Cycling Update: SF to LA

Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge alone, with a tent and sleeping bag team rider Chase took a moment to reflect on what exactly it means to be a B4B-er. “We have a message that’s bigger than us, it’s bigger than an RV, its bigger than bikes getting stolen, we’ll keep sharing it, we’ll come out stronger.”

We went through a lot in the Bay Area, but we pushed through and got back on the road. Armed with a truck and camping equipment we set our sights on Los Angeles, a little over 400 miles and 4 days to do it.

After clearing the urban sprawl of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley we were greeted by some great riding. Beautiful weather, good roads, little traffic, and a strong tailwind made for the fastest riding we’ve had yet. We ate up miles through farms and vineyards until we ran into our old nemesis, dirt roads.

From time to time and with little warning, frontage roads can turn to side roads, which can turn to farming roads. Pavement can end abruptly and for no apparent reason it seems apart from someone just simply ran out of asphalt and didn’t feel like going back for another truckload. In the grand scheme it really isn’t bad, only a minor inconvenience, but when cruising at 20+ mph for an hour to run into a walking pace to trod through mud for a quarter mile in cycling shoes it can be hugely frustrating. But we got through it, dug the mud out of our cleats and calipers, and met up for our first nights of camping!

We camped for 3 nights between SF and LA and had to quickly adjust our sleeping schedule. With no lanterns or power, when the sun went down the tents went up. But early to bed means early to rise and quick to get on the road and make some mileage.

The farms of Central CA gave way to the concrete jungle of LA however. And as we went along the coast through Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and Long Beach to Anaheim we were eager to meet our gracious hosts Bill and Amanda and ready for Angels, Dodgers, Bigs, Littles, and even (gasp) a day off.