On the road…..at last

San Francisco, USA to Pismo Beach, USA
Feb 28, 2014 – Mar 2, 2014

We finally got every last little thing out of the apartment, and all the things coming with us for the next year or so packed on the bikes. The apartment looked very pleasingly empty, and the bikes looked horrifyingly loaded up. The Zebra and Wolfmobile have become the Donkey and Mulemobile. After packing, repacking and rearranging, we have convinced ourselves that it’s not actually so bad, once you take the tire-pile out of the equation. We’ll used up what’s left of our stock tires as we pound the California asphalt down to Mexico and once we hit Baja, we’ll change tires… and neither of us can wait to lose the extra load.

We spent the first night camping in Big Sur and thanks to the storm that has been following us from San Francisco, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to test the waterproofing of our tent. We have decided that we need to buy a new tent. The wind howled all night long and we did not get much sleep. Determined to salvage the Big Sur leg of the trip, the Wolf convinced me to attempt the dirt road option to get back to highway 1. My limited dirt-riding skills were tested very hard by slippery conditions, and I ran out of talent on a few occasions sending the Zebramobile nose first into the mud. The Wolf would come running to my rescue, but the wind was so strong, it often blew the Wolfmobile over while he was helping me. Fun times!

We eventually made it back to highway 1 after almost 5 hours of mucking about in rain and mud. Coffee and sun revived our spirits in Cayucos (thanks for the recommendation Dana) but they were dashed again by a massive downpour on 101 near Pismo Beach, so we are now in a hotel with everything we own hanging out to dry.

5 thoughts on “On the road…..at last

  1. Richard Law

    It sounds like your first segment along Hwy 1 was a good learning experience related to riding off road and the testing the tent in the rain. 🙂 Ride safe!

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