Lucia, CA to Carmel Highlands, CA I laugh in the foggy morning when I see that I was only a quarter-mile from a National Forest campground. Ha! I was probably better off in my private, free site. This is a grand part of the coast, even in the rain. The bluffs and promontories are pronounced…

Morro Bay, CA to Lucia, CA I get up at my usual time, around 7. No sound from the boys’ tent, so I take a shower. They’re still dead, so I make my own breakfast, then take a walk. Around 9 I yell at them, get up now or kiss the free breakfast goodbye. Mark…

Lompoc, CA to Morro Bay, CA A cool morning. I’m soon climbing onto some dry hills past La Purisma Mission and the local cement plant. Before topping the ridge I look back over the strange misty Lompoc valley. It’s typical California – it doesn’t seem to fit here at all. The ride down the other…

El Capitan State Beach, CA to Lompoc, CA The morning is surprisingly cold and breezey. I ride along the coastal bike trail until I come to a barrier where it has washed out. I refuse to ride back two miles, so I haul the bike up to some railroad tracks, push it along awhile, then…

Oxnard, CA to El Capitan State Beach, CA Oxnard is agricultural land, then labor housing, then a huge wealthy community of moored boats. Here I can find no breakfast, and I have to pee by the road out of desperation. In Ventura there is food, and to the north are a couple of rising coastal…

Malibu, CA to Oxnard, CA A nice clear morning. As I ride the wide shoulder I scan the vast ocean for the spouts of whales. Near Port Hueneme I pass a public park called “Missile Park”, which is a fenced plot of dirt with various decomissioned weapons of mass destruction planted in it. A little…

Pasadena, CA to Malibu, CA I wake up early. Jeanette and Rohanna are both dead to the world. I discover that if I try to open the front door an alarm goes off, then stops when I close it again. Finally I get out, shut the door as fast as I can, and hope for…

Pasadena, CA My plans to leave fail. Everyone is scattered to the winds this morning, and I can’t just disappear. I wait anxiously. I know it will take me a long time to ride to Santa Monica to meet Jeanette, and the day seems to wear on and on without anyone around. I feel awkward…

Pasadena, CA After breakfast the moment I have wondered about so many times arrives. Lounging around the kitchen talking, Jon asks for my thoughts on Jesus Christ. I only hesitate for a second, long enough to take a breath, gearing up for an attempt to speak honestly and uncritically. I try to relax, and off…