by Philip

Day’s mileage : 70

Running total : 2,004

 It was an early start this morning as we have a 68 mile day and are due to be picked up from our AirBnB at 6 this evening by friends for dinner – it seems unusual to have a deadline! We were on the road at 8:15 and rode initially past three sides of the Hueneme naval base (huge!), part of it down a lovely road – dual carriageway but with eucalyptus trees lining both sides and the centre of the road. We passed retail centres and industrial areas, and then were out into agriculture again – seeing turf farming for the first time – as ever, enormous fields – of  nicely trimmed grass, some being harvested and palletted up for transport. During this early part of the ride I reached a total of 2,000 miles on my bike’s odometer which feels like quite an achievement – even if a few of those were already done when I took ownership!

This seems to be a large military area as we next came to an air force base specialising in transport – large C-130 planes in the tarmac although the only flying object we saw was a heron. Stopping for a break and to start writing this we saw several fighter jets and missiles mounted on corner plinths – and colonised by starlings, darting in and out of the jets’ air intakes with mouthfuls of food for hungry and noisy chicks. 

Of course having said there was nothing flying, 2 minutes later a fighter jet took off, rather noisily. From the starling nests we joined highway 1 which we’ll be on for most of the day, soon entering the Santa Monica mountains with them on our left with their dramatic geology and the crashing ocean on our right. The sea was creating a mist across the road, and then mountain tops were in fog, which overall makes for pleasant cycling conditions. As we arrived at a vista point Liz too reached 2,000 miles – she always manages to reach these milestones with beautiful backdrops for her photos recording the event!

The day doesn’t have much climbing in it – about 1,700’ total … indeed after the first 20 miles we’d only climbed 200’ – so our batteries are not being used much. The road continued like this for a while, passing through a hamlet of perhaps ten houses, built (it seemed) somewhat precariously on wooden stilts in the sand – it seemed odd to build like that when there is so much land available. They must be stable though! Around a corner and we can across 17 surfers enjoying the waves – I always have to look twice from a distance as a surfer in a wetsuit looks remarkably like a seal. 

We entered the city limits of Malibu and started to pass some huge houses, although it was another 4-5 miles before we got to the town itself. Malibu beach is extensive, but today was almost deserted. Only one of the 14 beach volleyball courts was being used, and the car park was empty. There were a couple of surfers … I imagine on a sunny weekend it is packed and bustling. 

We rode into the hills above the coast, past huge mansions, negotiated a road work detour, and continued along the coast with a snack stop at Malibu Bluffs Park looking out over the ocean, watched very carefully by a couple of hopeful ground squirrels. 

At the park we saw a few charred trees and bushes, and observed they were the first evidence we’d seen of the recent wildfires, and that we’d expected to see more. The next five miles proved sobering in the extreme, as we passed house after house between the road and the sea which had burned down, the debris now removed by the army, and concrete piles the only remaining part. The curiosity of half a mile of houses burned, then one untouched, followed by another mile of destruction. We saw whole hillsides razed, rusted burnt-out cars by the road, and endless construction and clearance teams working. The impact on infrastructure is obvious, with temporary cellphone masts in car parks powered by generators, coils of cable which had melted, official signs instructing owners to clear debris by 1st June, and signs advising not to drink the tap water. We had thought we would see charred vegetation – and were wholly unprepared for the scale of destruction the fires wreaked. The Getty Villa still stands proud on the hill – but all around it is damage – it must have been a terrifying time. 

We stopped for lunch by the sea and wanted to use the facilities, only to find that the ladies (on the west of the building) was burned out while the gents (on the east) had been spared. The vegetation has largely rebounded – the palm trees have black trunks but green fronds, and there is new grass and blooming flowers on the hills. The lunchspot was on Palisades beach where it appeared the golden sand was mixed with black ash, and where there were several bulldozers which had been grading the beach. 

From there we went to Santa Monica beach and then into Venice with its boardwalk (famous, I’m told, from the Barbie movie). The change was stark, and while the beaches were golden and wide, and the cycle path 15’ wide and smooth, I felt suffocated after the devastation we had just seen. A comparison in my mind was driving from East Berlin to West Berlin in 1990, as the Wall was coming down, and the extreme culture shock I felt then.

I was pleased to get away from the coast briefly, then ride along a path next to a rowing lake (think Olympic rowing rather than pedalo) and passed the UCLA boathouse. The path then turned along the coast for many miles, with sparsely populated beaches, empty volleyball pitches, and frequent aircraft from the nearby LAX airport. With 5 miles to go we turned inland up a very steep hill (turbo mode engaged) and meandered through gentle residential areas, stopping for food before finding our AirBnB. We will have a reasonably quick turnaround as we’re being picked up at 6 and taken to dinner.

Additional notes

Oxnard to Lawndale, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, CA

Left at 8.15am. Arrived at 5pm. Back from dinner at 9pm.

Weather: Overcast. Cool and misty but it got warmer. Later the sun came out.

Landscape: Through Oxnard then out into crop territory again, the pickers harvesting strawberries. The landscape was noticeably flat. Around the edge of Oxnard’s large naval base, the base on our right and Highway 1 on our left. Navy housing on our right behind a big fence. The Santa Monica mountains on our left with lovely rucked up sedimentary layers and many flowering yuccas on the steep hillsides above us. We came to the sea which was grey green in the overcast morning, the beach was visible along with the sea further out, but we could only hear the waves crashing and pounding as they were out of sight. The road followed the coast. Entered the Malibu City limit and stopped for a snack beside a nature reserve. Took one or two diversions off the 1 through small communities. Through Pepperdine University campus overlooking the sea, at 40 miles, blackened burnt trees on the slope below from the wildfires earlier this year. Palisades, shocking numbers of burnt out homes to our right along the sea front. Miles of beach paths heading towards Los Angeles, yellow sandy beaches and the sun out so the sea was blue. Lots of people enjoying the wide beach, walking and cycling on the paths but it wasn’t too crowded. Venice Beach which excited Cathy at home as it was where the Barbie film was shot. Noisy planes were taking off every 2-3 minutes at nearby LAX. Headed inland for about 3 miles through a smart area towards Lawndale, the roads leading steeply up and down, attractive homes with neat front gardens.

Towns: Oxnard. Malibu, long and drawn out.

Trails: Beach paths.

State roads: Highway 1, fairly quiet and a good shoulder.

Breakfast: Porridge and cakes from our host, sitting in the bedroom so we could look out at the dunes.

Lunch spot: On the sea front at Palisades, feeling oppressed after the devastation, the beach deserted.

Dinner: Indian restaurant in Manhattan Beach and ice cream along the road at Handel’s.

Wildlife: At our lunch spot, two pelicans flew by low over the water and one dived in sharply, emerging 30 seconds later. We rarely see them dive.

Plants: Yuccas in flower up the mountainsides.

Things we saw: A library road sign in Oxnard with a diagram of a person reading a book. An old shopping mall on the left and new one on the right, quite a contrast. A turf crop. Planes and missiles on display outside the naval base with many birds nesting in them, sweet, in and out feeding their chicks. Surfers at South Beach. A road called Philip Avenue – I took a photo of Philip under the sign. At Palisades the ladies’ side of the rest rooms had been burnt so we both used the men’s, which was unaffected. As we got to the outskirts of LA we saw a large police encampment, we weren’t sure if it was to do with the clear-up operation after the fires or with the riots going on in the centre of the city. A roller-dance park at Venice Beach. I liked the beach paths but Philip didn’t.

People we spoke to or saw: A day cyclist through Oxnard rode alongside me and we had a chat. His jaw dropped when I said where we’d started. Cathy Hingley, her son Isaac, his wife Ashley and their children Sabrina and Orion.

Incidents: There were more roadside shrines than usual today. In a lay-by there were five matching crosses and one other nearby. Philip wasn’t having a good day, we had an altercation about lunch timings. I didn’t manage to enjoy the last 30 miles. A sign announcing that the PCH was ‘now open’, following the wildfires. Riding past miles of burnt-out sea front homes, very sobering, some plots just had the mailbox left out front, the remains of tiling, a burnt-out car, concrete pillars on the beach, metal girders or warped door posts and nothing else. Burnt trees and plants. It was very sad and shocking. The shoulder had been affected in many places so we were weaving in and out of sections of melted road and riding around warning signs, not easy as the carriageway was busy and the lanes were narrow. It was stressful getting ready to go out to dinner at 6pm and it was a bit much after a 70-mile ride but we did our best and it was good to see Cathy Hingley again. She and her family expressed their dismay at the political situation.

Shopping: Grocery Outlet receipt, Lawndale.

Accommodation: A converted garage but spacious and beautifully furnished with pretty things.

Today’s sound: The squeal of a train on tracks.

Today’s smell: The scent of oleanders.

Special moments: Sitting looking out at the dunes. They have felt very friendly, soft and warm. Cycling through Oxnard I felt very happy, a bit day-dreamy so I didn’t see the cyclist approach from behind before he came alongside for a chat – not good, I like to know at all times what’s coming up behind me. The friendly cyclist. The perfect weather for cycling. In the run-up to 2,000 on my milometer I was thinking about what happened in the matching year eg we started going out in 1990, Helen’s arrival in 1994 and Cathy’s in 1996 etc. Reaching 2,000 miles.

Positive experience from my journal: Feeling happy for miles this morning.

Appreciation from my journal: I gave Cathy H a small scrapbook I made her incorporating my journal entries and photos from when I stayed with them in 1987.

Blog comment from Jennian: ‘Thank you both – and Cathy – for the wonderful armchair trip I’ve had down the West Coast. Dipping in and out of your epic ride has been an absolute delight – how you had the energy to keep up the daily entries, I can’t imagine. But I calculate you must now be almost at the end: hope readjusting to life off the road isn’t too hard’.

Social media reply from Roger Jones: ‘That is one serious ride. Respect’.

Video: Riding along the coast (16m57s). Beach paths (33m05s + 23m36s). Along the coast, blurry (20m23s).

Mementos: Grocery Outlet receipt, Redondo Beach.

Audio: Voice note to Helen C (4m29s).