*Click any of the photos for bigger photos. You know the drill.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A 36 Hour Tour. A 36 Hour Tour.
The other weekend I decided I needed to get away. I needed to get away on my bike. I needed to get away on my bike and try out all this new camping gear I had accumulated around the holidays. But with my limited free time, this need could only really be satisfied by one thing: a 36-hour bike tour down the coast from my front door in Downtown L.A. to the sunny beaches of San Diego and back (by train, of course—I'm not superman/doping.) I decided to break up this whirlwind of pedals, panniers and Cliff Bars with a nice relaxing night of camping under the stars (and within ear-shot of the Ocean) at Doheny State Beach. Here is some of the photographic evidence of my journey, one of the best/rejuvenating/therapeutic/challenging/introspective/cathartic/fun 36 contiguous hours in recent memory:
*Click any of the photos for bigger photos. You know the drill.
*Click any of the photos for bigger photos. You know the drill.
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hello,
ReplyDeletei discovered this entry while searching for bike tours along the PCH. I'm particularly interested in the SF to LA tour, but since I've yet to do a tour, and found your entry, perhaps an LA to SD would be a good one for a first timer. I've a few questions:
1) Was most of the ride along the PCH? Or do you have the route you ended up taking?
2) Did you lock your bike up at the campsite? or bring it into the tent?
3) Did you make any changes to your bike to get it ready for the tour? wider tires? higher stem? etc. I see you have a rear rack, saddle bag, and handle bar bag. Did you find these to be sufficient?
4) how wide are your tires? 23mm?
5) do you know your average speed? and/or road time? I'm assuming you did 70miles each day.
6) Is there anything you would've done differently to make this a better trip?
thanks again. and nice bike btw.
Hi vu,
DeleteI'm glad you found my blog! Yes, a LA to SD tour would be a good stepping stone to a longer trip and would let you work out any issues you have with your gear and conditioning without being stranded too far from home. FYI, I also posted a brief summary of my trip on the Adventure Cycling website which is a great resource for maps and info if you're just getting into touring.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/ride_registry/detail.cfm?r=1AA7FC4A
To answer your questions:
1) I'd say my ride was pretty equally split between bike paths (along rivers and beaches, etc) and busier streets such as the PCH. The route I came up with was an amalgam of Goggle maps and the Adventure Cycling route. I can send you a copy if you like, and if I can find it.
2) Yes, I locked my bike with a u-lock and cable to the table at my campsite (which was itself chained to the ground somehow). I would not have been able to fit it in my 1-man tent, but I did pack my panniers, handlebar bag and saddlebag in the tent with me. I think I also locked up my seat because I'd heard of horror stories from other tourists about their bikes or components being ripped off during the night.
3-4) I use my road bike for fitness rides, commuting AND touring. My stem has a comfy rise and I don't change anything around except to add a rear rack when commuting and an additional handlebar bag for the tours. I always run 25x700 tires on hand-built DT Swiss RR465 wheels. My old stock road wheels developed cracks @ the nipples due to all the weight, so make sure you have strong rims with a high enough spoke-count for your weight. Also, the larger the tire you run, the comfier you'll be. Since I tour on a road bike, I can only squeeze on 25's, but there's no real harm in going bigger if your frame allows. When touring, comfort should be the main consideration!
As a side note, although I can fit all my gear into two rear panniers and a handlebar bag, on my next tour I may try to use a front rack to hold some of my gear just to better distribute the weight front to back and reduce the twitchiness that comes from carrying too much weight in the rear.
5) Not sure what my average speed was but I did about 70 miles a day. On the first day I think I left my place in DTLA around 10am and arrived Doheney State Beach around 4:30pm. Throw in a couple rest stops and a lunch stop and you can do the math.
6) I got a little lazy with my route planning toward the end so I took a bunch of wrong turns and got to the train station a bit later than I would have liked (also due to hanging out on the beach in SD for too long.) Although it was nice to move at my own pace and go wherever I wanted, I still have more fun touring with a friend or two for company (even if you have to wait on them to go to the bathroom or fix a flat, etc.) It's nice having someone to hang out and joke around with at camp and to have another person to help figure out where the hell you're going when you get lost. Also, if you plan well, you can share things like a camp stove, bike lock, and perhaps even a tent if you're close enough. And schlepping less weight up hills certainly results in a better tour for everyone.
Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope you have a great tour!