I’m writing this from the passenger seat of my friend Carris’s old green truck as we roar up Highway 5 along the coast of California. It’s a beautiful clear day and we’ve got the Pacific to our left and rolling hills to our right. We’re on our way to San Francisco, where I’ll be meeting with a few members of congress to discuss what they are doing to protect America’s foreign aid budget. I’m also throwing a west coast tour kickoff party downtown, so if you’re in San Francisco, you have to stop by!
Our road trip is taking us through Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, which we plan on exploring by bicycle (obviously). Everything is loaded up in the back of the truck – three bikes (our friend Josh is with us too), an air mattress and our gear. All of my stuff is packed into four panniers (see pic) because I’ll be returning to San Diego on two wheels instead of four. I’m calling it a “trial ride” – roughly 500 miles in about 9 days – because it’s a chance to test out all my equipment, find out if my tent leaks and figure out what I overpacked/forgot before I get too far from home. The ride starts Jan 13 from San Fran.
Until then, I’m enjoying the relative luxury of car travel (60 miles in 1 hr = a day of biking) while trying not to think too much about how much gas we’re burning through.
If you’ve biked the Pacific coast and have recommendations or tips, hit me up on the Twitters or Facebook.
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