Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Santa Monica Boulevard the Other Way.... At the Santa Monica Hostel...
$5 spaghetti dinner....
I'm in....
They'll lose money on me.
Bottom Bunk....
Still no open slot for tomorrow night.
Will check in the AM.
If still not open, will see if the San Pedro Hostel has an open bed.
Did book Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights for the San Diego Downtown Hostel so I got the tail end covered.
Will fill in the blanks....
Steady as she goes Captain.
Heading' for Venice Beach on a Naked Mule.
Stopping in Wonderland to eat with Alice...
At Mel's Diner!!!!
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel's_Diner
Best 6 bucks I ever spent....
Buck per foot of extension cable for my iPhone charging cord.
Must feed the Beast.
Like the Olympics....
And the hair.
Bike Tech Talk...
I'll cover more of this in the last days of this Tour but I wanted to throw out an Atta Boy to...
Bontrager for their LT3 26x2.0 Hardcase Plus Triple Flat Protection tires.
http://bontrager.com/model/08058
1 flat in 2105 miles under carried loads as high as 75# plus my 185# ass at speeds up to 45 mph and over surfaces from rock to dirt to California's Santa Monica Boulevard....
Which was worse than any trail or rocky road i've been on.
Got a set of 700x28 Hardcase Lites on my Trek 1500 and have had the same experience with them through over 1500 miles of heavily loaded touring.
I'm sold.
No other tires will ever be on one of my bikes.
I understand now why people become homeless...
If there's one thing this trip has taught me, it's to appreciate what I have.
Not just friends and family...
But the niceties of life....
The things we take for granted.
A cup of coffee that's made for you.
A bed to sleep in.
A hot shower.
Clean clothes.
Being dry and warm.
A good margarita.
Driving a truck rather than being passed by one.
Having a home cooked meal at my own table.
Not having to worry and plan and figure out where I will lay my head tonight.
On the other hand....
Being homeless ain't that bad either.
New place, New Scene, New People....
Every day.
Nothing to worry about except...
Where I will lay my head tonight.
I can do this.
I can be a Homeless Person.....
With meaning...
And means.
Lighter Mule.... Contemplating the Mysteries of the Universe...
This is what I had with me for camping out and a few cold weather clothes and rain gear....
Which I obviously don't need....
Because it never rains in Southern California.
And No - there's no freakin' kitchen sink in there.
Just what I had to have to sleep on the ground and cook my food and light a fire.
See.... This is what it looks like when you don't camp out.
Think I'll just sit here and have a Smoke....
Trying to get my Ducks in a Row...And a Major Bitch session
Here's the Plan...
I've already made a reservation for the Santa Monica Downtown Hostel where I stayed night before last.
Right now they don't have an opening for tomorrow night. If it comes open, I'll stay there 2 nights in a row and get the 2nd night free.
I wanna do the 3rd St Promenade again and see Venice Beach and try to relax which I still haven't done.
My next move will be to the San Pedro / Long Beach HI Hostel if I can get a room there.
Next will be a motel in San Clemente or Oceanside. They're all high as a cat's back but I will likely do a 70 - 75 mile run down the coast to the Motel 6 on Oceanside / Carlsbad.
Finally, I will stay at least 3 nights in the San Diego Downtown HI Hostel IF I can get in.
My endpoint is a Southwest flight out of San Diego the morning of Tuesday 08/07.
I have to hit that...
Everything else is negotiable.
And I'm sending ALL my camping / self supporting items back from the closest FedEx office. Since I'll be Hostel or motel-ing it the rest of the way, I might as well get rid of it. That'll be about 50 - 60% of what I'm carrying.
That way everybody can quit marveling at how much stuff I'm carrying.
So I'll end up with rear panniers only.
So I need to take care of that on the ride back down Sunset / Santa Monica to the downtown SM HI hostel.
Then I've been on the phone with Lifeproof for over an hour because they sent me the wrong headphones and I have to return them AND....
My headphone adapter cable is already messing up again. They have an obvious design error that allows the cable connection with the cable head to be broken easily.
The rep I talked to this morning says they've fixed the problem and they are sending me a new improved set to the general delivery post office in San Diego.
Yeah right. I've asked to speak to their head of design and engineering twice and was told my request was forwarded but no callback yet.
These people have wasted a lot of my time on this trip and really pissed me off so I am going to....
Haunt them.
Yep.... Just like Viola Davis in the Jessie Stone series.
In case you want to know what I'm talking about even though I know you don't, here's the pics of the headphone adapter cable that shows how it screws into the female threads of the Lifeproof case....
That's what makes it waterproof.
I have had to reinforce the cable connection with the head of the cable with electrical tape because everytime the cable wiggles while attached to the case / phone, it would disconnect a call or skip tracks on music or call up Siri.
WTF Lifeproof?
What a poor design!!!!
Hey Lifeproof, you owe me big time for bringing this to your attention and solving your problem for you.
Final suggestion....
Start putting a short section of electrical tape in the boxes with your $75 case so your customers can fix your f'd up design.
This is the kind of stuff that gives Engineers a bad name and it makes my blood boil.
I also had to wash and dry clothes this morning....
So I'm taking a half a day to plan the next 6-1/2 days....
You know since I'm on my soapbox I might as well just keep soaping....
I'm sick and tired of people thinking this whole tour thing is some sort of a freaking vacation.
It ain't....
It's physically grueling....
It's dangerous...
It's mentally and emotionally challenging....
And I've done it all alone...
And not by choice.
If I had my druthers I would have my significant other riding with me or at least some traveling companion who I could share this experience with.
But like Darius...
I Got Nothing....
Nothing but the Red Mule under me...
The Pacific Ocean to the right of me...
The land to the left of me....
And the Road in front of me...
I've tried to socialize on this trip but I'm not much of a social animal....
Thus I ride alone....
I've pissed some people off on this trip and probably made a few enemies....
I've made a few temporary connections...
But for the most part, it's been the hardest thing I've ever done...
Nope.... It ain't been easy.
I've got out of my comfort zone and done things differently....
Planning little, flying by the seat of my pants and the Grace of God...
Free falling down the Pacific Coast like a meteor falling to earth.
It's an Experience of a Lifetime....
And I've chosen my path...
And I've spent a lot of time, energy and money to bring it to my 3.5 readers as close to real time as possible.
Come to think of it, that kinda sums it up.
I'm 50 years old and I got 3.5 people who give a shit about me.
That's what I want put on my headstone.
He died with 3.5 friends.
That's what I got to show for my life...
That and a Bike Ride down the Pacific Coast.
Oh well....
Guess it could be worse.
There....
How's that for a Good Bitch session?
Remember.....
I don't half ass anything.
I've already made a reservation for the Santa Monica Downtown Hostel where I stayed night before last.
Right now they don't have an opening for tomorrow night. If it comes open, I'll stay there 2 nights in a row and get the 2nd night free.
I wanna do the 3rd St Promenade again and see Venice Beach and try to relax which I still haven't done.
My next move will be to the San Pedro / Long Beach HI Hostel if I can get a room there.
Next will be a motel in San Clemente or Oceanside. They're all high as a cat's back but I will likely do a 70 - 75 mile run down the coast to the Motel 6 on Oceanside / Carlsbad.
Finally, I will stay at least 3 nights in the San Diego Downtown HI Hostel IF I can get in.
My endpoint is a Southwest flight out of San Diego the morning of Tuesday 08/07.
I have to hit that...
Everything else is negotiable.
And I'm sending ALL my camping / self supporting items back from the closest FedEx office. Since I'll be Hostel or motel-ing it the rest of the way, I might as well get rid of it. That'll be about 50 - 60% of what I'm carrying.
That way everybody can quit marveling at how much stuff I'm carrying.
So I'll end up with rear panniers only.
So I need to take care of that on the ride back down Sunset / Santa Monica to the downtown SM HI hostel.
Then I've been on the phone with Lifeproof for over an hour because they sent me the wrong headphones and I have to return them AND....
My headphone adapter cable is already messing up again. They have an obvious design error that allows the cable connection with the cable head to be broken easily.
The rep I talked to this morning says they've fixed the problem and they are sending me a new improved set to the general delivery post office in San Diego.
Yeah right. I've asked to speak to their head of design and engineering twice and was told my request was forwarded but no callback yet.
These people have wasted a lot of my time on this trip and really pissed me off so I am going to....
Haunt them.
Yep.... Just like Viola Davis in the Jessie Stone series.
In case you want to know what I'm talking about even though I know you don't, here's the pics of the headphone adapter cable that shows how it screws into the female threads of the Lifeproof case....
That's what makes it waterproof.
I have had to reinforce the cable connection with the head of the cable with electrical tape because everytime the cable wiggles while attached to the case / phone, it would disconnect a call or skip tracks on music or call up Siri.
WTF Lifeproof?
What a poor design!!!!
Hey Lifeproof, you owe me big time for bringing this to your attention and solving your problem for you.
Final suggestion....
Start putting a short section of electrical tape in the boxes with your $75 case so your customers can fix your f'd up design.
This is the kind of stuff that gives Engineers a bad name and it makes my blood boil.
I also had to wash and dry clothes this morning....
So I'm taking a half a day to plan the next 6-1/2 days....
You know since I'm on my soapbox I might as well just keep soaping....
I'm sick and tired of people thinking this whole tour thing is some sort of a freaking vacation.
It ain't....
It's physically grueling....
It's dangerous...
It's mentally and emotionally challenging....
And I've done it all alone...
And not by choice.
If I had my druthers I would have my significant other riding with me or at least some traveling companion who I could share this experience with.
But like Darius...
I Got Nothing....
Nothing but the Red Mule under me...
The Pacific Ocean to the right of me...
The land to the left of me....
And the Road in front of me...
I've tried to socialize on this trip but I'm not much of a social animal....
Thus I ride alone....
I've pissed some people off on this trip and probably made a few enemies....
I've made a few temporary connections...
But for the most part, it's been the hardest thing I've ever done...
Nope.... It ain't been easy.
I've got out of my comfort zone and done things differently....
Planning little, flying by the seat of my pants and the Grace of God...
Free falling down the Pacific Coast like a meteor falling to earth.
It's an Experience of a Lifetime....
And I've chosen my path...
And I've spent a lot of time, energy and money to bring it to my 3.5 readers as close to real time as possible.
Come to think of it, that kinda sums it up.
I'm 50 years old and I got 3.5 people who give a shit about me.
That's what I want put on my headstone.
He died with 3.5 friends.
That's what I got to show for my life...
That and a Bike Ride down the Pacific Coast.
Oh well....
Guess it could be worse.
There....
How's that for a Good Bitch session?
Remember.....
I don't half ass anything.