Bike Tour – Big Sur

Last weekend I finally visited Big Sur, claimed to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, in the US or in California. At least it is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Steep brown sandstone cliffs, rolling green meadows and the deep blue Pacific Ocean make for a sight to behold. I am glad I visited Big Sur on a bike as I got to soak in the stunning scenery and appreciate the wonders of nature in solitude at a calm serene pace of a bike. God must have been in a good mood when He created Big Sur.

We started on a crisp Fall morning heading south on Hwy 1 from Carmel Valley. The road winds up cliffs hugging the coastline, through redwood forests and along beaches. The soft rays of the morning sun gave a delightful touch to the gorgeous scenery. We went as far south as Lucia before we headed inland where the monstrous climb of Nacimento Road awaited us. 2800 feet over 7 miles, which is a 7.5% gradient. I huffed and puffed my way up. The wild flowers cheered me on. I was left breathless, both from exhaustion and from the view from above. I felt I was gonna die. But then I realized that I had to write this blog post. Finally after almost two hours I made it to the top. I was elated. I learned that you can go on long after you think you can’t go any further. Don’t stop, just keep moving, no matter how slowly.

I cruised down the other side through the Los Padres forests and grasslands. Finally after riding 80 miles I made it to the Military base at Mission San Antonio de Padua. I was beat but felt a sense of accomplishment. But at the same time, my ego took a hit when I saw that people three times my age looked fresh as daisies at the end of the day. The next time I don’t feel like exercising, I will remember this.

Day 2 took us through the some rolling hills and farmland of Monterey County. Everytime I started a climb, I wondered when things would go downhill, of course only literally not figuratively. We rode past vineyards in their bright green and hills in their golden brown. Some of the steep descents were exhilarating. I hit 45 mph on one of the straight steep downhill sections. At one point I had to take a ride in the backup van for 10 miles when my legs refused to listen to me. They grudgingly agreed to push on after some rest in the van. I got back on the bike and cruised back to Carmel Valley as I covered another 80 miles on day 2.

The trip was a smashing success. Thanks to Brian and ACTC for organizing the trip. The riders were a great bunch, the food was awesome, the stops well placed and the route well planned. And thanks to my tireless companion, my Novara Safari bike!

Bike touring – Backpacking on a bike

Labor Day weekend marked my first bike tour. An amazing experience. Load your stuff on your bike and pedal away. The open road stretches in front you as you pass by farmland, forests, towns, sand dunes and the ocean. About 90 miles on the Pacific Coast Bike Route over two days in central coastal California .

We camped at a hiker/biker camp site in Monterey. I love those campsites because you get to meet people with amazing travel stories. There was this English guy who has travelled to 70 countries and takes only buses and trains. And there was a girl who biked 3 months in Mongolia before rounding it up with a trip from LA to SF.

Some of the basic gear needed includes a decent bike, panniers, tent, sleeping bag and tools. As a first timer I didnt have the best of gear. But you gotta make do with what you have. A good bike with a wide range of gears is essential to tackle the rolling hills along the route. A good set of panniers will keep your load stable on the bike. We didnt carry much food as we had our meals at restaurants and cafes along the way. The cool cloudy days made for a relaxing ride but were a downer for pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride along the coast on sandy cliffs overlooking the blue ocean. The bike tour combined two of my favorite outdoor activities, biking and camping.

A biking trip is very different from a road trip in its sense of adventure. You travel much slower and thus get more intimate with the place. You connect to the place through the sights, sounds and smell. You can stop as and when you feel like it. And people are a lot more friendly and open to conversation when you are on a bike.

All in all, a fun trip. Thanks to Eric and Laura for making it happen. Looking forward to the next pedaling adventure.

Trip details.
Saturday: Bus from San Jose to Santa Cruz. Bike from Santa Cruz to Monterey.
Sunday: Bike to Carmel along the 17 mile drive and back.
Monday: Bus from Monterey to San Jose


Addendum: This post is published in Bikeovernights.

Car free in Silicon Valley?

I have lived in California without a car for about two months. Partly because I couldn't afford one right away and partly as an experiment. I wanted to experience life in the slow lane for a couple of months. I wanted to figure out if a car is a necessity or a luxury. I was sure that once I had a car, it would be really difficult to go back to not having one. And so I have a story to tell.

Biking is my main mode of transportation. Bike to work, for groceries, and to get around in general. Good weather and a decent bike with saddle bags helped the cause. But life in the bike lanes around Santa Clara isn't much fun. First of all, there aren't many bike lanes and connectivity is generally poor. Google maps shows a 24 step route for a 5 mile commute. Most of the times, bike lanes are basically wider parking lanes. You fervently hope that a door doesn't swing open as you speed past parked cars. There are a few bike lanes on expressways too. Definitely not for the fainthearted, including me. And then there is the issue of parking. You will have a million square feet of parking space in parking lots, but not a single bike rack to lock your bike to. And when they do have bike racks, they don't seem to know what to do with them. See the picture below. Its a pity that the bike infrastructure is abysmal in a place that is conducive to year round biking. But you have to make do with what you have got.

There is only so far you can go on a bike. And that depends on the time of the day, weather, fitness level, bike route connectivity etc. Besides biking there is the option of public transport. The Caltrain is useful, but only if your origin and destination is close to a station. I live pretty close to a Caltrain station, but alas, the destination often isn't. The good thing is that you can put your bike on the train to help you get around when you get off. The bus service is quite miserable. I can definitely get to a place much quicker on my bike than by bus. Take for instance my daily commute. I have to leave home at 7am to reach office at 8am if I take the bus. And I live only 4 miles from work, which is 20 minutes biking!

So biking is the main mode of transportation. Anything within 5 miles is fair game. Above that, it depends on the errand at hand. So no weekend getaways, meeting up with friends or exploring new places. I used the Zipcar a few times as they have a few stationed about a mile from where I live. But in the long run, with frequent use, the costs can add up quickly. My room mate lent his car to me a couple of times when he wasn't using it. I used car pooling the few times when I have gone hiking. I requested/begged people to drop stuff home when I bought things of craigslist. Some people are really nice!

I have finally caved in and decided to get a car. A car in the Silicon Valley is a necessity or a luxury, depending on the way you see it.

Hello California!

California called. I came, I saw and I wrote down what California showed me.

The one thing that strikes you right way is the diversity of the people. Whites, Latinos, Indians, Chinese, Blacks, Arabs, etc. And so my exotic accent is not so exotic anymore. Having said that, I do stand out sometimes because everyone seems to be overdressed. I once went in gym clothes to a mall and I looked like a homeless guy. Swanky cars and flashy electronic gadgets are a norm. I definitely need to upgrade on both fronts. And everyone seems to be in hurry all the time. The people are not as friendly as in MN, but they don’t talk about the weather as much. Instead they talk about work and ‘networking’. I miss the weather talk in MN.

The area is too urban. I miss the parks, the lakes and the Mississippi in Minneapolis. But the trees here are cool. See the picture. Most homes have nice front yard gardens instead of the boring lawns. Maybe that’s because of the year round growing season. The farmers market is great. You are spoilt for choices by the staggering variety. After all, half of the nations fruits and vegetables is grown in CA.

The streets are bad for biking. I will talk about that in detail in my next post about not having a car in California. Streets don’t have numbers here and it can get very confusing without a GPS. But having street names is fun too. And some of the Spanish names remind me of Goa. And there are a countless suffixes for street names, viz. street, avenue, way, boulevard, court, circle, parkway etc. Public transit buses don’t give transfer tickets if you have to take a connecting bus. But the city train system is more extensive here. Oh and this is cool, when the walk sign comes on at some traffic lights, there is this weird chirping sound to remind you to cross the street.

I have heard this place is great for outdoors. I got my first taste of it through a strenuous but thoroughly worthwhile, 5 hour hike in the Pinnacles. Its good to see mountains around you and farmland cultivated with a whole bunch of things other than corn.

California is calling, where are you?

The Bad Ass Guys explore the Wild Wild West!

A road trip is quintessentially American and I finally went on my first one last week with my buddies, Ben and Charlie. Minneapolis MN to Santa Clara CA. A total of 2527 miles through the farmland of MN, the corn fields, badlands and black hills of SD, the grasslands and Tetons of WY, the mountains and salt flats of UT, the hills and valleys of NV and the rolling hills of CA over 7 days.

We tried to take US and state highways and county roads when possible as it makes you feel closer to the places you travel through. You pass through small towns, farms and wilderness. Freeways are nice to whiz by at 80mph. But I believe you miss that something, that makes road trips special, in the process. We came across myriad scenery along the way – plains and mountains, farmland and ranches, grasslands, forests and deserts, small towns and big cities. And the weather gods not to be left behind, gave us rain, hail, thunderstorms, snow, wind and sun.

The long hours of driving can be a stretch sometime. That's when you have to resort to sad jokes, trash talk, flipping through radio stations, playing atlas games, munching on snacks, taking pictures and sleeping. I can't imagine how people traveled west for thousands of miles on foot and horse drawn carriages. Roadside America has a lot of weird things to offer. It is good to plan your stops at some local attraction rather than gas stations. Look up for fun stuff along your route on http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ That's how we came across the Corn Palace, Wall Drug, the Jackalope, etc. We camped three nights, lived at Ben's friends' place one night and at his cousin's place on another night and at a motel one night. (Note: Motel 6 is a good cheap option available all over the US)

The drive through south west MN and eastern SD didn't have anything special to offer. Then came the Badlands. The rugged landscape in various shades of brown was a stunning sight. The best badlands are at the eastern entrance of the park. The campsite can get rather windy. We had a howling night in a creaky little tent. Then came the Black Hills which has Mt. Rushmore and the cathedral spires. The drive along Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road offer some spectacular views of awesome rock formations interspersed with glassy lakes. Last stop in SD was Wind Cave National Park. The rock and crystal designs were beautiful. The cave lighting is perfect, just enough to find your way around and see the rock formations but not too bright to rob the caves of their eerie ambiance.

Next up was WY. Thank God for cruise control in cars. Thunder Basin National Grassland is an endless expanse of nothingness. Thousands of square miles of grasslands, no towns, no trees,no people, nothing. You can actually see the curvature of the earth in the distance. A good time to listen to some country music and soak in the wild wild west. The Tetons were still a winter wonderland. I was disappointed with the cloudy snowy day as none of the Tetons could be seen clearly. Ben told me it is important to learn tolerance for adversity when in the outdoors. I realized you have to learn to put up with mother nature's fickleness if you wanna dance with her. The snow covered mountains still made up for a spectacular sight. The sense of grandeur as you stand before the mighty mountains leaves you awestruck. As we drove out of the mountains, WY had one last trick up its sleeve. One of the roads we were driving on turned to dirt after a while and we had to turn back. Make sure you read the map carefully before choosing your route.

The drive through Utah was delightful with the freeway winding between snow covered mountains. We visited the state capitol and the Mormon temple. The temple is quite impressive and is a must see. I also took dip in the Great Salt Lake. It was a little bit yucky, but I wanted to experience floating in its very salty waters. We then journeyed west through the salt flats into Nevada. NV was a major disappointment in the sense, I had expected to see a vast desert with endless sand dunes and a mirage or two. But it turned out to be a ragged grassland interspersed with mountains. We stopped at Carson City to see the capitol building and indulge is some gambling. I spent a buck at a slot machine and called it quits.

Finally after days of driving, we reached the promised land, California! It was love at first sight with Lake Tahoe. The sunset on the lake was gorgeous. We went on short hikes in the beautiful Emerald Bay area before it was time to head to the SF Bay Area where we were greeted with 10 lanes of traffic as we approached our destination. Welcome to Silicon Valley.