Ed & Sharla's Final Thoughts

Now that this dream is complete we wanted to put together a few thoughts about the journey.

Ed's Thoughts:

One of my goals was to use this time to get to better know my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I believe this was furthered in several ways.  The time on a bike allows you to experience your surroundings much more than in a car.  You not only can enjoy the surroundings more because you are doing it slower and have unrestricted views, but you also use your other senses such as smelling and hearing to experience it.  This allowed me to get a better view of His creation and recognize what a creative God we have.  He created magnificent vistas to view His handy work from the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. He also created such a variety of wildlife from birds and mammals to many types of animals that live in the sea.  These experiences demonstrated what a unique and wonderful place God created for us to enjoy and take care of.

I really enjoyed meeting people along the way that were either interested in what we were doing or were fellow touring cyclists with various dreams of their own.  We got a chance to interact with people we never would have had the opportunity to meet without this journey.  A lesson I learned was that I should not judge people based on my first impressions, because after I spent a little time with them I found out they had a story of their own and it was probably not what I had imagined.  It was also very easy to start a conversation by being on a touring bicycle and meeting all these new people was a highlight of the trip.

This adventure really ended up being a journey and not a destination and I am now wondering how God will use it to shape my future.  I feel greatly blessed to be able to have physically accomplished this and also have the time and resources to do it.  I am most blessed that my wife, Sharla, did this with me!  She was amazing and experiencing this adventure together brought us even closer to one another!

One last thought is that people keep asking me what was the best part of the trip and other than meeting some amazing people, it had to be riding along side the Pacific Ocean on a bright sun shinny day with a light wind to my back and minimal traffic.  The miles passed quickly and it was utterly exhilarating!  We had a number of these experiences throughout the journey  in Canada, Washington, Oregon and California.  I still can't believe we did it...

Sharla's thoughts in a nutshell:

I also can't believe we did it but my knees, legs, funny tan lines and so many memories let me know we did. It was an amazing adventure to share with Ed. Beforehand, I wondered how we would manage with so much together time. I can say now, we managed pretty well and I would say our relationship is closer as a result of this experience. 

I think back on the mountains, mountain passes, hundreds of hills and even some bridges that challenged me the most. As you've read this blog, you know I didn't appreciate them too much but there is a sense of accomplishment each time I made it up and over them.  I learned to focus on the task at hand and just take it 1 day at a time, 1 visible climb at a time, a half mile at a time and know that there was a downhill coming. I praise God for giving me the strength and determination to complete this journey.

Having bikes with panniers and pulling a trailer was an instant conversation starter. A highlight of the trip was the people we met along the way. So many people stopped us and wanted to know where we were going to and coming from. It was very fun to meet fellow bicyclists...some of them several times at camps who we would have never met due to age difference or whatever but here we had a common denominator in bicycling.

I also praise God for the beauty He created that was so evident in the sites I saw. There were also so many times I felt God's intervention from using a car accident on a bridge for me to catch my breath to recently placing people who helped direct our path--one at the right moment came along and kept us from ending up on a dead-end strand of land and another helped us figure the best place for my sister to meet us by the border.

All in all, it has been a wonderful, unforgettable experience.

We also thank our neighbors niece, Tori, for making this possible by agreeing to take care of our house and animals while we were gone.  We also thank our neighbors Rod and Nella for their part in taking care of our property while we were away.  Without them this dream would not have ben possible.

We were unable to post pictures during our journey but will try to add them in the next few weeks after we get home, so check back later if you want to see them.

Mexico...The Dream Accomplished - Day 56 (October 16, 2012)

During the final  leg of our journey, we rode through Del Mar, Torrey Pines (a 300' hill that reminded Sharla of earlier climbs), La Jolla, Pacific Beach, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, San Ysidro and Tijuana. Near the end, Ed was figuring maybe we didn't need to cross the border but Sharla said we couldn't say we went from Canada to Mexico if we didn't cross the border. That was about a 3 hour process--hour to get into Mexico, spent less than half an hour in Tijuana, and the rest of the time in a long line to get back in U.S.  Sharla's sister, Cindi, met us in San Ysidro after we got back across the border with her truck to give us a ride to our Mom's place in El Cajon. It is hard to believe our journey has been completed and Ed's dream accomplished.

Penultimate Ride - Day 55

For those of you who don't know (since Sharla didn't know) that means the next to last ride. Today's ride took us through San Clemente, Camp Pendleton (had to show our IDs to ride through), Oceanside, Carlsbad and Leucadia.  It was a 44 mile ride before arriving at our final campsite in San Elijo State Beach campground. We saw lots of beaches and many more surfers. We met fellow bikers, Tom and Richard, who were interested in what we were doing. At the campsite we met Don who has seasonal work in Alaska and is riding from San Jose to San Diego and then is going to head East to Florida.  His ultimate goal is to eventually ride the perimeter of the United States.  Today was a nice ride even though temperatures were the warmest we've had.

Back in the Saddle Again - Day 54

The last 27 miles out of LA was on Highway 1 and didn't have a bike lane or shoulder so we rode this on Sunday morning and it worked out well as traffic was light and we were able to take one whole lane (there were 3 lanes most of the time) without causing traffic problems. Traffic increased in the afternoon making riding more difficult as we were still on Highway 1 without bike lanes so we were glad that we started early and got through so much of the ride without difficulty. We rode through Long Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach seeing some nice coastlines and lots of beaches during our 54 mile ride to Doheny State Beach campground near Dana Point. It is evident that the population density is much higher than any other part of our ride.

Down Time in Los Angeles - Days 52 & 53

After checking into the motel and having a nice dinner on the Wharf, we decided to enjoy the nice weather and spend a couple more days in the LA area. In order to get around, we rented a car for the first time on our journey. Friday we went to the LA Museum of Natural History. We were again amazed at God's awesome creativity and the diversity in life we saw in the displays of dinosaurs, mammals, insects, fish, etc. from  prehistoric times to now. We cannot possibly believe that this tremendous variety could have evolved without God's handiwork. We also visited the California Science Museum and Hollywood. The space shuttle, Endeavor, was scheduled to be moved into a special building at the museum the next day but we decided not to return and fight the traffic but we did see some of the  preparations being made for its arrival.

Saturday was spent as an easy-going day that ended with us attending Saddleback Church where Rick Warren was preaching. At the guest table we met Joel, who is an avid bike rider and triathlete. He told us he is biased because he lives here, but he still believes some of our most enjoyable rides are still ahead of us.

Blessings Abound - Day 51

We were soon into the rolling hills of Malibu...sometimes with expensive houses on both sides of us but many times with the Pacific Ocean on our right.  This whole trip Sharla has been looking for whales and dolphins. She finally saw several dolphins swimming along today. First blessing of the day. We stopped at a grocery store in Malibu to get a mid-morning snack of danish and juice (can do that sort of thing now that we don't have mountains to climb). Sharla stayed outside watching the bikes while Ed bought the goodies. She was soon entertained by a homeless guy who called himself Freddie the Singer.  He said he was a song writer and sang a cute song about a turkey who took diet pills before Thanksgiving and ended up putting the farmer out of business when he sold the diet pills to the other turkeys. He said he may be homeless but he lives in Malibu!  At the end of Venice Beach we were looking for a place to eat and were looking at a menu at Thomas Hamburgers when a man out front asked about our bikes.  When he found out about our journey he told a guy next to him to give us whatever we wanted.  We told him he didn't have to do that but he told us he was Thomas and he owned the restaurant and we could have whatever we wanted.  Ed had some excellent fish tacos and Sharla had the best gyro we have ever had.  We found out he immigrated to LA 40 years ago from Greece and now has several businesses in LA.  Our 2nd blessing.  We continued on a wonderful 20 mile ride on a paved beach bike path and the miles went by very quickly. After arriving in Redondo Beach, a lady told us where we could get a reasonably priced motel and also about an excellent wharf restaurant that had a great early bird special. We got a motel and cleaned up in time to catch the special. When the waitress found out about our journey, she treated us to a free dessert--chocolate mousse. Another blessing.

A WOW Day - Day 50

There was rain in the forecast but it ended up being a beautiful day. We are really enjoying the perfect California weather we have had.  Much of the day was spent on the coast, traffic was light, bike lanes were wide, roads were fairly level, and it was a great day for riding. Today was spent going through Ventura and Oxnard making stops for pastries and coffee, fish, chips and sushi, and ice cream.  Ed kept looking out at the Pacific Ocean and was "WOWed" that we have nearly completed his dream ride. We had a 50 mile day and ended at Leo Carrillo State Beach just North of Malibu and Los Angeles. A perfect ending to the day was spent sitting on the beach watching surfers, kayakers and divers enjoying the Southern California coast.

Carpinteria Hospitality - Day 49

According to our guidebook, we are done with all the big climbs for the rest of the trip so Sharla is celebrating that.  We met 2 guys this morning who are riding from Port Angeles, Washington to San Diego in 3 weeks time putting in 70 mile days so we know we won't be seeing them again.  We were mostly on bike paths or roads that ran alongside highway 101 today. We rode through the historic part of downtown Santa Barbara. We're stopping at all the bike stores we see because Ed needs a new mirror again. When we stopped at a bike store in Carpinteria, a gal, Rachel, who was on one of her runs (she runs 5 to 10 miles each day, 6 days a week) was glad we stopped. She wanted to catch up to us so she could invite us to stay at her house. She and her friend, Shauna, had recently finished going across country from West coast to East coast--Shauna on bicycle and Rachel and their dog, Romero, in the support vehicle but Rachel being the runner would run or go for walks while waiting for Shauna.  They experienced people's hospitality across the country and want to do the same for other people.  They have a great piece of property fairly close to the freeway and are even converting their backyard (they have 4 acres) into an area where bicyclists coming through their area can camp. We definitely felt their kindness and hospitality as they gave us their upstairs room, hot showers, and wonderful conversations hearing about their many experiences. A surprise blessing to end our day.  We rode 38 miles.

Side Trip and Bypass - Day 48

Before leaving the motel, we met a young gal from China. She quit her job in China, rented a car in U.S., and was touring mainly National Parks in Western U.S. She called us heroes when she found out how far we had ridden our bikes. She said in China they ride bikes to get to work...not for fun.

Ed was again amazed that after a 70 mile ride yesterday, Sharla was still willing to take a side trip to Solvang, a community founded by Danish people and has that feel with the architecture and even a few windmills. We had lunch there which we topped off with their famous dessert, Ebelskivers, a puff pastry dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a raspberry sauce. Sharla was also hopeful that this side trip would cause us to bypass the last big hill (900' elevation gain) of this journey which it did so Sharla was mighty happy about that.  There was still some climbs today but more in the under 500' elevation gain, so manageable. It was a sunny, pleasant day. This afternoon we were back on the busy Highway 101 . At times we had a tail wind but it was mainly pretty strong at our side.  Sometimes when big 18 wheelers passed, we would get quite a swirl of wind to deal with. We made it 45 miles today and are camped at Refugio State Park very close to the beach.

The Bribe - Day 47

We talked with a couple in the hiker/biker campground this morning from France, Mike & Sue, who are riding their bikes from Vancouver to San Diego and then back to Los Angeles where their daughter lives. We actually had previously met them at a pull-off along the road. They have done a lot of bike touring all over the world. 

After 4 nights camping, Sharla was telling Ed it was about time for a motel. The only campgrounds were 26 miles away or 70 miles away. Ed suggested we could either go the 26 miles and stay in a campground or go 65 miles to Lompoc and stay in a motel. Sharla chose going for the motel which ended up being a 70 mile ride since the motel was on the other side of town. This is a new record for the distance travelled in one day. We traveled on a lot of flatter, agricultural terrain which was inland and not particularly scenic but we did have a 950' elevation gain mountain pass to cross near the end of the day. The wind was favorable and on some of the stretches we were cruising up to 20 mph. At the motel we got the laundry done and ordered to have a pizza delivered.

Hearst Castle - Day 46

We were surprised to see David this morning--he arrived in camp after dark. We had a schedule to keep this morning. Be out of camp by 8, back track 2 miles to restaurant for breakfast, and then back track another 3 miles to the entrance for the Hearst Castle tour. There were lockers where we locked up our panniers and a place to lock our bikes so we felt safe leaving them. We watched a 40 min. IMAX movie on William Randolph Hearst and then got on the bus for our ride to the top of a mountain for our tour of the Hearst Castle. After the tour, they let you roam around the outside as long as you want seeing gardens, fountains, swimming pools and tennis courts. We felt the tour was very well done and worth the $25 charge.

At 2 p.m. we were on Highway 1 again traveling south. We had a tail wind again which helped carry us down the road. At one point Sharla was amazed as she was going 24 mph on flat terrain without pedaling. The scenery shifted from majestic cliffs to flat, sandy beaches that attracted a lot of kite surfers--it's easier to pedal too. Had another perfect temperature day. We can better understand why so many people choose to live in central and southern California coastal areas because of their weather. 

Wind at our Back - Day 45

Woke to another beautiful, California morning and had a chance to talk to David (we've camped 3 nights in a row with him) and found out he's a retired physician. He's feeling the pressure to complete his trip so we may not see him again. After a couple, gradual but moderate climbs (800' elevation gains), we had lunch at Ragged Point where we saw 11 Shelby Cobras who were on a rally to Carmel. We recommend this as a place to stop as they have reasonably priced food unlike a number of other small places we had stopped at. Further down the road just before Hearst Castle, we pulled off at Piedras Blancas, along with lots of other people in cars to watch hundreds of elephant seals basking in the sun on the sandy beach. They were quite active flipping the sand on themselves, going in and out of the water, and sparring with each other.  Apparently these are all young seals but some of them are quite large as an adult male can be 16' long and weigh 5000 lbs. If you want to see a live web cam of the elephant seals on the beach, you can go to www.elephantseal.org. We stopped at Hearst Castle to see if we could go on a tour but they were booked today so we scheduled a tour for in the morning.  We went on down the road 5 miles to San Simeon State Beach. The young couple, Tom & Brittany were also at this camp who we have seen on and off for probably the last month. They are also traveling from Canada to Mexico.  It seems that the car of choice for the last 2 days in this area has been Mustang convertibles.  The afternoon ride had a pleasant tail wind to help us along as well as the terrain was flatter so more enjoyable. We rode 36 1/2 miles today.

Scenic Day - Day 44

The day began with a couple of nice climbs (including the one we partially did yesterday). It was a good day for riding with no wind but a slightly overcast sky for most of the day. It was a picturesque ride along the coast with many magnificent views. Sharla encountered some knee pains which hopefully won't continue to be a  hindrance. We rode 34 miles and stayed at Plaskett Creek Campground.

Almost a Dream Day - Day 43

After a few days off the bikes, Ed was so excited to ride around Monterey Bay and through Carmel. It was a beautiful day with clear, blue sky. The ride around Monterey Bay on the bike path was phenomenal and we saw lots of birds, sea lions and deer. A perfect day for riding. We continued on to Carmel along the "17 Mile Drive". This drive is free for bikes and passes by several famous golf courses including Pebble Beach and many luxurious homes along this coastal drive. After a wonderful morning of riding, we got back on Highway 1 heading south. For only the second time on our journey, we had a quite strong headwind. This wind in conjunction with several sizable climbs was very tiring. Sometimes we even had to peddle downhill to keep moving forward. Along the way we kept leap-frogging with David from upstate New York. David is also on a journey from Canada to Mexico but he couldn't talk his wife into joining him.  Besides the extra work of the wind, we travelled a mile uphill past the campground because the park sign indicated lodging (there was a lodge there) but didn't list camping. Sharla was not too happy with Ed for not stopping and checking our guide book. These events kept it from being a perfect dream day. We rode 49 miles and stayed at Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park.

Down Time - Days 41 & 42

Ed had to fly to Colorado for a 1 day meeting while Sharla stayed in a motel in Monterey. Sharla spent the down time looking through  Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, a couple antique malls, swimming pool time and even a much needed haircut. (She also did the laundry and some grocery shopping so it wasn't all down time.)

Monteray - Day 40

After waking up to a gorgeous, clear blue sky, we rode our bikes 2 1/2 miles to get from the camp to the motel.  You may ask why we didn't get the motel for last night? We would have been charged an extra $25 to book the motel for a Saturday night.  Much cheaper to pay $12 for a campsite.  Between having lunch and dinner on Fisherman's Wharf, we spent time at the Monteray Aquarium.  It is the best aquarium we have been to and all the animals were healthy and active. We are reminded of God's creativity in the variety of sea life He created. His handiwork is seen in the many varieties of jellyfish,  seahorses, sea mammals, and fishes. It was fun to see lobsters climbing over eels and using their tentacles to keep them away.