Pacific Coast Highway

By -



Last time I posted to this blog I was sat in a hotel bedroom in Madrid with my tail between my legs; our winter Spanish getaway had been cut short by freak Arctic weather which was forecast to deliver overnight lows of -7c and we were heading home after just 5 days.  Since then there have been cycling trips but only commercial ones where I don't usually blog.  With no further 'Grumpy Old Men' trips imminent I have decided to make an exception for my next jaunt:

 On Saturday I head to Merica to chaperone 17 riders 1600 miles down the Pacific Coast Highway.  I was last scheduled to lead this ride in 2020 when Covid sent everything tits up and it was, naturally, cancelled.  At that time I ended up having a massive fight with BA over my flight refund.  A long story but I eventually took them to arbitration and got my refund but I vowed never to fly with them again.  I am a man of principle so on Saturday I will be boarding a BA flight to Seattle where we need to dodge smoke from wildfires in British Columbia.  When we finish at Imperial Beach on the Mexican border there may be after-effects from Tropical Storm Hilary which has just given Southern California a right old pasting.  Along the way we have to detour round the iconic Big Sur coast because the road has been washed into the sea….. again!  I wonder how many years before climate change renders this ride undo-able?

 My co-leader is Dom, who has owned Bike Adventures since I sold up.  He flew out on Wednesday and is driving our support vehicle 1100 miles north from Los Angeles (a long story…basically it is cheaper this way) to meet me in Seattle.  Along the way he has to buy the various things that baggage limits prevent us hauling out from blighty.  Most notable, obviously, will be a splendid electric beer cooler which I will enjoy helping him stock once I land. 

 The group comprises Dom and I, 6 septics and 11 plucky Brits. For obvious reasons I must be diplomatic and discreet (practically my middle names) about the antics of the punters but I feel sure that the Merican population at large will provide more than enough material for a few blogs.  Hopefully you can join me along the way.

 

 PS – I must confess that I used Google to establish that Pacific Coast Highway is indeed a song title.  To my surprise there are 10 or more, all very obscure but they include a pretty terrible one by the Beach Boys and an instrumental by Burt Bacharach.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Katie24 August 2023 at 10:04

    Fantastic, the blog is back! Will be with you in spirit along the way. The nippers are ageing but a cycle hol still a long way off! Maybe I’ll be inspired to get the steed serviced and out for a spin😃

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Mr Tamborine Man/I Write The Songs

By -
Image
  After an 18 month separation Plum and I are reforming the band for another tour.  The two of us, plus 6 others, are heading up to Scotlandshire for another crack at the North Cost 500.  I should probably introduce the full line-up:   Lead Singer - David.  David is the young(er) pretty one.....brother of John.  David also happens to be my Financial Adviser and is funding this trip (plus a yacht and a cocaine habit) out of what he makes from my account.   Lead Guitar - Nick.  Friend for 50 years.  At school Nick was a keen cyclist and consequently, quite rightly, bullied.  Nick has forgotten more about cycling than I will ever know.   Bass Guitar - Stuart.  Stuart and I worked together for many years; he has powerful legs and can push out big watts while looking like he is coasting.  I hate Stuart.   Keyboards - Michael.  Michael is a...
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time

By -
Image
If ever you are in the Inverness area on a Friday and looking for a lively night you could do a lot worse than avoid Muir of Ord.  Our hotel, the only pub, wasn't serving food so we walked into town where it appeared that Steven Spielberg had just finished filming some sort of post-apocalypse movie: nothing open, nobody on the streets and the odd bit of tumbleweed blowing along the pavement.  Even the fish and chip shop couldn't be arsed to open...on a FRIDAY NIGHT!  We managed to find a take-away offering a rather odd choice of kebabs and curries (served in pizza boxes for added novelty) and purchased some food which made up for in calories what it lacked in food-hygiene standards.   I recall a meeting where a few of my co-riders and I met to kick around ideas for a group ride.  We considered all sort of destinations....mostly in those parts of Europe where the weather isn't consistently shite.  I'm ashamed to say that I thin...
Read more

Julia's Song

By -
Image
As some readers will know, Plum is no longer Chard's most eligible bachelor.  The lovely Julia has taken on the job that Social Services would otherwise have to do....making sure he changes his pants once a week whether they need it or not and loading routes onto his Garmin.  We are all very grateful to Julia, especially Chards most eligible bachelorettes who can get back on the dating scene now Plum is safely off the market. As we were starting our trip Julia fell, dislocated her foot and broke her Tibia so she is probably missing Plum more than usual. She has insisted that the show should go on so thanks for being such a trooper. Today was another with a shortcut that promised to turn a very hard day into something more manageable.  Some of our group took the high road and others took the low but I had a more cunning idea.....get in the van.  Whatever is ailing me, long covid or acute spinelessness, reached the point where pushing th...
Read more