Los Angeles, CA

We've reached our next big milestone - the not so small 'n' cozy town of Los Angeles, California. We rode 220 miles in the last three days, which allowed us to travel between San Francisco and LA in just six days. But the first three days from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo (aka SLO-town) contrasted like day and night with the second part of the ride, from SLO to LA.

On the bright side, the road for the last 220 miles was mostly flat, with just a few rather gentle climbs, which failed to inflict any discomfort for our strengthening legs. The first day, when we rode from SLO to Lampoc was also rather pretty, with back country roads stretching through continuous farmlands and small, Mexican-populated towns scattered along the way. But the scenery changed rather dramatically over the last days and traveling felt more like work rather than holiday.

The route from Lompoc to Santa Barbara goes mostly through the Interstate Highway 101, which is hell on earth for any biker who attempts it. The shoulder is narrow and littered with broken glass, tire rubber, dead animals and any other imaginable kind of debris. Its eight-lane traffic is busy with heavy trucks, oversized RVs and stealthy sports cars. The bridges along the way are so narrow and shoulderless that your handle bars are shaking from nervousness as you're crossing them. Actually, there are signs all over the place announcing that bicycles are prohibited on this road but our maps guided us precisely along that highway as there just wasn't another alternative for getting into Santa Barbara. Tomas and I and Jeremy, a rider who joined us for a day from Lampoc, wanted to get off the freeway so badly that we finished the entire 50-mile stretch into Santa Barbara before noon. That was probably the most productive (and frightening) morning we've had on this trip so far.

(In Santa Barbara - happy to be off the highway...)

That night we spent camping at McGrath State Park, a very nice campground just past Ventura. We shared the space with Cub Scouts and their parents from Woodland Heights who (just so it happens!) also liked talking to bikers and treated us to a hearty breakfast - eggs, bacon, pancakes, strawberries and grapes included.

We then started on the finishing stretch to LA. It is a flat, urban ride on Highway 1, with lots of surfer beaches to our right and many serious-looking cyclists on their training rides passing us on our left. We reached Malibu, which stretches for miles and miles along the highway, and stopped at a really cool Mexican restaurant La Salsa. The entire distance from Ventura to LA, however, feels like a continuous city, with heavy traffic and lots of stop lights - nothing like what we've been riding in Northern California just days before that.

Once we reached Santa Monica, the enormity and the lack of biker-friendliness of the City of Los Angeles quickly dawned on us. We got quite some thrill reaching our friend Karolis who lives all the way in Pasadena, about 30 or 40 miles from where we entered the city. The details will follow shortly in our next post.

(With Karolis in Pasadena)

We are taking a day off today; spending some time reading, cooking, repairing the bikes, and watching the NBA finals game here in Lakers-town. Our next and final landmark on the West Coast is San Diego. Hasta pronto!