After a few crazy weeks of desparate last minute saving, moving out of our house, saying our goodbyes and generally erasing any paper trails that might lead the authorities to our whereabouts, we left for sunny California.
After a few days of decompressing / decomposing we hit the road for the good old fashioned California road trip. The plan was to visit Gab's brother Robbie in Santa Cruz and hopefully do some riding on the famous trails, catch the third stage of the Tour of California and then move on for a short glimpse of San Francisco.
We caught a glimpse of Lance Armstrong as he flew past at 80 kph in the bicycle race. He crashed out the following day, so we got lucky I guess. I have to say however, the most impressive part of watching the race was the speed that the team cars went through the corners attempting to keep up with the riders. Screech!!
After spending the night in Santa Cruz drinking with the redneck division of the local social demographic (never heard 'Ride the lightning' sung in unison by an entire bar before) we hit the local mountain bike trails. I've wanted to ride in the states since I was a teenager and this was a very pleasing introduction. Heaps of Redwood forest smooth singletrack followed by rough open singletrack. We encountered some of the local wildlife in the form of a large, wild cat. Then again, maybe it was a large wildcat. Either way it was large for a cat but small for a large sized dog. Luckily it had no interest in hanging around because apparently these medium sized buggers will literally rip your face off. We cautiously continued our ride and descended back to the car for the next twenty minutes over rough open singletrack. Jumping over rocks, finding creative ways to pass Gab and sliding through the corners whilst we watched the sunset over the Pacific were some of the coolest moments I've had as a bike rider and I'll never forget it.
Next day we travelled up the coast to San Fran where we wasted no time and went straight to the Golden Gate Bridge, unloaded our bikes and promptly rode over the thing. Have to say I was a little scared riding accross that big orange bastard as the wind howled and I looked at the freezing waters below .
We invested in a nicer hotel in San Fran than the one we had in Santa Cruz, which smelled like it housed a dead smoker covered in burnt hair for several months prior to our check in. Anyway, we hit the town and lived it up for a night in an ultra funky bar.
We did the Alcatraz prison tour the following day and it was truely one of the coolest touristy type things I've ever done. They gave you an audio guide so you could check it out at your own pace and still get some cool info about the place.
Here's a pic that I like taken from inside the walls and it demonstrates how little the inmates could see of the outside world.
We had to haul ass up the 101 back to LA that night, thank satan for red bull.
Next up......
Vegas
It was a cool night which finished with a visit to the Rio's rooftop club where the drink pictured below caused the next 3 hours to disappear.
I have to say that my highlight of the Vegas trip was the hilariously serious Kareoke at Bill's Gambling Hall. This was very competitive business, with guys that brought their own music, microphones and fancy dress. One particular man, who did stunning renditions of Lionel Ritchie classics (including 'endless love' with his girlfriend) nearly melted my cold, cold heart.
