San Francisco - Bakersfield (1)

And here, finally, I share what happened during my first four stages on the way to Key West, Florida. Today I do have a relaxing rest day, it was a good time to write this blog as promissed.

Basically, it's hard to believe this dream became true, after I made my first attempt in Summer 2020, but suddenly, as a German, the American immigration bureau refused any visitor from Europe because of COVID lockdown.

The first few days now went largely as planned. Minor unforeseen events always happen of course, and those 'incidents' make the trip so exciting.

In total I have completed 545 km with 3,370 meters of elevation gain since arrival on Thursday afternoon in San Francisco.

Today I am in Bakersfield, some 150 km away from Los Angeles and enjoy to recover from the first pain. I hope to somehow reduce my initial muscle soreness in the coming days and weeks. Don't forget the weight of my bike summes up to 35 kg and that does not include any water or food. For sure I have packed too much stuff, but if I knew which items I don't need. I may loose some weight myself and that will make the uphill sections easier.

At Frankfurt airport. I was only able to use packaging, which I can then dispose of, since I can't take anything with me on the trip

Since I started the trip directly the day after my arrival, I had to visit some key locations of San Francisco straight after my arrival

I built up my bike and started immediately. With the 8 hours jetlag (America is in daylight saving time already), I knew I will wake up early and pack my bike during the night.

When going from coast to coast you have to ride at least a bit on the shoreline . Sunshine since day one: Amazing. on the eastcoast it will be on the Florida Keys anyway.

After having worked for Hewlett-Packard for years, a visit to the famous HP garage in Palo Alto, which marked the birth of Silicon Valley, was a must. The detour was only a few 100 meters anyway. It is in the middle of a residential area, No office building around. I was completely surprised.

Those who believe riding in America is a nightmare I can proof wrong. You probably know the big traffic jams from your holiday or business trips to the big cities. But there are bike lanes in many places! And in the countryside, there's very little traffic. In remote areas you meet a car every 15 minutes or even less. Plus, the drivers—so far—are extremely considerate compared to European standards. And I'm one of them, too :-)

The distances between cities are sometimes so big that you simply have to spend the night in nature, even within California. And this is even more extreme in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In this respect, a trip across America without camping is impossible.

This is the only possible campground that I had to visit on my way. Unfortunately, it's been fully booked for months due to the school holidays right now. So, as an exception, I was hoping to be accepted as a cyclist. But the reception was strict and turned me away. Then a guy came and offered me a place to pitch my tent on his lot next to his RV. A very nice guy, Tom from LA . He even provided me with pasta and coffee in the morning. If this hadn't happened I of course would have gone for wild camping, I had no option anyway as I arrived in the late afternoon maybe one hour before sunset.

And then the nightmarish thing happened. I had lost my sleeping bag during the last stage. I only noticed it when I was setting up the tent, The temperature went down to 5 degrees celsius (41 fahrenheit). I wore everything I had, but that's no substitute for a sleeping bag. It was bitter cold. and I was wondering how cold it may get.

The picture of the sky show the stars so you can imagine how damn cold it was. But it was so beautiful. The nearest village is 50 km away and there is absolutely no light polution. That's why the sky is so clear. Very hard to capture that impression with an I-phone. But it was worth trying. But still, it was damn cold and I could hardly sleep.

Next day was a stage with 1300m uphill. On the top I was completely exhausted and needed a rest.

The downhill ride was pretty easy then and I was happy to get a warm room in a small motel.

Next morning start into a 166 km stage.

Until Bakersfield, a pretty decent city with 42o,000 people.

My bike started having some issues with the gear shifting, so I went to a bike shop that seemed as if they know their business. Finish Line Bikes sounded promissing. James is a nice guy, who himself did a tour from LA to Chicago and was extremely helpful with good advice for the Mojave desert, that will soon be the challenge. - no water supply for a couple of days.. He was able to fixed everything again. And he suggested a spare chain. Adds another 400g to the baggage, but it relaxes as you don't need to be afraid of a broken chain.

I also bought a new sleeping bag for the upcoming sections. and then took advantage to relax and get some fresh energy for the upcoming days. In the meatime we had 32 degrees today. (90 fahrenheit)

This is the elevation profile up to El Paso, Texas. I have a lot of respect for it. Tomorrow is the most challenging day with 1700 m elevation gain. If I manage it, things are looking good.

Next day off is planned for Phoenix, Arizona. Maybe it is too ambitious and I need a break before, Let's see