Day #3: Stream of Consciousness

Today's Route: Pine Valley, CA to Lake Henshaw, CA (51 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 131 miles

Remember the sidewinder from She Shot the Sidewinder? Well, Jill sent some photos and stats abut the snake.

The dead sidewinder.

Look, there really is blood coming out
of the little booger's mouth!

Jill estimates that the sidewinder was just shy of four feet. And that doesn't include the three inches of rattles that Jill had removed. Jill counted ten rattles on Mr. Sidewinder's tail, suggesting that the snake had a good ten years of life before Jill showed him who was boss!

Day #2: Kicked Arses

Today's Route: Jamul, CA to Pine Valley, CA (51 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 81

Simply put: Today's ride kicked our arses.

Let's start at the beginning of the day, with breakfast.

Munching down on some hearty oatmeal.

Day #1: And We're Off

Today's Route: San Diego, CA to Jamul, CA (28 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 28 miles

I slept on the couch at Alex's house last night to make for an easier early morning departure. We woke just before 4am in order to make it in time for our 6:10am flight from Seattle to San Diego.

Alex decided to check his bags at the airport. As his bags weighed less than 50 pounds, we figured we might as well milk the 50-pound checked baggage weight limit for all it was worth. So, I added my tent, sleeping bag, and a few other small items to Alex's checked baggage.

We ran around Sunday evening looking for a box big enough for our gear, yet small enough to fit within the airline's checked baggage limits. We settled on some banana boxes and crafted this gorgeous check-in masterpiece.

Our checked baggage.

She Shot the Sidewinder

Meet Jill. Jill was my Warm Showers host for two nights at the end of my Pacific Coast tour in 2012.

Me & Jill.

Jill is a rock solid awesome woman. She phoned me a few times during my trip to make sure that all was well. When I got to her place, we shared some amazing conversation. And then right before she dropped me off at the airport, we took her kayaks out onto the Pacific Ocean. I had an absolute blast hanging out with Jill. I wish she and I lived closer.

Jill gave me some great advice. She said, "When you get back to the 'real world,' don't forget the feelings you have experienced on your trip." I took Jill's advice to heart; I didn't let my feelings get buried underneath the day-to-day doldrums of reality -- namely: get up, go to work, rinse-and-repeat. Nope, I'm reliving those great trip feelings over and over and over again.

On the Bike & Off the Grid

Lookie what arrived!

The much-anticipated delivery!

I had been anticipating the arrival of this box for just over a month. For most women, this sort of anticipation might accompany the arrival of a new outfit. Or perhaps a new pair of shoes. Or a new handbag.

But nope, that's not the case for this Pedaling Princess. This box contained...
...<drumroll please>...