100 Days on the Road

I have now been on the road for more than 100 days and a lot has changed since day one.  I started out this trip naive and expecting to push hard everyday.  You will grow very tired of cycling with an attitude like that and your friends will grow very tired of you as well.  A wise women once said,"Stephen, live in the moment."  If you are always worried about the next destination you wont give yourself the chance to be happy.  I proved to myself when I reached San Francisco in nine riding days from Eugene that I can physically do what I thought I set out to do, but with two months left and only 1,500 miles to go I can't more that afford to take my sweet time.

In San Francisco I met up with Joost and Michiel from cycleforwater for a charity ride and tour through the city.

With them now is a guy named Ryan Prizio who they met after we separated in Portland.  Ryan started in Connecticut and cycled cross country to Florence Oregon and is now riding with Joost and Michiel down to Argentina.  Ryan is cycling for Multiple Sclerosis and actually doing the world tour, so when he reaches Argentina he will ferry over to South Africa and cycle up Africa, across Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.  

The tour was amazing, I'm so glad that I had the chance to see the city from a real locals perspective.  Arush taught us the history of the different parts of the city focusing mainly on the Mission and the Castro districts.

It San Fran I also met up with Devon and Jessica to celebrate Jessica's birthday! I met them in Tok, Alaska during week one with the Fargonauts.  I plan on joining them along with Joost and Michiel for the Mexico portion of the journey.

Team Protein! 

I reunited with Micheal, Fumie, and Miles while checkin out the night life in the Bay Area.  It was so awesome cycling with you guys!  I will miss you so much!  Tour De Surf 2012!

I left San Francisco on the 10th of October with Michiel, Joost, and Ryan.  We cycled out with a Livestrong  charity ride called "Chasing Daylight" that is sponsored and organized by KPMG.

Thanks so much to Heidi and Martin my amazing warmshowers hosts who took great care of me in San Francisco!

Eelco Schot (the king) (right) is an old friend of Joosts who is joining us from San Francisco to LA and then flying back home to the Netherlands.  Here we are at the end of the Livestrong ride, it was great to ride unloaded for change.  I'm sure we could have been some of the first finished but those free lunch stops held us back quite a bit. :)

The next day we set out for Santa Cruz and on the way we met Jobst Brandt who is a world acclaimed bike mechanic who studied mechanical engineering at Stanford.  You can find loads of information about him if you search his name.

We made it to Santa Cruz in beautiful time and in beautiful weather.  Joost and Michiel had an interview with student Jocelyn and she was kind enough to let us all stay at her home for the evening.  Thanks for everything Jocelyn, we hope to see you in LA for the ride to San Diego!

b

The day we left Santa Cruz we only biked about 15 miles out to a campground that was down the road from Calfee Designs where Michiel and Joost's bamboo bikes were getting worked on.

Calfee Designs provides African workers with low cost supplies and the knowledge to build and sell their own bamboo bikes.  Calfee will then purchase the bike frames and sell them to any buyer.  Here is a photo of Craig Calfee himself testing the strength of a frame that was built in Africa and was about to be shipped off to the buyer here in the U.S.

Michiel with his newly bamboo reinforced back wheel. No more broken spokes, knock on wood!

Normal.

We left Calfee and cycled out to Carmel to a beautiful home on the hillside.  The home belonged to an importer named Peterson.  The house was filled with Oriental and Middle Eastern art.  All of the walls and pillars inside the home were covered in wood designs that had been hand carven in Asia.  We had a wonderful dinner and campfire in the surreal environment. Here we were fortunate enough to meet Ross Evans, one of the founders and creators of Xtracyle.

Ryan Prizio very happy to be eating an amazing meal prepared by our gracious host!

For several days we cycled through cold fog and rain on the Californian coast. Nights were spent in unwelcoming vista points and on abandoned roads.

A fire on the beach is a great luxury after a damp and cold day of cycling.

 In Santa Cruz I fell into a Martin LXM half size guitar which is the perfect size for the road.  So I shipped home one of my rear panniers and built a wooded rack for it on the back of my bike.  

Elephant Seals right off the highway on the beach!

Cold bean sandwich breakfast! Its delicious and a great way to budget your trip!

We cycled out of the fog just long enough to cross Bigsby Bridge it good weather and gorgeous scenery.

Today has been the first with decent weather in quite a few days.  We cycled off the coast avoiding the 101 freeway for an incredible ride through wine country.  

Tonight we will camp out behind the Saarloos and Son's Winery with Devon and Jessica from thescrimshawproject.com!

From Rodents to Reptiles, the Pacific Coast!

Since I have left Eugene and arrived on the coastal highways it has seemed like a completely different trip!  The roadkill has gone from frequent possums and raccoons to the occasional snake and frog! Thats just not it though :) There are seemingly hundreds of touring cyclists traveling down the coast.  Every hiker biker camp site is littered with bikes, panniers, tents and not to mention many amazing and interesting people!

After the 90 mile push to Reedsport on the Oregon coast I spent a lonely night in an RV campground where the gracious host didn't feel the need charge me.  The next morning I headed south and ran into Rusty and Kristen, a couple who also started in Anchorage and have taken an even longer route than I that started them

 out on June 7th.

Seeing the Pacific Ocean was an indescribable feeling since I haven't seen since I was back home. 

Rusty, Kristen and I cycled for 3 days together past the California border only to be separated on a 1,000 foot hill climb when Rusty's tire blew out.  They were forced to hitch back to the previous town to procure a new tire. 

After Team Krusty and I were forced to separate I joined forces with a group of four cyclists (Miles, Michael, Fumie and Joe) who had all started in separate locations and in the spirit of friendship formed a group jokingly called Team Protein!  

Miles bombing down the beautiful coast after a huge hill climb.

Fumie so stoked to finally be in the Redwoods!

That night the five of us made an 85 mile push, 15 of which were in the dark, to a campground just 25 miles outside of Arcata.  After riding with these guys for just half a day I could't have felt more at home and welcome with any other people.

The very next day we rode a quick 25 miles with a tailwind through a few more redwoods into the town of Arcata, where Fumie's friend Ace invited us all to stay in his home and attend his birthday party!  Because of the pace I set for my self out of Eugene I could foresee a rest day in my near future!

When we arrived in Arcata Ace welcomed us with open arms and an open refrigerator.  Right away we began to help him prepare his potluck birthday party!  It was so hard to believe that I didn't really know anyone there 24 hours before but I couldn't have felt more welcome!

Michael is a chef in real life so he took care of making some delish frosting!

Fumie made sure there was enough desert for those suffering from Joe Byers and Stephen Wilmeth Syndrome.

Joe made sure everyone was having a good time!

And Miles and I helped David test out his 31 layer dip!

The party went off without a hitch!  It was so amazing getting to return the favor for Ace in helping him have a great birthday!  

Alas! A "REST DAY"!  We decided after Ace offered to take us surfing that that would be a great way to recuperate after some hard cycling.

Ace drivin the surf bus to Moonstone Beach

Fun Fact: Ace is planning a bike tour that starts in a month that will take him and one other friend into Central and I believe South America!

Ace droppin some surf knowledge on Micheal before they hit the pipeline!

Joe and I spent an awesome but very tiring hour in the water surfing on the inside sets.

After an absolutely amazing time in Arcata getting to be apart of Ace's birthday and meeting all of his amazing friends, going surfing, and visiting with old high school friends Cassi and Heidi it was time to say goodbye.

Thank you so much to Ace, Peter, David, Allison, Heidi, and Cassi for being such amazing and giving hosts to the whole team!

So the crew set out to discover the Avenue of Giants just off the Redwood Highway!

But due to a deadline that I committed to make for friends Joost and Michiel in San Francisco I had to say goodbye until we would meet again in the city by the bay.

Joe decided that it would be a good idea for him as well to make the 250 mile push in three and a half days

Joe and I completed the hard push without a hitch!

Thanks Joe for always being a solid guy and helping me meet my goal!

Since We've Separated (Seattle to Eugene)

So much has happened since the Fargonauts split ways, here is a glimpse of the amazing time I had traveling from Seattle to Eugene visiting friends and family

When the Fargonauts split up in Seattle I headed south to Tacoma for an amazing week with cousins Natalie and Hannah and my Aunt Angel

During my week in Tacoma Uncle Tim took me to my first Major League Soccer game! Go Sounders!

Bekki and Me!

While in Tacoma I was able to visit with some old Alaska friends who go to Pacific Lutheran University -Bekki and Kathy!

After Tacoma I made my way to Olympia to meet up with Joost and Michiel from Cycleforwater.com.  We made a two day push across the Oregon border and into Portland together!

Left to Right - Joost, Michiel, Ole, Me

I spent a rest day in Portland with Joost and Michiel and fellow Fargonauts Ole and Morgan!  An old high school friend Alisha and her roommate Frenchy were amazing hosts at their apartment in the city!  Thank you so much!

My father and I on I-5

I left Portland with great anticipation to see my Dad and Aunt Lisa in Eugene!  After 102 miles they picked me up at dark in the rain biking down I-5 a couple miles from the Eugene exit

Dad, Aunt Robyn, Me, and Aunt Lisa

I was fortunate enough to spend an amazing week in Eugene where I had the chance to see my Grandpa Bob, Grandma Edna, Grandma Phillis, my sister Claire and niece Isabella Joy.  Joe, Jessica and Sophie Stipek are also among the family I was able to see!  I love you all!