Wednesday, October 12, 2022, Day 67. Last night there were thunderstorms and heavy rain that lasted a couple of hours. Unusual for Southern CA, but then I’m here. 😉 I stayed warm and dry in my 23+ year old 2-person tent that still keeps me that way. Quite amazing how a little patch of nylon can be so snug and warm. It’s an old Peak1, which was/is Coleman’s “Professional” brand. A bit heavier compared to newer tents by a half-pound to a pound, but since it’s still serviceable after a re-waterproofing, I decided to keep those bucks in my wallet and “run it till it dies.” Not the latest “tech”, of course, and it has a few patches added this trip with Gorilla tape and TearAid, but it’s hanging in there. One thing I do like about it is that I can get all my panniers inside with me and still have a roomy sleeping area. The one person backpacking tents have a vestibule for your panniers, but they are basically outside.
Enough about the tent. There was some more scattered rain this morning, so I was a little later starting out than planned. When it was dry again, I ran some errands: fixing my phone holder that snapped off during some rough trails on Monday, and restocking vitamins, wipes, and contact solution. After all that was done, I made my way to Rat Beach where I had the shore side almost all to myself. The beach was closed to swimming for some undisclosed problem with the water, but probably algae-caused red or green tide. It was a challenging climb back out, but I was meeting Leslie at 3:00 at a local coffee shop and then she was going to lead me back to her and Greg’s house in Rolling Hills Estates.
I met Leslie and Greg on my 2005 cross-country trip. I was riding with CycleAmerica for the first three weeks of their 9-week cross-country tour. That’s where they met each other. Married now, they have continued touring all over the world and were just back in CA this past Monday from a tour of Maine followed by the GAP and C&O trail from Pittsburgh to DC. I found it ironic that I was touring in their neck of the woods while they were touring in mine. I’ve kept in touch through Facebook, but it’s been 17 years since I had seen them, and a warm welcome awaited me. We spent the evening looking at photos from the trip and catching up on the other folks from the C-A tour that they have kept in touch with. No tent tonight as I have a bed to sleep in. So good to see them again.
Day 68. After a breakfast of Belgian Waffles, I joined Leslie for a yoga class this a.m., and it felt good to stretch some of my tired muscles. In the afternoon, we rode to Point Vincente and did a quick tour of the interpretive center there and walked over to the lighthouse (closed to the public except on rare occasions). Leslie so wanted me to see Catalina Island, but the continued fog didn’t allow it. Good little ride though, and added a few miles towards 3,000. It’s quite aptly named “Rolling Hills” as there are a lot of ups and downs. I logged almost 1,500′ of climbing in 22 miles.
Day 69. Still hanging with Leslie and Greg and happy for their gracious hosting. Tomorrow I’m riding up to North Hollywood to visit Sharon, an old friend from State College who is living with and taking care of her mother. Late Sunday, I’ll likely transition back to John W’s in Torrance and we’ll do some riding together Monday and Tuesday. I’m trying to get an Amtrak to Arizona on Wednesday, but the carry-on bicycle slots are sold out. Not sure what I’ll be doing exactly, but that’s the general direction of future travel.
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