Thursday, June 2, 2011
Andrea Says: In the Redwood Forest
I am tired today, so this is going to be short. The boys are in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Mike says the trees are huge.
Andrea Says: Paul and Mike round 4
People have some good ideas on what Paul and Mike are thinking. Now it is time for another picture:
Mike & Paul Revealed: Fantastic Four-way Tie
The battle of Partisan Rock II: This time with more Partisan, went well. As many of you now know – Paul and Mike not only pushed back the communist threat, but also saved humanity from the rapture. I’d detail more, but Paul is currently in talks George Lucas to create a six episode arc of his adventure from small child living next door to Mike, to this very post. Stay tuned for more details and potentially unnecessary CG later.
Now back to the adventure. After days of heat, desert and cycle trouble the boys finally made their way to California. (Please always read the name of the state the way Arnold says it.) While looking for a comfortable spot to camp for the night Mike saw a sign that says “Free music: boy band open mic night” at a local cantina. Well, if there are two things Mike loves, its free cantina music and the styling of Lance Bass. However, to his shock and dismay, he encountered a very odd site. Deep within the bar on stage was a very hairy band calling themselves “The ‘Wok of Life.” Hoping it was a Bruce Springsteen cover band he approached the stage. What he found was reprehensible. A band of Ewoks.
Mike shouted the Ewokian battle cry (a series of grunts, chirps, purrs and arm waves) and it, was, on… The fury offenders fled out the back door and Mike and Paul were in pursuit. As Mike and Paul entered the back door another closed. They looked around and noticed they were trapped in a chain link dome…a Thunderdome. The walls were covered with cheering Ewoks looking for battle.
Armed with chainsaws, axes and bats that were conveniently located on the walls, Mike and Paul were able to quickly dispatch their attackers armed with tiny, wooden weapons. I won’t go into detail, but perhaps you’ve noticed that both Mike and Paul now wear bandanas and fury facewarmers…
That night the boys slept the sleep of the victorious. As they awoke in San Francisco they looked around at what they first thought was hale…as they looked closer it was snow. Snow that fell then returned to the sky and fell again. Could it be…are they in a snow globe?? AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Mike and Paul both awoke in a cold sweat. Was this all a dream? No time to find out as their next mission had begun. The Phoenix Foundation had tracked them down and provided them the exact location of Johnny 5. The Number 5 Robot was hiding on Alcatraz with 15 rockets of deadly V.X. gas. The foundation would be sending Paul and Mike into “The Rock” with an elite SEAL team. Unfortunately for you…this is a story for another day.
Good luck boys, we’re all counting on you.
San Francisco: One Hilly Place
The video below demonstrates how hilly San Francisco is. This isn't the hilliest part, but it's typical. And it's hillier than it looks! You can see it when we cross an intersection and it levels out.
Sorry about the angle of the camera. The mount isn't holding up that great. Just think of it as a Dutch tilt.
See those rails and grooves in the road? Bad news for bikes. They don't make me happy.
Have you heard of Lombard Street? Me neither, until I got here. It's supposed to be the crookedest street in the world, but that is apparently contested. Well, it looked so nice, Paul and I both rode down it. The cobble stones were a classy touch, San Francisco.
View Larger Map
Sorry about the angle of the camera. The mount isn't holding up that great. Just think of it as a Dutch tilt.
See those rails and grooves in the road? Bad news for bikes. They don't make me happy.
Have you heard of Lombard Street? Me neither, until I got here. It's supposed to be the crookedest street in the world, but that is apparently contested. Well, it looked so nice, Paul and I both rode down it. The cobble stones were a classy touch, San Francisco.
View Larger Map
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Day 20: Cold fronts seem to follow us
19 May 2011
We knew the day would be cold and wet, so we prepared in Santa Fe with some plastic wrapped feet. I ended up swiping them from the maid's cart when she wasn't looking. Okay, so I asked for a couple, and then swiped the other two when I realized I needed more.
We also ended up having to go to a motorcycle store in Santa Fe and buy some warmer and waterproof gloves for the trip up into Colorado. It would be far too cold otherwise.
The cold air continued to get colder as we rode north and we hit patches of mild rain. The scenery was very beautiful though.
As we rode along, we could see snow covered mountains to our Northeast with massively dark clouds covering them. Yup, those are the mountains we would have been riding through if we hadn't changed our plans
We stopped at a gas station on an Indian reservation. We were both exceedingly cold and miserable. Mike was not happy and jokingly asked what I had gotten him into. After filling up, we decided to stay warm by getting some $1 hot dogs in the gas station. Surprisingly good, and way better than the overpriced street hot dogs in Washington DC.
We had been pretty lucky with the rain. While we were very cold, the rain had just been pockets of light rain.... until we approached Durango CO. All of a sudden, out of no where, it started down-pouring. We started to ride up this mountain and it turns out that it was a plateau with a farm on top. We did not expect that, but couldn't enjoy it either in our miserable state. At this point, I was more than happy about my decision to buy warm/waterproof gloves. I bet I would have gotten frostbite if I didn't. We were mere miles away from Durango. We could even see it down in it's own valley. That's when my bike came to a sputtering halt. I've realized that when it rains, a small amount of water gets into the fuel tank. This water harmless until I reach near the bottom of my tank, at which point I am ruined. Luckily I have the extra fuel with which I can use to dilute the tiny bits of water in the system. It was almost ironic, being stopped there, in the cold, having to refuel in the rain, with the town in eyesight distance.
It was still raining when we pulled into town and we just went for the cheapest place to dry off and thaw out. Exploring the city was not in our cards, despite the free trolley that the town provides.
We knew the day would be cold and wet, so we prepared in Santa Fe with some plastic wrapped feet. I ended up swiping them from the maid's cart when she wasn't looking. Okay, so I asked for a couple, and then swiped the other two when I realized I needed more.
We also ended up having to go to a motorcycle store in Santa Fe and buy some warmer and waterproof gloves for the trip up into Colorado. It would be far too cold otherwise.
The cold air continued to get colder as we rode north and we hit patches of mild rain. The scenery was very beautiful though.
As we rode along, we could see snow covered mountains to our Northeast with massively dark clouds covering them. Yup, those are the mountains we would have been riding through if we hadn't changed our plans
We stopped at a gas station on an Indian reservation. We were both exceedingly cold and miserable. Mike was not happy and jokingly asked what I had gotten him into. After filling up, we decided to stay warm by getting some $1 hot dogs in the gas station. Surprisingly good, and way better than the overpriced street hot dogs in Washington DC.
We had been pretty lucky with the rain. While we were very cold, the rain had just been pockets of light rain.... until we approached Durango CO. All of a sudden, out of no where, it started down-pouring. We started to ride up this mountain and it turns out that it was a plateau with a farm on top. We did not expect that, but couldn't enjoy it either in our miserable state. At this point, I was more than happy about my decision to buy warm/waterproof gloves. I bet I would have gotten frostbite if I didn't. We were mere miles away from Durango. We could even see it down in it's own valley. That's when my bike came to a sputtering halt. I've realized that when it rains, a small amount of water gets into the fuel tank. This water harmless until I reach near the bottom of my tank, at which point I am ruined. Luckily I have the extra fuel with which I can use to dilute the tiny bits of water in the system. It was almost ironic, being stopped there, in the cold, having to refuel in the rain, with the town in eyesight distance.
It was still raining when we pulled into town and we just went for the cheapest place to dry off and thaw out. Exploring the city was not in our cards, despite the free trolley that the town provides.
The Best Detour Road
The Pacific Coast Highway was closed. CLOSED! The resulting detour took us well inland through a lovely path of vineyards and THE Hidden Valley Ranch. We found it! (Not featured in this video.) The detour was an odyssey. It went through an Army base, up a windy wooded mountain road, then down the other side on the twisting narrow path you see here.
A Few Pictures
In and Out Burger. Meh.
Paul knows. Dr. Pepper is where it's at.
Waiting for another man in his 60s to ask us about oil leaks.
The famous secret camping spot in Malibu.
Don't tell anyone about it.
Tough road to get down on street bikes. Oops.
We got both hammocks into one tree, and aligned with the view from the road. Low profile. And bunk beds!
Not a bad spot.
The next day we stopped for breakfast in Santa Barbara. That's where one of my favorite shows, Psych, takes place. As soon as we got off the bikes, this guy and his dog were ready to chat us up. He's a volleyball coach.
Breakfast!
Glad palm trees are back.
Lookin' good, Santa Barbara!
A pier so big, you can bring your Cadillac on it.
New sticker. I really liked Santa Barbara!
The next day, Route 1, the PCH, was closed due to land slides. It took a serious detour, maybe 100 extra miles, to get around. But it turned out to be the nicest detour I've ever seen. More on that in a coming video post.
Eventually, after a long day of riding up the coast and a little inland too, we made it to our destination, Big Sur. It's like Endor! Trees as wide as dinner tables! It was great.
Good morning, Paul.
It got very cold over night.
Onward! Heading out of Big Sur, we hit the PCH. It was mostly intact and looking good!
See? Nice, huh?
Later in the trip to San Fransisco, it rained and it was cold all day. Still, it was a fine day and a fine ride. Now we're in our old friend Priscilla's place in the city and enjoying some much needed relaxation time with Seinfeld on the DVR.
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