Pueblo to Haswell – 96 mi

As we join the TransAm out of Pueblo we leave the mountains of Colorado behind us and head out in to the flat plains of the mid-west. We join Highway 95 which will be our friend for some weeks to come. The horizons get bigger and we pass some of the biggest and smelliest cattle farms we have ever seen. The sidewinds hit us after lunch and we stop a little early in Haswell. This very small town seems deserted, but we find a local who lets us shelter in the local elementary school as a storm is forecast.

Haswell to Tribune – 82 mi

An early start to try and avoid the strong afternoon winds.Reached the Kansas border by midday. Wheat today. Lots of wheat. Camping at the town park in Tribune tonight, next to the town pool and a creepy old abandoned fairground.

Tribune to Ness City – 106 mi

Conveniently in Kansas it seems the towns are spaced evenly every 20 miles or so along the route. That’s just far enough to go between rest stops for food or cold drinks. Wind was slightly on our side today so were able to push on to Ness City. About to set up camp in the town park when a massive storm set in. Checked in to the Elite Suites motel just in time to see the heavens open and rain begin to flow down the streets, the wind spinning street signs around and lightening strobe in the sky.

Ness City to Larned – 67 mi

Shorter day today to the fairly large town of Larned. Stopped at the historic Fort Larned to take a look around (and make the most of the air conditioned visitors centre). another great town park to camp in with free access to the local pool for showers and a swim.

Larned to Hutchinson – 73 mi

Went slightly off route toward the end of the day to take us to the slightly larger town of Hutchinson. Stayed at the very accommodating Zion Lutherean Church which runs a free cyclists hostel. Some beers in town with Motion Commotion as we part company with them after several days riding togher.

Hutchinson to Cassoday – 77 mi

Really hot and humid today. past miles and miles of cornfields which eventually give way to rolling grassy terrain. Stopped earlier than planned due to the heat where we camped in the nice shady town park in the Prairie Chicken Capitol of the World. Fireflies dart about in the dusk as we try and get an early night in the sticky evening heat.

Cassoday to Chanute – 101 mi

Dawn start to attempt to beat the heat, but failed. First 20 miles in to the wind was tough, an armadillo crossing the road in front of us seemed to be out-pacing me. Turned East toward Eureka which was a little easier and pushed hard to make it to Chanute for a day off tomorrow. Some rolling meadowloand for a lot of the ride today, then back to massive expanses of corn. Passed the 8000 mile mark today!

Chanute to Golden City – 100 mi

Had lunch under one of the largest American flags in the country in Girard. Gentle rolling hills most of the day and some cloud cover offered some welcome shade. Through the large town of Pittsburg then crossed the border into Missouri. Camping in Golden City, setting the tent up under and awning as there are storms forecast later.

Golden City to Marshfield – 85 mi

The rolling hills grew today in to steep undulating roads climbing and descending a little higher each time it seems. Quite a long day to Marshfield, the home of Hubble. Checked out the model of Hubble in the town square before setting up camp in the park. Another free night’s camping!

Marshfield to Houston – 70 mi

Up and down. Down and up. High rolling hills and plains with lush meadows, windflowers and trees. Tough work as the days get hotter and hotter. All time temperature records are being broken every day as a heatwave bakes the country. Hartville for lunch – unfortunately, all that was left of what looked like a historic downtown was a Subway. It’s a shame that we can’t get lunch at a local diner or deli so another $5 footlong for lunch it is.

Houston to Johnson’s Shut-In State Park – 100 mi

Made good time in the morning to see Alley Springs with it’s beautiful crystal clear pool feeding the old grist mill. Forests become prettier as we enter the conservation area. Lunch at teh little mountain town of Eminence. Lots of weekend motor-boaters on the road. One truck shedded a canoe as I approached it and it rattled down the hill. The bizarrely named Jonson’s Shut-In state park is really quite well appointed and reminds me of the Pacific Coast campsites, the likes of which we haven’t seen in hundreds of miles.

Johnson’s Shut-In State Park to Farmington – 37 mi

Nice easy day over a couple of hills to Farmington by midday. Amazing bike hostel provided by the town in the old converted jail house.Al’s Place is cool, well equipped and has everything  the travelling cyclist needs. Perfect place to escape the heat!

Farmington to Chester – 48 mi

Half day over the last couple of Ozarks past wineries and a tiger sanctuary, then back out into wider plains with the Mississippi in sight. Crossed the mighty Mississippi in to Chester and Illinois. Discovered Chester is the home of Popeye and the town has erected great granite statues of the Popeye characters all over town. Staying in a bunk house at the Eagle Club which is a bit ramshackle and feels like a chicken coop, but the margaritas and wings specials offered in the club go some way to make up for it.

Chester to Marion – 68 mi

Finally the temperatures have dropped a little today making riding a little more bearable. Fought past coal trucks on the small roads  leaving town. Rode over the Mississippi levee through lovely quiet roads and farm fields. Deviated from the route to take Highway 3 direct to Carbondale. Stopped at Marion where the big strip-malls lining the roads were a bit of a shock – we haven’t seen such civilisation for weeks!

Marion to Seabree – 90 mi

Riding on the highway for most of the day, but shaved about 50 miles off the TransAm in the process. Lots of squashed turtles on the highway unfortunately. Busy highway until we reach the Kentucky border which then changes to single lane rolling farm road. Terrific floats and sodas at the drug store when we arrived in Seabree helped cool us down. Stayed in the Baptist church basement run by Pastor Bob and his wife Violet, a thoroughly wonderfully welcoming place. We just sat down to eat with Bob and Violet when a group of four Korean riders turned up. Immediately they were ushered in too and seemingly out of nowhere Violet began producing more and more food until everyone was well fed.

Seabree to Rough River State Park – 75 mi

Quite an easy days ride with towns conveniently every 10 miles. Fordsville for lunch (outside a gas station of course).

Rough River State Park to Bardstown – 87 mi

Some nice riding through the backtowns of Kentucky this morning. Stopped at Lincoln’s birthplace – a wooden shack inside a big stone shrine. Except they did some tests to date it in 2004 and found it was a fake. Still, people queue up to take photos of it and marvel at the history. Slight detour onto the highway to quicken the hot ride to Bardstown. Dinner at the old tavern in Bardstown where I discovered the Southern favourite ‘Old Brown’ – a shredded pork lump swimming in melted cheese. Gastro-pub indeed. Staying in the Old Kentucky Home Motel, not the same place the song was written about I think. visit to the local bourbon distillery on a day off tomorrow is a must.

Bardstown to Berea – 96 mi

Toughest day for a while – humid early on and temps over 100F before lunch. More Lincoln tourist stops on the way today as well as the fort at Harrodsburg – the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Some good distance covered today, but just too tough in this heat. Need to plan some shorter rides in the days to come to combat this heat.

Berea to Boonesville – 50 mi

Today the terrain begins to change as we enter the Appellations. Farmland gives way to little town nestled amongst trees and rivers as the road winds around and over the hills Camping behind a church with a nice little shelter and shower facilities provided by the church.

Boonesville to Heinman – 65 mi

 Climbing the hills of the Appellations was made so much more difficult by the high humidity. Sweat dripping off us by the time we reach the summits then try to dry off on the way down the other side. Nice. Only a few dogs to fend off this morning – nothing too wild. After turning off the highway toward Heinman a lovely shady ride following the river is a welcome break from the climbs.

Heinman to Breaks Interstate Park – 71 mi

 Passed the 9000 mile mark early on this morning! Four big peaks to trek up and down today. Some rain early on made for a fun change and a cool ride for a short time but helped make the rest of the day terribly humid. Passed through Lookout after lunch – by all accounts the hellmouth of Kentucky’s manic dogs. Was happy to see barely any dogs at all today and as we’ve now left Kentucky, hopefully all the worries over dog attacks was for nothing. Quite annoyed by the hills by time we got to Breaks park, and not very impressed by the park or the camping prices!

Breaks Interstate Park to Abingdon – 71 mi

 Up before sunrise and into the mists of the Appellation forests. Two big climbs today and several little ones, but in better spirits today. Some brief stunning views today for the first time in a while – layers of forested hills of different shades of misty green and blue stretching up into the mountains. Aimed for Damascus today, but just before town the heavens opened and an almighty storm erupted. Dashed in to a church picnic area to shelter to begin with then limped into Abingdon for a motel.

Abingdon to Damascus – 11 mi

 Made the short hop in to Damascus to complete yesterday’s ride. Damascus is at the intersection of the TransAm and the Appalachian walking trail so fro a small town it is well populated with outdoors stores. The Virginia Creeper cycling rail trail also runs from here so it’s a popular town for bikes. Hostel for walkers and cyclists in town tonight is not bad.

Damascus to Radford – 102 mi

Really nice ride today. Humidity is down and the early climb up quiet forested roads is illuminated by shards of morning sunlight scattering in to beams through the dense forest in the mist and campfire smoke. The rest of the day was rolling but mainly downhill, and the route keeps pace with the freeway so services aren’t too hard to find. Feels like we can do anything when the weather is on our side.

Radford to Daleville – 61 mi

Similar te3rrain to yesterday but everything else couldn’t be more different. Hot, short and hard work. Partly because we were tired from yesterday and partly because the temperatures were up to 105F. Didn’t have much chance to appreciate the quiet rolling roads through dense forest.

Daleville to Rockfish Gap – 96 mi

 Cool and cloudy today – great ringin conditions! Stayed on Highway 11 rather than following the TransAm which took us past Natural Bridge which seems to be a centre of bizarre abandoned tourist attractions: Godzilla, a safari park and Foam Henge to name a few. Gerties Cafe in Versuvius is a must before the final big climb of the trip where riders’ names cover the walls. The climb was probably the hardest and longest we have done yet – almost 2000ft in 4 miles. We were near the top when the rolls of thunder began and we knew we were going to get wet. The storm brought mist which ruined the spectacular views over the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Disappointed we missed such a scenic ride today – reminds me of our experience of Big Sur earlier in the year. Ah well, it’s downhill all the way to the Atlantic coast now.

Rockfish Gap to Charlotesville – 25 mi

 Nice short ride to the pretty old university town of Charlottesville. Preppy college kids in chinos everywhere! Dinner and beers in the terrific Mellow Mushroom pizzeria.

Charlottesville to Richmond – 64 mi

Decided to take a bit of a shortcut to the TransAm and take highway 250 to Richmond. Some busy sections near the towns, but altogether not too bad. Visited the terrific Buzz and Neds BBQ place for dinner as featured on Man vs Food. Beef ribs worth crossing the country for!

Richmond to Yorktown – 77 mi

Our final day on the TransAm was a nice and enjoyable romp. Some traffic getting out of Richmond, past Edgar Allen Poe’s house and the old docklands. Pretty flat and shady ride through woods and plantations. Past President James Jaylor’s house, through historic Williamsburg and on to the pebbly colonial Parkway to Yorktown.  Yorktown is impossibly pretty and well-kept, almost like a model village. Dipped tyres in the sea and took photos at the vistory monument – the official end of the TransAm. Checked in to the beautiful sea-view cottage provided by the Grace Episcopal Church for cyclists.

Route Guides

Pedallers’ Paradise by Nigel Rushton is a self-published set of two books comprehensively covering the cycle routes around each of New Zealand’s North and South Islands. It’s difficult to get hold of outside of NZ so plan on picking a copy up in one of the bookshops in Auckland or Wellington. The author’s website lists stockists. If you’re used to the turn-by-turn directions offered by books like Bicycling the Pacific Coast then you may find Pedallers’ Paradise a bit lacking in detail, and more confusingly laid out. However it offers options for almost every route you might need, it has gradient profiles which are useful and lists amenities in each town. It’s not a perfect guide, but is certainly the best of the slim list of guides available. You will also need a decent map to accompany the guide. Kiwimaps produce a good set of map books, we used the Compact Travellers Atlas.

Camping

The Department of Conservation  provide a small network of state camp sites which vary in facilities from basic (running water and drop toilets) to full service (hot showers, kitchen, hook-ups). You can pick up a DoC list of campsites at any iSite (tourist info centre).

The private campsites are generally very well provisioned, compared to what we were used to in the UK and US. They will usually have a kitchen with cookers, sinks, microwaves and sometimes plates and pans too. Often a lounge, laundry and pool too. These private sites charge per person, usually between $15 and $20 each.

Wild camping is technically allowed public land unless otherwise signed, but in practice is almost impossible to find. A better option is to ask a local farmer or homeowner if they’d mind if you camped in their field, and being a friendly people, they will often let you.

Weather

You can look as carefully as you like at prevailing winds and long term forecasts, but the truth is that New Zealand’s weather is changeable and can be very windy. Just take a look at Wellington’s new art installation. The West coast of the South island is covered with beautiful rainforest which makes for fun riding but it’s also a testament to the amount of rain which falls here each year. They measure the rainfall in meters here!

Our Routes

For details of the routes we took, take a look at

Cycling New Zealand: North Island

Cycling New Zealand: South Island

Confido

FlagylEr

We set out 67 days ago from Vancouver with little experience of cycle touring and unsure of what to expect. 2203 miles of amazing coastlines, rolling roads, tall trees, sunsets and the odd bit of fog and rain brought us into San Diego. Here’s our trip log and route details before we head off to New Zealand and Australia for more cycling…

Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay, 25mi

Set off! Headed out of Vancouver via the Lion’s Gate Bridge and only a short ride to Horseshoe Bay where we took the ferry over to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. From Nanaimo, it is very short ride to the dock to get the ferry to Newcastle Island. The ferry to Newcastle Island turns out to be a tiny, little boat which fits only 15/20 people. Newcastle Island is an incredible camping spot.

Newcastle Island to Sproat Lake, 61mi

We headed off early as we are heading on our first detour from the usual route by heading to Tofino to meet some friends. Long, hilly ride on the highway via Coombs and a tough climb up Mt Alberni. The day ends with a fantastic five mile descent into Port Alberti. Camped out of town at the Sproat Lake park.

Sproat Lake to Green Point Campsite, 61mi

Long climbs and rolling road to the west coast of Vancouver Island. No services on route so bring plenty of food and water. We spotted black bears right on the roadside on two separate occasions.

Green Point Campsite to Tofino, 14mi

Short ride to Tofino to meet with friends. Rather than doubling back on ourselves, we were kindly given a car ride back to Nanaimo and back on the planned route.

Nanaimo to Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, 43mi

Heading south on Hwy1 towards Chemainus, a small town with a Barbie doll collection in their town museum and lots of painted murals. South out of town and caught the ferry to Salt Spring Island. Beautiful, rolling riding on Salt Spring Island to the amazing shoreline camping at Ruckle Provincial Park.

Bicycling the Pacific Coast by Vicky Spring and Tom Kirkendall.Buy this at Amazon

Salt Spring Island to Sidney, 42mi

Rode to Fulford Harbour on the south of Salt Spring Island and took the ferry to Swartz Bay. We then set up camp at Macdonald Provincial Park on the outskirts of Sidney.

Sidney to Victoria to Fairholm Campground, WA, 50mi

Followed the 20 mile cycle route to Victoria before waving goodbye to Canada and getting the ferry across to Port Angeles. From Port Angeles, we rode 30 miles or so to Fairholm Campground on the edge of Olympic National Park. Incredible scenery – we stayed an extra day and visited the salmon runs and waterfalls in the National Park.

Fairholm to Forks, 55km

Only 30 miles to Forks – a logging town, which has recently become known as the setting for the Twilight books and films. We are not really fans of the Twilight saga but spent some time visiting the Twilight-themed shops and sights. By chance, we had turned up on “Stephanie Meyer’s Day” and so the town was especially full of Twilight fans and events. We then cycled to La Push on the coast (about 14 miles out of town) – more Twilight related shops and sights because, as any Twi-hard will tell you, La Push is home to Jacob Black and his werewolf clan. In real life, La Push is the Native American tribal village of the Quileute Tribe. It is interesting to see how Forks has embraced the Twilight fans, particularly as the traditional industries die off.

We camped at the campsite/cafe right on the werewolf-vampire “treaty line” – not sure if that makes us Team Jacob or Team Edward (probably Team Jedward).

La Push to Kalaloch, 48mi

Headed out Forks on the 101 as it heads south through forested hills and roadsides until we reached the coast and Kalaloch campsite.

Kalaloch to Quinault Lake, 35mi

Carrying on down the 101 through more trees to Quinault Lake. The north shore campground was closed so we camped at the nearby Willaby campground overlooking the lake. We went for a hike in the afternoon but it was cut short after we stumbled upon a black bear plodding down the path towards us (we turned around).

Quinault Lake to Ocean City State Campground, 29mi

Took a detour off the 101 on a side road to the coast and headed south along the shoreline through mist, rolling hills and closed tourist resorts. The seaside resorts around this section are fairly run-down – the campsite at Ocean City is excellent with friendly rangers.

Ocean City to Westport, 42mi

Along the highway to Aberdeen, which was the first large town since Port Angeles. We had to take the long route around from Ocean City and via Aberdeen as the ferry to Westport no longer runs – ended the day at Twin Harbors Campground.

Westport to Bay Center, 54mi

Followed the road to town of Raymond where we picked up supplies and had lunch. Camped at the KOA Campground at Bay Center.

Bay Center to Astoria, 40mi

Into Oregon! The ride to and along the Columbia River could have been beautiful but it rained all day. We waited for the rain to ease before we tackled the 4 mile long Astoria-Megler bridge. The bridge is long ride and with a steep climb as you approach the Oregon side of the river – turn on your bike lights, no matter the weather or time of day. We had planned to head to Fort Stevens but we were so wet by the time we reached Astoria we opted for a half day of cycling and a motel. I would recommend a rest day to explore Astoria – it is a nice enough town and if you are children of 80′s, like us, you can visit locations from Short Circuit, Kindergarden Cop and the Goonies. We ticked “Visit the Goonies House” off our bucket lists.

Astoria to Fort Stevens State Park, 26mi

Short, easy ride to Fort Stevens: a nice park with a historic fort and beach, complete with shipwreck.

Fort Stevens to Nehalen Bay State Park, 42mi

The route follows the coast and gives opportunity to explore the small seaside towns of Oregon – including the unimaginatively named town of “Seaside”.  First tunnel of the route today – not too long but tunnels are never fun. Another great Oregon state park hiker-biker site at Nehalen.

Nehalen to Tillamook, 35mi

Headed to straight to the Tillamook cheese factory (just off the highway, north of Tillamook) – a popular rest stop for touring cyclists – in fact, every cycle tourist we met south of Tillamook confirmed that they too stopped at the cheese factory for the free cheese samples!

We took a Portland side-trip at this point. Ever since we started this trip, people have been recommending to us that we should visit Portland. We looked into cycling there and back but decided it would take too long and there would be too much traffic to justify it. We also looked into transport from Astoria but taking the Greyhound would mean packing up bikes in bike boxes. Then… another cycle tourist we met gave us a great tip – he recommended that we take the local bus from Tillamook to Portland and back, as it is cheap (under $20) and they will take your bike on their front bus rack without a bike box. See www.tillamookbus.com for up-to-date information.

So from Tillamook we took a few days off for a side-trip to Portland – if you like beer and bicycles… then head to Portland, people! Anyway, back to the proper route…

Tillamook to Cape Lookout, 11mi

After a few days exploring Portland, we took the bus back to Tillamook and then spent the afternoon on the short ride to Cape Lookout. It has an amazing beach and a great hiker-biker site. You gotta love falling asleep to sound of the ocean.

Cape Lookout to Beverly Beach State Park, 59mi

Three big climbs today but with great views and stunning coastal scenery.

Beverly Beach to Carl G Washburne State Park, 44mi

The route takes you along the coast and via the town of Waldport – more, fantastic Oregon coast scenery on the way today.

Carl G Washburne to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, 41mi

Rolling hills along the coast with a potential side-trip to the Sea-Lion Caves ($12 – don’t bother you will see plenty of sea-lions and seals further down the coast).

Umpqua Lighthouse to Sunset Bay State Park, 33mi

The route takes us through North Bend, Coos to Sunset Bay. There is a quicker route which bypasses Sunset Bay but the beach is awesome – it lived up to it’s name and gave us a spectacular sunset over a violent, turbulent ocean.

Sunset Bay to Langlois KOA, 47mi

Tricky climbs but a great day’s riding. Warning: if you are following the Kirkendall “Bicycling the Pacific Coast” book… we tried to find the recommended cheese factory in Bandon but, after searching for an hour, we were told that it closed down years ago. We met lots of other cyclists who had spent time trying to find the elusive Bandon cheese factory. Touring cyclists are very fond of free cheese samples!

Langlois to Brookings, 65mi

More rolling coastal riding – I would strongly recommend taking the short walking trail at Thunder Rocks. From the small carpark on the highway it looks fairly unimpressive, but the 20/30min trail down along a rocky outcrop ends with stunning views of the rocky bays and outcrops. Trust me on this (pictured in the thumbnails if you still don’t believe me)

Brookings to Elk Praire Campground, 65mi

Cross the border into California and declare your fruits and vegetables! Two big 1000ft climbs today but the final ride down to Elk Praire Campground amongst the redwoods was the highlight descent of my trip.

Elk Praire to Eureka, 52mi

Fairly joyless riding along the 101 when it becomes a freeway but there are a couple of detours which avoid the highway – take them.

Eureka to Burlington Campground, 53mi

Unfortunately, it is freeway riding into Fortuna. South of Fortuna, you can take the Avenue of the Giants turnoff and take another ride through the redwoods.

Burlington to Leggett, 46mi

Rained hard all day – cannot remember any highlights, sorry.

Leggett to Fort Bragg, 47mi

Over the 2000ft at Leggett Hill and the start of Highway 1! The climb is long but moderate and you get rewarded with another great descent.

Fort Bragg to Manchester State Park, 42mi

Steep, but not overly long, climb today. Camped at the KOA Campground at Manchester State Beach – the beach and sand dunes at dusk were just stunning but, more importantly, the commercially-run KOA had a hot-tub!

Manchester to Still Water Cove, 44mi

More rolling coastal hills passing though nice small towns and farms. Camped at Still Water Cover – “the most dangerous cove in California”.

Still Water Cove to Bodega Bay, 32m

Short ride before a rest day at Bodega Bay. Steep climbs and fast winding descents as the Highway hugs the coast.

Bodega Bay to Samuel Taylor State Park, 43mi

1500 mile mark passed and a nice ride along a sea inlet to the Tomales Bakery (which was highly recommended to us, but closed on Mondays – sadface). Camped amongst bay trees and tall trees at the State Park.

Samuel Taylor to San Francisco, 33mi

Amazing ride into SF and over the Golden Gate Bridge – magnificent view from the bike path on the bridge. This is why we cycle tour. We stayed at USA Hostel in San Francisco.

San Francisco to Half Moon Bay, 60mi

We rode out of San Francisco early Sunday morning to avoid the traffic – rode via Golden Gate Park and to the coast. The Highway is very narrow and winding at times on the way to Half Moon Bay. Traffic on this section was queued for miles as today was the Half Moon Bay pumpkin festival (complete with Pie Eating Competition). Spent the rest of the day at the festival and eating pumpkin products.

Half Moon Bay to New Brighton State Park, Santa Cruz, 60mi

Took a route through farmland and crops and then back onto the fantastic clifftop rolling road. Made our way via the coast road into the suburbs of Santa Cruz – stopped to explore the Boardwalk and funfair before pedalling out of town to the State Park.

New Brighton State Park to Veterans Park Camp, Monterey, 45mi

The route took us via miles and miles of artichokes and strawberries and into Monterey. Veterans Park is up a long, steep hill but it is walking distance to the town center and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Monterey to Kirk Creek Campground, 61mi

We are told that views around Big Sur are magnificent - unfortunately it was super foggy today and we would barely see our handlebars let along the scenery. Stock up with supplies at Monterey as there are only small (and expensive) grocery stores over the next few days.

Kirk Creek Campground to San Simeon State Park, 36mi

Fog cleared somewhat today and we got to enjoy the occasional view – two big climbs and a long downhill followed by flat riding to San Simeon. We stopped to see the Elephant Seals (just before Hearst Castle) and stop for a tour of Hearst Castle itself.

San Simeon to Pismo Beach, 63mi

A good fast ride to San Luis Obispo and then on Pismo Beach – note: the hiker-biker sites at Oceana Campground have been closed and we had to spring for a full-price car-camping site.

Pismo Beach to Lompoc, 43mi

Enjoyable, desert-like climbs towards Lompoc. No descent campsite at Lompoc so stayed at a motel.

Lompoc to Refugio State Beach Campground, 35mi

Long, hot, slow climb out of Lompoc to coast. The hiker-biker site at Refugio is right on the beach.

Refugio to Carpinteria Beach Campsite, 39mi

Some freeway riding take you into Santa Barbera (explore the Mission and wharf).

Carpinteria to Leo Carillo State Park, 50mi

Lunch at Ventura and past Navy and Airforce bases – flat riding past farms and turf fields. When we hit the ocean, we saw some dolphins who follows us (or we followed them?) further down the coast.

Leo Carillo State Park to LA, 45mi

Easy ride through Malibu and to Santa Monica beach. We stayed in Hollywood and made our way along the rather busy Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles to Seal Beach, 50mi

Great ride along the busy beach cycle paths out of LA – dodging small dogs and rollerbladers. After lunch, it was off the cycle path and on to Highway 1 for a slow busy slog with lots of stoplights and traffic. Stayed at the very cheap and very friendly “Oceanview Motel” at Seal Beach: don’t expect an oceanview however – although we could technically make out the ocean if we look through the windows of building opposite.

Seal Beach to Doheny Beach, 33mi

Easy day on miles so we took it slow and explored Huntington Beach and Newport Beach en route. Amazing people-watching.

Doheny Beach to San Eliso State Beach, 45mi

Another day of sunny, easy, flat riding. It was Halloween and we were amazed by the decorated homes as we went through the suburbs. We also passed through a military base (just show your ID/passport at the gate and wear a helmet) to avoid the Highway.

San Eliso State Beach to San Diego, 27mi

Easy ride into San Diego through the hilly suburbs. Tough navigation at times but so proud that we finally made it San Diego!

After a week exploring San Diego, Las Vegas and Joshua Tree National Park, we flew to New Zealand and Australia for more cycling touring.

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