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diff --git a/posts/bike-sf-la.md b/posts/bike-sf-la.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1307c3c --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/bike-sf-la.md @@ -0,0 +1,325 @@ +Title: Trip Report: Biking SF to LA +Author: bnewbold +Date: 2019-04-14 +Tags: trip-report, biking + +To celebrate Lucy's successful completion of her Phd, and to see her off before +she heads back to Seattle, we biked from San Francisco (well, Salinas) to Los +Angeles at the end of March, 2019. It was glorious! + +<center> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00489.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00489.JPG" alt="DSC00489.JPG" title="DSC00489.JPG"> +</a> +</center> + +<div class="sidebar"> +<img src="/static/fig/2019/perfect-machine-book.jpg" width="180px" alt="palomar telescope book"><br> +I grew an interest in the Palomar 200-inch telescope after Casey and Christine +took me up to peek through the Mt. Wilson 100-inch telescope, and then reading +"The Perfect Machine" about the construction of Palomar in the 1930s/1940s. +Will ride up there someday! +</div> + +We followed the classic Pacific Cost route, which follows Highway 1 along the +coast most of the way from Canada to Mexico. We've made the trip down the Santa +Cruz several times, and in 2017 did a credit-card tour down to Big Sur +during a period when the highway was washed out ([photos][early-trip] from that +earlier trip). Originally we were hoping to bike the entire way from San +Francisco to San Diego, with a ride up Palomar Mountain along the way. The +logistics were a little too tight for a one-week trip though, so we cheated and +took Amtrak down and started riding in Salinas (about 20 miles from Monterey, +skipping 130 miles of riding), and terminated in Los Angeles. The entire trip +was about 380 miles and 22,000ft elevation gain, and we took 6 days to ride. We +rode fully-loaded touring bikes (we both have Surly Long-Haul Truckers), and +mixed camping with a couple nights in motels. [Lucy's write-up][lucy-writeup] +has GPS tracks and a day-by-day breakdown of the route, and I have [more photos +from this trip][more-photos]. + +[early-trip]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucylw/33594712431/ +[lucy-writeup]: http://www.llwang.net/rb/2019/04/01/cycling-the-california-coast/ +[more-photos]: https://bnewbold.net/photos/2019/sfla/ + +The Amtrak route from Oakland to Salinas goes past Moss Landing and the Elkhorn +Slough, where I lived and worked (at MLML) in the [summer of +2007][summer-2007]. The dunes, strawberry fields, and power plant towers always +bring back strong memories of that time, but I wasn't sad to miss the dangerous +Highway 1 intersections in that area. Living in this area with no car meant I +spent a lot of time biking and riding the bus through the fields to +Castroville, Salinas, and Monterey to satisfy my boredom and catch longer +distance transit routes to visit friends in the Bay Area. + +[summer-2007]: https://bnewbold.net/photos/2007/california/ + +After disembarking at the familiar sun-baked Salinas Amtrak station, we rode a +short 20-something miles through a former military base until we hit the big +dune bike paths on Monterey Bay and rolled into Monterey itself. It was nice to +have a short first day to shake out any equipment issues and warm our legs up: +both of us had done work on our bikes just before this trip, and we had to get +used to such heavy loads. + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00476.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00476.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00476.JPG" title="DSC00476.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00486.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00486.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00476.JPG" title="DSC00476.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00489.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00489.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00476.JPG" title="DSC00476.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +The next day, the first day of real riding, is one of the most scenic stretches +of the entire coast. We started with a detour along 17-mile drive around Carmel +point, which despite the plutocratic estates and luxary golf courses is one of +my favorite stretches of riding anywhere. We split a burrito near Pfeiffer +Big Sur park and packed a second for the road; we ate that one right around the +54 mile mark, which speaks to the precision of my "53 Miles Per Burrito" +t-shirt. + +The entire stretch around Big Sur (from Carmel down to Moro Bay or so) is +relatively isolated with few or no overland routes over the Coastal Range. The +coast is rugged and hilly; the road is either a feat of engineering or a total +boondogle, depending on how you look at it. There were a number of construction +projects along the way, and the road washes out frequently. We were riding on a +Sunday and Monday, and traffic was mild and considerate both days, with +construction trailers in particular giving us wide bearth on the road. I was +worried about lack of supplies or water, but there were more little ice cream +shops and restaurants along this strip than I expected (though it didn't feel +over-developed at all). + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00494.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00494.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00494.JPG" title="DSC00494.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00497.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00497.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00497.JPG" title="DSC00497.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00501.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00501.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00501.JPG" title="DSC00501.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +We stayed at our first hiker-biker campsite of the trip, and finally got +to experience the joys of sharing a campsite with other long-distance riders. +I've always been guilty of being a campground introvert and wishing I had more +privacy and solitude in that weird American outdoors kind of way, but it turns +out bike tourists are wonderful people and we share an obvious obsession with +biking, an antipathy for cars that drive too close, and curiosity for +side-adventures and secret tricks. After bonding with our camp-mates by biking +back a couple miles to fetch potable water from another campground (ours had +none!), we got lunch tips from two young women who used to live in the area, +and checked out the Brompton being ridden by a Swiss gentleman (one half of a +daughter/father pair). + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00504.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00504.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00504.JPG" title="DSC00504.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00515.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00515.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00515.JPG" title="DSC00515.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00517.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00517.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00517.JPG" title="DSC00517.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +After passing Hearst Castle, we started slowly re-entering denser civilization, +passing the beach town of Cayucos and finally Moro Bay. I drove to Hearst +Castle one many years ago with friends, but neither Lucy nor I had ever been +south of there through LA. Moro bay was an unexcpected delight: the huge rock +is surreal, like a fantasy novel, and the hiker-biker campsite in town was a +delight, with hot showers and a generous area to ourselves under giant +Eucalyptus. + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00546.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00546.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00546.JPG" title="DSC00546.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00580.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00580.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00580.JPG" title="DSC00580.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00563.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00563.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00563.JPG" title="DSC00563.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +It was amazing to perceive the climate and ecosystem change as we traveled +south under our own power and realize we were traversing an entire bioregion. +After the cool fog and redwoods of the Big Sur coast (North California by +climate if not geography), we were well into the Central region at this point, +and started seeing signs of Southern California. The first oil derek I noticed +was around Guadalupe, the in-town roads got wider, the RV parks larger and more +frequent, and the palm trees seemed more and more believable. We didn't catch +sight of any zebras around Hearst Castle, but we did pass an Ostrich farm +closer to Santa Barbara (exotic animals: check). And we knew we'd finally +arrived when the density of giant concrete flood control structures reached a +cresendo. + +<div class="sidebar"> +<!-- annoying that I can't use markdown for this link --> +The <a href="https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/pacific-coast/">Adventure Cycling Association</a> maps we used on this trip are +great! They can be read at a glance, are well partitioned, and cover in-city +routes well. I find phones very distracting, and love being able to navigate by +map and bike odometer instead. +</div> + +<center> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/aca_map_morobay.jpg.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/aca_map_morobay.jpg" alt="aca_map_morobay.jpg" title="aca_map_morobay.jpg"> +</a> +</center> + +The stretch from Moro Bay through San Louis Osbismo was mostly in-land. Parts +felt just like Marin County, with rolling bare green hills; the ~20 miles +section off Highway 1 just south of Moro Bay was especially nice. We had a +quick stop in SLO to get a beer at Libertine Brewing, which somewhat symbolized +that we were hitting a rythm on the road and didn't need to rush through every +town. It would have been nice to stop longer at a few places: we were riding +relatively early in the season, which meant the days were still short. On the +flip side, traffic was less and it didn't get *too* hot (it was sunny and warm +enough already on most of the climbs). + +The stretch from Guadalupe to Lompoc was industrial agriculture. The road got +quite narrow at some points, which made managing bi-directional traffic of +large trucks nerve-wracking. We also had our biggest stretch of proper freeway +riding along 101 here, with some exciting exit by-passing at highway speeds. I +also took us on a bad shortcut up a very steep (but short) hill on the section; +sorry Lucy! Made it through alright, and there was a nice gentle hill just +before Lompoc with almost no traffic. We met two German hippies there picking a +wild camping site. They were biking south-to-north all the way to Vancouver, +which is generally not advisable (north-to-south has a lot of advantages), but +they had a lot of time and didn't want to be biking in the north in early +Spring. It was fun to meet someone going the opposite direction, because we had +a lot more advice and tips to trade; it was also weird to be able to give +detailed advice about the Pacific Northwest, which they were months away from. + +We took an alternate route from Lompoc to Santa Barbara, via Solvang, which +added elevation but skipped a long freeway stretch, which was the right +decision. We had been worried about the rain forcast the entire trip, and we +did get rained on a bit camping just outside Lompoc, but it was not much more +than a drizzle and we were well prepared for riding in the rain. Solvang is a +Disneyland-like replica Danish town, which reminded us of "Bavarian" +Leavenworth, WA. + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00555.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00555.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00555.JPG" title="DSC00555.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00600.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00600.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00600.JPG" title="DSC00600.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00597.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00597.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00597.JPG" title="DSC00597.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +We saw beautiful flowers almost the entire trip, but they really took off here. +Beautiful orange poppies (the state flower), bright neon purple ground flowers +of some type, and whole hillsides quilted in different shades of yellow. The +climb before Santa Barbara wasn't big by our usual road biking standards, and +had a totally reasonable grade the whole way, but with our loads and in the dry +heat it "got our attention". Didn't quite turn in to a grind though, and the +decent down the back into SoCal proper was fast and fun. + +Neither of us had been to Santa Barbara before. It's a bit sprawling, but +overall smaller and more luxary/high-end than I expected. The backing +mountains, channel islands, and white-washed downtown were beautiful. The +offshore oil rigs made me feel like we were in a whole different state or +country, which we sort of were. + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00594.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00594.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00594.JPG" title="DSC00594.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00587.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00587.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00587.JPG" title="DSC00587.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00605.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00605.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00605.JPG" title="DSC00605.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +In retrospect, it's amazing how much ground we covered in the last day of +riding, from Santa Barbara through Malibu to Los Angeles (odometer read over 90 +miles at the end of the day). Most of the riding was on 1 along the coast, but +we also went through Ventura and Port Hueneme (a huge sprawling military +installation). I got the only flat either of us experienced on the whole trip +on this stretch. + +The last stretch through Maliby (starting around Point Dume until the Santa +Monica bike path) was some of the tightest and least pleasant riding of the +trip: fast, multi-lane commuter traffic, with waste bins and parked cars in the +shoulder. We had a wonderful surprise when the daughter/father pair we met +earlier spotted us and pulled over in a car to say hello. They had ended their +ride in SLO and were going to explore LA before driving back to SF to catch +return flights home; a crazy coincidence that we crossed paths on the last ~10 +miles or so of our ride. A nice flat, fast, flowery day overall though. It +would be reasonable to cut the ride off at Santa Barbara (where there is an +Amtrak station), but i'm glad we did the final stretch at least once. + +<center> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00608.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00608.JPG" alt="DSC00608.JPG" title="DSC00608.JPG"> +</a> +</center> + +We pulled in to the Santa Monica bike path and got to the boardwalk and Venice +Beach well before the sun came down. Lucy described the beach as feeling like +the whole thing was fake and concrete underneath, which I think is funny and +reasonably accurate, but I didn't mind it. The slow curves with lots of other +scooters and weird bikes was a nice wind-down for the day. We looped around the +Venice scene for a bit, and considered riding more through the city to our +downtown motel, but changed our mind after just a few blocks. There was +probably a decent bike path to follow, but after a long ride we can hit a wall +very fast, and it's no fun weaving in traffic and getting lost when you're +tired and hungry. We caught the actual sunset back on the beach just in time, +then took light rail (which was great) from Santa Monica to Union Station +downtown, where we stayed in a motel. + +<div> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00610.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00610.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00594.JPG" title="DSC00594.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00612.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00612.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00587.JPG" title="DSC00587.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00618.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00618.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00618.JPG" title="DSC00618.JPG"> +</a> +</div> + +In the morning we walked through Chinatown, then spent the day visiting friends +and their baby Yoshi. I'm already looking forward to visiting again, and maybe +taking additional rides to Palomar, hikes in the San Gabriels, and exploring +routes east to the desert and Arizona. + +The next day we boarded the Coast Starlight Amtrak from Union Station, loading +our bikes and panniers on just in time. In addition to being the Kingdom of the +Car, California has some of the best rail routes in the country, and Union +Station is a grand and well-maintained monument to rail travel. It is so +pleasant to be able to roll our bikes literally right on to the platform and +just pass them up into the baggage car without disassembly or boxing. The rail +tracks back paralleled our bike route about half the time, which was fun for +remembering specific spots and stretches. The stretch north of Santa Barbara +continues along the coast (where highway 1 is inland), so we got to see that, +and we got to see a bunch of the Vandenberg air force base that we wouldn't +have otherwise. I had assumed that the tracks would head up through the Central +Valley further north, but they continue to wiggle around through the Coastal +Range until popping out at Salinas. A pretty ride in the viewout lounge the +whole 11 hours to Oakland. + +<center> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00536.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00536.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00536.JPG" title="DSC00536.JPG"> +</a> +<a href="/photos/2019/sfla/DSC00641.JPG.html"> + <img src="/static/fig/2019/DSC00641.thumb.JPG" alt="DSC00641.JPG" title="DSC00641.JPG"> +</a> +</center> +<div class="content_caption"> +A flip/flop photo of the same location: of a passing Amtrak train while eating +lunch near Guadalupe, then from the train at our lunch spot while riding north. +</div> + |