VANCOMEX: 2012

Sunday, 30 September 2012

29th September - Oceanside to Mexican border

Our last day of 'The Big Ride' - it does not seem possible that tomorrow we will not be cycling all day - it has become a way of life. Last night we ate at the Flying Pig in Oceanside, and after investigation of the map it was suggested there was 110kms (65 miles) to the Mexican border so we agreed a late start of 9am after our final hotel breakfast – yes!!

As it was Saturday, traffic was relatively light, and we made good early progress passing through San Elijo and Solano beaches and the seaside towns of Leucadia, Encinitas, Del Mar and Torrey Pines. Del Mar bought back memories for Chris and Brian and they had spent a few hours there looking round before the tour started – seemed a lifetime ago!!

Although traffic was light we were swamped with hundreds of weekend cyclists, most of them young and athletic and whizzing past us. It was good to see that cycling is so healthy in southern California!! After passing Torrey Pines we had the only significant climb of the day up to La Jolla Mesa where we had lunch before continuing our journey through San Diego.

Maurice led the team expertly along a mesmerising array of cycle paths through San Diego to the Coronado Ferry – a short 20 minute ferry hop that gave us a short breather before the final push to the Mexican border. We estimated a 6.00pm arrival at the border, but shortly after departing the ferry Maurice recieved a call from Margy saying that the State Park closes at 6pm sharp. The competative spirit in Team Vancomex stirred and Maurice led our pelaton on a final push at an average speed of around 21mph to the border. This ensured we reached the finish line at around 5.30pm. We’d been so fast that we beat Scott who was bringing in champagne to celebrate the end of the tour.

After the obligatory pictures (see below) and champagne at the Mexican border we had a 40 mile car journey back to Maurice and Margie's house. This gave us some time to reflect on what Team Vancomex had achieved. In just over 3 weeks we have cycled the length of the USA through Washington, Oregon and California covering just over 3,000kms (1900 miles) in distance, climbing 85,000ft and sitting on those little uncomfortable saddles for more than 125 hours. It’s been a wonderful adventure with a group of guys that have worked as a team to achieve the goal of cycling USA!!

Margy had laid on a fantastic barbeque to celebrate the end of the ride and we were joined by John McKenna (who cycled John Lands End to John O’Groats with us in 2010) and his wife Lori, Scott’s sister and Maurice’s two children Brittany and Amanda. We apologise for boring them silly with our tour tales for a few hours!! It was a great end to the tour and the evening concluded with the final TWIT of the day debate and judgement for TWIT of the tour (see below) and judgement of the Wiggins sideburn winner.

So the tour is done. A few important thank yous:

To Maurice for just making the tour happen
To Maurice, Margy and Brittany for sorting all our lodgings out
To Maurice and Margy for their hospitality both pre and post tour
To Scott our driver: who serviced our bikes, suggested routes, found us food during the day and beer each night
To the Vancomex Team for their individual efforts to make this a truely great experience
To all our sponsors who have helped us make a contribution our chosen charities

This is the final blog entry. The site has had 6,000 page reviews so it feels like we have created some content that has interested people. Thanks for your interest in our adventure and for all your comments and words of encouragment whether on the blog site or all the other communication messages.

Until next time!

A team of jurors decided the TWIT of the day. Tom was close to winning, but in the final two miles Simon decided to stop for a lone unannounced pee-stop, he then followed a random car to the beach and not the Mexican border. He got himself lost in the final mile!! Simon you have a hat-trick of 3 consecutive TWITS of the day.

Have we not seen enough seals now! Our final
seal spot at La Jolla MesaAdd caption

The TWIT of the Tour needed only minimal discussion - only one person was considered and Tom was duly awarded.

The Bradley Wiggins sideburns competition was won by Chris with Brian second. One one else came close.

Huntington Beach

First view of downtown San Diego

Tickets please - for the Coronado ferry

Our last tour coffee stop

USS Midway aircraft carrier at San Diego
– now a museam. It was in active service in Vietnam
and Operation Desert storm in Iraq

We did it! At the Mexican border

Cheers! Champagne at the border

Thanks for all your help Scott

Give them back please!

Hand back of car keys and American express

card which Scott has been using for the tour

Add caption

Princess ditches Brian for Tim

Saturday, 29 September 2012

28th September - Hermosa Beach to Oceanside

We have scheduled breakfast for 7.00am to be away by 8.30am as it is another long ride today, albeit a mainly flat one.

Maurice led us out of a busy LA skilfully, using his local knowledge as well as a cycling map. This meant we made a good start to the day as getting out of any major city area is usually, slow and stressful on a bike! After the heavy traffic we were able to use a well designed cycle path along the LA river and Long Beach harbour. This was pleasurable cycling and gave us a good perspective of the variety of scenery and vistas. After Long Beach we were able to use concrete cycle paths built through the middle of the golden sandy beaches - just fantastic to cycle on.

At Seal Beach we crossed the county lines between Los Angeles and Orange County and stopped at Huntington Beach where Scott provided us with a Starbucks coffee and buns. It was relaxing to take a 30 minute breather, watching surfers and the waves break on the shore.

After Huntington Beach there was heavier traffic on the SR1, but surfaces were smooth and we had wide cycle lanes to ride in. We passed through Newport Beach and Laguna Beach using the SR1 before turning off at Dana Point for lunch - 2 large pizzas and salards. Even though we are burning loads of calories, we failed to clear all of the pizza - TWIT points all round!

Shortly after lunch Tom suffered from a mechanical fault to his back wheel. One of his spokes broke and caused some serious damage to the wheel - we needed a bike shop! Fortunately, one was only a mile along the road. The staff in the San Clemente Cyclery came to our rescue. Tom limped in to the shop on his bike and after a quick look a new wheel was needed. Mark, the mechanic, sorted it out while we all talked to Sue the owner of the San Clemente Cyclery who made us very welcome and showed interest in our tour.

The delay caused by fixixng Tom's bike put us back by 90 minutes so we had to cover the last 40kms as speedily as possible to get to the hotel before dark. Part of the last leg was through Camp Pendleton, a US military training area, where we needed to show identification before we proceed. We didn't encounter any tanks on our way through, but traffic was light which was ideal for some fast cycling. We rolled in to Ocean Beach just as the sun was diping down over the horizon.

We are just 110kms (65 miles) from our target destination. By tomorrow we will have cycled 3000kms in 23 days - we are so nearly there. None of us can imagine not spending the whole day on a bike - it has become a way of life. Can't wait to finish tomorrow!!

There were multiple contenders for TWIT of the day, with Brian, Tom and Chris all sited for 'Twit' activities.

Chris punctured again !

We were undecided and had decided to resume the debate about today's award until tomorrow - when Simon walked into a plate glass window and slumped to the ground. The winner was at our feet. Congratulations Simon.

Californian Brown Peleican at Long Beach

The first Queen Mary, docked in LA

Coffee stop on Huntington Beach

Vancomex were here! Lunch
stop at Dana Point

Busted spoke for Tom at San Clemente

Finally, a use for Toms first aid kit!

Mark at San Clemente Cyclery gets
to work on Tom's wheel

We followed the bike trail
at every opportunity!

Thank you to San Clemente Cyclery for getting Tom on the road again

Is the man in this passport really you !! Seargeant Hough at Camp Pendleton

Sunset at Oceanside as we rolled
in to our eveing lodging

Sunset at Oceanside as we rolled in to our eveing lodging

Best to open the door before you
walk in to the hotel Simon

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Choices - thoughts from Tom

Choice is good. Yes?" Too much choice is bad. Yes? or No? or Don't
Know? or even Maybe?

So six guys trying to decide on the menu and then getting barraged in
a Paxman like quizzitorial can delay matters somewhat. Right, big
time..

The server ( as they are termed - and they get an 18%, yes 18% tip)
pose a question and and a further question to every decision you have
painfully arrived at after a full ten minutes of agony perusing the
enticing, mouthwatering, fullsome menu.

Lets take a typical scenario:

"I will take the Seafood pasta, please" (Phew, relieved that I arrived
at a decision)

"O.K, is that fettuchini, tortellini or ravioli?"

"Oh, um, pause, scratch head, "Fettuchini, please" (Not sure just what
fettutini is, but I simply cannot ask!)

"O.K, is that marinara, or garlic and white wine"

"Oh, Eh, Um "garlic and white wine"

"O.K, is that 6 oz or 14 oz"

"Eh, oh God, um, "14 oz"

"O.K, what do you want with that, Soup or Salad"

"Oh, so what is the soup?"

"Its tomato basil OR french onion"

(Thinking this is too tough) " I'll go with Salad"

"O.K, so what dressing do you want - 1,000 Islands, Blue Cheese, French, Ceasar.

(Will this inquisition ever end?) "Eh,, Ceasar"

"No problem - who is next?"

These sort of choices proliferate. So go into Subway for a simple
sandwich and breads come as Wheat, Italian, Sourdough, Pitta, Seeded.
The fillings and the fixings then bewilder. Ad nauseum.

So ordering for the whole group started off by taking an age. Now we
are wise. We mentally assess all the options and ,in stacatto fashion,
blurt out the full set of decisons before the server has a moment o go
through the permutaions. ( Of course she can't understand our accents
and still goes thru them).

Or else we simple order the same as each other. Group Think rules O.K.
Tuna Subways are very poular these days. Of course everyone has
followed MY choice. O.K?

27th September - Ventua to Hermosa Beach

Breakfast at 7.30am, wow half hour later than normal. We got away at 8.30am and our route today was a relatively flat 120km (76 miles). We went though the first stage quickly passing Oxnard and some farmlands before rejoining SR1 again to our coffee stop at Port Magu. Scott had located a great cliff top view of the ocean and purchased starbucks coffee and cakes - this works well - great views and no wasted time.

Shortly after coffee we were treated to a pod of 15 dophins fishing. They appeared to be having fun and regularly came to the surface to give us a great view - it was amazing watching them. We then continued along SR1 and reached Malibu city limits where traffic volume increased dramatically as did temperatures. Although the ride was mostly flat, all the hills we encountered were within a 10km stretch and the leg muscles complanined after the easy morning ride.

We reached the Los Angeles City limits and as we approached Topanga State beach Tim broke a spoke in his back wheel. After disabling the back brake to allow the buckled wheel to turn we made slow progress until lunch. The spoke broke because Tim chased a fast, broad beamed female cyclist who had overtaken us!! The slow progress was no problem as shortly after the spoke incident we left SR1 and enjoyed a 40km stretch of cycling along paved cycle paths through magnificent beach areas. We had lunch at Venice Beach a place where clearly Los Angeles people come to look and be looked at. The resort is surreal and verges on complete fantascy with many exotic characters on the streets. During lunch we listened to a good street band. Fortunately, Scott came to the rescue and changed Tim's back wheel.

If there was any doubt that we were in Los Angeles these disappeared quickly with a succession of large planes taking off over our heads from LA International Airport as we rode the bike path on the beach! It's a dramatic and breathtaking scene. We continued to pedal serenely along the beach until we arrived at Hermosa beach and our evening lodging. After many challenging days of cycling, today was a relatively easy day on the body. However, we still managed 120kms distance for the day and used enough calories to earn a beer in the evening - something we're starting to take for granted.

In the evening we had dinner with Dan who lives in Beverley Hills, a retired attorney and keen cyclist. He is a good friend of Scott's dad, and had been following our blog closely. He was keen to join us to hear all about our Pacific Coast adventure. We asked him to judge TWIT of the day - more of that below.

Scott and Simon were the contenders for TWIT of the day. Dan nominated Simon as he confessed to weeing in a waste paper bin during the night as Maurice was already in the loo. The actual event and the over-description made him the clear winner. Simon managed other 'twit events' but these were not needed to clinch the daily award. Tom was Twitless again!!!!