Living on my bike for 10 weeks now and f*cking exhausted

On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them.. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.

I got evicted from some town parks in nowhere Wyoming and Colorado -- and when trying to snooze at the train station in Seattle. The interactions were not unpleasant except for the fact that I had to move -- once pretty late at night with my tent all wadded up. It was my fault for camping in no-camping parks in tiny towns with probably one hyper-vigilant cop/sheriff. They didn't seem to care east of the Rockies, or maybe the parks allowed camping.

I never got evicted in California, but then again, I tended to stay in campgrounds with minor exceptions. I did get evicted from HWY 101 by the CHP. My wife and I were riding down from Portland, cut off the coast to the Sonoma/Napa valley and drank wine (stayed at state parks) and then had to make time to get from St Helena to SJ, which was a 100 mile day, so I took the highway. This CHP "pulled us over" (on a gigantic shoulder) and told us to get off in the middle of nowhere north of the Golden Gate. We stumbled on to some unmarked (on our road map) bike path that got us to where we needed to go, but it was really hilly and tracked the rolling hills rather than the highway grade. That was a long day.


-- Jay Beattie.

On 9/4/2020 11:01 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.

I got evicted from some town parks in nowhere Wyoming and Colorado -- and when trying to snooze at the train station in Seattle. The interactions were not unpleasant except for the fact that I had to move -- once pretty late at night with my tent all wadded up. It was my fault for camping in no-camping parks in tiny towns with probably one hyper-vigilant cop/sheriff. They didn't seem to care east of the Rockies, or maybe the parks allowed camping.

I never got evicted in California, but then again, I tended to stay in campgrounds with minor exceptions. I did get evicted from HWY 101 by the CHP. My wife and I were riding down from Portland, cut off the coast to the Sonoma/Napa valley and drank wine (stayed at state parks) and then had to make time to get from St Helena to SJ, which was a 100 mile day, so I took the highway. This CHP "pulled us over" (on a gigantic shoulder) and told us to get off in the middle of nowhere north of the Golden Gate. We stumbled on to some unmarked (on our road map) bike path that got us to where we needed to go, but it was really hilly and tracked the rolling hills rather than the highway grade. That was a long day.

One online friend I knew had an interesting trick regarding free
camping. He'd pull off and camp at random spots, trying for reasonable
isolation. Occasionally a landowner would find him in the morning and
act offended. This guy would answer the farmer only in French,
pretending it was his only language. He reported that attitudes changed
immediately and that landowners became instantly helpful.

And I think that indicates something about human beings. Yes, we're
tribal and we want to maintain our and our tribe's territory. But most
of us also tend to be interested in travelers and reasonably helpful.

Didn't Oregon used to have a bumper sticker, "Welcome to Oregon. Now go
home." ? That summarizes those conflicting tendencies.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Friday, September 4, 2020 at 8:38:41 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/4/2020 11:01 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.

I got evicted from some town parks in nowhere Wyoming and Colorado -- and when trying to snooze at the train station in Seattle. The interactions were not unpleasant except for the fact that I had to move -- once pretty late at night with my tent all wadded up. It was my fault for camping in no-camping parks in tiny towns with probably one hyper-vigilant cop/sheriff. They didn't seem to care east of the Rockies, or maybe the parks allowed camping.

I never got evicted in California, but then again, I tended to stay in campgrounds with minor exceptions. I did get evicted from HWY 101 by the CHP. My wife and I were riding down from Portland, cut off the coast to the Sonoma/Napa valley and drank wine (stayed at state parks) and then had to make time to get from St Helena to SJ, which was a 100 mile day, so I took the highway. This CHP "pulled us over" (on a gigantic shoulder) and told us to get off in the middle of nowhere north of the Golden Gate. We stumbled on to some unmarked (on our road map) bike path that got us to where we needed to go, but it was really hilly and tracked the rolling hills rather than the highway grade. That was a long day.

One online friend I knew had an interesting trick regarding free
camping. He'd pull off and camp at random spots, trying for reasonable
isolation. Occasionally a landowner would find him in the morning and
act offended. This guy would answer the farmer only in French,
pretending it was his only language. He reported that attitudes changed
immediately and that landowners became instantly helpful.

And I think that indicates something about human beings. Yes, we're
tribal and we want to maintain our and our tribe's territory. But most
of us also tend to be interested in travelers and reasonably helpful.

Didn't Oregon used to have a bumper sticker, "Welcome to Oregon. Now go
home." ? That summarizes those conflicting tendencies.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Tom McCall: http://www.chronline.com/news/northw...8051f9e42.html

A senator, John Lim, suggested a sign saying "you are welcome to visit, but please don't stay," but we ended up with various versions of Welcome to Oregon, keep Oregon green, enjoy your stay, etc.

It's not too hard to find ad hoc camping spots out in the country, although any ad hoc site subjects you to some uncertainty.

Urban camping is a breeze here in Portland. Everybody does it, but back when I was touring a lot, urban camping was mostly discouraged. I think Doug experienced that.

I was touring in the Sierra with my wife in the early 90s, doing a loop through Yosemite and up to Tahoe, where we snagged a free spot at a pay campground after I hit it big with the nickel slots at Harrahs, and we stuffed ourselves at some buffet back when casino food was cheap. Anyway, coming back down HWY 49, we stopped in San Andreas and poked around for a campground and found a place, but they were virulently anti-anyone not in an upscale RV. They had had vagrants overstay, and they had to go through evictions, etc., etc. I had to plead for the one ****ty tent spot. I guess the homeless thing was starting to heat up back then. BTW, HWY 49 has some nasty climbs. https://www.pashnit.com/ca-hwy-49-little-dragon And its hot.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 9/4/2020 12:41 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, September 4, 2020 at 8:38:41 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/4/2020 11:01 AM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.

I got evicted from some town parks in nowhere Wyoming and Colorado -- and when trying to snooze at the train station in Seattle. The interactions were not unpleasant except for the fact that I had to move -- once pretty late at night with my tent all wadded up. It was my fault for camping in no-camping parks in tiny towns with probably one hyper-vigilant cop/sheriff. They didn't seem to care east of the Rockies, or maybe the parks allowed camping.

I never got evicted in California, but then again, I tended to stay in campgrounds with minor exceptions. I did get evicted from HWY 101 by the CHP. My wife and I were riding down from Portland, cut off the coast to the Sonoma/Napa valley and drank wine (stayed at state parks) and then had to make time to get from St Helena to SJ, which was a 100 mile day, so I took the highway. This CHP "pulled us over" (on a gigantic shoulder) and told us to get off in the middle of nowhere north of the Golden Gate. We stumbled on to some unmarked (on our road map) bike path that got us to where we needed to go, but it was really hilly and tracked the rolling hills rather than the highway grade. That was a long day.

One online friend I knew had an interesting trick regarding free
camping. He'd pull off and camp at random spots, trying for reasonable
isolation. Occasionally a landowner would find him in the morning and
act offended. This guy would answer the farmer only in French,
pretending it was his only language. He reported that attitudes changed
immediately and that landowners became instantly helpful.

And I think that indicates something about human beings. Yes, we're
tribal and we want to maintain our and our tribe's territory. But most
of us also tend to be interested in travelers and reasonably helpful.

Didn't Oregon used to have a bumper sticker, "Welcome to Oregon. Now go
home." ? That summarizes those conflicting tendencies.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Tom McCall: http://www.chronline.com/news/northw...8051f9e42.html

A senator, John Lim, suggested a sign saying "you are welcome to visit, but please don't stay," but we ended up with various versions of Welcome to Oregon, keep Oregon green, enjoy your stay, etc.

It's not too hard to find ad hoc camping spots out in the country, although any ad hoc site subjects you to some uncertainty.

Urban camping is a breeze here in Portland. Everybody does it, but back when I was touring a lot, urban camping was mostly discouraged. I think Doug experienced that.

My earliest travel adventure happened just after completing my
Bachelor's Degree. I was offered a free ride (actually, a paid
assistantship) for graduate school. So I had the summer free, instead
of working like crazy to save for tuition. A friend then invited me to
tour the country in a VW van.

We had very little money (but a summer's worth of canned food on board).
We spent about ten weeks on the road, pinching pennies mercilessly,
traveling from the southeast up the Atlantic coast, up Michigan and
across part of Canada, back into the U.S. and through Yellowstone to
California, Vegas, Grand Canyon etc. etc. We managed to never once pay
to camp anywhere.

I do remember getting slightly hassled for trying to sleep while parked
on the street in Virginia Beach, and being informed by Cape Cod police
that we had to move on because sleeping in a vehicle was illegal
everywhere on the Cape. But that was balanced by camping in the long
driveway of a mansion then having the young guy living there (whose
parents were away) invite us in for a free breakfast.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Friday, September 4, 2020 at 10:38:41 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
One online friend I knew had an interesting trick regarding free
camping. He'd pull off and camp at random spots, trying for reasonable
isolation. Occasionally a landowner would find him in the morning and
act offended. This guy would answer the farmer only in French,
pretending it was his only language. He reported that attitudes changed
immediately and that landowners became instantly helpful.
deleted

--
- Frank Krygowski

Not an actual log page, but a humorous suggestion, How To Camp Anywhere.
https://www.phred.org/~alex/kenkifer...r/howtocam.htm
Ken's actual suggestions were out of town locations where you could not be spotted, or ask a homeowner or a police officer where you can camp for one or two days. Often beside the police parking lot or the nearest park.

rant snipped

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

Frank
You have hit the nail on the head. In my previous tours I only got hassled once, at least that I can remember. And like you, in the past, I always camped in campsites. One of the - well, I wont say "reasons for this trip", but one thing I did plan to do on this trip was break free of the limitation of needing a campsite. And it was exactly the activities that one usually performs in a campsite - in addition to sleeping, sorting gear and so on - that garnered the negative attention.
The reasons I wanted/still want to break free of needing the campsite a
- I always wondered what people who ride around the world do, and always concluded that the do not rely on state parks and state beaches; they sleep where they are, at least often. A foreign accent probably makes begging forgiveness a lot easier, I imagine. Anyway, I figured it might be good to practice this practice first
- There are no state parks or beaches in many places, and so this pretty well restricts one's route
- They are closed now due to hoax-19
- They are $35 now in CA. The days of the $3 hiker-biker fee are gone, AFAICT. At $35 they are almost 1/2 the price of a crummy motel room for $70 plus a new $10 pillow, making the latter much more tempting

Along the same lines, I had long wondered if one way around it all is to ride at night, and sleep during the day, since altho you cannot camp in a municipal park, you -can- take a nap. Or so I thought. It didn't work out that way.

On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.

LOL I was on it back when it was a mailing list that started here, (ok, in ..rides :-)

Then I joined it a few years back. But a)I got a notice that I am kicked off or suspended or on hold or something for not using it, just recently, which irked me
But also, I asked a friend back in march if I could take a shower at his place, and said I don't think I have covid cuz I got no symptoms, and also that I'd spray the thing down with lysol afterwards, and he agreed and I did. Those things seemed to make sense to say, but in the process of saying them I started feeling guilty about what I was doing in the 1st place. Even tho I myself think the risk is actually no greater then using the same grocery store. I realize that anybody on warm showers who is still open to receiving tourists simply aint worried about it.

On Monday, September 14, 2020 at 1:46:08 PM UTC-7, Doug Landau wrote:
rant snipped

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

Frank
You have hit the nail on the head. In my previous tours I only got hassled once, at least that I can remember. And like you, in the past, I always camped in campsites. One of the - well, I wont say "reasons for this trip", but one thing I did plan to do on this trip was break free of the limitation of needing a campsite. And it was exactly the activities that one usually performs in a campsite - in addition to sleeping, sorting gear and so on - that garnered the negative attention.
The reasons I wanted/still want to break free of needing the campsite a
- I always wondered what people who ride around the world do, and always concluded that the do not rely on state parks and state beaches; they sleep where they are, at least often. A foreign accent probably makes begging forgiveness a lot easier, I imagine. Anyway, I figured it might be good to practice this practice first
- There are no state parks or beaches in many places, and so this pretty well restricts one's route
- They are closed now due to hoax-19
- They are $35 now in CA. The days of the $3 hiker-biker fee are gone, AFAICT. At $35 they are almost 1/2 the price of a crummy motel room for $70 plus a new $10 pillow, making the latter much more tempting

Along the same lines, I had long wondered if one way around it all is to ride at night, and sleep during the day, since altho you cannot camp in a municipal park, you -can- take a nap. Or so I thought. It didn't work out that way.

People who ride around the world bivouac outside of metropolitan areas or use hotels and hostels in metropolitan areas -- or rely on the kindness of others. This is a fun read: https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Man-Who.../dp/0593066987 He rode all around the world without incident and then got mugged in some seedy motel in Louisiana. MAGA!

-- Jay Beattie.

On Friday, September 4, 2020 at 8:01:33 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:15:46 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/3/2020 1:16 AM, Doug Landau wrote:
Why I quit a job paying ~$200K to be unemployed and homeless is known to noone except - perhaps - me. In any case that was 2 yrs ago and more recently, the motor in my van quit, so I moved into a bob trailer, and was pulling it around with an '80 Colnago Super, until the latter was stolen a few days ago in a moment of carelessness at Ashby BART in Berkeley.

It was an interesting tour, and brought a few things to light. For example, that the covid-19 thing is a hoax, that the population doesn't want America to be great again, and that the population is (are) , in general, assholes.

But back to cycling it was an interesting and learning ride. I criss-crossed the central valley. I thot I wanted to ride to Ohio to visit a friend, and thot I'd warm up by riding to Yosemite first, and maybe coming back over Sonora Pass to get more solar and more water carrying capacity. I rode Livermore-tracy-modesto-oakdale and got to Knight's Ferry, and my 54-y/o knees did not want to pull the trailer up many more hills on the 42-25. So I went to Stockton to look for a bike shop. But all I found was smoke shops. Back thru Lathrop, Tracy, Brentwood, Antioch.

The whole way:
"You can't sleep there."
"You can't do that there."
"Don't stay."
"You have to move."
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
"What's your name?"
What's you date of birth?
What's your drivers license number?"
What's your name
Whats your name
What's your Name
Sir, wake up.
You can't sleep there.
Sir, you cant sleep there.
What's your Name

What incredible ****ing assholes the whole world is! Why the **** CANT I take a nap on a piece of grass? In a municipal park or in front of a public school or library or ??? I am not talking about camping or sleeping overnight, I am talking about napping during daylight. And why exactly CANT I sort my things on a bench on a sidewalk??? And what the **** does leaf-blowing lady - a city employee - care?

As for the pigs - whose unwanted interaction I garnered almost daily - well, I didn't feel like getting beat up or going downtown and maybe losing my bike n trailer. So I did not refuse to identify myself or answer their questions, on the grounds that I am not actually legally obligated to do so, until mother****er detains me and then asks, and before he can detain me, he must have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Except once.
He was sitting in a parking lot and I approached him and asked if there is any open camping nearby. After answering my question he asked "What's your name?" I told him, and added my CDL#, and then said quickly: "I'm pretty big on my constitutional rights these days. Now you asked me, and I told you, but if I understand correctly, I am not in fact legally obligated to tell you who I am until you detain me, and before you can do that, you have to have reasonable suspicion that I am involved in a crime. Thank you the directions and good night." and rode away. Before he started with the where are you from and where are you going crap. And the look of anger and disgust on his face suggested to me that had I answered every cop like that, I would have been slammed to the ground , just for starters, ere long.

Goddam disgusting ****ing pigs don't give a **** about rights or constitutions, with slight exaggeration. Worse, they don't even know it or them.. When I refused to answer my local los gatos pigs' question where I got my solar panels that are on the roof of my van, when being questioned for something else, and asked them if I looked blonde to them, I got the distinct impression that they did not know that which I was saying, and had simply been taught in cop skool that I have to answer their questions.

And yes, I am exaggerating somewhat. The fact is that most of the cops who woke me in the morning while sleeping on bike paths, sidewalks, etc, accepted my argument that I believe that I am not breaking the law by sleeping here; that I found the article in the sf chronicle in 2019 saying that the supreme court upheld that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and that I have the right to lay my body down on a piece of public property if there is no alternative at hand - no homeless shelter nearby or it is full. And did not proceed to cite me, but just let me go saying I had to move cause they had a complaint. Once their partner had found the article, anyway.

I wonder if they teach hem in cop skool to ask stupid questions, and lots of them, just to draw out answers, as the more answers they get the better the chance that the suspect will contradict himself or something. "Y-Y-You just up and decided to do this one day?" he asked, pretending to not understand the concept of bike touring. I looked at him with disgust and glared and asked him loudly "OK YOU TELL ME, where do you think I am better off? I happened to be unemployed and homeless when this covid thing came along. Now where do you think I'm better off, in a homeless tent in Oakland filled with meth smoke exhaled by 9 of my best friends, who keep holding the pipe out to me, where everyone is scratching their balls and their hair and noone is washing their hands, or out here, with just me, my bike, some weed, some hand sanitizer, and my penis?"

"I see what you mean. OK, Doug, we'll let ya go. Hope enjoy the rest of your trip." 2/3 times. The third time he put on latex gloves and pulled everything out of the bob.

Well, it was a start. I'm free of the state-beach/state-park regimen, at least, and approximately 100% free of the trepidation/fear/nervousness I had just 8 weeks ago about sleeping in municipal parks, on sidewalks, parking lots, under stop signs at the end of freeway exits, on the edge of farmers' fields, etc. In fact I should add before closing that farmers are the outstanding exception to everything I have said here. They come around in the morning, and when I quickly say "Thank you for a good night's sleep!! I greatly appreciate it." and smile, they say "you're welcome, glad you slept well" and add that they are very nervous about fire, so would I please not have any fire and be very careful smoking. And I agree and they say a pleasant goodbye and wish me well.

Well I guess i'll shut up now, thanks for reading.
dkl

Wow. Your experiences are SO much different than mine, and those of
touring friends I know. I remember precisely one hassling encounter with
a cop, and after maybe 15 minutes of conversation he was smiling,
shaking our hands and wishing us a good ride.

Having said that, I'll admit I never bicycle toured in California. And
almost all the time, I've done my overnight camping in places where
camping was expected.

You might want to look into the Warm Showers organization & website.
I got evicted from some town parks in nowhere Wyoming and Colorado -- and when trying to snooze at the train station in Seattle. The interactions were not unpleasant except for the fact that I had to move -- once pretty late at night with my tent all wadded up. It was my fault for camping in no-camping parks in tiny towns with probably one hyper-vigilant cop/sheriff. They didn't seem to care east of the Rockies, or maybe the parks allowed camping.

Was it? Should it not be legal to simply travel, and lay your body on the earth where you are come sleep time? I realize that there is no right to travel specified in the constitution, but do we not have that right anyway? IIRC, one thing about rights is that you cannot exercise them to the point of denying someone else their rights. (Is that correct?) IOW, altho I found that article in the Chronicle saying that laws against homelessness are unconstitutional, and L.A. cannot legally sweep them off the sidewalks, this does not mean that you can sleep on the sidewalk in a way that prevents people from walking down it. An example is beach access, correct? In CA all beaches are state property. You can own beachfront property, but not prohibit people from neither walking the beach nor accessing it. Hence when I visited a friend renting a house on the cliffs in Shelter Cove, and saw people walking down his driveway and then side yard past the house, he explained that there is no nearby path to the beach, and right here is the only place one can get down the cliffs, so he must allow them to cross the property, as to refuse to would deny them their right to get to the beach. If I am correct that we have the right to travel, then along the same lines, a town which arrests you for sleeping on the sidewalk or in a park or anywhere is denying you this right, as would be a series of farms between towns, all of which plow or fence all the way to the edge of the road, or chase you off.


I never got evicted in California, but then again, I tended to stay in campgrounds with minor exceptions. I did get evicted from HWY 101 by the CHP. My wife and I were riding down from Portland, cut off the coast to the Sonoma/Napa valley and drank wine (stayed at state parks) and then had to make time to get from St Helena to SJ, which was a 100 mile day, so I took the highway. This CHP "pulled us over" (on a gigantic shoulder) and told us to get off in the middle of nowhere north of the Golden Gate. We stumbled on to some unmarked (on our road map) bike path that got us to where we needed to go, but it was really hilly and tracked the rolling hills rather than the highway grade. That was a long day.

- As I'm sure has been stated here many times, you can take the freeway in CA if there is no other way to go. Doesn't sound like that was the case for you, but it is tempting to take the freeway sometimes anyway. I rode the length of New Jersey one day, and it was pleasant in the south. About halfway up it got so horrible I just took the turnpike. You can imagine the reaction I got at the toll booth. I did legally exercise the CA exception once, when riding up the coast, by riding thru the gaviota tunnel. Or maybe it was the 5 miles before the tunnel. I got the same reaction from a private security guard I passed at the last stop. "Can't go on da fweeway!" he said, in a new jersey accent. "Yeah? Watch me!"

That was a long day
I rode from Mount Vernon, WA, to the border crossing, snuk around it, and back. It was only 115 mi. but I got three flats and [successfully] patched em in the rain. That's the one I think of as a long day.