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Canada to Mexico Recap: A Heart Attack Sandwich

10/29/2013

It's been three weeks to the day since I returned from my 1,880-mile cycling journey that took me from Swartz Bay, British Columbia to Tijuana, Mexico. This is my postscript:

All told, I received 150 donations amounting to $28,965 raised for the Arthritis Foundation. Combined with my five other California Coast Classics, you have helped me raise $100,854. Combined with my Links for Life teammates over the years, we have raised a grand total of $204,981. I never imagined when I rode my first CCC in 2006 that any of this would be possible.

I can't begin to thank you enough. But if you watch this video, you'll see how we're making a real difference with real people. This is from this year's Camp Milagros, Northern California's only camp for kids with arthritis. I know every one of these kids and so does Lindsey.

You'll see Lindsey a few times and at the end of this post, she has some final thoughts.

Final Stats?

I cycled 29 days - 5 days in Washington, a little over 6 days in Oregon, and 18 days in California.
I rode 1,882 miles, an average of 65 miles per day.
My total elevation gain was 71,386', with the most being 4,721' on Day 22 between Big Sur and Cambria, CA.
Time in the saddle was about 150 hours, an average of about 6:10 per day.
I burned 80,000 calories, about 2,760 per day or 42.5 per mile.
I lost about 3 pounds getting to San Francisco & then I lost those same 3 pounds from San Francisco to the border.
I had one flat tire on Day 27 in Seal Beach.

Every Day was a Great Day

Longest/Shortest Days? 87.9 miles from Buellton to Ventura (day 25) and 28.9 miles from Newport, OR to Yachats, OR (Day 8).

Coldest Day? 42° leaving Buellton on day 25. I’m not sure of the hottest day but it got to about 90° that same day.

Toughest Moment? Getting on my bike on Day 5 in South Bend, WA and being unable to pedal a single stroke.

Downpour Ahead!

Wettest Day? I got drenched on the Tomales-to-San Francisco day in Lagunitas, and I caught some rain on 5 other days (plus two travel days when I wasn't on the bike).

Favorite Day? I honestly can't say. Every day and every part of the ride was perfect. ...Well, except for the miserable winds between Ventura to Malibu - but even that is now a part of a great memory.

Time to Get the Show on the Road

Hardest Day? Easily, Day 24, when I averaged about 10 mph for the first 35 miles, riding into what had to be a 30 mph headwind between Ventura and Malibu. And it came the day after the longest day of the ride.

Most Monumental Moment? Getting on my bike at the start.

Downtown Ferndale, CA

Coolest (based on where I spent my nights) Small Towns? Garberville, CA; Westport, WA; Tomales, CA; Ferndale, CA; and Cambria, CA.

Coolest (based on where I spent my nights) Bigger Towns? Monterey, CA; Anacortes, WA; Ft. Bragg, CA; Manhattan Beach, CA; Astoria, OR.

Cathy, my Mt. Walker Inn Guardian Angel

Best (based on where I spent my nights) Overnight Accommodations? Westport Bayside B&B, Westport, WA.

Best (based on where I spent my nights) Overnight Hospitality? Mt. Walker Inn, Quilcene, WA (and it goes beyond the owner driving me 50 miles round trip to the hospital).

....and this is the good knee

How’s the Knee, Achilles, & Hamstring? I’m pretty much back to 100% though I had the oddest thing happen last Thursday. I was in the hospital recovery room (more about that below) and my knee started to get sore lying in bed. By that night (now back at home), I could barely walk and I was unable to bend my knee enough to even drive for the following two days. It was the exact same knee pain I experienced in Washington and this time, completely unassociated with any activity. By Sunday, it had pretty much cleared up.

The only commonality between the two times the knee got hurt is that I was pretty much confined to sleeping on my back the night before the knee pain began. One thought is that the leg position resulted in some impingement of the knee pad or maybe a loose piece of meniscus. Who knows?

If you think the photo on the right is tough to look at, be very glad I didn't post the photo of my hip hematoma.

Once more, for old time's sake

Any Heart Issues? I may not be the first person to cycle from Canada to Mexico but I might be the first person to sandwich it between a heart attack and an arterial stent. My heart attack was on March 12th and I had a stent put in last week, on October 23rd, because the angioplasty from March was failing.

I had about five, brief episodes of chest pain while on the ride, so I suspected something was up. I saw my cardiologist shortly after I returned and he referred me to Dr. John Kao, a specialist who performed the procedure. The same 98%-blocked artery that caused the heart attack had returned to 70% blockage.

This procedure is amazing. Again, it was all done through the wrist, leaving a mark that is not much bigger than when you get your blood drawn. I was out of the hospital the next morning, able to return 100% to normal physical activity. It really wasn't that long ago that someone in my position would have been looking at heart bypass surgery. Incredible!

Just say NOOO!

Biggest Takeaway? Disconnect!! I didn't read a newspaper, watch any TV, or surf the net during my 29 days on the bike, and it was liberating!

A huge reason I was able to fully disconnect is because my Colliers associates honored my request to "let me go" and they took great care of each other in my absence.

Lindsey, tooting her horn while she waits for me in San Francisco

Final Thoughts? These final thoughts are from Lindsey:

I am so grateful for all of our friends and family who support me and my dad. I am so proud of my dad and how he went on such a life-altering experience and raised almost $30,000 for me and kids just like me. I think that a lot of the time, people do not think about donating to a cause like juvenile arthritis because so few people know about it.

I am so glad that all of my donors care enough to donate to a cause that they may know nothing about. The money that you donated will be going to a wonderful cause and changing the lives of many children.

Thank you again for everything you have done for us!

Lindsey Fredericks

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Day 29 Recap: Mexico

10/9/2013

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I guess missing my flight is a good indication that I'm still not ready for it to be over. But all good things must come to an end, and this ride down the coast was beyond good; it was epic.

I freaking did it!

Kelley was there to greet me at the end, which was perfect. I just wish we weren't so rushed. We only had enough time to talk about how we were going to get back - she caught the flight we booked, but I was running behind schedule and the extra time I needed to have my bike shipped back caused me to miss the flight.

Spent too much time sightseeing

It was a different mood today, knowing I was going to make it and knowing it was about to be over. But I was in good spirits and enjoyed most of the ride. Cycling down the Silver Strand in Coronado with the wind mostly in my face was no fun, but it was all good.

This is the ferry I took from downtown San Diego to Coronado

It was partly cloudy when I left Solana Beach and it looks like it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so my timing was good. I made a few stops through Del Mar to see my old house and some of the places I hung out as a teenager.

Del Mar lifeguards must be doing well - sweet rides

After leaving La Jolla, I was back on beachfront bike paths for most of Pacific Beach and around Mission Bay. These biking/walking/jogging paths really bring a lot of activity to the beachfront communities. Even on a weekday morning, there's a buzz on the boardwalks.

La Jolla

Despite being on home turf of sorts, I did get off course a few times and had to check GPS maps at least a half-dozen times. I went the wrong way down Mission Boulevard, and ended up out on a point, and then I went in circles after I got off the ferry to Coronado, looking for the Silver Strand Bikeway (I was expecting some signage but it's just your basic bike path alongside the road for the first few miles off the ferry).

Found my bearings and made it to the San Diego waterfront

The short ferry ride to Coronado was scenic and fun. I talked to a girl who I had passed earlier on the bike path. She and her husband are both in the Navy. When I paused to take pictures of a passing Navy helicopter to send to my Naval aviator soon, Derek, I mentioned to her that he was in flight training. She guessed right away that he was in Pensacola. Like Derek, she's loving the Navy. She's a nurse and met her husband during a 7-month aircraft carrier deployment.

Good chance Derek will be piloting one of these real soon

Off the ferry in Coronado, looking back to San Diego

Cycling Coronado's Silver Strand is definitely the way to get to the border once you're south of downtown San Diego, but once past the Hotel del Coronado, there's not much to see. My final time getting off course was just south of Coronado Island, in Imperial Beach, which is a little sketchy. Meanwhile, Kelley was negotiating the Tijuana trolley to the border, feeling nervous about some of the seedy characters around her. I told her that she should try riding the South Bend bus in Washington.

End of the day in the USA

Kelley made it to our rendezvous point on the Camino de la Plaza bridge 30 minutes early, so she did her best hooker imitation and stood there looking hot, waiting for just the right old man to approach her. I finally did, and seeing her beautiful smile was exactly the reason I wanted her there to greet me. But we immediately had to high-tail it for the pedestrian crossing because my arrival was about an hour later than planned (sound familiar?).

Quick photo on Camino de la Hooker Bridge

I found the perfect photo spot right at the border crossing, at a place where I could U-turn and not have to re-enter through U.S. customs. After the quick photo op, we jumped on the Tijuana trolley to downtown San Diego, where we were going to drop off my bike at a bike shop to be shipped home.

After 1,882 miles, 71,386' of climbing, and 29 days....Mexico!

It was obvious that we were going to miss our flight, so while I went to the bike shop, Kelley hopped in a cab to the airport. Missing my flight gave me a chance to stop in the Gaslamp District for an Adios Mexico/hello real life beer. Kelley picked me up after my new flight landed in San Jose at 7:15. I had planned on then going to the Sharks game with my Honoree Lindsey, but she wasn't feeling well, so sister Lauren was a thrilled substitute. We made it for the opening faceoff and the Sharks rewarded me with s 9-2 pummeling of the New York Rangers.

Not having showered yet, I smelled a little ripe

So it's over. I'll post a recap with more post-ride thoughts, but this adventure was everything I dreamed of and more. I had some adversity, but I wouldn't change a thing. My adversity is simply a reminder that it pales in comparison to what Lindsey and millions of others (including 300,000 kids in the U.S.) with arthritis have to live with every day. Thank you for bring a part of the solution and a part of my journey!

Where next?

Day 29 Recap: Solana Beach, CA to Tijuana, Mexico!
Actual Miles: 51.2
Cumulative Miles: 1,882.0
Elevation Gain: 1,201'
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 71,386'
% Distance to Mexico: 100%!

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Day 29: Solana Beach, CA to Tijuana, Mexico

10/9/2013

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Del Mar, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, downtown San Diego and Coronado make for a great home stretch to the border. I'll do my best to SAFELY hop on a short ferry to Coronado Island so I can cycle down the Silver Strand, then it's a short ride to the border & viva Mexico!

I grew up at this beach, 17th Street, Del Mar

Played a lot of volleyball down there

This ball park is across Camino Del Mar from where we lived. The field use to be oriented the other way and Kevin and I would sometimes hit one over the fence into the street, hit a car, and then run like hell. We miss you, Kev.

My dad built this duplex and we lived on the left-hand side. It was pretty nice back then.

Torrey Pines

More thank yous from here, with La Jolla in the background

Day 28 Recap: I Was a Longhair Stoner

10/7/2013

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When I went to San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, I was a longhair. My blonde hair hung down to my shoulders like most surfer dudes in these parts, only I was more dude than surfer. We moved to the coast when I was a freshman in high school and by then, if you weren't already surfing, you better not let any of your friends see you try.

Swami's is notable as one of the surf spots the Beach Boys sing about in Surfin' USA

A lot of the surfers smoked pot. But I was too dedicated to football and stayed away from that stuff (and I wasn't really a surfer anyway), yet I still managed to pick up the nickname, "Stoner" from some of the guys I hung around with. My eyes were always bloodshot, so between that and the long hair, I was an easy target. I had a great time going to high school in north San Diego County, and for a long time, I thought I'd come back. It's fun being here now, and tomorrow I'll cycle through Del Mar, where I spent most of my time during those impressionable years.

Didn't smoke pot but did manage to blow my fry cook paychecks at Del Mar Racetrack

After my epic ride the day before, today was a little anticlimactic, and between this being the final night of my quest, and being back where I spent my high school years, I'm feeling melancholy. The morning ride was boring and my legs felt like mush. I thought San Clemente would be interesting, but my route took me through residential neighborhoods so I didn't see anything.

Last shot of the coast before turning into Camp Pendleton

Riding through Camp Pendleton, I hoped to see marching troops, Humvees, helicopters, SEALS, and maybe a tank or two. I did see one helicopter fly overhead, and a couple of supply vehicles. But other than that, all I saw were a bunch of marines driving by in their own cars. Maybe with the budget fiasco, the new plan is to have military troops drive their Honda Accords into battle.

I saw more potato chip trucks than military trucks

With mush for legs, a bit of a headwind, and boredom setting in, I was actually looking forward to getting to Oceanside. That was surely never the case when I lived down here.

Oceanside, you never looked so good

The balance of the day was fabulous. I stopped to eat in Carlsbad, then made my way through Leucadia, Cardiff, Encinitas, and Solana Beach, all blasts from my past.

We moved from Del Mar to Solana Beach towards the end of high school

...and it became artsy after I left

I checked-in to my motel mid-afternoon, so I got showered and went back out on my bike to have a beer, check out a couple of beaches, ride through "downtown" Solana Beach, and now I'm having dinner outside at a cool Italian restaurant called Solana Beach Crush. Great food, my kind of music, and my last self-congratulatory beer.

Cheers

Today's plan was to go through every one of my donors and thank them as I was pulled over to take pictures. I didn't get through them all today, so the good news is, I'm taking you all the way to Mexico with me tomorrow! I want to do all of you justice and be patient and thoughtful with my gratitude. Let's finish this thing, eh?

Mexico Ahead

Day 28 Recap: Dana Point, CA to Solana Beach, CA
Actual Miles: 55.1
Cumulative Miles: 1,830.8
Elevation Gain: 1,040'
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 70,185'
% Distance to Mexico: 97.3%

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Day 28: Dana Point, CA to Solana Beach, CA

10/7/2013

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It's off to San Clemente then onward to San Diego County. I'll cycle through Camp Pendleton, where the Seals train, then through my high school town of Encinitas. Last overnight in Solana Beach, near Del Mar Racetrack and plenty of opportunity to enjoy the sights at only 47 miles.

You're all getting a ride on the back of my bike today, and every time I stop to shoot a photo, I'll think a handful of you individually. I am very, very appreciative.

Not much to see through Camp Pendleton

Oceanside Pier

Doing my best to make Oceanside look good

Looks like the Bonneville Salt Flats for cycling

Cure for the Monday morning blues.... it is Monday, right?

Encinitas, where I went to high school

....and where I pretended to know how to surf

...and where I had my first job washing dishes for $1.35/hour

...and where I ate pizza

Nothing has changed....except for me

I think Jaguar may have finally got one right - sweet ride!

...but only my Wilier gets a lane of it's own, right to the front door of my hotel

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Day 27 Recap: Cabo Anyone?

10/6/2013

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A couple of the guys at Colliers have great sayings they've shared with me. Scott Daugherty taught me "start slow and taper," and that adage is one I lived by when I was hurting. Don Reimann says "yesterday's history, tomorrow a mystery, and today is a gift." He reminded me of that after the miserable conditions I encountered yesterday, and wouldn't ya know it, today turned out to be a perfect gift! I had such an enjoyable ride, I stretched it out until about 6:15, and now I'm thinking I'm not ready for this ride to end in two days. So how about I keep going to Cabo and you all meet me there in a couple of weeks for cold cervezas?

Ya, it was a great day to be happy

I've never liked L.A and to me everything from Ventura to San Clemente is L.A., but today I got a new perspective. Granted, it was probably the best weather day on the coast all year. Temperature was perfect and you could see the mountains to the east, Catalina to the west and even the horizon to the further west. It was the first time I've cruised the coast here and I have to say, the coastal towns are way-past-cool, the beaches are maybe the best I've seen anywhere, and everyone looks like they're totally enjoying life. I'm not saying I'd want to live here, but I'd sure like to come back and maybe do a 3-day coastal trip with Kelley on beach cruisers. Whatcha say, Kel?

The beaches stretch to forever and everyone has a beach cruiser and plays volleyball

....and everyone has a boat they don't use, even on the nicest day of the year!

It was nice being on my own schedule again, and I took advantage of it. I was in no hurry to leave Manhattan Beach, I enjoyed coffee and a bagel on the pier, and I stopped dozens of times to take photos and video. The winds were calm, which was a huge relief, and better yet, they were at my back when I was cruising the coast - and that's exactly what I was doing. I didn't even go faster than 20 mph until a short downhill at mile 50.

Hanging out in Manhattan Beach

Hanging out in Hermosa Beach

Hanging out in Dana Point

The ride out through Torrance wasn't great and I had a little headwind to deal with as I moved away from the coast. I also got my first flat after more than 1,600 miles of cycling. I don't mind fixing flats, but it would have been nice to change it at the beach instead of out by the refineries. Regardless, it was a non-event, and the journey just seems more complete now that I can't answer "none" when someone asks me how many flats I got.

Nobody around to impress with my flat-changing abilities

Actually, maybe it was a good thing nobody saw me. I ended up with chain grease all over my hands, and then I forgot to check the inside lining of the tire for the culprit, and of course you know what that means.....another flat. Actually, it was a slow leak, and I really didn't want to get greasy again, so I refilled my tire a couple of times until I was able to limp into the best bike shop I've encountered in 1,600 miles, Laguna Cyclery.

These guys rock, and they definitely have my bike primed to make it to Cabo

I was just looking to get my flat changed, but Jeff at Laguna Cyclery was in a good mood after getting their sound system rocking. He hooked me up with a couple of new parts, he made some gearing adjustments, tuned and cleaned Willie, and fixed the flat. I kicked back, listened to old-time rock & roll, shared a couple of stories from the road, and most importantly, stayed clean.

Jeff dialed-in the tunes, then dialed in the Willie

Once I returned to the coast in Long Beach, I slowed down again, stopped for tacos and a beer, then spent a lot of time on the coastal bike path through the Huntington Beach area. These paths go for miles and miles and the beaches are at least a couple hundred yards wide the entire way. They are so vast and expansive that they're really not too crowded, even on a day like today.

Surfboard art in Huntington Beach

After a late afternoon stop at the Shake Shack in Newport, I finally made my way into Laguna for that tire repair, then leisurely rode into Dana Point as the sun was getting low on the horizon. The lighting in the early mornings and late afternoons is the best for picture taking and for cycling, and even when I got to Dana Point, I continued to cruise around before I finally checked into the Dana Point Marina Inn at about 6:15. This is the one place that offered me a free room when I initially booked, and it's a decent hotel in an awesome location.

View from the Shake Shack (I had chocolate chip cookie dough and banana)

Shakin' things up!

Home stretch today and home stretch for the whole enchilada

Dana Point before dropping down to the marina

Clear to the horizon

If you ever have a chance to see Laguna's Pageant of the Masters, you'll come away amazed

Day 27 Recap: Huntington Beach, CA to Dana Point, CA
Actual Miles: 66.9
Cumulative Miles: 1,775.7
Elevation Gain: 1,079
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 69,145'
% Distance to Mexico: 94.3%

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Day 27: Manhattan Beach, CA to Dana Point, CA

10/6/2013

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Riding solo again for the home stretch, I'll carefully avoid wrong turns and wind through city streets in Torrance, Carson, and Long Beach. Back on the Pacific, it's, likely to still be crazy in Huntington & Newport Beaches. Laguna Beach is a great stop to unwind before rolling into Dana Point for the night after my last 60-miler.

Such a different vibe early in the morning - cool breeze, quiet, and yes....calm!

Enjoying my coffee and bagel from this spot - so totally back in the zone, I just might hang here awhile

Jumped into the Hermosa Beach Triathlon, took off my shirt, and won the Canada to Mexico Division

Another cool beachfront town with a great boardwalk

I'm never going to get to....where am I going again?

These boardwalks offer great views and better people watching

Look ma, no hands!

No time to drop a line, I have to turn inland for awhile

I suspect I'll be making up some time in this neighborhood

Getting on the Los Angeles River Bike Path - WAIT....THIS IS A RIVER??

The Queen Mary and a Carnival Cruise ship in Long Beach

A little early for lunch so I guess I'll have to each lunch twice - first time from this seat at the Yardhouse in Long Beach

These guys and gals were haulin' A

Trying to remember who jinxed me and asked if I'd had any flats yet? Whoever it was, you spoiled my no hitter with two out in the 9th

It's really a great day here - warm & hardly any smog

That's what I have, "Old Speed"

Jeff from Laguna Beach Cyclery sparing me the dirty work when I re-flatted. These guys rock. Lubed me up, adjusted my chain, and they have the most bad ass sound system on the West Coast

Dana Point, my destination

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Day 26 Recap: Blown Away....Brutally

10/5/2013

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Easily the most difficult cycling conditions I have ever encountered. I've described some days of my ride as difficult or a grind, but today was downright brutal. I'm not sure how to gauge wind speed, but whatever speed is necessary to nearly blow you to a standstill on the flats while you're standing and pedaling as hard as you can, or whatever speed is necessary to turn a 30 mph coasting descent into a 10 mph pedaling descent, or whatever speed is necessary to blow a girl off her bike and over a retaining wall, is the velocity of the wind we faced for the first 35 miles today. As if that wasn't enough, I made matters worse by turning a 70-mile ride into 74 by making a 2-mile wrong turn late in the day (with the wind) requiring a 2-mile ride back (against the wind). Oh, and it was the hottest day of the year in these parts, but I barely noticed that.

Best shot I got of the wind - note 3 flags and palm trees - the haze is sand blowing in our faces

The good news is that there was never any question that I'd gut it out. I don't know how many CCC riders had to sag to the finish but those vans were packed with bikes on the roof, so I'm sure it was a lot. I'll tell you though, it was unbelievable to me, but I passed Mark the unicyclist, and somehow he was staying upright. I have to believe he was getting blown off his unicycle, but certainly not when I saw him.

Not a good day to take even one hand off the handlebars to shoot a photo, so here's Mark without the unicycle

...and here's the unicycle without much of Mark

I wish I could have gotten more wind photos, but you can't see the wind and frankly, I just wanted to get through it, not ask it to pose. Similarly, I would have liked to have taken more photos of the craziness along the ocean from Malibu through Venice, to Manhattan Beach. After having been in Nowheresville for the greater part of 25 days, the mass of beach-goers and activity was off the charts.

Muscle Beach: I placed second in the crazy ripped calves competition

Get your weed and as soon as you walk out the door, get your munchies fix

The coastal views were great and the spray coming off the high surf made for awesome scenery. But again, I mainly caught it in my peripheral vision as I tunneled my way through Hurricane Malibu Barbie.

Great wave action today, most of which I missed

But I did stop to capture these birds (pelicans?) dive-bombing a school of fish

I finally limped into Manhattan Beach only to discover my motel was a mile uphill on Sepulvada Boulevard. After I checked in, my college roommate Tracy came by with his wife Nikki, and the three of us went to dinner together. I was really happy that we had a chance to catch up. He is the same, humble, great guy I remember. I have no excuse for no photos. I just forgot.

Manhattan Beach: Proof I arrived before sunset

We hit the Manhattan Beach Pier area for dinner - blew it and took no pics of Tracy and Nikki

So, I'm back to solo for my last three days to Mexico. The rides are little shorter coming to the finish line, and if the wind cooperates, they'll be pretty easy - but that's a big "if" because the Santa Anas are still in the forecast.

Switched to solo mode at Gladstones in Santa Monica for the last 25 miles today and the final three days to the border

Speaking of blown away. I'm blown away by our Links for Life California Coast Classic team. Dean (the smart one for not hanging out with the rest of us), Derek, (the smarter one for leaving a day early), Terry (for helping those old ladies off the bus AND FOR finishing the toughest CCC EVER at the tender age of 71-1/2), Steve (for barreling past me twice at 71-1/2 mph), and most of all to Scott (for accidentally sending me a text meant for his girlfriend). This small team, plus Steve Gibson, who nursed me through Oregon, was the #2 fundraising team for the Arthritis Foundation's #1 fundraiser. Links for Life Teams have now raised over $200,000.00 in the 7 California Coast Classics we've ridden! I'm proud of you, boys!!

Damn we looked good then

Day 26 Recap: Ventura, CA to Manhattan Beach, CA
Actual Miles: 74.9
Cumulative Miles: 1,708.8
Elevation Gain: 860'
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 68,066'
% Distance to Mexico: 90.8%

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Day 26: Ventura, CA to Manhattan Beach, CA

10/5/2013

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Past Oxnard, more hugging the coastline. Views will be great but traffic, Santa Ana winds, and lots of rollers will make this 69-miler exhausting coming off back-to-back difficult rides. Traversing beach-goers through Santa Monica, I'll say goodbye to my CCC friends and Links for Life teammates at Gladstones, and continue on solo to Manhattan Beach.

Thank you and good-bye to my two favorite Arthritis Foundation people, Beth and Amy

The winds are absolutely brutal - this is going to be looooooong day

Give a guy a lift?

Looks beautiful but it's brutiful

I hate Malibu - there, I said it.

On second thought, any town that has one of these can't be all bad - plus, the wind finally died down in Malibu

The wind had died down at this point but I would have paid to see this dude cycling earlier, even in a crosswind

...better yet, I'd pay to be sitting on that deck with a cold beer

Manhattan Beach......finally!

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Day 25 Recap: Time For Another Hospital Visit?

10/4/2013

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One thing I've noticed is that the further south I ride, the less weird and funny stuff there is to photograph and the fewer unique people there are to talk about. Since I'm just 4 days away from achieving my thinkBIGGER goal, I need to get more hits on my web site and it looks like I'm not going to get much help from the local natives.

So, I did a little investigation to determine when BikeTheCoast13.com gets the most hits. I discovered that I had 594 unique web site visits when I was in the hospital in South Bend, WA and about 400 hits when I was in the hospital in Port Townsend, WA. Those were my two biggest web traffic days. Now that I'm nearing the thrilling culmination of this epic journey, I'm getting about 210 hits per day. So, it's readily apparent that there is twice as much interest in seeing me in the hospital than there is in seeing me get to Mexico. You people are sick!

Does this help?

It was so cold in Buellton that I ended up sleeping in my sweatshirt with my hoodie pulled over my head. The temperature when I hit the road was 42°, one degree colder than the morning before. For cycling, I really didn't bring any special weather gear because I don't have any. I don't have any because why would anyone want to ride a bike in crappy weather? I did bring a couple of those little packets skiers put in their boots to keep their toes warm, and those came in handy the last two days. But really, once you get on the bike and ride a few miles, you start to warm up and so does the weather. Speaking of which, it's not going to be cold after this morning. In fact, it looks like I might see daytime highs of close to 90° from here on out.

Dang cold in Solvang

Today's 87-miler from Buellton to Ventura was tough, but I don't think it was any harder than our ride from Pismo to Buellton the day before. This ride has more to see, especially from Santa Barbara south, and it readily breaks into a few pieces. We start with a nice country ride to Highway 101. Once on on the freeway, we climb up, and then drop down Gaviota Pass. That was pretty easy this year. The shoulders were mostly free of debris, traffic wasn't too bad, and neither were the winds. The descent was over too quick, as far as I'm concerned.

It warmed up as we approach Gaviota Pass

Gaviota Pass? Meh...

After Gaviota Pass, we hit the coast again. All told, we spent a little more than 25 miles on the freeway, and while Gaviota Pass was all the talk before we rode, most people thought the 101 leg into Oxnard/Ventura was more harrowing. By then, traffic was very heavy and there were a lot of trucks. What made it worse was that there was also a lot of construction going on and temporary bike lanes. In some places, I think it was hard for the vehicles to tell the bike lane from the slow traffic lane. I'm guessing that's probably not good.

101 traffic....badddd

101 views.....goooood!

The ride was also broken up with segments through Hope Ranch, north of Santa Barbara, and of course with the beach-front cycling through Santa Barbara itself. A stop for banana chocolate chip milkshakes at The Spot in Carpentaria gave us a chance to refuel (bloat) before we flew (crawled) the last 20 miles to Ventura.

Ocean view from Hope Ranch

You bet we hit The Spot - however, it appears the big red spot fell off The Spot sign

Terry, Claire and I hit The Spot; others missed The Spot

Typically we have a team dinner in Ventura and tonight most of us went to Anacapa Brewing Company in Ventura. Dean wasn't with us and Derek had to leave after today's ride because he is in a wedding on Saturday. We invited Claire from Walnut Creek to join us and she made a great addition. We need to recruit her to the team. Speaking of team, I'll have more to say about our Links for Life team after the California Coast Classic portion of my Canada to Mexico ride concludes tomorrow. Everyone has done awesome and seems to be having the Ride of a Lifetime!

Just another day at the beach for Terry

Steve Divney picked a great restaraunt for dinner

Steve, Scott, Jeff, and Terry at dinner

Day 25 Recap: Buellton, CA to Ventura, CA
Actual Miles: 87.9
Cumulative Miles: 1,633.9
Elevation Gain: 2,621'
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 67,206'
% Distance to Mexico: 86.8%

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Jeff Fredericks

On August 14, 2013, I'm flying to Vancouver, British Columbia and beginning a 29-day, 1,880-mile bike ride from Canada to Mexico.

On this page you'll find random ramblings before, during, and after my trek down the Pacific Coast. Prior to BikeTheCoast13, I'll blog about my prep, training, and thoughts from the road.
While visiting my blog, I hope you'll offer comments, suggests, and words of encouragement. I'm going to need all the help I can get!

For those who don't know me or my inspiration, please take a moment to check out the Why Now? tab to meet my daughter Lindsey and find out how I got here.

If this site helps or inspires you in any way, I hope you'll consider making a small donation to the cause.

If you'd like to contact me personally, you can email me at Jfredericks@colliersparrish.com