thirty seven

A WORLD I DON'T KNOW

In a vista pull off as the sun went down I talked with a local surf board builder, he was watching waves. I was watching too but I could not see what he could see. 

The currents, swells and anatomy of a breaking wave were just a beautiful ocean to me. He saw inside into the mechanics of everything, I was jealous of him. 

He could have blown me off as a want to be surfer but I think he understood I was an observer not a want to be.

I asked a lot of questions about surf boards, patterns of the waves and the dangers. He said, "When you go out there, you get really small", that's something I'll never forget.

thirty six

This needs no caption, click on the picture for a better view, I think I'll go pack my bike.

thirty five

Another sunset on the Pacific, time for the comfort of my tent to dream about the day.

thirty four

MISSING A TURN

Missing turns is part of the adventure. I can be a real hot head and lose patience when things go wrong. I haven't been visibly angry or in a fist fight for years. This was far too common in my youth. I guess there are things to get angry about but missing a turn isn't one of them. 

Touring has taught me some valuable lessons. I learned I have a choice to do things with or without anger.  One approach is to stuff it deep down inside and try not to act on it. This is the usual male approach I have successfully used this for years. 

The problem with this technique over time it eats at you from that  place deep inside. 

I have learned to do a new and wonderful thing with my anger. I look past it to find what I am missing. Here’s an example: I ride alone and navigate through strange new places by the use of a map. Along the way I miss a turn. First I get angry with the faulty map, then I find fault with the missing sign, then I find fault with the idiot that can't read a map or see a sign. I then realize I was the blind idiot. 

My natural reaction is too stayed angry with myself for the remainder of the day. Recently I’ve learned to get things in proper perspective. I choose to say out loud, “Well, I’ve never been here before”, then I start looking around as if I’ve planned this adventure. Its strange how I always find something I would have missed, like this beautiful lake in Maine.

thirty three

THE SMELL OF MY MORNING COFFEE

The morning fog was filled with quiet visitors. I sipped my coffee while waiting for the warmth of the morning sun to warm me and dry my gear.

 A curious doe and her fawn do some spying as elk hide just beyond my view. The night time campsite scavengers have gone to bed, while the dayshift eats the spilled noodles from last night’s dinner by the fire pit. 

My fellow travelers emerge blurry eyed from their shelters and begin to prepare for their own daily adventure. The morning brings farewells and wishes for a safe journey and the realization we shall probably never meet again. 

We are fellow nomads with the strong love for independent solitude. We are a small community spread from coast to coast and beyond. We speak a strange language and never talk much about the dangers other than bitch about motor homes with trailing little cars. 

We ask about where we started and where we are going, but measuring becomes less important with each conversation. I camped with a young German named Thomas and a young woman traveling alone from Boston. I had camped a week earlier with Thomas so we knew each other, in fact he called me old man. 

This young woman came in late and we invited her to share our camp fire. At first she refused with a pleasant but definitive thank you, but then changed her mind after she got a sense of us. 

The urge to treat her like our little sister was probably not welcomed, but it is an uncontrollable a natural male trait. She was to be admired for her cross country journey simply on its own merit. 

Thomas was going to take a day off to rest and hike some redwood trails, I was headed to the end of my long journey and a rental car. As I post this, I wonder how and where they are. One thing I feel strongly is that I’m jealous if they are still out there.

thirty three

FAST FRIENDS

Thomas was like a kid as he played with his bike as he marveled at the giant redwoods. Most Europeans I have met marvel at the open spaces we have in this country for the first time. He reminded me how to live life, he made me wanting to be twenty two again.

The young people I met along the way were living out an adventure they will never regret. I am trying to do the same with a much older body. 

Thomas convinced his parents to take a year off from medical school. He will value this his whole life. He was missing his parents and girl friend and talked about them each morning. I don't think he is as much of a loner as I am, which is probably a good thing. 

I was glad to spend time with him, it was good for us both. He wanted the company and I probably needed it.

thirty two

SHOPPING FOR FOOD

In a morning call to Germany Thomas promised his mother he would eat well.  We both stocked up on our food stores. He used a pumpkin from a picture for his mother. The pumpkin fell off of the bike and broke. He quickly put it back and said "we must go", so we rode off into the sunset laughing.

thirty one

THOMAS RIDES INTO THE SUNSET

This was the first time we said goodbye. We had shared a camp and some German soup, which I found out later was just soup made by a German.

We had Mexican food earlier that day, which I think was new to him. 

My hip was acting up and he was riding like a twenty two year old. We said goodbye, I took a coastal route and he took a short cut. 

I was impressed with this kid I would miss him and I think he liked my company too.

thirty

FIRST ENCOUNTERS

The climbing for the most part was behind us now, including the tunnel. Just before you enter the tunnel you push a button to start flashers blinking, but unfortunately only a few notice or understand what they are for. Some think they mean go faster and blow your horn.

A young 22 year old German named Thomas past me a few miles back. He signaled me to stop to talk and eat, I just wanted to catch my breath. 

He pulled out what amounted to a small grocery store, but I just drank some water. We talked a few minutes and continued on. Later we ate Mexican food and that evening shared a camp site. 

We talked a lot that night. We talked about large American campers and trucks, politics, sports, and life in general. For a young man he was quite wise, he said I was smart for a “meat cutter” which I hope lost something in the translation. 

This was a memorable evening for us both. Like many Europeans, he came back from the shower in only a towel, then dried off and dressed in plain sight. 

We split up in the morning because he just rode too fast for me. A week later we would meet in Oregon and ride the Redwood Highway and camp in bear country. I really liked that kid and do hope to see him again someday.

twenty nine

THE KID AND THE OLD MAN

Have you ever met someone for the first time and instantly like them? I’m a 55 year old American, Thomas is a 22 year old German. We have cycling as a common but it was more than that. 

It was our joking back and forth and the “kid" and "old man" names we gave one another almost instantly. This kid was in shape and twenty two, I’m in okay shape but much older. I still have that guy thing about competition, however with Thomas it was a playful competition, he would actually get me to think I could win.

Thomas spoke English fairly well and had only been in America for about a week so I wanted to give him a good welcome. I wanted him to know an American who loves this country and am not ashamed of our roll in the world, he will meet someone who will bad mouth this country soon enough.

twenty eight

OH TO BE TWENTY TWO AGAIN

This is Thomas, a young man from Germany. I posted on him earlier, and I wanted to update his progress. He took a year off from medical school to tour the Americas. 

He will spend time working at a hospital somewhere in Central America. I received the second e-mail, the first from a library in Death Valley, and now Mazatlán, Mexico. He said it was hot, and can't wait to get into the mountains.

A year or so later he sent a post card from the tip of South America so he made it.

twenty seven

OUTER BANKS

Between the hurricanes of 2004 I was able to ride the outer shores of North Carolina. Sometimes it was only 100 yards wide. The ride was interrupted by really cool ferry rides and light rains. 

My fifty mile knee was acting up, so I started adjusting the clip in clips on my shoes. A small quarter inch adjustment solved the problem. 

The first two weeks in the seat is always a problem, but with a good leather seat it is just a matter of time. I was able to take a dip in the Atlantic on a deserted stretch. I couldn't find my suit, well I didn't look very hard.

twenty six

Lucia, California campground beach. Not much to say but Wow!

twenty five

SMILE WALTER

This is "Walter" my traveling bud; I must have spent too much time alone. It is a cycle cross Surly Cross Check. I’ll detail the equipment in later posts, for now I just want to introduce my fellow nomad "Walter”. We have traveled over 5000 miles or more together. I have trusted my life to this fine bike and have never been let down.

twenty four

This is the beach under the route one bridge in Lucia, California,nice.

twenty three

LUCIA, CALIFORNIA COAST HIGHWAY101

 Under the bridge in the distance is a state campground. California has a bike and hike rate of two dollars, which makes it easy to find a camp. This one was so remote it only had solar powered.

twenty two

MY FIRST LOOK AT THE CALIFORNIA COAST

The California coast trip in '04 was breath taking. As an Ohio boy with almost twenty years as a desert rat, the ocean is a curiosity. I don't know much about it but at 54, I’m like a little kid around rolling surf. This is a spot close to Big Sur, California; the bright blue of the water was my favorite. There were whales traveling north. Wow!