Day 28 June 21st

Day 28 June 21^st

Stats: 19.07 Miles, 1:49 Hours, 10.1 MPH Average, 18.9 MPH Top Speed, Hot and Sunny.

Today I was awoken by a passing train that seemed to be in my tent with me. I guess what I didn’t realize last night was that the hiker biker site was only yards from the tracks. Anyway, I was up early due to the noise and started to think about how taking a train through L.A. to the south side of the city would save me from an exhausting day of city riding and the possibility of me ending up in some shady part of town. Plus all I had left was my New Belgium jersey which is blue and red, so I didn’t know which gangs would be alright with me riding through their territory. So I packed up and rode into town to the train station and saw that there was a train headed the exact direction I wanted to go due in at 9:37, so I milled around town, stopped at a coffee shop to use the internet and before I knew it I was hopping on the train, bike and all!!

It cost me 24 dollars to ride through the city, which was a bargain considering the headache navigating L.A. would have been, plus my bike was stowed safely and for free! Anyway I ended my ride in San Juan Capistrano which although was a bit further than I had planned on going ended up being a treat. San Juan was founded in 1776 by the Spanish and to this day there are still ruins from the original mission that tourists can meander through.

I rode around the historic district of this Spanish town, had a look at the mission, and felt transported back to the old country. From San Juan I rode an easy 20 miles to San Clemente, and set up camp. Since I had such a short day I had time to get in some body surfing in the huge waves of sourthern California, bike back into town for some tasty pizza, and relax with some other campers in the park. All in all it was a great day, I was able to take it easy after my record setting day yesterday, get out of the heat, and avoid the craziness that is L.A.