Month: October 2022 (Page 2 of 3)

Friday October 21, 2022. My Warm Showers hosts Jim and Sonya suggested a ride to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where Sonya works. She’d be in the field that day with a group removing invasive plants. It was only a 15 mile trip out to the museum and I headed out into the warm Arizona morning with Papa Hobo sans panniers and three full water bottles.

It was a rather fitful sleep night on the train to Tucson. My seatmate was an older man, and while he didn’t snore he did breathe very very loudly. That and being confined to one seat made it a bit hard to sleep for me. I got the Tucson and dropped my bags off at the offices of my warm showers host, Jim, who works at The University of Arizona. Jim is a botanist who makes maps of vegetation, where and how it grows, in the hills of Arizona. He described some very remote field trips on his own out in the “bush,” Wow, did he have cool computing tools, including an at least 24″ drawing tablet. He gave me a quick overview of the area and available bike routes, and things to see and I headed out for a ride-along the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022. Had set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. and only snoozed once and started the almost daily rite of packing up. Got up and made coffee, checked some more Amtrak routes. John W in the meantime was starting pancakes, got a call he needed to take, and Jacob finished making the flapjacks.

I had a few and said some more goodbyes. John W had repaid my hosting him ten fold. I’m gonna miss South California and all the folks I met up and reconnected with in the 10 days I was here. And, of course, the sunny days and warm nights that did come back before I left.

October 18. Tuesday’s main focus was to get my broken rack secured somehow. Two trips the the local Ace Hardware got me a solution of Aluminum spacer inserted into the tube and glued with epoxy, with a screw clamp on the outside for good measure. The natural tension in the steel should serve to keep things in place and the clamp should hold off major shocks. Will see how well that works tomorrow.

Monday, October 17, 2022. I slept in until 8 today; a luxury I was afforded due to the comfortable room Leslie and Greg had provided and the fact that I was moving back to John W’s that morning just 5 miles away. That was both not to wear out my welcome and to spend some more time with and do a little riding with John.

It was nice to be able to leave the bulk of my panniers and stuff in one place for 5 days, but it was time to pack up. After coffee and breakfast of poached eggs & toast, I finished loading Papa Hobo, said my thanks and Auf Weidersehens to Greg and Leslie In German that means “until I see you again”. If I’ve learned anything on this part of the trip is Auf Weidersehens happen a lot. Also, Leslie had said she might join John W & I on part of our ride today.

But first, one more item from day 69: I did ride UP to the USPS. Very up Crenshaw Ave which was quite a climb (and as Greg & Leslie told me later, not a recommended bike route!). After finishing that chore, I was looking for a short hike where I might catch that fleeting glimpse of Catalina. I saw something on the map called The Harman Overlook so I continued riding up Crenshaw to the trailhead. 1,200′ in all over 12 miles. Great little hike that itself was up and down. Great views, too, but alas, couldn’t see Catalina.

In the morning, after breakfast and coffee, I cleaned the sand from my shoes and off of the bike, did a quick lube job, put them in the sun to dry, and packed up to head out. I did find that a bracket on my front pannier rack was broken clear through, most likely on the same rough path where my phone holder broke. Not an immediate problem as I didn’t have the front bags on, but something I need to address in the next couple of days. I said my goodbyes and thanks to Mary Jane and Sharon and was back on the road.

I had a text from John that he and his friend Reed would like to meet me for a beer on Sunday on my way back to the South Bay. I sent him my route and Reed suggested the Market Tavern in La Brea where John, Reed and Reed’s roommate Hugh met me.

Continuing from my earlier quick update.

The evening before I had told John and Luke that I wanted to take them to dinner and get them properly fueled for their almost century ride today. They protested, but I insisted. Their guidance on the trip down the coast saved me a lot of planning time and even more consternation. John W drove us to his favorite Mexican restaurant and we all picked a special which came with a happy hour priced beer. I had a burrito bowl. Delish.

That’s a line from Simon and Garfunkel’s Punky’s Dilema and so apt.

Time to leave the yacht behind. In the morning, we said goodbye to Harald and Elise who were both staying in a hostel in Santa Monica and flying out of LA in a few days. Luke, John, and I made our way to John W’s house in Torrance after wending our ways down the coast through Malibu and the crowded paths at the Santa Monica Pier. Once past that, we rejoined at a state park and rode together to John W’s house through the much quieter Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beaches.