The California sun! A shock to our systems after the cold East Coast winter

This spring break we are taking a whirlwind trip of visits on the West Coast.  The first few days we are spending in San Diego, because Jason has an academic conference here, and then we will head north to Seattle and Bellingham to see friends and family that we will miss on our big trip.

The trip certainly started out eventful from the very beginning.  We had booked separate flights because Jason’s company paid for his trip and I was self-financing.  My flight was supposed to leave State College at 6:00 am, but it was cancelled in the wee hours of the morning.  Some quick talking to costumer service earned me the last seat on a comparable flight out of Harrisburg.  Phew!

That afternoon, miraculously in San Diego, we went to the Midway Museum.

The Midway Museum – a remarkably large aircraft carrier.

It is a massive aircraft carrier that has been retired, and is now open as a museum.  They let folks peek into all the nooks and crannies, and set up some lovely displays to illustrate what life was like on a floating city.  Our favorite part was the bunks for the sailors.

The next day was our real day of adventure: We spent the morning poking around tidepools in the warm California sunshine, and then spent the afternoon reliving the first day of our Mexico to Canada bicycle tour from nearly two years ago.  We also scouted out the route from San Diego to the border that we plan to take this year.

Jason loved the life in the tide pools

Some interesting seaweed at the tide pools.

 Our drive out of San Diego was a highlight of our time here. It was incredible how much of the route we had vivid memories of.  I remembered the exact part of the road where we wondered if we would ever reach the top of the climb… and the many spots we stopped to eat snacks!

On our way back to San Diego we also saw a thwarted roadside fire.  By the time we got there it was mostly just blackened plants and firefighters, luckily, but we got the chance to take a photo.

The end of a roadside fire.

While in San Diego we have gotten to share meals with some of Jason’s friends.  It is surprising how much fun you can have with people that you only see once every year or so.  I am looking forward to seeing more friends in Bellingham and Seattle.  I fly north this evening, and Jason will join me tomorrow night. I better get outside and enjoy the sunshine while I can!

We realized on Friday that there were only 77 days until the start of our tour, so we decided to ride 77 miles this weekend to kick-start our training.  The weather in State College has been so awful that we have been taking the bus to school, bringing our riding time down to nearly zero.  This weekend, however, was sunny and warm.  Perfect!

The snow is finally off the road! A beautiful day to ride.

We took off from school early on Friday and took a mostly peaceful 30 mile ride.  At one point, however, we got chased by three very aggressive turkeys in the middle of the road!  They were huge, with scary blue and red faces.  As we approached we saw them try to attack a pick-up truck.  We pedaled past as quickly as we could, but they pursued us for a moment even after we were safely away. That certainly got our blood pumping!

A lunch reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest

We rode a 47 mile loop on Saturday through farmland and small Pennsylvania towns.  The wind was pushing us along for the first half of the ride, so we made excellent time on the way out.  We stopped for lunch at a small church – yay for smoked salmon and bagels!

The terrain in central Pennsylvania is surprisingly varied, even in the valley that Penn State sits in.  On one side of the valley lays an abundance of small hills divided by streams.  On the other side the scenery is open and windswept.  We certainly noticed the wind when we turned around and came out of the trees.  A strong headwind accompanied us back.

Winter is still here – I cannot wait until there are leaves on these trees again.

My favorite part of the ride was stopping at a little country store just north of the small town of Centre Hall.  They sell pickled eggs and beets for 50 cents an egg.  Each egg includes one pickled beet.  We stopped for a rest to eat the bright pink eggs.

A pickled egg to match my socks!

During our tour, a 47 mile day will be typical, or even a little short, so we will need to get in shape to handle this kind of mileage regularly.  We were tired by the time we got back home though, it is only the beginning of training after all!

We hope to start doing overnights in late March when the weather is better and we return from a spring break trip out west.  Until then, we will try to fit in day rides anytime the roads are clear.

The streams were full from the snow melt everywhere we went.

Here is a map of the route, for the interested.

47 mile loop

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about riding on El Hierro, the smallest of all seven Canary Islands.  Over winter break I spent about a week there with my host family and my Brompton folding bicycle.  After the new year dawned (welcome 2014!) we caught a ferry to go to Tenerife, the largest of the islands.

Overview of Tenerife – I spent all my time this year in the northernmost part of the island.

The red dot in the figure to the left marks El Teide – the highest peak in all of Spain.  It rises 12,198′ above the sea in only 4.5 miles (as seen from above).  The entire island is very mountainous, and riding through the various elevations showcases a fantastic diversity of plant life.  The warm temperature and polite cars certainly added to the wonderful time I had cycling!

I did three main cycling day trips during my time there.  The first trip was the most ambitious:  I started in the university town of La Laguna, and climbed into the scenic, northern part of the island.  This area is mainly a national protected area.  Unfortunately, it is also famous for the clouds that form when the warm ocean air hits the steep hills.  On this particular day, the clouds were out in full force and I even got rained on.  The ride was still stunning, however.

Looking back at La Laguna as I climb into the hills.

Within an hour I was out of the heavily populated zone and into the protected area.  The trees grew over the roadway, the pavement was smooth, and traffic was sparse due to the cloud cover and the extreme curviness of the route.

A view of the Atlantic between slivers of hills. Notice the red house perched precariously on the cliff.

To the left is the road I traveled on.  At this point a couple of men got out of their car to take a photo.  They complained of the cold weather.  It was about 50 that day, and I smiled and told them how cold it was at that moment in Pennsylvania.  They gasped obligingly.

A particularly photogenic curve in the road.

There is a sheer drop on either side of the road here.

Eventually, I began to descend back to sea level.  It was a very long descend, but it was wondrous to finally emerge from the clouds to find a warm, sunny day below.  The road ended in the small town of San Andres.  Most of the houses here are built into the steep walls of the mountains, and the region is famous for its seafood stews.

Finally! Out of the clouds!

San Andres in sight – buildings constructed on the sides of the steep hills.

San Andres is connected to the big city of Santa Cruz by a narrow strip of highway next to the ocean.  There is a nice pedestrian walkway the entire length of the road, which I used to arrive quickly.  Once in the city I folded the Brompton up and boarded the light rail to return to La Laguna, where my family was waiting.  It was a beautiful little loop!

My other two day rides were in the same protected areas, but on lesser-traveled roads and on sunnier days.  I even met up with a trio of touring cyclists one day!

I met these three touring cyclists who later set up camp at this spot. They spoke neither English nor Spanish, so our communication was rather limited.

The Brompton and El Teide. The little bike that could, as I call it, is posed in front of Spain’s tallest peak.

One last picture of the Brompton on Tenerife. Gran Canaria, another island, rises above the clouds in the background.