strongbad being a hobo thread

[C.Mongler]

finish the biking DAVID!!!

[strongbad]

I know if I did chill for 4 days the whole time I'd just be like "fuck I should have just done the ride"

Especially since my friend is gung ho on doing it all and we'd meet up after I'm done chilling and I would probably feel some guilt lol

[C.Mongler]

he's gonna call you a weiner and then make you drink so many smirnoff ice


do you really want that

[strongbad]

No

Also we stayed at this place called La Casa Del Cyclistas today which is just someone's home who let's cyclists camp out back for 100 pesos. Has an accessible shower, bathroom, etc. Pretty neat spot.

Anyways, we rolled up, set up, went into town, and then came back after some food and some cyclist from Belgium turned up. This was MASSIVE since we haven't met another cyclist since we were in the states. Apparently this dude has been a day behind us for a week and kept hearing about us from stopping at the same spots as us. He finally caught up to us after we did a shorter day and he did a longer one. I thought my bud and I were all alone out here so it was pretty cool to meet another guy. Also he had been riding at a similar pace with another european couple.

Anyways here I am having dinner with my friend and three other cyclists and it is freaking mind blowing. I thought my bud and I were the only ones dumb enough to do this stretch in the summer. It's wild.

[C.Mongler]

dang u guys are literally friggin' legends

[strongbad]

we've been riding with the Belgium guy since my last post. Really cool guy and I'm so glad we ran into him

Apparently a week or so ago Jacob (the Belgium guy) ran into an old Mexican man while he was looking at a map on the side of the road. The man offered some help, and told Jacob that he could stay with his family in santa rosalia. Jacob had been messaging him a little bit ever since, and got permission for Ben and I to join him.

Anyways we roll into santa Rosalia yesterday after a pretty tough day. Very hot with INSANE headwinds. Made riding an absolute chore, even though it was a fairly low mileage day of ~45 miles. Was a fun town to spend the day in though. We met up with a member of this guy's family at his work, and he said to come back at 9pm when he was off. Okay cool. We hung out at the library with free WiFi, had coffee, yummy food, etc. Apparently the church in this town was made by same architect who made the Eiffel tower using the same steel. Interesting stuff.

We meet up with this guy at 9 and he has us follow him in his car about a mile. He doesnt necessarily drive slow, and it was kind of a fun experience trying to keep up with him. We get to his house after a huge hill climb, and are immediately greeted by his sweet family who speaks very little English. His mother in particular was funny and could not understand my Spanish at all and just gave me a blank stare when I spoke. We went into this dude's room and played fortnite and cuphead on his Xbox lol. His mom made us two amazing sandwiches each, and made us a room to sleep in. Ben and I shared a bed and Jacob slept on a cot. I learned in the morning that this was the mother's bed and she slept on the floor in the next room. Insanely kind.

She made us coffee and a huge breakfast the next morning. I had to repair a flat and we were off by 11.

Kind of a weird day of riding today too. Was super hot for the first ~25 miles and we had a draft line going for the most of it. All three of us were pushing it and we really flew through it. Then it started raining (?) and we trudged through to the town. The rain was definitely refreshing but a little harder than I would have liked and now my bike is all dirty lol. Better than the heat? Idk. Anyways we're in a cute little town on the beach and considering camping on the beach if the rain stays away.

An interesting couple of days and I'm really glad we have another member in our party. Im starting to get a little annoyed of my friend so it is good that we have a 3rd member for that if nothing else.

STRONGBAD OUT

[Mando Pandango]

reading this makes me want to do something like this but i gotta get my fat ass out of this chair first

[strongbad]

You could always do a motorcycle or van trip or something to a similar extent. However there is some magic with bicycle touring where strangers really pity you because they think you're miserable (true sometimes lol) and really go out of their way to help.

Also am currently camping on the beach and it's fucking gorgeous. Going to wake up, make oatmeal and tea, and them bike an ez 26 miles to the next beach to camp at. So glad I'm out of the fucking desert. I was starting to really fantasize about the trip being over but I'm now remembering why im doing it. Less than 10 days of riding left and depending on the miles we put in I can probably take like 4 break days before I meet my gf lol. Very chill

[Mando Pandango]

yeah, biking seems like the most rewarding way to do it for sure. And if I started from here I would never get out of the country unless I went north, so that's kinda boring.

[Mando Pandango]

camping on the beach sounds amazing, btw

[Kalahari Inkantation]

these updates have made mexico sound like a much more hospitable place than i perceive it to be

and america, for that matter lol

and i agree that reading though this thread has made the whole idea of going on a long distance biking journey sound pretty fulfilling lol

boyah biking field trip

[strongbad]

Mexicans (and people in general, which this trip has enforced) are extremely hospitable.

Let's see, since I last posted, I spent a day on the beach, some time in Loreto and then re-entered the desert.

I think I've camped on beaches maybe 3 or 4 times now and it is very cool. It's totally legal to just roll up and camp and waking up with the sunrise is beautiful. Of course, it becomes stupidly hot within 30 minutes of the sun rising and id find myself dripping sweat while cleaning my dishes from oatmeal lol.

One beach we biked to after ~26 miles which had a restaurant that was recommended by various blogs. Unfortunately it was definitely off season and all they had were hamburgers and soda. We were planning on spending all day there, and this was kind of a bummer since i finished 1Q84 (amazing book, loved it) within an hour of arriving and they didn't have WiFi like I'd expected. The lady who owned the restaurant let me borrow some snorkeling equipment and I spent some time in the water looking at fishes. That was pretty neat, but regardless it was kind of a boring day. We left that beach and biked a mile to another one that we thought we could camp on for free (this one would have been 80pesos). There were palapas on the beach and we made a fire from scrap wood laying around and camped under them. In the morning some dude came around and said we needed to pay 200 pesos for camping in the palapas. We were annoyed since we didn't see any signs, and got him to go down to 100 pesos. O well.

The next day we cycled to Loreto which is the most touristy town I'd been at on Baja. Had a very nice plaza area and restaurants had menus in English. We stayed at a really nice RV park that had great camping spaces for cheap and enjoyed our time. We split a huge pizza and drank beer that evening. I'd been avoiding alcohol on Baja because water is so valuable and I don't want to become dehydrated, so this was a fun treat. Btw, that Belgium guy is still riding with us. Him joining us has been a huge highlight for me.

We hung out in Loreto until the next evening, planning to cycle another 20-30 miles to a beach for camping before we left the coast and re-entered the desert. Before we left we met some Mexican cyclists who were taking a long stop in Loreto. They took us to where they were staying and gave us fresh clams and dates. This couple was posting up in large towns for a couple weeks at a time showing short films they'd made and selling merch (that they carried on their bikes!). Cool people to meet and we left Loreto a bit later than we'd planned. We made it to the beach after dark but had no problems as we all have lights. This beach was maybe the worst yet, as it was super sandy, mosquito ridden, and there were people partying very close to us while we were trying to sleep. Didn't even bother cooking dinner due to the bugs.

The next day we had to conquer a large ~1300 ft hill within the first 10 miles. The rest of the 70 mile day would be an easy downhill/flat, but I was kind of intimidated nonetheless. The hill was of course not as bad as I'd envisioned and we ate 2nd breakfast at a restaurant after the peak. I saw two tarantulas crossing the road on this stretch which was kind of wild. During the flat boring part after the hill, a car pulled up to me and an older Mexican lady said "David?". Wtf? I'd contacted this woman on warmshowers about a week prior and she had said she would be out of town but I should talk to her daughter. I'd totally forgotten, and I didn't even respond to her message. I felt bad, since she was so nice! She gave us cold water and reassured us that we could stay with her daughter in La Paz. We contacted her daughter last night and of course she was happy to host us. I have a surplus of time before my gf arrives in Cabo, so I'll have two days off in la Paz at a nice homestay. Very serendipitous that I ran into her mother on the highway since I'd disregarded the earlier messages.

Last night we stayed at another RV park that had been highly regarded by past blogs. It had a pool and all other amenities we needed including wifi. We're doing longer days now that we're in the desert but we'll be coastal soon enough.

After today I have 3 more days of bike riding, and 4 rest days. 2 in la paz, 1 in todos Santos with another warmshowers host I'd lined up, and one in Cabo the day before my gf arrives. Hoping to use that last rest day to find a bike shop that can pack my bike up for me.

Pretty bittersweet that it's coming to and end, but this last week and a half on Baja will be some of the best (due to minimal cycling lol). I'm looking forward to being unemployed for a good week when I get back and binging overwatch for a couple of days lol

[strongbad]

Also @popsi if you are interested id look into routes around where you leave. i've had some amazing experiences over the past year just doing weekend trips. not quite the same as a extended tour of course but still very fun and novel. and good to get your feet wet before you commit a lot of time

[strongbad]

enjoying my time in la Paz so much

It was so freaking lucky that we met that warmshowers host on the freeway a few days back, since the setup is perfect. It's a mother who lives with her daughter (the mother is in California atm) and they have hosted literally over 400 cyclists over the past few years. I heard stories of there being a dozen cyclists there at a time lol. Makes me glad that we're in off season since we have the space to ourselves. Jacob, Ben and I are sharing an air conditioned room (fucking amazing to have AC) with full amenities. The daughter of this lady is a doctor and is busy during the day, and gave us a key so we can come and go as we please. They also have two pugs that are fucking adorable. There's a couple who lives in a van also staying there (an Italian dude with dread locks and a Japanese girl) who have been traveling around Mexico for 10 ish years. Neat people but I had trouble connecting with them.

I spent yesterday biking around town and eating way too much food. I probably ate over 5k calories lol. Also chilled in our air conditioned room and watched shit on our phones. We met up with the Dutch couple I mentioned before for drinks at a bar, and said goodbye to them.

Day two is now, and I've been enjoying a fancy cafe in the nicer part of town. Jacob just left to catch the ferry to mainland Mexico to continue his trip to Panama. He's going to take two weeks in Guadalupe to take intensive Spanish classes (good idea). Very sad saying goodbye to him- this dude saved the trip for me. I realized that a lot of the negative thoughts I'd been accumulating were due to annoyances with Ben, and having a travel partner that I really clicked with was huge. So strange spending a week and a half becoming close friends with someone and then saying goodbye probably forever lol. The nature of traveling, I guess.

For the rest of my time in la paz I'll probably do some errands and do some work on my bike, and then chill at the house more. We are riding 50 miles to Todos Santos tomorrow where we have another host and break day lined up. There is a craft brewery close to our host's spot and a beach 3km away so it should be a nice spot to spend some time. Then one more day to Cabo where I'll pack up my bike and pamper myself with my girlfriend 

[C.Mongler]

drink a sex on the beach for me buddy