Final stats

Day: 1
Miles: 10.7
Riding time: 0:57

Day: 2
Miles: 57.3
Riding time: 4:50

Day: 3
Miles: 30.3
Riding time: 2:50

Day: 4 - off

Day: 5
Miles: 85.9
Riding time: 7:36

Day: 6
Miles: 38.8
Riding time: 3:57

Day: 7
Miles: 42.2
Riding time: 4:20

Day:8
Miles: 62.6
Riding time: 6:30

Day: 9
Miles: 55.1
Riding time: 5:25

Day: 10
Miles: 69.0
Riding time: 7:32

Day: 11
Miles: 55.6
Riding time: 5:31

Day: 12
Miles: 64.5
Riding time: 6:37

Day: 13
Miles: 81.2
Riding time: 7:10

Day: 14
Miles: 56.0
Riding time: 5:55

Day: 15
Miles: 86.8
Riding time: 8:19

Day: 16
Miles: 63.4
Riding time: 4:55

Day: 17
Miles: 87.8
Riding time: 7:40

Day: 18
Miles: 82.5
Riding time: 7:44

Day: 19
Miles: 57.4
Riding time: 4;35

Day: 20
Miles: 38.5
Riding time: 2:57

Day: 21
Miles: 50.4
Riding time: 5:10

Day: 22
Miles: 41.5
Riding time: 4:50

Day: 23
Miles: 61.1
Riding time: 6:46

Day: 24
Miles: 62.6
Riding time: 6:04

Day: 25
Miles: 30.7
Riding time: 3:18

Day: 26
Miles: 49.6
Riding time: 4:30

Day: 27
Miles: 63.6
Riding time: 6:03

Day: 28
Miles: 48.6
Riding time: 3:49

Day: 29
Miles: 61.1
Riding time: 5:36

Day: 30
Miles: 59.2
Riding time: 5:28

Day: 31
Miles: 55.3
Riding time: 5:28

Day: 32
Miles: 25.9
Riding time: 3:02

Day: 33
Miles: 65.5
Riding time: 6:00

Day: 34
Miles: 58.4
Riding time: 5:53

Day: 35
Miles: 63.9
Riding time: 5:41

Day: 36
Miles: 67.7
Riding time: 6:08

Day: 37
Miles: 74.3
Riding time: 7:30

Day: 38-39
Miles: 114.1
Riding time: 11:24

Day: 40
Miles: 85.7
Riding time: 7:24

Day: 41
Miles: 53.5
Riding time: 5:19

Day: 42
Miles: 37.1
Riding time: 4:05

Day: 43
Miles: 55.5
Riding time: 4:26

Day: 44
Miles: 62.1
Riding time: 5:26

Day: 45
Miles: 66.7
Riding time: 5:18

Day: 46
Miles: 40.3
Riding time: 3:26

Day: 47
Miles: 68.0
Riding time: 6:41

Day: 48
Miles: 69.9
Riding time: 6:50

Day: 49
Miles: off
Riding time: off

Day: 50
Miles: 52.0
Riding time: 4:23

Day: 51
Miles: 7.8
Riding time: 0:48

Day: 52
Miles: 29.3
Riding time: 2:30

Day: 53
Miles: 51.2
Riding time: 4:11

Day: 54
Miles: 37.6
Riding time: 3:03

Day: 55
Miles: 34.1
Riding time: 2:44

Day: 56
Miles: 57.0
Riding time: 4:51

Day: 57
Miles: 32.1
Riding time: 2:26

Day: 58
Miles: 46.8
Riding time: 3:49

Day: 59
Miles: 35.5
Riding time: 2:55

Day: 60
Miles: 34.1
Riding time: 2:40

Day: 61
Miles: 45.5
Riding time: 3:35

Map

I did this mostly for myself but here is my trip on google maps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Macomb,+il&daddr=Argyle+Lake+State+Park+to:siloam+springs+state+park+il+to:Quincy,+IL+to:Thousand+Hills+State+Park+to:milan,+mo+to:Crowder+State+Park,+Trenton,+Grundy,+Missouri+64683+to:stewartsville,+mo+to:atchison,+ks+to:Clinton+State+Park,+Lawrence,+Douglas,+Kansas+to:harveyville,+ks+to:Strong+City,+KS+to:Burrton,+KS+to:zenith,+ks+to:wright,+ks+to:Garden+City,+KS+to:granada,+co+to:swink,+co+to:pueblo,+co+to:florence,+co+to:Cotopaxi,+Colorado+to:Salida,+CO+to:gunnison,+co+to:montrose,+co+to:Ridgway+State+Park&geocode=%3BFW5MaQId56uW-iEyF0yBiZALfA%3BFffPYAIdzHyU-iHpEUuLbRvnTQ%3B%3BFT4IZQId0m96-iEktsSs6sohtQ%3B%3BFVW6YwIdc91q-g%3B%3B%3BFcE0UgIdWA9R-g%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3BCWOT3DpMCq-7FXwlRwIdCO2T-SEtizop-EHzOw&hl=en&mra=pe&mrcr=23&sll=38.307181,-102.700195&sspn=9.582278,28.081055&ie=UTF8&ll=37.26531,-106.083984&spn=9.717685,28.081055&z=5

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Ridgway+State+Park&daddr=norwood,+co+to:Old+La+Sal+to:moab,+ut+to:Green+River,+UT+to:hanksville,+ut+to:torrey,+ut+to:loa,+ut+to:circleville,+ut+to:parowan,+ut+to:Beryl+Junction,+UT+to:caliente,+nv+to:rachel,+nv+to:tonopah,+nv+to:benton,+ca+to:Lee+Vining,+Mono,+California+to:Porcupine+Flat+to:East+Yosemite+Valley,+YosemiteNationalPark,+Yosemite+National+Park,+CA+95389+(North+Pines+Campground)+to:cathey's+valley,+ca+to:los+banos,+ca+to:Mercey+Hot+Springs,+California+to:san+juan+bautista,+ca+to:36.856549,-121.772461+to:monterey,+ca&geocode=FXwlRwIdCO2T-SEtizop-EHzOw%3B%3BFf7jSAIdPoZ--SES1qQ9ueMy9Q%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3BFagvQwIdt17m-A%3BFX_qQAId75Df-CH44TmqwcUU-A%3BFQ7nPwId7I7f-CFV7hpL1n0Fyw%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=21&mrsp=22&sz=10&via=22&sll=36.778492,-121.591187&sspn=0.305785,0.877533&ie=UTF8&z=10

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=monterey,+ca&daddr=Andrew+Molera+State+Park+to:Julia+Pfeiffer+Burns+State+Park+to:kirk+creek,+ca+to:300+San+Simeon+Creek+Rd,+Cambria,+CA+93428+(San+Simeon+State+Park)+to:State+Park+Road,++%3Cspan+property%3D%22v:locality%22%3EMorro+Bay%3C%2Fspan%3E,+%3Cspan+property%3D%22v:region%22%3ECalifornia%3C%2Fspan%3E+%3Cspan+property%3D%22v:postal-code%22%3E93442%3C%2Fspan%3E+(Morro+Bay+State+Park)+to:pismo+beach,+ca+to:lompoc,+ca+to:refugio+state+beach,+ca+to:5361+6th+St,+Carpinteria,+CA+93013+(Carpinteria+State+Beach)+to:2211+N+Harbor+Blvd,+Oxnard,+CA+93036+(mcgrath+State+Beach)+to:Point+Mugu+State+Park+to:los+angeles,+ca&geocode=%3BFaa3KQIdB828-CGUlM2_7x4jRg%3BFVHsJwIdoGq_-A%3B%3BFT81HwId1czH-CESU3fS74gwaw%3BFYBlGwIdBDzM-CFh5CjHvYqkzQ%3B%3B%3B%3BFYfKDAIdxU7g-CGkAkL8pXLRxw%3BFbNDCgIdlkvk-CGKvGs1VpVUrg%3BCcV2erGhA-F8FQJzCAIdyiro-CFJmAFZFallqA%3B&hl=en&mra=pe&mrcr=10,11&sll=35.106946,-119.803393&sspn=4.996664,14.040527&ie=UTF8&ll=35.029996,-120.541992&spn=5.001064,14.04

Day 61 - August 15 - Los Angeles, CA

Considering it was my last day and really wanted to return to civilization and get a much needed shower, it took me a while to get going in the morning. I really wanted to just leave my tent and sleeping pad and some other crap at the campsite that I will probably just throw away but I packed it all anyways. I got out and reached Malibu, which is not all that impressive. It's Saturday so there's cyclists everywhere. They were all traveling pretty quickly which made me really pick up my pace. The whole trip the only thing I've never worried about was speed. However, I'm competitive and wanted to see if I could keep up with these guys. A lot of people would just do a big burst to pass me up and there was no chance to catch them but one group got stopped at a red light and I tailed them for a couple of miles. There were three of them going about 24 mph and I was drafting right behind them. It was cool but they didn't notice I was there and I got tired because I had a shitload more weight on my bike and my bike is about fall apart. Other than that group and a group of girls that I passed up while going up a hill, most people zoomed past me and I never saw them again.

After being distracted by all the cyclists, I was pretty much all of the way through Malibu. There didn't seem to be anything too exciting going on there except a few restaurants that were probably overpriced and a few beaches. I continued to follow the coast until I got into LA, woo hoo. It wasn't all that exciting. After that, it was a quick ride into Sherman Oaks where I tried to locate my friends' house but failed. Boo. I called from a gas station and Nick came and picked me up. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but my cell phone has been shut off and I have been using a calling card, boo U.S. Cellular.

So, now I'm done with the trip and it really hasn't sunk in yet. In all, I traveled about 3,180 miles which for some reason doesn't seem like a whole lot to me. Now I have to prepare for my plane leaving for New Zealand on Thursday, woot!

Day 60 - August 14 - Point Mugu SP, CA

I made it out of the park and back-tracked about seven miles into Ventura because I had a short day of riding ahead of me. I got groceries for the last time on my trip and passed up a good opportunity to do laundry even though I desperately needed clean clothes because I was so close to being done. I didn't feel at all anxious about being done with the trip, or feel like staying out on the road for much longer. For whatever reason though, the day seemed to drag by. Even by picking up the extra miles from back-tracking and not leaving Venture until noon, I still got to the campsite really early. I think it's because I've actually been getting in shape without really realizing it and since the entire day was pretty flat, I made really good time.

At the campsite I talked to another interesting fellow who rambled off a bunch of stories just like the guy I talked to the night before, but if I lead him in the right direction he had some interesting things to say. He knew some judo and I've always wanted to do some sort of martial art, but never had the reason to. I will probably start taking lessons at some point, it'll be fun and actually useful for this type of thing. I didn't realize it until I went to bed but I didn't want to buy a whole lot of food so all I had to eat for the day were chocolate pop tarts and swiss cake rolls. I should probably get on a better diet once I'm done with the trip.

Day 59 - August 13 - McGrath SB, CA

I left fairly late in the morning because I only had a twenty-five mile ride to my next destination. Even when I left at eleven am, I got to the park at one pm and I couldn't register until four so I spent a few hours in Ventura. I was going to hit up the book store, but I just bought a book and only have a couple more days left. Instead, I went to a movie theater and saw the new Star Trek movie... which was pretty horrible. At least it wasted some time, even though I'm by the beach, it's so cold and foggy still that it's not worth going. Instead I just spent the rest of the day reading until I went back to the park later that night. I registered and set up camp and was joined by a rather interesting fellow. He was a drifter of sorts and talked nonstop about his days in the army and all the people he's met over the years. Then he started telling me about all the women he had slept with over the years as fast as he could and in no particular order. After each story I tried to end the conversation but he would just into a new story so quickly that I couldn't interupt him. Honestly, I didn't have anything better to do anyways so I listened to him ramble for a few hours before going to bed. Good times, tomorrow is my last day camping out hopefully then I'm meeting some friends in LA.

Day 58 - August 12 - Carpenteria SB, CA

I noticed last night that my rear tire is in extremely poor condition so I figured I would pick up some new tires in Santa Barbara. I found a bike shop easily enough and picked up a pair of new tires and a new tube to replace the patched tube I've been using since Green River Utah. I got the new tires on and then realized that the rear wheel was really wobbly. It was not noticeable with with the bald tire but the new tire scrapes up against the frame. To get a new wheel rebuilt would take about a week and I didn't want to buy a cheap wheel. So I have about a hundred miles left and I hope my bike makes it that far. At least I had two new tires that were fully inflated. For a short while at least. I went to do laundry after that and after riding the bike for only a few miles the front tire went flat. When I was putting on the front tire the first time I put it on backwards so when I went to fix it I wasn't paying as much attention and ended up putting the tube in without inflating it and must have messed it up. So after I thought I had two new wheels I had to replace the front tube with the patched tube I just took out of the rear tire.

Oh well, I got to spend the rest of the day in Santa Barbara which is a pretty cool town. On my way out of town I noticed that the bike patch gets really weird. It would follow the main road, then go off onto a bike patch, then it would dump you onto a back road with no signs. Then, I'd have to wander around until I found where the bike patch picked up again and that kept happening for a while. Eventually I got out of town and lost track of the bike path. I found a highway that parallels the interstate and just followed that for a while. It was not very biker friendly and I had no idea where I was by that point. Eventually I found Carpenteria and the state beach.

The beach apparently had a big problem with homeless people trying to sneak in so we got harassed by a cop late at night which was pretty funny. I'm less than 100 miles to LA so I'll probably make it there in a couple of days. There's two more state beaches with hike and bike spots so I'll spend the next two nights there then hopefully meet up with some friends in LA and start preparing for my trip to New Zealand.

Day 57 - August 11 - Refugio SB, CA

I didn't know what to expect when heading to my next destination. I got to the Refugio state beach around noon and got a cheap spot. Normally the hiker/biker spots are little spots with no shade in a horrible location. However, this spot was right on the beach and was in some nice shade. It was foggy up until about three in the afternoon then finally cleared up. It was such a nice day and I spent the day just hanging out on the beach trying to work on my horrible tan.

Later on, three cyclists came through and we ended up hanging out, drinking beer. They had been doing the trip from San Fran down to LA every summer since 1984. They called themselves "The Tree Amigos" which was pretty funny because I have been seeing that name spray painted on the bike path many times along the coast. The campsite tomorrow is also along the coast so I hope it's just as good.

Day 56 - August 10 - Lompoc, CA

I heard from the other cyclists that there was a campground in the next town of Lompoc that had a hiker/biker area so I planned on stopping there. It was a decent sized town and I was hoping to hit up a book store or at least find something to do for the rest of the day. I did find the campground but the town was a bit of a disappointment. There was a grocery store and about twenty thrift stores and a bunch of fast food restaurants that that was about it. Luckily I picked up a copy of "1984" in Morrow Bay and spent the day by the pond reading. Once again, a group of cyclists showed up later in the day. They were coming from Pennsylvania and had done about 4,500 miles, crazy. All in all, a rather uneventful day.

Day 55 - August 9 - Pismo Beach, CA

I was excited to be going to Pismo, it was a short ride and everyone said that there were always clear skies. However that was not the case. I rolled in early in the afternoon and it was just as cold and even foggier than I've seen in the past few days. The park I was hoping to camp at had no hiker/biker spots and I had to camp in an overpriced RV park. They had one hiker/biker spot in the entire campground which fit about two hundred RVs. When I got there, there was a cyclist already there and three more showed up later on and we all got crammed into the same spot even though there were several other normal camping spots open. They were all really cool though, they were all british and were riding from the Canadian border down to San Diego.

I ended up just hanging out at the campground all day and didn't bother going to the beach, it was too cold and foggy.

Day 54 - August 8 - Morro Bay SP, CA

I'm out of the woods and back towards civilization. It was pretty cold all day and once I got close to Morro Bay thick fog started to appear. I was going to make it to Pebble Beach, but I needed to get some laundry done and stock up on food. I spent the day in town which is warmer and less foggy than the campground. I should probably pick up some warmer clothes, but everyone keeps saying that it gets warmer "just a little bit south of here." It's starting to remind me of when people say "it's all downhill from here." For now I'm showing off my awesome blue sweat pants, black t-shirt and flip flops. It's supposed to be warm and sunny near Pebble Beach which is where I'll be tomorrow so here's hoping.

Day 53 - August 7 - San Simeon SP, CA

It was another foggy day heading south along highway 1. It was a pretty hilly ride so I had to stop to take a few breaks along the way. After one of my breaks I got back on the bike and headed downhill and noticed there were three cyclists behind me. As I was going downhill at 30 mph I hit a pretty big bump and one of my rear panniers came off and flew into the road. Out of everything that could fall off, the pannier with my most expensive piece of equipment, my netbook, fell off. Luckily there were no cars coming and I was able to go back and get it and it looked like it wasn't damaged. The computer still works, I guess I packed it well. Of course when stuff with my bike goes wrong there's always other cyclists around to see it happen. I ended up meeting up with the cyclists on the way up a hill. They were headed south to Orange County and their wives were carrying their equipment for them. They were stopping in Cambria for the night, a couple miles past my campsite. Being the competitive person that I am, I ended up passing them up and stayed ahead of them for eight miles until I hit a fairly steep hill and all the extra weight on my bike really became noticeable. They passed me back up but that was OK, I needed a break anyways.

I ran into the beach where all of the elephant seals are congregating for the year. It's mating season and the fat seals are going crazy. There was a parking lot along the beach where people could park and go see a beach of seals. However, past it there was a break in the fence where I was able to sneak into and get real close to a group of seals. There were a bunch of males fighting in the water which is pretty funny to see.

I made it to the San Simeon park and set up camp. I lose track of days and forgot it was Friday so there were a lot of people there for the weekend. Cambria was just a few miles away so I spent most of my time there since there were actual restaurants there.

Day 52 - August 6 - Kirk Creek Campground, CA

I have heard from many people that I needed to visit Kirk Creek which was about thirty miles from the park I was at. It was cold and wet in the morning as usual but I was about to make it to a cafe at the park and have coffee and warm up inside while I waited for it to clear up outside. It's nice to not be rushed and be able to take my time in the mornings now. I would like to get to an actual town sometime soon though, there's just a few gas stations out here with no real food selection and really high prices. I have enough granola bars for the time being though. It did clear up and I made my way for Kirk Creek. On the way I passed up a group of six cyclists that were traveling with a van carrying all of their gear which I though was funny. They were cool though and we stopped to talk for a bit. We both camped at the same place the night before but they left a while before me and after twenty five miles they quit for the day and loaded up their gear in the van and left for their next campsite.

I got to Kirk Creek and didn't know what to expect. It was just a small flat campground with no trees but it was right on the edge of a cliff and the view in the picture was about ten feet from where I was sleeping. There was a path down to the beach which had a couple of really cool rock formations right next to the beach. It was an awesome place to stop for the day and had an amazing view the entire day. At night, the sunset was really nice and I took way too many pictures. I could get used to living out here, but for now I have to keep moving on.

Day 51 - August 5 - Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP, CA

I was going to stay in Andrew Molera for the day but I had already walked through a lot of the trails and was itching to move on. I got about five miles down the road and there was another state park that had a hike and bike camp spot for three bucks so I figured I'd just stay there for the day. Even though it wasn't far from Andrew Molera, it was a lot different. It was in the middle of a forest of giant sequoia. I went on a few hikes around here as well, it was a little difficult to climb up those hills in flip flops but I made it to the top and there was a real nice view. I'm still stuck on a sleep scedule where I wake up around six in the morning and I need to start sleeping in because it's cold, wet and foggy that early. Plus, it's nice in the afternoon so I don't need to head out real early.

Day 50 - August 4 - Andrew-Molera SP, CA

Out of Monterey I took a ride through Pebble Beach which was about ten miles out of the way, but had some amazing views. The entire ride to the park was pretty amazing. It was a clear day which I heard is pretty rare and the temperature is perfect. I pulled into the state park pretty early in the day so I spent the day walking through the trails in the park. There was a really nice view by the beach but it's still a little too cold out to enjoy it.

Day 49 - Monterey, CA

Monterey is a pretty cool town so I'm staying here for the day and looking around more. It got really misty out last night and my tent got really wet and I didn't have my rain cover on. I'm still not used to the cold so hopefully I get used to that, I'm looking forward to taking the day off though.

Day 48 - August 2 - Monterey, CA

I got up and it seemed like it was still really early but it was already seven. It was so foggy out that it still pretty dark out. It was also really cold which makes it hard to get out of bed. I got out and had to ride with a jacket on but I was still cold. I made my way through all of the back roads without getting too lost. I made it to the coast pretty early in the morning so it was still a little chilly but it cleared up shortly after and warmed up. Shortly after getting to the coast I ran into a few other cyclists, one of which was from Monterey and showed us around the bike paths and into town. We found a campsite right in the middle of town and set up camp and headed into the town to check out the aquarium. The aquarium here is really nice and they had a small jazz combo playing at six which we stayed and checked out. We got back to the campsite and lit up a few cigars and sipped some brandy to celebrate getting to the coast.

Day 47 - August 1 - San Juan, CA

I took off from the hot springs pretty early after seeing a black widow spider next to my tent. I talked to a few people the night before who said it was all flat out of here into Hollister. They were either messing with me or just stupid because it was nothing but hills and it was the least flat surface I've ridden on in a while. It was hot pretty early in the morning but I was starting to get out of the valley and into the coast so it got cooler as I rode. I got into Hollister pretty early and spent the day riding around looking for the fire station. I was in no hurry so I just rode around visiting stores and picking up groceries. A few hours later I found the fire station and got directions to the coast without going on the freeway. They were some pretty crazy directions with a lot of back roads but it didn't take me too far out of the way. I got out of Hollister around five in the afternoon and made my way to San Juan where I figured I'd camp for the night. On the way over I hit some crazy ass head winds which isn't as hard as running into a summit but is almost as frustrating. I made it to San Juan and it was a cool little tourist town but the RV park I was going to camp at was 25 bucks so I just ended up camping in a park in town.