The Southern Endeavor
The Southern Tier Route (and some detours)

GO FUND ME

The culmination of impromptu adventures and countless weekends spent traveling for track meets allowed us to become great friends and travel companions. This trip is a way for us to continue our adventure experiences while challenging our inner athleticism to see if we can make it across the United States using solely our bicycles!

Travel Info
We will be starting the trip in Florida (Jacksonville or St. Augustine) in February 2016 with plans to reach San Diego by mid April. The trip will span across 7 states and approximately 3,100 miles. We plan to camp for the majority of the nights with the occasional couch surfing excursion ;) In reality, this trip will probably cost upwards of $2,500 after all the expenses are accounted for two riders. We set the goal at $3,500 for the time being to help support the world bicycle relief fund (full description below), and because we truly believe in minimalistic/sustainable travel. We are extremely appreciative of whatever support is given, be it financial, hand-me-downs, or simply words of encouragement.

Documentary
What we can give in return is a story, a visual story that is. People are interested in what we plan to accomplish, so we intend to document our trip and create a blog, post pictures, and eventually complete a feature-length documentary of the trip using Matt’s expert video skills. We would also like to ask people about their biggest and best travel experiences and encourage people to fulfill their travel dreams.

- Repairs / how-tos
- Scenery
- Photography
- Interviews with locals from each part of the trip
- Day to day life while biking across the U.S.

***WHAT YOUR DONATION WILL SUPPORT***

1) Charity - World Bicycle Relief
Reaching our goal will help us donate over $1000 to a foundation whom distributes bicycles to aid poverty relief and provide a chance to increase household incomes through eco-friendly transportation. If we reach our projected goal, the foundation will be able to build and donate at least 7 bicycles!

2) Emission Free Travel
We hope to set an example of the ease and efficiency of using a bicycle to travel or commute to work. Will is a firm believer in sustainable transportation and would often bike to school, work and to his friend’s houses just to save money on gas and reduce his personal carbon footprint. Promoting this mindset along the trip may help to inspire people to bike more, get in shape, and spend less money on gas.

3) Southern Tier Section Maps
These maps hold specific routes, food, and shelter options created by bikers for bikers. This information is vital, offering us the resources and help we need specific to our location along the way.

4) Food
After careful thought and planning, we project about $15/day each for nutrition.

5) Emergency Bike Repairs
(tubes,chains, etc.)

6) Emergency Shelter

7) Cycling Shoes / Clips
We want to thank you for viewing our page. This could be a trip of a lifetime and your donation would be extremely appreciated.

Day

On route to Ichetucknee Springs

more updates coming as we figure out this tumblr thing

Day

Tallahassee

Met Kevin today at the bike house in Tallahassee. Kev had a brain tumor removed causing the right side of his body to become paralyzed. Despite this he still commutes to work on a custom bike everyday and lives life like a fucking champ, despite constant pain and limited movement. Needless to say, The dude is a huge inspiration.

Day

Lake Seminole

First day off after 330 miles of hills, headwinds and hillbillies. Yeah, Florida is pretty redneck, specially up in these parts… Yikes. But, the scenery around here is beautiful and we got to spend an awesome day on lake Seminole! The campground is very primitive and has a terrible ant infestation… but the view of the lake is unbelievable. We’re getting used to life on the road and super excited to see where the next week of riding will take us. Stay tuned! Ps. Now that we have the blog figured out we will be posting much more.

Day

Tallahassee

The other night (Wednesday) we landed in Tallahassee after a 78 mile day. We were told to stay the “bike house” by our previous warmshowers hosts Ashley and Tori in Gainesville. We Arrived at the bike house, which is nestled between Florida State University and Florida AM University in downtown Tallahassee.

Owned and operated by Scott Benton, the bike house is a gigantic warehouse full of chaotically organized bicycles and bike parts. The workers at the bike shop operate under the philosophy of “helping others to help yourself”. In other words, people (often homeless, financially unstable etc) in need of transportation can come by the shop and say, hey I need a bike! They earn their bike by working at the shop and building bikes for other people in similar situations that will inevitably stop by later. Thus creating a circle of giving and generosity, rather than just fixing your own bike and leaving town.

It’s tough to put into words how extraordinary these people are… We filmed a quick interview with one of the workers which will by incorporated into the documentary.

Day

Lake Seminole

Yesterday morning we left lake Seminole and spanked 72 miles of hills and desolate one horse towns to make it to vortex springs in ponce de Leon, FL. The springs were pretty awesome but after a few minutes of snorkeling, the sun went down the the goosebumps came up. We hit the hay early and awoke to tons of Sunday scuba divers exploring the springs. The photo on the top left is an adjoining spring, complete with a ropeswing, diving board and slide! Pretty sweet place. The water isn’t terribly deep, so diving in here seemed like it would be detrimental to the fragile ecosystem below and the legs which we are relying on to make the trek! Today was a solid 66 miler, with an impromptu brunch at a local diner in defuniak springs. After a long day of riding, we pulled into our campsite at sundown… We were late due to a failed attempt earlier to “stealth camp”. Everything in Florida is “private property” and a majority of the owners of the private properties are certifiably insane.. Yikes. Can’t wait for the BLM land out west with free camping. Pensacola, FL in the morning!

Top right: Dock on lake Seminole
Bottom: campsite at lake Seminole
Top left: Vortex springs.

Day

Pensacola

Monday: Left blackwater river state park at the crack of dawn this morning. Got to Pensacola around 10 and finally got a change of scenery with some sweet bluffs overlooking Pensacola Bay. This stretch was like a mini Hollywood hills with bentleys and beamers parked outside of mansions. Def a sweet place to live, if you’re rich. Around noon we arrived at a Methodist church in downtown Pensacola and were greeted by Jeb. Jeb biked part of the pan-American in 2013, so he was pumped to host fellow touring bikers! He set us up in some sweet digs with couches, pool table and a full kitchen for the night. Glad to be indoors tonight because there is currently a wicked thunderstorm rollin through Pensacola!

We hit pita pit for lunch and grabbed a mid afternoon beer at the Pensacola Bay Brewery. The downtown section of Pensacola is really old and quaint, but has tons of restaurants, bars and places to check out. Our host told us that Pensacola was the first settlement in the US back in 1559, but was demolished by a hurricane after only a few years. The settlers then moved to what is now St Augustine, FL… Making it the oldest “continuous” settlement in the states. Blah blah history stuff…

Chillin tonight. Riding 55 miles along the shore tomorrow and will be hopping on a ferry to Alabama!

Day

ALABAMA!

After taking shelter from a couple tornados this past Monday night, we finally got to Alabama! We’ve been taking so many photos and a lot of video that we hope to be sharing soon. But for now, here’s some of our highlights from Florida. We can’t thank our hosts enough! The hospitality, entertainment, and the bike touring wisdom you’ve provided has strengthened our motivation!

Day

ALABAMA!

Hey hey! So day 11 we crossed into Alabama and had a beautiful day of coastal riding through Alabama to Fort Morgan. We took the sunset ferry to Fort Gaines on dauphin island and arrived in pitch darkness. The warmshowers abode was a sweet house on stilts about 50 yards from the beach. We were greeted by 6 other bikers, all doing cross country trips! We shared food, stories and took a midnight dip in the ocean. The next morning (Wednesday) Matt and I crossed the menacingly windy dauphin island bridge to the Alabama mainland. After a 65 mile day we ended up in ocean springs, Mississippi which is a quaint little town right on the coast. Searching for a place to sleep, we approached a woman in a neighborhood and asked if we could set up camp in her backyard. Talk about hospitality! This woman (Missy) gave us snacks, water and made us feel at home. Again, a great example of turning a stranger into a friend by simply being kind and honest. Such a great experience… Oh and by the way, we changed our route completely and are now heading to New Orleans! Eta Friday morning. Should be fun. Stayed tuned.

14-17

Day

Daughin Island - Ocean Springs

Our ride out of Ocean Springs was one of the most scenic and successful as we rode tailwinds along the white beaches from Biloxi, MS to Gulfport, MS. Upon crossing into Louisiana, we discovered the presence (and dangers) of wild bore and gators, but we managed to keep our attention on the beautiful bayou waters and waterfowl that surrounded us. The Bayou Sauvage and Pearl River Wildlife Preserves provided glimpses of bald eagles, osprey, cranes, egrets and dozens of blue herons!

We found it pretty difficult to find camping (reasonable camping) along the desolate stretch of Route 90 to The Big Easy. As dusk fell and finding an appropriate shelter for the night became a top priority, we were approached by a man who gave us cold sodas and crackers and gave some quick advice on where to camp for the night! Again, just another example of people being awesome. We pitched camp behind an old church in the middle of nowhere with a great view of the surrounding wetlands but unfortunately, the mosquitos were licking their chops when we arrived and quickly began feasting on us as soon as the sun went down! We had to take shelter in our tents to avoid becoming part of their nightly feast. This whole scenario of vigorously shaking out of tents and hiding from the skeeters was probably quite comical from afar…

Our next morning turned out to be extremely dewy, which held us back a couple minutes while we dried our gear on the rear pillars of the church. No worries though, our view over the wetlands provided one of the warmest sunrises on our tour. As Will fixed his bike with an old thrown out American flag, we paused to watch a flock (as in a lot more than you’d expect) of blue heron flying through the morning sunlight.

Just before entering downtown NOLA, we stopped at Dong Phuongs for an interesting vietnamese breakfast that was highly recommended to us by fellow cross country cyclists. When we arrived in downtown NOLA, the guest we were supposed to stay with completely blew us off and we were left stranded in Washington park, homeless yet again! We spent time scrambling for someone to stay with, but it didn’t take long thanks to the generosity of the locals. After a few requests for housing, including the friendly staff at Bamboula’s on Frenchmen street (S/O to Annie and Kat!) a dude at the bike shop, Adam, gladly hosted us for two nights and showed us a great time throughout the duration of our stay.

We explored the city for two days; Walking brews down Bourbon Street (legally), biking around City Park, and eating local cuisine (which turned out to be a Poor Boy every meal) and listening to live music everywhere we went! After experiencing our fair share of the French Quarter night life, we packed our bikes and set sail for Baton Rouge!

The trek from New Orleans to Baton Rouge turned out to be an arduous and humid 105 mile ride along the not-so-scenic levee trail which parallels the mighty Mississippi. This section between the two cities was an industrial wasteland complete with terrible smells, pollution, and the cacophony of beeping, hissing and banging from the multiple immense factories. Fun Stuff! After seeking shelter multiple times from unexpected downpours, we rode well into the night and arrived in Baton Rouge around 830 pm. Our host, Scott, works at LSU and has a condo right next to Tiger Stadium! Talk about sweet digs… He took us out for a delish meal at Chimes restaurant where we sampled blackened alligator and local brews.

The forecast for Baton Rouge is rain, rain and more rain for the next two days so we might be hanging here for a bit. Prob going to visit LSU’s tiger mascot later today!

19-25

Day

Texas

So we are about a week behind on this but to flash forward a bit… We finally made it out of what is now my least favorite state; “leeeziana”. Not only were the roads an atrocity, but the scenery was slightly disappointing and not a gator in sight! Come on Louisiana!The never ending mine field of potholes and divots eventually took their toll on our bikes, giving Matt a rear flat and breaking not one, but two of my rear spokes! Luckily we were able to temporarily repair the spokes on the side of the road with some duct tape and continued for about 50 miles with a very precarious and wobbly rear wheel. Our host in De Ridder, LA SAVED THE DAY and drove us an hour to the nearest bike shop in Lake Charles, LA. Thanks Amanda! Again, the generosity and hospitality of the people in Louisiana was above and beyond expectations which made that part of the enjoyable. Side note: good luck to our dude Alex K who is solo biking the southern tier W->E!

We entered Texas at sundown on Saturday. Texas has been great to us so far, providing scenery of the rolling hills and ranches which comprise a majority of the land out here. Apart from our beautiful evening spent in the Cagle Recreation Area of Lake Conroe, our nights have been spent either behind or inside churches. Churches have consistently been the most accommodating and welcoming places we have come across throughout the trip. We are currently sitting at the St. John’s United church of Christ in the sleepy town of Burton, TX. We arrived at 6 pm last night, knocked on the door, and were greeted by Glenn who not only welcomed us inside, but cooked us breakfast in the morning!

~100 miles until Austin where Matt and I will be taking a 3 day hiatus from cycling and chilling with the one and only Kev Kuruc! We are stoked to see Austin and a familiar face from TU. Once we have access to a computer, Matt will work his magic and show some pretty sweet shots from the first part of out adventure. 1400 miles down and many more to go. TaTa for now!

Month

The Mid Point and Our Stay in Austin, TX.

We arrived in Austin around 2 pm on Thursday and were greeted by my ol’ roommate and track buddy Kev Kuruc. Kev is a PH.D. student at University of Texas in the economics department. Despite his busy schedule, Kev took some time off to enjoy a long weekend of adventures with Matt and I. On Friday we toured the City and got our bikes fixed at REI (which turned out to be a little more pricey than we were expecting). While they were being worked on, we walked down to Barton Springs. This urban watering hole draws an eclectic mix of humans and dogs, which turned into 2 hours of some of the best people watching I’ve ever witnessed! Jugglers, baton twirlers, musicians and just plain weirdos visited the springs to escape the heat. On Friday night we met some of kevs friends and had a great time down on the infamous 6th street drag. After a long night, we returned back to kevs apartment, only to realize they we were locked out without keys! I had to scale a tree in the backyard in order to get onto the balcony and let the squad in! Fun stuff.

We spent Saturday recuperating and planned another day of adventuring. We toured the graffiti park (hope outdoor gallery), the University of Texas, and stopped by Torchys for a few delish tacos. After a full day of riding around Austin, we hit 6th street again to catch some love live Ska music. our Sunday plans to check out the Zilker Arboretum were cut short when we came across an enormous kite festival in Zilker park! Talk about random… There were easily 5,000 kites in the sky at any given point, many of which had goofy designs and crazy color patterns. Some lady handed us a minion kite, so we were able to contribute to the creative kite display. Our day concluded with a visit to the congress bridge where one the of the largest urban bat colonies in the world resides. Every night at sundown, 1.5 million+ bats flee the bridge in search of food. As you would imagine, this drew quite a crowd of curious onlookers who were equally impressed by this natural phenomenon. This was an incredible site to see!

We woke on Monday and began our super hilly trek out to Pedernales state park. The following morning we packed up early and hit the road, only to be pummeled by an intense thunderstorm! We had to seek shelter immediately, and unfortunately the only place we could find was a tunnel under the road. After 15 minutes, the tunnel began to flood and we had to make a break for it or be washed away by the flood waters! This was actually pretty intense because this part of Texas is notorious for dangerous flash floods that completely cover the roads. Luckily we found shelter a few miles up the road where we are now safe and (kind of) dry.

Talk about a crazy weekend.

3/11 - 3/18

Camp Wood, Tx. -> Marfa, Tx.

The adventure continues! After dealing with copious amount of rain, a sprinkle of cabin fever, and some incredibly tough climbs along Lost Maples and Camp Wood TX, we finally caught some sun! The ride from Camp Wood to Amistad National Recreation Area was a 92 mile scorcher! We arrived at sundown and found an amazing campsite called Governors Landing with a view of Lake Amistad. The lake was formerly a large canyon that was dammed in 1964 and is fed by the Rio Grande River. The joint agreement between US and Mexico aimed to create a large recreation area to be shared by both nations, hence the name “Amistad”, meaning friendship in Spanish. Anywho… we met a kind couple (s/o Joe and Gerry Luna) who shared this knowledge with us while whippin up some mighty fine breakfast tacos as the sun slowly rose above the lake. Great way to start the morning!

After fixing yet another flat while enjoying a scenic lunch at Seminole Canyon, we made it to the town of Langtry, TX. The town is home to a cactus museum hosting 27 different species, which outnumbered the inhabitants of the semi-ghost town! Our camp site was adjacent to an abandoned building resting just 200 yards from the Mexican border. So naturally we got as close as possible… Which ended with a surprisingly pleasant run-in with the US border patrol who shared stories of the insane attempts of Mexican citizens to cross the border, mummified indians, and UFO crash sites! These obstacles in this particular section included an 80 foot bluff, followed by a 200 foot section of cactus, and another 40 foot bluff on the US side. Seems simple, right? Oh and there was a 3 foot tall wire fence, just for kicks and giggles.

The following morning we planned to make it to Sanderson, but only managed to make it to the microscopic “town” of Dryden. The headwinds were exceeding 30 mph, which made cycling nearly impossible. We set up camp at 2pm in front of the general store and waited out the winds. Around 8 pm we made the decision to embark on our first “night ride”, which turned out to be an incredibly beautiful and mesmerising adventure. Guided only by the moonlight, our other senses begin to take over and the silhouettes of the Mountains and Mesas loom ominously and majestically in the distance. 76 miles later, we arrived in Marathon, TX. out of nowhere, a car full of spring breakers from Wisconsin pulled up and were extremely surprised and elated to see us! They gave us snacks, water and told stories of there stay at Big Bend National Park. Talk about a random encounter. When 5 am rolled in, the temp dropped to 35 and the combination of lack of sleep, hunger and exhaustion hit us like a brick wall. With nowhere to go, we searched the town and miraculously discovered a hostel called La Loma Del Chivo. The hostel is a small community of decorative handmade huts and buildings, all of which are made from recycled materials and clay. The first building we came across was a teeny tiny hut called “The Bee Hive". We did not hesitate to enter and sleep, regardless of the potential consequences the following morning. At 9am we heard a car pull up and I mumbled “agh shit, here we go”… Anticipating an angry land owner. Instead we were greeted by a gracious and kind woman who welcomed us and even offered another night for free! Amazing… We declined the offer, due to the excitement of the proceeding town of Alpine, Texas, where our next host was awaiting our arrival. It was here that we decided to completely change our route for the next 260 miles and go off the maps for a bit. We are now sitting in the town of Marfa, at the residence of the former mayor of town! Marfa is a unique town with a culture and style that has to be seen to be believed. The town is littered with art exhibits and galleries containing some of the most coveted and prestigious artwork in the world! We were fortunate enough to come across THE COOLEST (and possibly smallest) art gallery in town called Bismarck Studios. Owned and operated by Christa Bismarck, this gallery contains an unbeliever collection of sculptures, pairings, photographs and clay art from around the world. Christa walked us through her collection and told the stories behind the works and how the artist’s perspective molded these amazing creations. We were blown away by the insight and creativity of the artwork and quite honestly, pictures do not do it justice. If you are ever in south Texas, you must stop by this gallery and see for yourself.

We plan to continue our journey off route (straying away from interstate 10 and El Paso) up through the Guadeloupe Mountains, the Carlsbad Caverns, then a quick stop at White Sands National Park! As we come closer to roughly 1000 miles left in our trip, we continue to develop ideas on how to get back home… STAY TUNED!!

Guadalupe Peak

About 30 miles down the road from Marfa, Will snapped yet another spoke on his rear wheel. The freakin roads in Texas are rough! Nothing a little duct tape can’t fix… Later that night we arrived at the creepy and unwelcoming town of Van Horn, Texas, where Will finally experienced his first flat while walking his bike through a abandoned school yard. Sketchy biz. Luckily we managed to find a church to camp outside of, and without any hesitation, we rolled out early and began the trek to Guadalupe mountains up scenic route 54. The road was deserted and we took advantage of the quiet and solitude. The relaxing ride ended abruptly when we hit the intersection of route 180, and the climb up to the mountain range wrecked us! The following day we woke up sunburnt, tired, hungry and extremely sore from the crazy climb at the tail end of the ride… but instead of resting, we hiked 8.5 miles to the summit of guadalupe peak which loomed ominously about 3,000 feet above the campground. luckily our neighbors were kind enough to give us some snacks for the hike… Thanks Tim and Joan!

Tuesday’s ride to the Carlsbad Caverns consisted of a breathtaking sunrise and some solid tailwinds, allowing us to bike the 35 mile ride in about 2.5 hours. We reached White’s City (6 miles away from the Cavern entrance) around 10:30 am, and were offered a ride from the owner of the City (Thanks Joe!) After a 4 mile tour through the caverns, we finished the trek to the city of Carlsbad. The following morning we began our departure to our next destination, but only made it about 4 miles from the town before we made the decision to turn around. The 50-75 mph wind gusts were literally blowing us off of the road and made the ride impossible. The unplanned “rest day” in Carlsbad was a nice chance to finally relax and recuperate from the chaotic stretch of riding and exploring.

The following is a small collection of photos from Marfa, Texas -> Hope, New Mexico. (Matt had to hike into the Caverns with socks over his biking shoes because the clicking of the metal was extremely loud and echoed throughout the caverns). The whole socks over shoes combo could easily be a new trend.

Easter Day

Hope N.M. -> Mescalero Apache Reservation.

This section of the trip was by far the coolest! On Friday morning we left our host’s house (Kie family) and rode along route 82 through Lincoln National Forest to the appropriately named town of Cloudcroft (about 8,800 ft ASL). About 12 miles east of the town, Will broke yet another spoke on the rear wheel. The bike was now very wobbly and not able to to make it through another 1,500 ft. of climbing. Fortunately, a pickup truck pulled up and gave us a lift to town so Will could fix his bike before the shop closed. The mechanic and owner of the shop (Matt Willett) in Cloudcroft (High Altitude) showed up on Friday afternoon and worked after hours to make sure my bike was good to roll by the following morning. After bonding a bit with Matt, he invited us to stay in his garage/workshop which was equipped with surround sound speakers, wood burning stove, and most important, two kegs of brew! Such a nice stay on one of the coldest nights of the trip.

That next morning, over a warm cup of coffee and Dave’s breakfast burrito in town, we yet again made another decision to venture off our on-going detour to experience a Mescalero Apache Feast for a young girl named Winter. We battled winds, bombed massive hills (which we still had to pedal down), dodged a stampede of elk, and managed to get lost looking for this once in a lifetime opportunity. After catching a ride with John Kie to the Feast grounds, we were immediately welcomed and put to work by the family hosting the Feast (both the elders and groundsmen running the ceremony). Experiencing traditional foods, rituals, dancing and a fire that almost took out Will’s luscious locks. We survived a 25 degree night and awoke to a frosty ground. As the sun rose on Easter morning, Winter completed her weekend, blessing friends and family (and us outsiders) on their future endeavors.

Easter Day

White Sands National Monument

After a long weekend of bike troubles, mountainous climbs, and Native American ceremonies, we were finally able to recover in the white sand basin just outside Alamogordo, New Mexico. The 6 mile bike through the dunes, a ½ mile hike to our “camping site,” and the extreme heat from the sun was well worth the round-a-bout we decided to take over a week ago. We are now back on route and completely on schedule with our original plans to get to California. Again, we urge you to stay tuned!!

Arizona

After our stay in White Sands, our trip continued to be a battle against the elements, monstrous climbs and monsoon-like headwinds. Matt’s inability to boil eggs also kept us from completing high mileage…

A small town by the name of Hatch, New Mexico, welcomed us into the home of Bertha and Dennis, where we comfortably took shelter from extreme 50-60 mph winds while filling our stomachs with homemade tacos and breakfast quesadillas before we took on Emory Pass the following day. However, before we could even make it to the pass, yet another SNAP sound! Yet another broken spoke for Will. Number 6? 7? Who knows, it’s getting ridiculous. Anyway, The pass was a 4,000 foot climb into the Gila National Forest, which was a huge shock to the system after the previous 45 miles of battling intense headwinds and trying to block out the question of “why am I doing this again?” Once we completed the pass, The Gila National Forest gave us the opportunity to build our first campfire since Florida, which became a necessity due to the unforeseen snowfall in the morning.

As we crawled into Silver City desperate for yet another notable bike shop, we loaded our bags with he usual goods from Walmart and headed to the local bike shop. A fellow by the name of Dave Baker managed to get a new back wheel and cassette for Will’s bike, all while trying to finish before his shop closed. Dave, you saved the day brothah! Dave also introduced us to the “Bike Haus,” where we were greeted by Jamie and his down-to-earth housemates/tenants whom helped us regain our strength for the days to come. Again, Matt managed to screw up hard boiled eggs at this location… So from now on, Will is in charge of any and all egg boiling to avoid any future catastrophes.

The ride out of silver city was a beautiful 63 mile excursion (passed the continental divide too!) to the primitive Coal Creek campground in Arizona. The campground was beautiful and quiet, save the free range cattle that let out some pretty impressive moos throughout the night. We awoke that next morning to a balmy 25 degrees, the kind of cold where it actually hurts to ride a bicycle… So we decided to stay warm and bike 100 miles through the San Carlos reservation! Just outside of a town Peridot, we camped along the side of the road in a low lying area after being told that the upcoming town would be unsafe for “two white boys on bikes”… And by the look of the town as we passed in the morning, it became clear that their warnings were justified. Yikes!

66 Days!!!

With a blink of an eye, we found ourselves on the Pacific Coast. But, before we tell you about the coast life, we’d like to back up a few grueling days to tell you how we managed to crush milage throughout Arizona and got crushed by rain as we passed through California.
Our dangerous descent through Route 60’s notoriously precarious tunnel out of Oak Flat campground about 70 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona nearly ruined our bikes due to the extremely terrible road conditions and a non-existent shoulder. At the base of the mountain, we entered the town of Superior where we intermingled with Harley riders and local cowboys. We were enlightened with the town’s history as we comically filled our bottles from leaky hose alongside a restaurant. The ride that day was HOT, so it was great to have some “fresh” “cold” water haha. Our host in Phoenix was found via Couchsurfing, since none of the Warmshowers contacts worked out. Without even meeting our host, he recommended the Monday night community dinner, where they offer a “pay what you can” vegan meal in downtown Phoenix. It wasn’t until later that night, after answering questions for Paul (roommate) and meeting another traveler who was also spending the night at the house did we get the chance to finally meet our Couchsurfing host (Mario), whom actually is an award winning chef!! The following morning, he sent us on our way to Sun City West after a fantastic home-cooked breakfast.

Sun City West, AZ

A mega resort for the 55 and older population and retired snowbirds from the north. This is where we met our next host, Bob. Bob lives in a community with 27,000 other residents in massive cookie-cutter homes, with opportunities of playing golf on 7 different golf courses, lawn bowling at sunset, going for jogs around their mondo surfaced track, and pickle ball!! Bob immediately took interest in what we were doing because he actually completed a variation of the Southern Tier route with a good friend in 2015. As soon as we biked into the area, Bob found us on the road and led us directly to his place where we quickly showered and got dressed for the Sun City West’s annual bike club picnic, where we felt like celebrities after giving a brief talk about our trip in front of some very delighted faces. We ate way too much food and had some amazing conversations with people 3x our age who still ride bikes everyday and admired our budding passion for the sport.

Salome, AZ

Our trip out of Sun City became one of our toughest rides yet, battling high and dry temperatures and of course, more head winds. However we managed to reach the small town of Salome, AZ, where we pitched our tents behind the local volunteer fire department. Just after sundown, a dark figure emerges from the shadows and offers us Coronas and invites us over to his motel for morning coffee. This guy happened to be Randy, the owner of the 5-star Westward motel directly across the street, where he runs a beautiful 4 room resort, offering a courtyard for fires, an open concept kitchen, and outdoor living space that he takes the time to design and build himself. Meeting people like Randy at the Westward Motel and drinking his infamous cup of “Crank,” is a place for any traveler to find rest and tranquility in the middle of the desert. On our way out of town, we couldn’t help but notice a woman’s hand painting of the desert landscape. We got talking and ended up on the mural! Shout out Denise!!! Beautiful work. She actually ended up finishing the mural the same day we ended our tour in San Diego! Great timing!!

California!

The next couple of days crossing into California and getting to the coast became more of a challenge than we planned. The stereotypical beautiful and clear California sky that we were anxiously anticipating for weeks was blanketed by clouds and rain. Our first night in CA we ended up sleeping in a trailer in a tiny hick town called Palo Verde.The tailer was situated in a trailer park of similarly dilapidated mobile homes. Our humble abode (that was thoughtful given to us by a trailer park resident after an hour of negotiating with the park supervisor) consisted of bug infested mattresses and couches, weeks old uncleaned plates and utensils in the sink, and a wonderful concoction of mildew and dust that stirred up some allergy attacks. We were delirious and exhausted, but we managed to survive the night and make the most of the peculiar situation. We awoke the following morning with a rear flat on each bicycle, which took nearly an hour to change. Got 5 miles into the ride, Will got another rear flat just in time for a lovely rainstorm! And guess what? 3 miles later, yet another flat! the Culprit: a ¼ piece of metal that was so thin, it was barely visible to the naked eye. By the time we finally got moving, the rains rolled in and we got soaked!! A rouge T-storm smashed us and nearly flooded the road we were riding on! With the visibility decreasing and rainfall increasing every mile, we began to worry that this storm would wash us away. Suddenly, a truck pulls up and Bill (our host for that night) came to the rescue! We hopped in his truck, dried up, hit Walmart the next day, and set sail for our climbs into San Diego.

The Climb from 50 feet below sea level to 4,000 ft above sea level along I-8 was arduous, scenic, and somewhat illegal… but we rewarded ourselves with a spontaneous trip to the Jacumba Hot Springs to rest our tired legs! Fortunately, they offer a 70% discount on rooms for cyclists, but they may change that after meeting us… Asking for coffee, water, and somehow managing to break the room key inside the door knob (with Will’s cycling shoes inside) made the staff a little pissy haha. That night we met some really cool San Diego locals named Chase and Sarah, who hooked us up with food and stories as they were enjoying a weekend away from the very place that we have been dying to get to for weeks!

Encinitas!

Yet again, the rains continued to try and hold us back, but our need (at this point) to get to the ocean was far too great. It took all our strength to get us out of the mountains, down past Alpine and just outside the city where we “stealth camped” for the last time on the southern tier in Mission Trails Regional Park right next to a gorgeous stone built dam. We hit the hay early, knowing our 15 mile ride to the ocean the next morning would be the final stepping stones to complete an accomplishment of a lifetime. We contacted Chase to meet up with him in Pacific Beach, where he and his brother Eric were renovating a couple of apartments. They offered their surfboards and wet suits and a drive down to the water. After about 20 minutes, we came to realize that surfing was way harder than anticipated, especially when we literally biked coast to coast that morning! So we geared up and continued our biking journey to see our friend Brooklin in Encinitas, which turned out to be the toughest 20 miles yet. We had no idea how hilly it was around the coast here for bicycles, as Maseratis, Lambos, Teslas, and Jags did circles around us. We currently sit in Encinitas feeding our recovery with hours on the beach, with plans to continue on straight to Coachella, camping at Joshua Tree for National Parks Week.