Already so much has happened, in such a short period of time, it literally feels as if my bike has helped me grow wings to fly away from all of the nonsense humans have managed to build into the societal structure.
 ~I Feel So Free~

Currently, I am in Orange, California, staying at my grandmothers house experiencing luxurious hospitality. Since my last post, I have stayed at two other places, with stories to tell of both and the distance between them...

After staying with Tara & Fam in Ventura, I packed up and headed along the coast and through Port Hueneme until I came upon the portion of the PCH just outside of the city, which took me to the state park Leo Carillo. The ride was smooth, with the highlight being the farmer's market I found at the end of Harbor Boulevard (not sure if that's considered Oxnard or Hueneme). I snagged some delicious veggies there and later in the ride I stocked up on some fruits at a roadside stand.

         Leo Carillo was nice, it has a separate area for hikers an bikers, which is a little close to the PCH, but not too close for the noise to be overly bothersome. Although I did meet (and help him set up his confusing tent) another bike camper named Tim, I didn't have too much human interaction during the stay, which I was fine with! I got to experiment with my own camping situation and I tried out my stove for the first time (I'm not so excited about using propane during my quest for efficiency, but hopefully it is just a temporary solution until I find more eco-friendly ways to cook), lighting the stove nearly scared me to death, I wasn't sure where to hold the fire for it to catch, but whatever I was trying at first was obviously wrong as it was trying to suck the flame in, and I was just counting the moments until it blew up! Luckily common sense kicked in and I tried another method which turned out to be successful. My first camping meal was delicious!

        I left Leo Carillo the next morning for Beverly Hills, where I had been offered a couch to sleep on ( www.couchsurfing.org ). The rest of the PCH was awful as to be expected, but it was over before I knew it and I turned onto a bike path along the beach until heading inland towards the dark, filthy, marvelous depths of Los Angeles. Although I really don't have much appreciation for the natural beauty of Los Angeles, I had a wonderful time staying with my host Jon ( www.willowjon.org ), he is a film maker and musician, and overall just an amazing soul. Connecting with Jon really helped set my mind free and jump fully into this journey that I'm on. We had a short interview, so if I get the link to that I will post it.

       Yesterday when I left Beverly Hills was when the biking really got spicy, I mean that kind of spicy that gets stuck right in that spot on the back of your throat when you swallow, so basically, I mean it was PAINFUL. I set out with a long ride ahead of me, mapped out to be about 70miles consisting of backtracking to the ocean, and then making my way along the coastal route until the Santa Ana River, and the inland to Orange. Well, let's just say that at some point on the ride I saw the ocean, and the ride did end in Orange, the rest didn't quite go as planned.

       After mapping out the criss cross up and down and all around route that my directionally talented mind took me on, it turned out I rode right around 100miles yesterday, with who knows how much gear on my bike. It was a record distance ride for me, and it really wore me down, I left at 10:30am and arrived at my grandmother's circa 8pm. Thinking about it is making me tired so I'll leave it at that. As to be expected, my grammy had cooked up an incredibly nutritious meal for me to eat upon arrival, the only problem being that the nutrition came mostly from a cow, now known as Meatloaf, and I am a vegetarian. Luckily it will still be eaten and converted into good energy. There was also broccoli, cooked with butter, which I would prefer to avoid, but I know that I'll still have my vegan powers.

      Anywho, let's jump back to the present;

I'm blogging my last update for a while, tomorrow I will head out to Silverado Canyon to volunteer at the Lightning in a Bottle festival ( www.lightninginabottle.org ), I'll be camping from Thursday through Monday. There's a few more things to prepare, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be, and I'll be leaving my technology behind to help me really connect with the atmosphere of the event.

      Who knows, the next time a make a post on here I could very well be a changed person, I imagine the energy at the festival will lift me upwards and grant me unparalleled vision in understanding my own quest. There will be much inspiration, something we should always strive to have around us :)

      Keep the energy flowing, learn to love the feeling of exhaustion, physical and mental, for it is a marvelous assistant to feeling peaceful.

:) -_-
~~ tvuqra ~~ (t-voo-qrah)