Blake Bikes Baja

Ciudad Constitucion, Mexico... 875 miles from Dana Point, CA

Two weeks down; one week left on the road! 

Updates from Blake: 

Tuesday, Dec. 24th 2:30 pm - I rode 97 miles through the desert mountains with at least 30 mph back wind pushing me!!! Two nights  ago I had a super nice hotel with no cell reception and no wifi in the coolest mountain desert, I rode for like over 8 hours 70+ miles with the heaviest my bike has ever been! Glad to be here and done with it! 

Thursday, Dec. 26th 11:58 am -  I just got to San Ignacio !! I'm at rice and beans rv park drinking fresh limeade and gettin hooked up with some good food! 5 liters of juice in biodegradable cans! I've had gas station pasta and sauce for dinner the last 7 out of 11 days!!!

Friday, Dec. 27th 12:13 pm - Windy day in Santa Rosalia!!! It was mostly good! I rode down the (grade to hell) Cuesta del infierno today!!! That was nice! Just got back from walking around, finding the bank and a bike shop and got a pizza! Now I'm eating and watching romantic Mexican music videos thinking about you! {tehehehe :)} I was chillin at my camp site and this dude I met from Germany asked me if I wanted to go have a beer in town.  I said yes and it was almost dark. It was a really sick town with a plaza and a super cool lava rock church mission. And there were dates everywhere!!! It was a desert oasis!!! I stayed til like 830. And his camp was in town and mine was a mile out of town. So it was really dark and cool to ride but I was scared I wouldn't find my camp! But I did after I got chased by a dog! And there was this giant light night over my tent! I kept turning it on and someone kept turning it off. Then this dog pissed on my tent an would not leave my camp! Then 2 big ass motor  homes pulled in and had a ton of little kids and were so loud and they had to have the light on and set up their whole camp! My tent was full of sand! It was so fine it blew through bug net. Then later I had to get up and turn the light off... Then it turned on again and I almost lost it on this security guy. 

I decided I'm moving to Mexico and working for jumex!! I love their juice!!!

I got a hotel!!! No hot water too:( 

Saturday, Dec. 28th 3:17pm -  Made it to Buenaventura! Camping on the beach tonight! So beautiful here I wish you were here!!! 

Sunday, Dec. 29th 12:33 pm - Just got to Loreto! It is a awsome rv park!  Got up at 7, the sun wasn't quite up and got my things ready easily! Perfect night listing to the waves on the beach! The ride was hilly and very pretty. Nice tail wind all morning and was here before I knew it!!! I'm at the Rivera del mar rv park and camping, about to have a pizza party for this guy!!! Doing laundry and listening to autobiography of a yogi...

Monday, Dec. 30th 12:21 pm - I didn't stock up this morning cuz I thought the next town would be bigger... It wasn't, so I had to ride back with super strong head winds!! Now I don't know of I should go or rest for tomorrow. I just got to a nice rv park!!! Got the biggest hill on the west coast tomorrow. 

Tuesday, Dec. 31st 2:51 pm - Chillin with an awsome baby cat eatin sushi by the pool!! There were a coupe of check points on the road. They just let me through since I don't speak Spanish. They ask where I'm going and where I started. They're very nice!! They drive up and down the peninsula every day. I always smile and see how many I can get to the give me the peace sign and wave. They're all like our age!! In army trucks rolling like 15 deep. They're military with all the gear and machine guns. I'm gettin some mosquito bites:( There is so many butterfly's always fly around I've seen like every color possible!! My one guilty pleasure of the trip was from this bakery that opened in 1901 it was still warm from the oven!! I want one right now! I had a kinda big salad and a large pizza and two sushi rolls and like 7 liters of juice all day and I'm still hungry. Well I'm gonna read and I have to put my phone on the charger far away from my tent soo good night happy new year! Look forward to another year with the woman of my dreams!!! Love you sooo much!!!!! {just wanted to slide that one in there!} 

                     

                     

                     

                     

                   

                    

                    

                          

                                      DREAM BIG, RIDE FAR BLAKE!! 

Blake Bikes Baja

Dana Point, California to San Quinton, Mexico... 264 miles

I haven't had much contact with Blake since he's left, but he's been good about trying once a day to keep me posted. He has pictures but has not been able to send them, hopefully soon! 

On Wednesday Blake rode to Ensenada and found an RV park to camp at. He was able to call that night. It was 6pm and he was getting to sleep... He said it was a rougher day then he planned because there were some hills. "But it's fun going up then going down, going up then going down," he said. 

I hate riding up hill. Blake has always seen further and said "if you go up then you must go down, and that's my favorite." I feel like that's how Blake views life. He is really good at looking beyond the difficult moment, or the season we are in and knowing that there's a future, a change coming. Life is so much about riding up those difficult hills and then rejoicing when you can soar down them. I would like to work on thinking more like Blake during those up hills; that working hard for your reward IS the reward and pushing through, past what you THOUGHT your limit was, will only make you stronger. And then you can be grateful for those few seconds of downhill when the wind is in your hair and you are flying, knowing you worked hard for it! 

On Thursday it was raining so Blake stopped early in St. Thomas for a hotel. He called from a gas station because there was no service or wifi. He said he was good and that he was eating well (happened upon a juice bar) and to make sure to tell his parents where he was. 

Yesterday I only got one text from him saying he was in San Quinton and he missed me (❤️.) 

My girlfriends ask if I'm worried and scared... Of course I am. But I have FAITH in the unknown and the unseen. I have faith that Blake is going through every experience that's intended for him. Talking to my bestie who's husband is going to go through 3 months of hard military training in a different state at the same time she is going to have their first son... Well I'm SUPER THANKFUL for my situation and I'm so BLESSED to be surrounded by other women who are strong in their independence and in their relationships! 

No pictures yet but I'm sure when they come in they will be great! Did anyone follow Blake while he rode from Monument, Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the summer of 2011? 

                                    Dream Big, Ride Far

             

Fort Bragg, California

July 31st - August 6th

Eureka to Redcrest to Garberville to Fort Bragg to Mendocino...158.3 miles

From Eureka, California we rode 54 miles to Redcrest, located in Humbolt County, settled right into the Avenue of the Giants. Does "Avenue of the Giants" sound awesome...because it IS! We took this tiny road that swerved and curved in between massive Redwood trees. It was a thick, moist, green, and almost chilly forest. I remember my lungs feeling fuller then they have ever felt, the air there was crisp and clean, just as it should be. You feel so small in the middle of these ancient, gigantic trees towering stories above you. We ran into a hippie touring group in Arcata while riding through the Giants. I remember being conflicted inside about my way of travel, watching these hippie girls in skirts and no shoes riding their bikes down the coast. They were only going to San Francisco, but I remember being torn and almost embarassed about my ride. Looking back today, it doesn't even matter. I had reasons to do what I did and am 100% sure that we would not have made it as far as we did if I had rode a bike, and also that it would have taken double the amount of time... I'm secure enough to admit I am not a biking champion. (Maybe the next adventure.) But that is where we decided we could switch off riding the bike and moped, Blake could have a rest and I could get a feel for riding far with heavy bags.

The campsite we stayed at in Redcrest only had one attraction to stop tourists, the treehouse in the Eternal Living Tree. As most tourist traps seem cooler then they actually are, this one was the same, though still interesting. We ducked our heads under the doorway and were standing in the hollow of a huge tree. After signing the book we walked out and into the only cafe for miles. At breakfast the next day we met a girl named Alix. She was also touring to San Francisco, but she was from Canada. We ate pancakes together and agreed to meet in San Fran.

Redcrest to Garberville was 28 miles. We stopped at a large RV park. It was clean and quiet. We did laundry and swam in the pool. I fixed my flat tire and we ate lunch at a great organic jFrom Garberville we rode 76 miles to Mendocino, in Mendocino County. This town was the perfect cloudy, quiet, vintage community. There were a few shops and great little places to eat and it sits on a cliff that looks out at a bay, so beautiful. Once we were there Blake's friend from Colorado (who had moved to Fort Bragg) wanted to grab some dinner with her friends, who were also camping in the area. We couldn't find any sort of camping or RV Park or hostel even close to Mendocino and we didn't want to ride any further that day so we lived a night of luxury at the Mendocino Hotel (recommended for anyone visiting the area.) When we met up with Beth she had a bag of survival goodies for us to take on our trip, it was so sweet {thank you for having open arms towards us, Beth!} After we showered and got ready for a night out (finally with other people!) we walked to the cute, coastal restaurant and enjoyed the company of being able to talk about what we were doing for the first time in detail since we started in Seattle.

Because we didn't find any camping spots in Mendocino we headed back up north about seven miles into Fort Bragg. We opened our minds up to finding some possible work and looking for a more permanant place to stay. Fort Bragg is about half way down the coast from Seattle. Getting to hang out with Beth and her friends gave us a little "in" on the town and surrounding areas. I loved Fort Bragg. We found a cool co-op to go grocery shopping, a friendly bike shop, fresh fruit at the farmer's market, welcoming friends, and a much needed yoga studio that was quiet and perfect for centering our bodies and minds during our two week stay {thanks again, Justine, for being so friendly!} We got a couple of tickets from the hotel to go on an art tour around the area. Of course I was so in! It was fun meeting these artists in Mendocino County who are making their living out of their workshops at their homes. We met a jeweler, a glass blower wife and carpenter husband, sculpturs, and a painter (who showed us his skills by water color painting Blake.) 

While we had no schedule and no plans yet on where we wanted to go from Fort Bragg, we offered to help Beth get to the Sacramento airport and pick her up after her visit back home for a week. Our week in San Fransisco was awesome. (I wrote about it in my post San Francisco, California.)  

The frusterating part of our stay in FB was not knowing what we were doing on a day to day basis, so we packed and unpacked a lot at different camp sites, RV parks, and motels. We both also got sick. Being sick in a wet tent and in a wet, sunless climate is pretty miserable actually. As we were looking for an apartment and finding no luck we both started to think about the accumulating costs while not putting any miles behind us, and which decission was best for us. Blake thinks inside his own head; battles the options quietly. I am the opposite; I want to talk about it, this way and that way and write everything out on paper. We did this one day at one of coffee shops were were frequenting. I was making a list of the pros and cons to stopping our travels and staying in this tiny, coastal town for who knows how long. 

Dream Big, Ride Far!!!

Welcome to California

July 23rd - 28th

Bandon to Gold Beach, Oregon to Cresent City to Arcata to Eureka, California...193 miles.

While Blake and I were still in Bandon we rode around the neighborhoods on the moped together. We wanted to explore some of the towns we were in, and jumping on Pearl together was the quickest way to do that.
Yesterday I recalled those little trips together because we had to get something done and jumped on Pearl for the first time since our trip ended. It was rainy and moist out and we were both wearing our rain jackets that were always out while we were coming down the coast. All the memories of riding on the back of the moped with Blake came flooding in and despite riding 40mph in the rain on a cold morning, it was sentimental.

 *These logging trucks were a nightmare. They were huge, loud, fast, and frequent the entire time down the coast. I'm glad I got a picture of them because they were very much a part of the trip. 

 *Stopped for construction, this guy on his bike offering ME water... so sweet. 

In Gold Beach we stayed at a little cottage-type motel. We walked into town and grabbed dinner. In the morning I went for a run on the beach and Blake made breakfast. This day was the day we'd ride into California! The state border was about half-way down the coast.

*SUCH a stud.

I feel more emotional about the moment we got to California because after living here for now eight months (not including the month on the road) I know that I love California. I know that crossing that state line on that day in July we had no idea what was ahead of us. We didn't know if we'd even settle down in this state. We didn't know that we'd make it nearly all the way through it. NorCal could be it's own state. It's so drastically different then the south. The people, weather, buildings, roads, atmosphere, and beaches are all so different. It took us less then one month to get through Washington and Oregon and we weren't looking back!

We stayed in Crescent City for three days! The first time we stayed anywhere for that long. Blake needed to rest his body and I needed to rest my anxious brain. We set up camp at a large campground next to the water and chilled out! The fog was heavy and quiet. We saw two movies at the theater, ate sushi, grocery shopped, explored, and rested in the tent. There was nothing special in Crescent City other then the campground being decently priced and quiet and it being a home base for a quick day trip into the Redwoods. Blake rode his bike and I took the moped in, wanting to avoid getting pulled over. At one point we just locked up the bike and rode throught the giant green trees together on Pearl. With a  lunch packed and hiking trails to explore, we were happy to not be on the road travelling. This was the first time either of us had seen the Redwood trees. Talk about putting your ego into check. They were monsters. I imagined George Lucas seeing them and envisioning "Return of the Jedi." Riding on my moped felt like I was riding through the trees zipping by like they did in Star Wars. Jurassic Park was also filmed in these woods located in Northern Humbolt County, California. Being in it felt dense and dark. You feel so small in the world when you have to crank your neck all the way back just to see the tops of the trees. It was incredible.

Aracata, California...The first hippies and palm trees I saw on this trip. Before I left Santa Fe, a friend told me we would love Arcata and he was right. It's like Santa Fe, NM, Manitou, CO, and California combined. There was a farmer's market going on when we arrived. We grabbed some bakery foods and produce and explored the little town. There we saw a group of biking tourist hippies putting on a music show in the park. I got a few crafty items and sent them home. We ended up having to ride to Eureka to find a place to stay for the night.

Thanks for reading about this trip we took last summer! It's hard to believe we are one month shy of 1 year leaving everything behind in Colorado.

Dream Big Ride Far!