Finish Line!!!

We rolled our tired bodies and bikes into Imperial Beach, CA around 5:00 pm yesterday, July 13! My steel framed Jamis had broken a couple days back and was held together by tape from the luggage rack to the rear axle quick release. Limping across the finish line I clanked and rattled the last 150 miles of the ride. While Dusty's bike survived with only one flat the entire West Coast tour, he popped a spoke on the rear wheel while we tried to find a celebratory dinner on our way back into town!

The trips length ended up being 21 days from start to finish with a total of 1,610 touring miles. The bikes require much attention when we return home and our bodies are already making repairs as we rest in our friends Chris and Jess's comfortable home. From Seattle, OR to the US/Mexican International Boundary we enjoyed amazing views, challenging bike terrain, trying weather and winds, diverse towns/cities and made friends along the way. It is bitter-sweet to not to climb onto our bikes today, not configure a route plan based on elevation maps and assessed muscle fatigue. After all the adversity we embraced and exceptional experiences of West Coast life and geography, we are more than ready to rejoin our families and way of life back home. I have missed my wife and our lives together every mile and can't wait to return to her company. Dusty spends countless hours every evening on the phone with his friends and family and surely cannot wait to have the same caring conversations in person.

LA Beach Video

Older Videos:

Tired of the Fog & Cold

July 8th Delays

More July 8th Delays

We thank all of you who chose to check us out, follow along and support us with text messages, phone calls and comments on the blog! All-in-all we never had a bad day, we laughed a lot and we understand just a little bit more about what makes this world go around.

Ride Fast, Take Chances.

Day 19

ODO: 1,377

Day 18
Lompoc - Ventura: 84.0

Dinner in Ventura

Rode with 6 yesterday...it was pretty sweet having a touring gang of that size. Took up the whole shoulder, stopped traffic on bridges and turned heads as we buzzed through towns. The San Fransico group we are riding with all own tons of bikes, some are track racers, past road racers and each have CUSTOM made frames! It is really cool to travel with these San Franny's, their bike knowledge and city perspective is much different than Duster's and mine.

Sean and Jenny's final destination is his mom's house in Ventura, CA. It was an absolute treat to be invited to a home cooked pasta dinner and truly amazing 'Mom' hospitality!!! A treat like this on day 18 could not be better!

Day 18

Livin Large

They say when it rains, it pours... Day 17 proved this cliché true. I hope to get a video posted of Dusty telling yesterdays story to do it justice. We are both safe and healthy for the record. After a day like yesterday there seemed only one thing to do--get a hotel room!

Waking up amongst a sea of pillows with a continental Days Inn breakfast awaiting us has to be one of the greatest rewards we've received on the trip. After 17 days of camping, cold nights and dreary mornings, sitting in a Jacuzzi with a few ice cold adult beverages made us feel like kings.

ODO: 1,293

Day 16
Big Sur - Morro Bay: 92.1 miles
Big climb and tough riding in the morning but flats and tail winds in the afternoon!

Day 17
Morro Bay - Lompoc: 73ish miles
I biked 73 miles, 30 of them alone...haha. Video coming soon.

Day 15

Today We Are Tourists!

We finally hit a warm sunny day, minimal winds, barking seals, blonde California surfers and bustling streets in Monterey, CA! Trashing our plans for a 90-mile ride and a bruiser of a climb, we will finish at Big Sur State Park just 25 more miles from where this Monterey Bay atmosphere captured us, derailing our original plan.

Last night we camped at Sun Set Bay State Park which is tucked between a Pacific bay and thousands of acres of strawberry fields. Needless to say the first 10 miles of today's ride was quiet as Dusty and I picked seeds from our teeth. People, views, agriculture, towns and cities continue to provide exceptional experiences and perspectives. Riding adjacent to Hwy 1 just a few miles back we could see a sign reading, "Los Angeles - 338." That means San Diego, our friends Chris and Jess, are only 100 miles beyond that. Today is the first time we started counting DOWN.

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend. Libraries and WiFi have been harder to find... "had" to buy a cup of coffee at this crepe shop just to make a quick post from our Ipod. Here are stays from our July 4th weekend and we will get pictures up as soon as possible. We could be done in 6 days...what do you think about that?

Current ODO: 1,097 miles

Day 12 - 70 miles
Manchester,CA - Bodega Bay, CA

Day 13 - 102.4 miles
Bodega Bay, CA - Half Moon Bay, CA
(biked the Golden Gate Bridge!!!)

Day 14 - 66.2 miles
Half Moon Bay, CA - Sun Set Bay, CA

Day 15 - pending....

Day 10

Travel Buddies

Peddling towards warmer weather motivated Dusty and me to bike through Washington, then the cold and windy Oregon coast, and now we hear the warmth awaits us on the other side of San Francisco. We did two taxing days through the Redwoods, yesterday finding ourselves climbing the two worst climbs on the Pacific Coast route. We treated ourselves to a hippie cafe serving an all-organic breakfast in a town called Fort Brag where we find ourselves with way overdue laundry, zero groceries and two sets of tired legs.

Trips like these are easy and cheap to tackle. Dusty rides a bike built for touring; I simply threw a rack on the back of my road bike (purchased second hand during my years in college). We see people cycling with four times as much gear as us, pulling trailers, panniers on the front and back of the bikes, bringing with them everything but the kitchen sink. While some just have Wal-Mart bikes with duffel bags hanging off the sides, you can spend a fortune on the lightest, smallest gear known to hikers and bikers. It's fun looking at those folks when camping, but you can also cut corners and take what you have in a pack, on a bike, in a canoe and just enjoy the ride at minimal expense. We pay $5 a night to pitch our tents at state parks, spend $20 a day at grocery stores, and occasionally treat ourselves to a meal out (as you can see from the pictures of the margarita's last night)!

Limping into camp at a snail's pace last night, shivering, we found a state park with non-drinkable water and ice cold showers. It is times like these you appreciate having a good travel companion like Dusty. This guy has pulled me through days of agonizing painful knee problems, generated belly busting laughter amidst stressful scenarios and provided a positive outlook on the days most would call down right miserable. Yesterday, after taking a break atop a monstrous climb, he looks over at me while reviewing some of our photos on the camera and says, "Hmm, I look like a model in this picture." One look at him with fresh smears of sunscreen on his cheeks, dust covered bike shorts and disorganized bike rack and I lost it! Laughing at his less than modest remark I could barely hold my bike upright.

Though we have been cornered into tight spots, less than safe biking conditions, ugly weather and painful health issues the two of us never remark about these things while biking. It is laughter that gets us from point to point.

Happy 4th of July! Holidays make us miss friends and family...

Day 9

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA: 98.6 Miles

Woke up this morning to temperatures in the low 40s and Elk grazing near our tents. Our ride started and ended in the giant Redwoods, but the middle of the ride was filled with detours, gravel, busy roads and confusion. Riding into camp tonight was the first time we have not been shivering on our bicycles.

Our route took us inland; the warmth was welcome but it's the first time we haven't heard crashing waves.

One of the last signs we saw today was 223 miles to San Francisco. That means cold oatmeal, peanut butter on bagels, and warm water is on the menu for less than 1,000 miles.

Day 8

Check out the video links to the right. We are heading to Prairie Creek Redwood State Park tonight. The trees are getting bigger and we will have a ton of photos to upload soon!

"Mmm, that's a nice butt!" says a voice behind us as we load our bikes with oatmeal, bananas, cliff bars, some dinner items and other nutrient rich snacks we purchased from the Price-n-Pride Grocery.
We turned to find a woman dressed in a full red sweat suit, three protruding teeth and long multi-colored hair. Her eyes were locked on Dusty's rear, lured to the sight she explained, "Nice butt like that is a sure sign of a strong back!"
Dusty, misunderstanding the raspy voice, lifts up the back of his jersey and questions, "Fanny pack? No, no I am not wearing a fanny pack."
The sight of Dusty's exposed back sent the woman's arms flying up and she wheeled around heading straight inside the store's electronic doorway. As Dusty and I looked at each other trying to grasp what had just happened the woman reappeared to clarify, "And I am even a queer, that is saying a lot!"

We laughed so hard we could barely steer our bikes down the road.

Brookings, OR, to Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, CA: 66 Miles

Day 7

86 Miles
Bandon, OR, to Brookings, OR
5 Miles to the Border
Good-Bye Oregon; Hello California!

Day 5
Yachats,OR - Sunset Bay Sate Park, OR: 83.1
Victims of the Map
Sipping on our first hot cup of coffee/tea this trip, Dusty and I warm our bones in Brewed Awakenings in Brandon, OR. We would be lying to you if we said it has been warm and sunny. Matter of fact we each have a pair of board shorts that have found their way to the bottom of our bags and it appears they might remain there for some time. The temperature has been cold and damp but the biking has provided terrific views and a variety of terrain. We FINALLY uploaded some pictures on our day off here in Brandon. Maintenance on the bikes, TLC for the bodies and drying out our rain soaked gear include some of our other chores.
As we order our second meal of the day from ol' Eldra here in the coffee shop we see the California border on our maps. Miss-marked mileage, wrong names, closed businesses, construction, the term "unmarked road" are all traps the maps have lured us into. It is a treat to travel with a guy like Dusty because when you receive news at the end of a day's ride like, "That camp site is closed, the next place to pop a tent is 19 miles back North of here," he really takes the news well. When your on a bike, U-turns, back tracking and unplanned mileage can be demoralizing. As you pass the beautiful overlook of squawking seals for the second time, you find yourself cursing the creatures instead of stopping to take pictures.
Check out the pics, we are healthy and happy...miss everyone!

Fun Facts:
Gas Price: $2.99
Morning Climate: Cloudy and mid-40s
Daily High's: 60's
Total Saddle Time: 34 Hours, 2 Minutes, 51 Seconds
Oregon Rocks: OR State Parks allow hiker/bikers for 5 bucks!
Avg. Speed: no more...it stinks seeing a good days average go down the tank when you roll into town searching for groceries, libraries, post offices, etc.
Most Popular OR Beach Attire: jeans & sweatshirt!
Number of Showers since June 22nd: 3
Number of Laundry Mats: 1

"Can I get it?" she asked as we sat down at Samantha's Cabin a family style restaurant in Astoria Oregon. Jimmy and I both looked at each other confused. Then we see it... A HUGE juicy house fly perched on the window. Jimmy and I shrug and let her at it. She then orders me over in the booth so she can reach her prey. With a napkin she slams her hand against the glass. In a prideful voice she exclaims "Got em!" After throwing the napkin'd fly in the trash she comes back and asked us what we wanted to drink and we proceeded to order... Onion rings, Salad, Beef ravioli, and the most delicious Texas toast.

Day 4
Cape Look Out - Yachats: 84.5 miles
Max 39.0
Avg 13.1

Yesterday while we were biking, because once again that's all we do, we looked to our right and who do we see but our friends Jessie and Tashia standing beside the road with there car! It was so nice to see them after 4 whole years! They took us to a cheese factory but Jimmy and I both decided that we could not eat cheese products and then keep riding so we headed off to our camping area to unpack and get ourselves together. They found a delicious BBQ joint not far from the camp ground and picked us up. It was a very nice evening with them catching up and eating. Thanks again guys for driving out to see us and for the delicious strawberries!
-Dusty 'Bottoms'

Day 3
Astoria,OR - Cape Look Out, OR
Miles: 76.9
Avg: 13.3
Max: 38.5

Lunch in Manzanita

DILEMMAS

Certain things come up daily on a bike ride. Where to sleep, where to eat, where to pee, where to find water, who to ask for directions, can I take off this jacket without stopping and wasting valuable time, can I reach my jacket and put it on without stopping, do I drink this last sip of water now not knowing how far to the next fill up?

So there we sat in a small spot of grass in the town center of Raymond, WA. I was finishing a 2-day old bagel piled high with generic brand peanut butter and Dusty finished his tray of on-sale, expired strawberries. He therefore inherited the job of trying the water from the lone standing public restroom. I can spare the details about the swarming flies, graffiti covered walls and overflowing trash cans because we all have been forced to use such a restroom in a town whose sole existence conspired for the reason that a highway passes through it. Dusty emerged from the restroom, lid in one hand and full water bottle in the other. He raised it to his nose as I watched in anticipation. His nose wrinkled but he drank anyhow.
See, there really is no other choice. We drank from restroom sinks, front yard sprinkler’s and faucets on the side of any building you can think of. We even have common words to describe the kind of water to each other.

What it really boils down to, if we want to make it to our destination, just drink the warm smelly crap and get over it!

Day 2:
Elma, WA – Astoria, OR: 90.3 miles
Avg: 13.1
Max: 38.5

One hand steadying the bike, my other holding the map in the wind, both eyes studying the next set of directions. Sweat ran down the inside of my sunglasses as my front tire grazed Dusty's left pannier. My fingers never reched for the brake, Dusty never stopped peddling... We were back in the saddle!

Seattle-Elma 80 miles
Avg: 12.2
Max: 36

Biggest shock: STEEP hills on the coast
Best view: Hood Canal with massive snow peaks in the background

School is Out!

School is out, wedding season is over and the Duster and I are booked for a flight June 22nd.

He and I will do our best to post pictures and stories during our 'dash to the border!' No promises though....those of you who know Dusty and me, well lets just say we live in the moment.

I cannot thank the people I love enough for the help and support that make opportunities like this possible. I might have the MOST supportive wife on the planet! Love her to death and already missing her just thinking about it.

Our bikes are in route to an REI where we will arrive on June 22 and begin the 1,800 mile ride.

Please follow along, make comments and enjoy the ride!

Jimmy "Skinny Guy on a Bike" Kelly