California Dreamin'

Click here to listen to some mood music while you read the blog today!

I know we have been in California for days but today we

arrive at my happy place, the beach! 

I think I see the family resemblance!

Thanks to Lynn and Alan Karsh from Alpine for

coming to meet us this AM.  Lynn heard Phlash Phelps

talking about our ride last week on Sirius/XM 60's on 6. 

When she heard that our route was heading 

through Alpine, CA she reached out to say hi and 

shared details about their cute town. It is a great town

with very friendly and kind people!  This type of

encounter makes us feel so fortunate that we have

taken this journey for the last nine years!

Glenn departed from Alpine at 8:35 AM to head to

Oceanside, CA!  We'll finally see the

Pacific Ocean today!  In usual Southern

California fashion, the sun was shining and

the temperature was 59 degrees!
Such an improvement over the last 4

mornings!   Sorry Melissa and Greg!

Food for Roadies

When cycling on these trips, Glenn doesn’t take the 

time to stop at restaurants for lunch…if there are any at 

which to stop :)  Instead, Glenn, Melissa and 

Greg dined on peanut sandwiches (Greg and Melissa prefer 

Jelly on theirs and Glenn opts for honey or Nutella), apples, 

bananas, oranges, trail mix, bars, and lots and lots of 

water makeup their daily menu on the road.  After these 

trips, Glenn has to have a detox from the amount of 

peanut butter he consumes during the days! Actually, during 

the days between Phoenix and Alpine, peanut butter was a 

better choice than some of the restaurants on the route!

Maps Vs. GPS

Some people may wonder why Glenn still uses maps more
than his GPS.  The maps aren't just any garden variety.
They are maps from Adventure Cycling Association.

Adventure Cycling maps are created by cyclists, for cyclists!

The Adventure Cycling Route Network is an established cycling 

route network with 46,846 miles of routes throughout North America. 

The Adventure Cycling Route Network is used by thousands of 

cyclists each year for bicycle touring.

Click here to learn more about Adventure Cycling

Glenn uses a Garmin Edge Touring computer to calculate 
his stats and, occasionally, for the GPS capability. He relies
heavily on maps.....just like he loves to read real books instead
of using his Kindle all of the time. There are times when the 
GPS doesn't know the best bike route where an updated
map includes a wealth of info including lodging, topography 
emergency numbers, camping facilities, and service stops

Thanks to Sam Thurston for the use of the maps

for these rides!  He is an avid rider who did many

of the rides before we attempted them!

What I just discovered today is that you can actually load the

Adventure Cycling maps on the Garmin!  That seems to me,

a non-biking SAG driver, to be the best of both worlds!

Click here to read more about loading Adventure Cycling maps on a Garmin

Hmmm, this could be distracting but I do 
appreciate my GPS when I'm on the road!

Although we didn't go directly into San Diego on today's 
route, we were on the outskirts and headed slightly north
above La Jolla.  We both were on Rte. 52 West for part
of the ride but Glenn headed to the beach to take Hwy 101 
along the coast while I took the 805 up to Oceanside.

 We have never seen this before.  There is a designated
bicycle path along the highway that is shielded from the 
traffic by a low wall.   What a great idea!

I spied a rider and stopped to take an action shot

of Glenn only to have a stranger ride up and ask if he was

famous now?  I have to say that I was worried at first

because Glenn didn't look like the man who had

pedaled off a few hours earlier!  Talk about embarrassing

moments!  He was very nice and continued on his way!

I met up with Glenn on the outskirts of San Diego

at 10:38 AM.  Much better day today!

A Glimpse from Glenn

A great day!

I am going to chalk yesterday up to some exhaustion. After breakfast I headed out. To Jim, I want you to know that there were no eye openers. The first two miles before there was a turn were straight downhill as was most of the early portion of the day. To Greg and Melissa, even the rough roads were smooth by comparison to some of the roads we were on together. Until I got to Route 52, the road that has the protected bike lane, there was not much scenery. I had wondered if, at the top of the climb and around the bend, I would see the ocean but that took another 10 miles or so. The roads were essentially flat past the Miramar base and remained that way for the rest of the day. I was somewhat surprised at how emotional I felt with my first gaze of the Pacific. Although I really enjoyed the Southern route across the country, I found it the most difficult. Maybe it was getting me back for telling people that the sole reason to do it was to complete the circuit around the USA. But I took tremendous pride in completing this today. 3 legs are completed and I just have about 100 miles to go to reach the end. I am certain that having a few days off will make it easier. Plus, I look forward to the arrival of the kids and grandsons to share in it all. Also there is the added bonus of Jerry and Seth joining me on the penultimate day.

For those of you who celebrate the day, Lynn and I wish you a Merry Christmas tomorrow.

I arrived in Oceanside at 11:15 AM and every bit of

stress that I had yesterday just disappeared when I saw

the Pacific!  My cousin, Barbara, happens to have a 

friend, Lea, who purchased a condo and was planning to

begin renting it now!  We are the first guests!

I think this place is just what the doctor ordered for

some R & R until we head to Laguna Beach on the 27th!

This certainly is paradise!

 This is the first time we've seen a sign like this one :)

Glenn's first Glimpse of the Pacific!

Me, My Bike and My Shadow!

by Glenn

Looks like we have a great week ahead!

The map of today's area!

Melissa taught me how to use the Snipping Tool
in Windows Accessories.  Too much fun!
You can expect many more attempts to 
perfect this skill!

Glenn arrived in Oceanside at 2:15 after

a great ride, feeling terrific and excited 

to get to the Pacific!

As our son, Seth, said....

Glenn has ridden from Sea to Shining Sea!

Today's Stats

It was a rather easy day for Glenn, 

which was a good thing!

Our first sunset on the Pacific Coast on this trip.
It did not disappoint!

Glenn contemplating the end of this big journey!

Best Night with Barbara

We end this day with a special reunion dinner with
a cousin who lives in the area.  Our mothers were
first cousins who were more like sisters.
They both are gone but would be so very happy
to see us here together.  Thinking of them tonight!

Click here to give the gift of gentler cures to children with cancer!

icareicure.org

Wishing all who celebrate a very Merry Christmas!
We hope you have a day filled love, peace and contentment! 

The next blog will arrive on December 27th


Click here to email Lynn and Glenn