Category: U.S. West Coast 2012
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Angeles Lost — The End Of The Road In The United States
Despite all the horror stories, Delta Airlines chose not to destroy my bicycle, and only charged $150 for the carriage of the big cardboard box I’d picked up from a bike shop in Pasadena. The sales assistant had been rude and grumpy — perhaps he’d had a bad night’s sleep. Or perhaps life as a […] Continue reading →
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Cycling the Lost Coast — Riding the King Range Road and Usal Road
With curiosity we steered off the asphalt at the top of a long climb on the road south of Honeydew. The track plunged down through dense forest, rocks and loose gravel shaking our bikes and bones, disc brakes squealing round sketchy hairpins, as the King Range Road wound its way down to the gushing creek […] Continue reading →
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Cycling the Lost Coast — Close Encounters from Ferndale to Honeydew
After an impromptu and most welcome day off at Kathy and Dick’s house near Arcata (thanks Warmshowers!), we stocked up with 4 days’ worth of food supplies in Eureka and set off down the monotonous highway. The lands here were flat, but the skyline to the south suggested that a dramatic change was just ahead: […] Continue reading →
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Worrying Whispers On The Approach To Northern California’s Lost Coast
If the northern half of the U.S. Pacific Coast had been one of timber trucks, small towns and persistent rains, the southern half would tell a very different tale. Continue reading →
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A Fork In The Road — Group Politics In Northern California
I wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject. It seemed a thorny one, fraught with emotion. So I took the only approach I really knew, which was to speak my mind and deal with the consequences later. Continue reading →
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Breaking Away — Going Solo On A Social Journey
I finished up the last of the pancakes, washed my plate, strapped my helmet over my Buff and set off along Highway 101 under a clear blue sky. It was shortly after sunrise and the air was clear and chill. A pickup truck zipped past on some early-morning errand, but all else was quiet, still […] Continue reading →
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Riding In More Rain — Towards And Along The Oregon Coastline
Ben and I left Portland at lunchtime on the 9th day. The departure was a tough one. We rode south-west into a fresh onshore breeze, clouds collecting in the distance, stopping briefly to look at the Spruce Goose and fill up with water. The wind grew stronger, and after a couple more hours’ battling we […] Continue reading →
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Portland — Why I’ll Remember The People Over The Place
I would love to say that this will be an account of the wonders of the city of Portland. Because here is another city of the north-western States that manages to effortlessly exude its own particular flavour from the moment one begins to wander the downtown gridwork of avenues and cross-streets. [vimeo]https://vimeo.com/38385810[/vimeo] Continue reading →
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Riding In The Rain — A Springtime Journey Through The Pacific North West
I did no prior research about this trip prior to my arrival in Vancouver just over a month ago. Although it goes directly against the principles of the Information Age, I much prefer letting the process of travel bring some small element of knowledge and understanding to a more or less blank slate, rather than […] Continue reading →
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Bring Back The Fun In Travel
Erin and Nick instantly reminded me of my younger self and Andy; two good friends, fresh-faced and idealistic, intoxicated with the new-found freedom of life on the road in a wealthy and developed corner of the world. The summer of 2007 and that timeless four-month adventure across Europe remains one of the most enjoyable, chaotic […] Continue reading →