking it as it comes. This whole trip has put a certain song in my head by Loudon Wainwright III called 'Road Ode.' Give it a listen.
Well after our luck with all of the great material for our documentary, We headed back to West Seattle on our way to Des Moines. Our intention was to get to Saltwater State Park before dark. So much for that. We flirted with sleeping in park on the way, but decided against it after seeing suspicious people wandering the park as well. It was midnight when we finally got to the park (which was a campground according to the internet, the 'No Camping' sign said otherwise). Without options, we pitched the tent anyway; this time about 10 feet from the rocky shore. This wouldn't be an adventure if we didn't have to improvise every once in a while.
Our next stop is Olympia. Miles is currently getting his bike fixed. It seems like there is always something wrong with one of the bikes. Yesterday we found out that the spill I took in the ditch wasn't entirely harmless. Just as my pride was broken, so was the derailer. $83 later I decided not to fall anymore.
June 21, 2009
Hey remember my friends at Kindofunny.com? Well here's there take on Conquer The Land:
June 20, 2009
Alrighty then, my first blog since we started. Where do I begin...
Since my last post we have: Bought the racks for our bikes, loaded up, drove to Union Station, barely made it on the train, met a grass seed farmer from Albany, got a tour of West Seattle, drove to the Canadian/U.S. border, biked on Interstate 5, met another biker at Larabee State Park, scared off some raccoons, met a girl Miles went to middle school with, hung out with some lambs, got bad directions in broken English from an asian lady, camped on somebody's front lawn, fell into a ditch off the side of the road, made it to Everett, biked IN THE RAIN all the way to Lynnwood, got lost on the poorly-marked Interurban trail, realized it was too dark to continue, caught a bus to Downtown Seattle, and hitched a ride to Dave's house (Miles' dad's cousin's son) in West Seattle... I had never needed a shower more so than last night.
All in all, the trip is going better than planned. We knew before we started that the ride to Seattle would essentially be a trial run. Dave's house posed as a sort of 'home base' for us to reach and make any changes that were needed. The assessment: We could stand to cut a little more weight, organize our bags a little better, and have more water-proof stuff. The first two days out were perfect. We had sunny skies and met some interesting people.
Now, I know most of you readers are especially keen on hearing about the whole "Christian fell in a ditch" incident. Well here goes: We had just left the farm where we had spent the night and were making our way towards the highway. Having prepared for rain, our belongings were wrapped in trash bags. As I looked down to be sure the wind wasn't tearing through this protective layer, my front tire begain to slide onto the wet grass next to the road. Before I knew I was ass-down in a grassy ditch with my bicycle on top of me. Miles, in his infinite wisdom, kept riding for another 1/2 mile or so before he realized what had happened. Lucky for me a resident of the area was able to extract my bike from the wreckage. I emerged from the ditch entirely unscathed, except for my testicles, which were conveniently slammed into my crossbar (photo demonstration above). What did I learn? Who knows, shit happens.
Today we are going to explore Seattle and hopefully meet some homeless people (we want to give away
Kengi's care packages to lose some weight). Thanks for reading, and I promise I will update you more often.June 12, 2009
June 9, 2009
We got the new bikes! There's mine on the left. The only difference from Miles' is that his has gray instead of black. I got black because I have more soul than my whiter partner. As you can see I already lashed my camera bag to the front. I don't know yet if that'll stay, it depends on if we get real bags to go there. We've barely had them 24 hours now and have already put about 50 miles on them. Yesterday Miles and I rode to a gym where we did some intense weightlifting. We decided later that night that it wasn't enough and changed that by riding into the mountains. Then today we met up with the gym trainer, Casey, and rode a good 31 miles through even more mountains. And how do these bikes compare to our older ones? THEY'RE AMAZING. I knew it would be great, but after the recent debacle with my Schwinn and its supreme riding difficulties, I was astounded to ride with such ease. Now, in my last blog I may have made a comment about how different our bikes were and who really is in the best shape. Well it appears that these claims can be quelled, because these new bicycles have proven that both of us are in NO shape to be doing this. Just kidding. We're good, and now we're even.
On another note, HOLYCRAPWELEAVEINSIXDAYS!
Are we ready? Getting there. I want to thank everybody who came to our farewell party on Sunday. Without your help and generous donations we would not have been able to get these bicycles. And I may be wrong, but they're a little important. I've got so much to do this week that I'm hardly sleeping out of sheer nervousness. I can't wait until the moment our train leaves from Union Station on Monday morning, for that will mark the end of our pre-production phase. The 35 hour train ride will be our first time to relax and breathe easy in months. After that begins the greatest journey of our lives. I look forward to every moment, even those steep inclines when Miles will be pushing me to go and I'll be swearing under my breath and wishing I had never taken on such a feat. Yeah, that'll be great.
We're still accepting donations, so help us out by spreading the word (please). We hope you're as excited as we are. If not, let me know and I'll come over and beat the excitement into you. Thanks for reading and keep checking back for more updates.
-Christian
June 3, 2009
We went on a pretty good ride yesterday and Monday. We rode out to Leo Carillo off of PCH, camped overnight, then rode back. We totalled about 80 miles over two days, which was a good simulation of what life on the trip will be like. I think the best part was trying to lug our camping gear all the way there without any type of cargo equipment for the bikes. We literally lashed everything with rope, which of course hindered our ride, but we made it nonetheless. The picture of our bikes proves somewhat hilarious to me considering we're going 1500 miles starting in less than two weeks. But we're hopefully getting some bikes this week. As for the accessories, it looks like we'll have to venture into craigslist (it has already worked) and perhaps use what donations we recieve in the coming days.
Now I have a bone to pick: So over the past month or so Miles and I have been riding bikes as practice (obviously). Now, our current bikes are nothing to write home about (as evidenced by the above photo), but that is all we have had so we made due. But all this time there was a distinct difference in our endurance that I need to call attention to. I have been a lot slower than Miles this entire training process, which we all accredited to the fact that he has been riding a little longer than I have. It wasn't until we switched bikes that we realized the truth. My bicycle SUCKS. The gears are all stiff. Suddenly Miles was lagging while I flew ahead with great ease. Am I upset though? Not at all. All this means is that I have been training much harder than my counterpart. So we'll see who the real lagger is when these new bikes become ours.
The plan for now is to promote the crap out of this site. So if you've got friends or know anybody who would find this interesting, please please please pass the word along. Also, we're accepting donations (on the donate page) which will help us get the last of our equipment as well as support World Bicycle Relief. Thanks for reading and make sure to check back for more updates.
May 26, 2009
World Bicycle Relief is the organization we chose to support with this project. They provide bikes to people in impoverished nations to raise productivity and speed up transportation. Check out our donation page to get more details. Today Miles and I are going to check out a lot of bike shops and see what the managers think of our idea. We have a pretty solid pitch that we have rehearsed to hopefully get some sponsorship. If not full funding, a big discount will help. We rode out to Kanan Rd. in Agoura Hills on Sunday. It was a really fun ride, especially because the road has lots of sharp turns which motorcyclists love, so bikers were constantly speeding past us at really high speeds. We climbed down the side of a hill to a treehouse that has been around for many years. We then did one of my favorite activities: went for a hike. We trekked all the way down the mountain along a creek. I'm pretty sure I discovered that I am immune to poison oak on the hike; I practically walked through whole fields of that stuff without any reaction. That's a very convenient immunity for a guy planning on spending his life outdoors in remote areas of the globe. Oh yeah, I should mention a new direction I'm thinking of taking in life: Adventurist. I figure what better way to live than to travel the globe and then tell people about it later? I heard of a guy who has spent his whole life climbing really dangerous mountains and saving various endangered species. He makes his living by writing articles and making films about that. I think that is something I want to do. We'll see how this whole bike trip turns out though because this could essentially be my audition for a life on the road.
May 22, 2009
So as you may know we were going to ride to Topanga Canyon today. Unfortunately we had to postpone that trip. It took us over three hours to set out on our journey because we spent so much time prepping. After finally leaving our house we decided to go to Reseda Bicycles to get some helmets (you're welcome, Mom) and for Miles to have his bike looked at. Something must have been really wrong because it took about thirty minutes to fix. While in the shop I had a conversation with an avid biker who told me we were crazy to try Topanga Canyon at 4:00. I guess that road doesn't have a lot of shoulders. We ended up riding down to Ventura Blvd. and turning back to head to the gym. Miles' gears broke again so we found ourselves waiting around the bike shop for another half an hour. I'll regard today as a lesson that all rides have to start early, and the destination needs to be clear. But along with this comes the notion that we never know what to expect. Although we had a goal, unforseen circumstances caused delays. So this I see this trip having many ups and downs, or, as Frank Davis says, "peaks and valleys." I am really looking forward to finding out what the road gives us. Despite the trouble, or footage turned out pretty well. I'm spending this weekend trying to get a small busines license. Any suggestions? Also we're going to start writing to every bike company we can find.
May 17, 2009
School got out a few days ago and we've been hard at work on the trip. Well, that mostly involves this website. Miles has been working a lot which is good because we need to get money for this trip. Tomorrow will involve another ride, some gym, and phone calls. Also, I'm thinking some video blogs would be fun. I think I'll film myself making some calls to bike companies tomorrow. That'll be fun, I'm sure. One more thing, let's all raise our glasses to the Lakers. They put a hurtin on those Rockets.
May 14, 2009
Hi
So I'm finally going to be done with the school year! That means it is time to get crackin' on this whole bike trip. We're going to start riding every day and making some phone calls. I'd like to give a big thanks to Miles' parents for donating the tent and sleeping bags. We slept in them a couple of nights ago to see what we're in for and I have no complaints. We'll see how I feel after a month or two... Let's all make sure to support the Lakers tonight as they clinch the semi-finals. I have been dwelling on what this trip means to ME, and I decided that this is dedicated to my Abuelo. He passed away last month, but I know he would support us. In fact he'd probably find a way to help, like build our bicycles from scratch or something. Well it's 2am and I have my last test in less than six hours. Ouch. Time to sleep. G'day.
April 29, 2009
Yo
We slaved over the website all day yesterday, so I'm pretty sick of Dreamweaver. This means I will spend today doing homework instead, which, of course, means I'll end up back on Dreamweaver in a couple hours being the perfectionist that I am. I'll head to the gym later to get my fitness on because it seems like the right thing to do with the plans that I've got. I decided that I don't want to get swine flu, but that's just my opinion. As you can probably tell I am very new to blogging. I could go into detail about my day/plans but then I would have to kill you; so it's for the best that I limit this message to mindless rambling. I suppose I should get good at this since I just volunteered to blog about my journey, but I choose to learn as I go. I have submerged myself very heavily into the world of online social networks to promote this site, so check us out at our links and such to catch more updates learn how to conquer the land, as demonstrated by myself and Miles.
April 26, 2009
Hey there,
We're making progress! We got our business cards in the mail the other day and they look too legit. We also ordered the camera and other accessories so we're hoping to get them in about a week or two. My ankle is nearing 100% and I've been hitting the bike with no problems. Now begins the hardest part... cramming four months of training into one. Wish us luck!
April 16th, 2009
Howdy