DAYS 96-111 🇺🇸 CALIFORNIA 1/3 - BACK IN CIVILIZATION...? 🚗
The second I crossed into California, THEY were there...people, cars, traffic. After several months spent either off-road or in some of the more rural parts of the country, this sudden change in population took me quite some time to adjust to. It also didn't help crossing the state line in Lake Tahoe, one of the Bay Area's favourite getaways right on Labour Day weekend, one of the busiest holidays of the year!
After a couple of days at Lake Tahoe I made my way over the Sierras, through the Central Valley and towards the coast. Of course not without some extreme weather: this time a heatwave and 40+ °C on a two day stretch with very little shade.
But at least being back in "civilization" meant I didn't have to worry much about water resupply, which was a nice change.
Travelling in a much more densely populated state also meant I suddenly had many more random encounters and conversations with strangers along the way who were interested in what the heck makes someone want to take such a trip on a BIKE and not in a car.
But hile I really enjoyed the social interactions I could help but miss the wide open skyies and feeling of absolute freedom I had the months before.
My first stop on the coast was San Francisco, a city which I fell in love with at first sight, as the ferry I'd boarded docked at the pier and I got a first glimpse at Karl - San Francisco's mystical fog bank that engulfes the city each evening - which made the city look like something straight out of a movie.
I had planned to be there only for two days but ended up having to stay over a week, as I got sick (more about that in a later post). But I forced myself back on the bike, and continued south towards LA.
Because of the delay, the fact that the coastal road around Big Sur was closed and the nice surprise of Tim coming to meet me in LA for two weeks, I hopped on the train from Salinas to Santa Barbara a couple of days later, to make it just in time to meet Tim at a beach close to LAX!
World Bicycle Relief macht Menschen mit Fahrrädern mobil. In Regionen, in denen Distanz Menschen daran hindert voranzukommen, wollen wir mit einfacher und umweltfreundlicher Mobilität Zugang zu Bildung, Gesundheit und wirtschaftlichen Chancen schaffen. Unsere Vision ist eine Welt, in der Entfernung kein Hindernis mehr für Bildung und Gesundheit, persönliche, soziale oder wirtschaftliche Entwicklung ist.