Day 30 – Monterey, CA. 70 km
It wasn’t supposed to be a diffcult day of cycling. Lots of time on dedicated cycling paths and few hills to climb. But the headwinds! It was blowing a steady 20 knots into our faces for at least half the day. That’s like climbing a continuous hill. But at least it wasn’t raining… yet. That didn’t start until we got to our campground – the getting to which involved climbing a ridiculous hill.
The further south we get, the less we see of touring cyclists like ourselves, i.e. cyclists with a plan and a destination. Here at the Vets Memorial Campground we’ve met a very sociable Austrian (early 20s) who is hitchhiking around the western states. Dave (62) is an old hippy from LA, although he says he now spends most of his time in the Monterey area. But camping? I didn’t ask. He says he’s taking care of some business before cycling down to LA. HIs business? “Ganja.”
Dave has a cargo bike specially built to carry lots of stuff. It’s about 30% longer than a regular bike, with a great long chain. Dave wears a Peruvian knitted toque and has a long, braided beard that hangs from his chin like a 12″ icicle. He’s thoughtful and caring and has a very gentle way about him. When we left the campground he was standing impressively in front of his tent in the morning sun, like the Big Dude, with sunglasses on and his head inclined heavenward in worship of el sol. He looked like an icon of counter-culture SoCal life from the hippy generation. I wish I had had the presence of mind to take a photo.
Also at the campground are Tim and Chelsea (early 20s) from England. They’re doing the same trip as us – Vancouver to San Diego – but are taking their time about it. They started in early July, camping out in Stanley Park. They’re riding maybe 25 miles a day, so they’ll need another month or more to complete their journey. But they’re clearly not worried about that. Tim is a cheery, breezy type and seemingly not afraid to try anything. They started this trip by buying the cheapest commuter bikes they could find in Vancouver – $450 each. They’re now stuck in Monterey with repair issues for Tim’s bike that will take several days to resolve. But they’re not bothered. Tim has bought a skateboard so he can get around town.