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ahhhh, sometimes I just need to write SOMEthing to get started.

So, here we go :)

At this very moment in time I am sitting on a comfortable couch in the city of Arcata. I arrived to town three days ago directly following a perilous journey through the Humboldt redwoods.

~~Avenue of the Giant Mechanical Failure~~

Nine days ago I left Bolinas with positive spirits and a miraculously functional bike. 300 miles later, my spirits continue to soar, but my previously cloud-like bike is now as rideable as a large rock with wheels, it's really good at going down hills, but that's about it. It took three days of riding to reach Fort Bragg, where my bottom bracket first started making some interesting noises (there are no "good" noises that develop on a bicycle by riding it). I had a nice rest day while staying at my friend Noah's grandmother's home, so I had my bike checked out at the local shop. The bottom bracket was totally shot, and the model is old and not commonly stocked. About 150 miles up the road from Fort Bragg is the city of Arcata, where I have a good friend from back home, I decided it would be best to make it to Arcata so I could make the most "consistent with the quest" choices regarding my bicycle. The morning after a wonderful vegan feast (potato-spinach balls ~ cabbage salad ~ corn ~~*blueberry muffins*~~) with Pat & Don, I set out towards Humboldt County with a decent amount of trust in my bike.

Thankfully, the bottom bracket stayed reliable through the first day, which consisted of some pretty epic climbing. Shortly after leaving Fort Bragg, the Shoreline Highway turns inland to merge with the 101. As it turns inland, it goes through USAL (United States of America Lumber) territory, a beautiful windy set of ups and downs that bring you to Legget, and the 101. I made my first stop roughly five miles up the 101 at Richardson Grove. There were two cyclists, one freshly retired veteran easing himself back into the world of enjoyment with a mellow-pace trip, and one purposefully unemployed social worker racing down the coast at ~ 90 miles per day.

Leaving Richardson Grove I was very excited, today I was to hit a portion of the route which had created many positive memories for south bound cyclists I had met along the way. This snippet of the journey is a road called Avenue of the Giants, it zigzags along the 101 through 35 miles of astounding old growth Redwood forest. Although this road would have been a great place to enjoy a smooth bike ride without mechanical issues, it was also the best possible place to have an out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere bike breakdown. Perhaps one mile down Avenida de los Gigantes my bottom bracket started making some increasingly interesting noises, scratchy, crumbly, the whole lot. It was not long until the bottom bracket really began to fail, and fail it did. The crankset began to come loose, and stroke by stroke it came looser until it was wobbling about an inch to each side with every push.

But like I said, what a wonderful place to break down! The Avenida is so much more peaceful than the 101, sure there are still cars every now and again, but they are almost all tourists driving slowly and gazing at the hundreds of feet tall redwoods. The forest is absolutely mind-blowing, it's also relatively flat the whole way down the road as well, which was awesome for my situation. I walked a couple of slight uphills, but mostly I was holding a steady cadence in the two gears that sort of worked until I reached my campground for the night.

I would like to note here the incredible coincidence of the two days where disaster has struck on the road (my day in the mountains near Palmdale being the other), these two days have been the only two where I have forgotten to wear my **Cycle Chi Energy Necklace** which superstitiously keeps me safe on the road. isnt that craaazzy?!?! :D

Now, resting at the Burlington campground in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, I began considering my options for continuing my journey in a manner that is consistent with the quest. My spirits were high, so I was not worried of my ability to make it through, but I was starting to realize that it may take three to four days of pushing my bike from one stop to the next until I would reach my temporary base in Arcata. I spent the night enjoying some good company in the hike n bike campsite as well as working on some musical projects, my mind was at ease and ready for the journey ahead.

For the ride the next day, all I really want to say is; THANK YOU BIKE, you are AMAZING.
55 wobbly miles later, I arrived into Arcata after only pushing my bike through a few short sections of uphill. Certainly it was because I was wearing my energy necklace, but for whatever reason, my bottom bracket decided to tough it out and bring me to this super weird, awesome town in one piece.

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So, now I am chillaxing on coach, at my friend Brian's house (coincidentally, Brian has not been here since my arrival), writing up this epic blog post to catch anybody interested up on my journey.

To the Present!!

Currently my quest is encouraging me to slow down and get my bike fixed in the most ethical fashion possible. I am looking to obtain only 100% domestically made components and to cut down the amount of transportation needed for these parts to get to me to a minimal amount. I have a few options I am mulling over, but Brian will be returning on Friday (~everyday is Friday~) so I will socialize with him and others through the weekend before finishing my bike repairs.

My current plan is not logistically completed, but it goes something like this;

I will leave circa Monday, on a borrowed bike with minimal gear, and bike to Petaluma, where White Industries is located. There I will obtain an entire new crankset & bottom bracket, return to Arcata, fix my bicycle, and continue North. There is also the possibility that other plans will come together in the days in between now and Monday, so we shall see what happens :)

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Well, I'm feeling incredible, and I have a very interesting city to explore, with a good home base to work on projects. A lot of good energy is flowing through my projects, I promise that within a year (teehee :P ) I will release a finished tune!
On the vegan frontier, my stay in Fort Bragg brought two new incredible recipes into my repertoire ~ spinach potato balls and blueberry muffins! My overnighter in Bolinas learned me how to make almond milk, and yesterday I made my first batch of granola, wooo!!!

Life is incredible, sure it's tough, but don't let difficulties slow you down, it's making it through the tough times that makes you who you are.

**~~ Get out there and do something crazy! Travel somewhere, talk to somebody you think you're to shy to meet. Work on a project you think is doomed to fail. All of these restrictive thoughts are in your head and don't really exist! You can do anything! I love you <3

It's not going to be easy ~ It's going to worth it