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Published: October 9th 2010
Here we are on the south side of L.A. sitting in a hotel in the surfers paradise of Huntington Beach.
The last few days of cycling have been fantastic. From Santa Barbara - Malibu was a great ride and this mornings ride was what we've been waiting for since we started. Bright blue skies, sun shining, cycling along the boardwalks of Malibu, Venice, Hermosa and Redondo Beaches.. Fantastic..
It was typically stereo typical! Rollerbladers, joggers, skaters, fitness instructors, big boobs, big hair, big lips!!
We stayed in a fantastic campsite last night (Thursday 7th) on a hillside overlooking L.A. and the Pacific Ocean. We woke up at 6am and started the routine of getting packed up of which I'll discuss later.
We wanted to make an early start as we'd been warned about the rush hour traffic.
As a bonus we watched our first sunrise of the trip. It was magical.. Whilst we love watching the sun set we're both morning people and there's nothing like watching the dawn of a new day over L.A.
We cycled past the million dollar homes of the rich and famous of Malibu and onto a bicycle path that took us
through the beach zone. At least a dozen people shouted out to us asking where we were going, where we'd come from. Other cyclist clapped as we cycled by and shouted "Good Job".. We sat in Venice Beach and had breakfast and tried to take everything in.
The next few days will see us enter Mexico. Although we have some idea where we want to go we don't have a strict plan. I'm glad about that. I've been quite focused on getting to Mexico and clocking up the miles on the USA leg. The Mexico leg should be more relaxed and I'm leaving the navigating and planning to David so who knows where we'll end up.
We've also rekindled an old flame.. Our love of V.W's.. Many, many years ago (18?) we had two V.W. Beetles, a silver one then a red one. The further south we've cycled the more we're starting to see.. There'll be lots of photos for you to enjoy (or not)!
We've got our routine down to a tee. When we first started out it was a nightmare. David would take at least two hours to pack up. I was done and
dusted within 40 minutes..
All of my prayers were answered when Stuart (our cycling buddy for a while) entered our life 1 week into the trip.
All of a sudden David changed from "Right Claire. You get this end of the ground sheet and we'll put a crease in it corner to corner". When Stuart came along it changed to "Quick - Just shove it in". Of course it was never talked about but we all knew, every morning when we woke up, that it was a competition to see who could pack up the quickest.
Luckily, once Stu left, the effects lasted. Apart from a day or two of concerns on my part that things were slipping we can wake up, get washed, make breakfast, pack the tent, pack the panniers and get away within an hour.
Of course all this will change when we get to Mexico and a whole new routine has to be adopted......
Watch this space....
Tuesday 5th October - Pismo Beach - Lompoc = 53 miles.
Wednesday 6th October - Lompoc - Carpintera (Santa Barbara) = 73 miles.
Thursday 7th October - Carpintera - Malibu = 63 miles.
Friday 8th October - Malibu - Huntington Beach = 66 miles.
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Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0616s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
krobinson
Ketty Robinson
fabulous beach
We have been there to see sunset, the view was fantastic. but I think you guys had great fun while cycling along the beaches. it would be cool experience for you two. http://www.travelamerica360.com