San Luis Obispo, California | 2024: San Luis Obispo

Distance Biked: 240 Miles

Day 1: I started the ride a little anxious, especially considering I had not ridden my bike the entire month leading up to this ride. I had little planning beforehand, as my initial plan was to take an Amtrak across the country, but I found out that it had to be preplanned. Despite this, it was beautiful weather for the ride, and the road was one I was somewhat familiar with. Overall, it was an uneventful day, but the ride itself was quite reassuring, as I arrived in excellent time. After dropping my belongings at a friend's house, I went out to explore the nearby campus and even saw a rocket launch



Day 2: The start of this day was quite cold and foggy, but I was energized and ready to hit some of the prettier areas of the trip. I quickly found myself on a freeway that would take me pretty far north. The cars slowly became scarier and scarier as I passed the many white crosses along the freeway. When the fog would give way, I could see the beautiful hills that went right up to the ocean. About an hour and a half later, I made it to the last stop before the tunnel I saw on the map. It was not reassuring that I would be biking a few feet away from cars and trucks going 70+ miles an hour.



A few other long-distance bikers making the trek north showed up at the same rest area, and I decided to follow one of them through the tunnel. He was a teacher from a nearby county and was on spring break. While going up one of the most excruciating climbs of my life, we talked about students, where the next generation was headed, and my life. After making it down into the green meadows below, I decided to part ways with him and continue on my own



The hills were green and rolling for as far as the eye could see, with black cows littering the landscape like pepper. I thoroughly enjoyed biking through this area, and I will never forget how peaceful it was. After an hour of peacefulness, I was thrust into a dry, not-so-great town. I stopped by a local grocery store for some food and decided to repack my bags. I moved one of them and realized, one of the screws that holds my rack together was gone. A single screw was holding my entire bag up.



After panicking, I decided to go backwards and stop at a local bike shop. I couldn't walk the bike as quite a few homeless people were eyeing me. When I arrived, it was not your typical bike shop. There were bikes everywhere, motorized mopeds, and the owner was extremely speed-y if you catch my drift. When he heard my situation, instantly became excited and said he could give me a screw for free, as he had “lost his years ago”. He was a mix of weird and funny, and he was precisely the person I needed in that situation. After telling me about the many backroads I could take and my path, I said goodbye and continued through the mountains once again.



My legs were starting to get tired, and the hills and heat started to blend. When I found a nice spot to camp, I waited for there to be no cars and booked it through the bush to make sure no one saw me. I spent some time contemplating life and eating my XL sandwich I bought before going to bed. Aside from a few cars stopping eerily nearby and waking up to mice near my head, it was a great night.



Day 3: After waking up, drying out my gear, and packing my bike, I made my way up to the street. I put my legs over my bike and pedaled, and experienced instant pain. My right kneecap felt like it was being stabbed, and even cycling up the hill was excruciating. I thought about my options, and of course decided to continue the ride, just slower. I spent a lot of the day in the “flatlands,” and seeing the farming community and small town helped put into perspective how far away from home I was. The stores were all mom-and-pop shops, and the visitors were few and far between.



The heat was getting worse, and the air was dry. It slowly became better as I approached the beach yet again. As soon as I hit the beach town, I was almost hit by two cars within five minutes. Aside from the near-miss (which really should be near-hit, but I’ll stick with what I was taught), I was enjoying this ocean town. After freshening up at one of the public beach wash-off showers, I made the final push into the next town over. I still wasn’t sure where I was going to sleep, but a friend of mine reached out and said he had a place I could stay.



My knee was hurting badly at this point, and each pedal strike felt like I was tearing my leg apart. My friend let me store some of his stuff at his place, and he drove me to his campus. He was in mid-terms week, so I helped him learn t-tests while my legs rested. We walked around the campus, and after meeting his extremely rowdy and intoxicated roommates, I opted to sleep outside.



Day 4: My final destination was near, and I wanted to get there early so I could spend the day figuring out where I would camp and spend the night. Yet again, pedaling on my bike was extremely painful, but the adrenaline helped. I got some food and decided to bike into the final town with my friend. After arriving, we parted ways, and I got to search for the best oysters I had ever had. For context, years prior, at a camp, a local event was taking place, and my dad had me try some of the best-tasting oysters I've ever had. I never forgot it, and it was my sole goal to find this place. After searching, I found it, and man, was it good.



After eating the oysters, I made my way to one of the main monuments of the town, the large rock. It is a huge rock that can be seen for miles away. Afterwards, I checked out the local sea otters and animals before spending the rest of the day at my campsite, only leaving to buy some food. I got to see two owls and some deer while sitting there. The campsite was quite nice, and I only had one other biker show up.



Day 5: After spending the morning in town, I made my way back to the train station and went home. I spent the train ride back thinking alone in the cabin about life, and what I could do with it. Towards the end of the ride, two people joined me in the cabin, one of whom had my dream backpacking backpack. After talking to her for a while, the man spoke up and told us stories about his life. He was substantially older than both of us and spoke about the wiretapping he did for the government, and how he spied on OJ and his mistress before the court case.



Overall, the ride was great, and it was incredible to experience it alone, as most of my other rides were with friends. It's a different experience and can be more lonely, but allows for some much-needed thinking. I would do this ride again, weather permitting, and I am glad I was able to find the time to do it in the first place!

Santa Clarita, California | 2023: Santa Clarita

Distance Biked: 40 Miles

Day 1: The bike ride started off great, and I was happy to be finally out of the house and on the road again. When I started my descent into a neighboring town, I was initially just going to stop nearby and camp the night out. After feeling good, I decided to make my way up a windy road that had almost no shoulder. The path was quite nice, and it had some cool rock faces right next to me.



I made my descent into the next town, and I was not sure of how far I would go. I stopped to get some food and made new plans as to where I would end up. After refilling my water at the country club, I continued my trek up into the mountains. The roads were starting to get packed, as the 5PM crowd was starting to build up. The road I had to take was extremely small, with no shoulder and cars going 40+mph. To get by some of the blind corners, I had to hold my bike, make sure there were no cars coming, and run as fast as I could with my bike and get back on the small dirt pile of a shoulder and wait for another opportunity.



On the way through the mountains, the road was not safe, and I opted to ride on the small dirt shoulder. All was going well, when I looked down and saw that my tires were losing air fast. I went over a small patch that had gained me about 20-30 new punctures, more than I could ever fix. I weighed my options, and decided to go further into the town but walk my bike as to not damage the rims.



As I was walking down the mountain, a van put on its hazards about 100ft in front of me and a man got out and started walking towards me (mind you there is nothing but dirt and mountain behind me). He was wearing all black with a hoodie and was seemingly there for me. A little freaked out, I made sure my hand was on my pocketknife and was ready to throw hands. As he got closer he stared straight at me and I stopped and stared at him as he walked by. The van continued then made its way about 50ft behind me to pick him up.



A little spooked, I finally made it into town and went to the burger king and got some food while mapping out where I would camp for the night. It was dark by this point, and unfortunately I was stuck in the bad part of town. I opted to make my way to a small hiking area nearby and get there through a dirt road. After making sure no one was following me, I booked it up the road and eventually found a truck with its headlights on sitting there. I opted to throw my bike over the ~5ft rockface next to me and climb up as to not be seen.



Literally inside of a bush, I hung out for about an hour until the truck made its way down the road. After checking the maps and seeing a small clearing nearby, I made my way to the next little clearing in the brush. I laid my stuff down and spent time contemplating what just happened. Aside from a few more trucks letting people in an out of this dirt road (weirdly sketchy), the night was calm.



Day 2: After being woken up by a man walking right next to my campsite, I quietly packed my belongings and made my way back to the Burger King. I couldn’t fix my bike and needed to be picked up. After hanging out in the restaurant for a while, I was picked up and it concluded my ride.

Piru, California | 2024: Piru

Distance Biked: 40 Miles

Day 1: I started riding with no plan in mind and decided to bike down some roads I had not ridden before. I went through a couple of cities and stopped on the side of the road to figure out where I was going. I was severely out of shape but was excited to be out on another trip. I decided to take a lesser travelled canyon, as the other one was steep and had lots of people. The road was quite nice, and there weren’t a lot of cars. The road down was fun and hung out with some cows.



I made it into the city and stopped by the store to get some food for the night. I sat outside next to a man who seemed to just be enjoying life, sitting and smoking. I took off again on the road and decided I would sleep somewhere in the mountains that night. After stopping by the gas station, I wanted to get some fruit from the fruit stand. Unfortunately, they only accepted cash.



After sitting down the street with my bike and checking locations to see where I could camp, the man ran over with a fruit cup for free. He was packing up and made me one for free. After that, a biker stopped by and asked where I was headed. He was helpful and was just out for a bike ride. He told me about his previous trips and offered some advice on where to camp.



I opted to go up a dirt road and make my way into the hills. Unfortunately, this was near a farm, and there was a chain linked fence. There were no No-Trespassing signs, so I was cleared to follow the creek with one foot in to prevent any legal issues. Aside from the dead cow on the path, I was feeling somewhat confident in my location.



I followed the Edison Road up the mountain and opted to sleep behind a large bush. After settling in I started hearing movement in the bushes all around me. The animals were coming closer and closer, with sounds being only a couple feet away from me. I had my phone flashlight ready and caught one charging me. It was a rat. I should have realized the nearby owl was a sign that there was prey around. I moved to the nearby electrical pole.

Day 2: After waking up, I sat up and realized that the road I took in was being used by farmers. I was not in the mood to have a conversation of how I ended up on the mountain the night before. I decided to continue down the road which according to my maps would end up at a public street. I packed my bags and started moving, quickly realizing my tires were flat.



I went down the last hill, and realized I was ending up at some sort of electrical building. There were workers and trucks, and I was locked in. I saw a dirt road slightly up the road and decided to book it across the street and see where it took me to avoid any confrontation. It was overgrown and clearly had not been used by any normal person in years. After making it up about halfway, I heard someone yelling and realized it was for me. I wasn’t in a mood to run so I went down the hill and met one of the workers. I explained my situation, just saying that I had made it down the hill late last night and had no idea it was a locked gate. He was a little apprehensive but nice to the “lost biker” and let me out the gate. Shortly afterward changing my tires, I saw a police car coming (for me) and luckily, they must have not thought it was me. I spent the remainder of the morning hanging out at a park until I was picked up.

United States/Mexico Border | 2022: US/Mexico Border

Distance Biked: 230 Miles

US Mexico Border Day 1: The start of our ride was quite early, and we were feeling anxious but good. I had just received quite a few backpacking items (that are now a staple in my gear) but had yet to try them. We were unsure of the road ahead but were excited to be even trying a ride so daunting. We made it into a nearby major city in good time with little problems. Our gear was working, and we started feeling like we had the hang of it.



After making it to the major city, we decided to try and push forward so we weren’t out at night. The area we were biking through was well known for not being great, so we kept our heads down and didn’t stop. After making it to our friend’s place, we got some food and relaxed on the sand. The sunset was pretty, and after watching the “night people” come out we went to bed.





Day 2: We got on our bikes and felt good for our second day. We continued south and went through some of the most scenic places I have ever seen. Beach town after beach town we rode until we stopped at a Ralphs in Oceanside. After getting our energy back, we made the final push to camp at Pendleton. We were told that we could not camp there because the slots were. After checking maps, we opted to spend the night at a golf course.



My friend’s leg was hurting bad at this point due to an extreme sunburn. So, I helped scout the area out before we made our move. We waited until it was getting dark and made our way into the brush. We were protected on all sides, and it was a great place to camp. After getting our sleeping bags setup, we started to hear animals climbing up and down the trees next to us.



Day 3: Despite the animals scurrying around throughout the night, we were only awoken by the sound of gardeners mowing the grass right outside our bush. After assessing the situation, we covertly packed our belongings while the gardener unknowingly came very close to us. Due to us being out of food, we then made our way to the only place open that early, Burger King.

While waiting for the store to open, we had multiple homeless men waiting outside with us. When we all walked in, the manager said we weren’t allowed but eventually let us just keep our bikes in the store. Two of the men walked in, one extremely intoxicated and the other quite sober. We ended up talking to the sober man for a while about his life story. He was a guy who definitely lived an unconventional life.

When the man was younger, he was up to nefarious things before he turned his life around and went to college and worked for a chemical company (if my memory serves me right). He was able to work just a few months out of the year and live out of his car, traveling and enjoying life. He was seriously invested in our adventure and said he was jealous of us. After talking to him for about 10 minutes, we parted ways to continue our trip, and he said something I will never forget. He said, “I hope you meet some really cool people.”



We continued down south through camp Pendleton and made it to the cities again after biking on the freeway for some time while playing rock paper scissors with some people stuck in traffic. We had made it to the beach towns and spent hours weaving through streets, going by beautiful scenery. After making it up a ridiculously high hill, we finally made it to San Diego. We biked next to the train tracks and our destination was near.



We stopped at the original Rubio’s, and figured we could try the nearby Boy Scout Camp on Fiesta Island. After being turned away, our options were limited and with the nearby park or Fiesta Island, a place where people were supposed to party most of the night. After scoping out or options, we decided to make our way to the dog park on Fiesta Island as it seemed to be the most desolate. It was near the water and gave us some cover from both the water and the island.



After waiting to head to the spot when no one was around, we setup camp and were treated to a beautiful fireworks show from SeaWorld. It was even closer to us than it was to SeaWorld and it was a great reward for biking so far. After seeing the line of cars being ticketed by the police on their way out (for not complying with the curfew for the island) we went to bed.



Day 4: After packing our bags, we made our way to the portable bathroom’s setup on the island. My friend was using the bathroom when a woman who was clearly living out of her car, and with her son asleep next to us started talking to us. She was incredibly nice and was extremely worried for our safety going down south. She said there was lots of crime, and that it would be dangerous after saying “I am not trying to sound like your mom.” Although, our friend from the prior morning had said if we “kept our heads down” we would be fine.



We made our way to the border and were pumped that we were so close. After riding for a few hours, we finally made it. There were lots of people walking up to the border crossing, and we took our photos and enjoyed the moment. Looking back, it really was never the locations or the amount we biked, as the man at Burger King said, it was really about the people we met along the way.