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By Johnny, July 31, 2010 6:45 pm

The last day of the trip began at the same time like it did the previous day. Early morning wake-up call. We get down by 6:30 and depart towards Niagara Falls once again. The agenda for this morning? Check out Goat Island and experience Maid of the Mist!

We got to Goat Island in no time and was greeted with an empty parking lot. What this meant was that we got to see the Horseshoe Falls with no other tourists and really up close and personal. We were so close that with the change of the wind direction, we were showered with the mist from the crests below. To enhance the beauty of the falls, a rainbow can be found circling the top to the bottom of the fall. A truly beautiful and magnificent sight.

With 15 minutes left until the bus drives off, I quickly made my way over to the Bridal Veil Fall, the smaller of the 3. It was quick jog down to the viewing deck with a bridge running over the fall.

After our viewing from the top of the falls were complete, we once again found ourselves at the Visitor’s Center and made our way to the park. We were the first tour group to get there for the Maid of the Mist attraction. Essentially Maid of the Mist is a boat ride near each of the 3 falls. They gave us plastic raincoats because it is expected that we were going to be drenched. I personally didn’t think we were going to get that wet. I was in for a big surprise.

We boarded the first boat that was out for that day and they packed it in with visitors. I luckily got to one side of the boat leaning up on a railing. As we got closer to the American and Bridal Veil Falls, you gradually got misted on and there was a constant spray of water. It wasn’t so bad. But when we made our way to the biggest fall, Horseshoe, the mist became pelting drops of rain. The next thing you know, everyone was doused in water from head to toe. Truly a refreshing feeling! Nothing like an early morning shower to cool down the already warm morning.

As we doubled back, we passed by the other two falls once again giving the other side of the boat the experience of misting from the falls. We made it back to the dock drenched. Our tour guide tells us to go check out the staircase that is located next to the American Fall. Boy was that crazy! With every step up to the side of falls and every wind blowing against you, the water mercilessly pound everything in it’s way including myself and other tourists who wanted to see the top. I got there. I got soaked!

I finally made it back down and eventually found myself at the top of the fall at the observation deck. I took a couple of pictures from way up top. That was the last time I saw Niagara Falls. We were told to get breakfast / lunch before boarding the bus. The bus ride was LONG! Crying kids, uncomfortable chairs, and people complaining about this and that was all part of this ride back. When we finally made it to New York City, I was so glad to be out of that environment. We were back in Chinatown and I had to find my way back up near Korea Town, where my hostel was booked.

I took the Train N up and got off at 28th Street. I made my way to Latham Hotel. For $120+ a night, it was located conveniently close to the Empire State building and few blocks away from Times Square. So when I got there, I dropped off my stuff in my little room and ventured out to get some dinner and explore Times Square. This “hostel” was nothing you wanted to write home about. Didn’t feel all too safe there but it did have an air conditioner which is awesome! Plus I didn’t have to share this space with anybody else. The next morning, I got breakfast at a near-by deli and waited for my shuttle to come. I made it to JFK with time to spare and enough memories to keep me occupied until I get back into work the following day. Great solo vacation!

Niagara Falls, I’m going to miss you!

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By Johnny, July 30, 2010 10:00 am

Our day began with a prompt wake up call at 5:30AM. I didn’t roll out of bed until about 6:30AM. I quickly cleared out the room and made it at the bus at the same time as the bus driver did. It was the 4th of July and the final destination to watch fireworks was going to be Niagara Falls. What better place to be for such a momentous occasion?

Little did I know, we will be spending majority of our time sitting in the bus. It was good to catch up on some reading as well as my sleep. We soon reached our first destination: Hershey’s Chocolate World.

I never knew that there was such a place that existed. The place consisted of an amusement park and a tourist center. We went to the tourist center where upon entering, you smell the distinct scent of processed cocoa and sugar. Oh manufactured chocolate heaven. Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t any admission fee. Our tour guy gave us 1 hour here. I quickly got on a “Disneyland-like” ride which basically explains with simple animatronics how chocolate is made. This was very high on the cheesy side of things. The ride eventually ends and you find yourself in the middle of the gift shop. This was the mecca of all things Hershey. From toy cars to stacks of chocolate for all your sweet tooth’s delight. I decided to curb my hunger by having some breakfast/lunch here. They had their own cafeteria in this center. I was feeling like some real breakfast but instead had some soup.

After all of that, I looked down and realized I was out of time. I quickly made my way back to the tour bus. As usual, I wasn’t the last one back. In fact there were still people taking their merry time. By the time we all returned to the bus, we were 15 minutes late. The tour guide was not happy. Nevertheless, we were on our way. But where?

Our next destination was the Corning Museum of Glass. The route that the bus driver took was primarily 2 lane roads. At times, it was scary watching him try to out pace neighboring cars for a lane. Mind you, I was just getting over the trauma of the accident. During the 3 hour drive over, the bus driver and tour guide got into it. The bus driver wanted to break but tour guide who was conscious of time did not allow that to happen. The bus driver, this big Russian dude, was whining the whole time to this smaller Chinese guy who was our tour guide. Rather uncomfortable since I was sitting next to the tour guide.

We finally arrived to Corning Museum of Glass. This was located in the middle of nowhere. It was literally the only thing in town and if you were around, you wanted to see this place. We were quickly ushered in by the tour guide who worked his magic to get us into the glass blowing demonstration that was already taking place.

The glass blowing demonstration was interesting but what was best about this experience was that the air conditioner was kicked up high. It was hot out and taking refuge from that heat was very comforting. As we finished the show, we were given an hour to check out the museums. There was one exhibit room which had glass artifacts that was used through-out the world. There was another section where it was purely interesting things about glass and it’s significance in day-to-day lives.

My favorite item there was a glass that was curved in such a way that it magnified the people that walks towards it. Very trippy when you see yourself 5x bigger. The coolest thing was definitely the glass pane that automagically frost and unfrost depending on what angle and side you were looking through. Totally awesome!

I finally forced myself away from the rest of the place to grab a quick bite for lunch. With 5 minutes left, I swallowed my lunch and quickly ran to the bus. Here I am hypocritically late. We started on our journey once again. The ride was kicked off with the tour guide making people do karaoke. He eventually got to me and I just didn’t know what to sing. So I belted out some Careless Whisper ala George Michael. It was horrible. When you’re put on the spot you can’t think of the lyrics to one of the most popular song in your arsenal. I crashed and burned! Meanwhile, all the Indian tourists was able to sing to their hearts content. This last about an hour until the tour guide put on a movie. Guess which one? One of my favorite one, Yes Man! I’ve watched it several time and haven’t gotten tired of it.

3 hours later we end up on the first of the Twin Bridges. We eventually reached the welcome center for Niagra Falls. I was finally here!! I couldn’t believe it. We entered the visitor’s center which contained the movie theater. We were given a 15 minute opportunity to go see the falls. The first and closest one was the America’s Fall. That was a thing of beauty! Never have I been in awe just watching water fall off a cliff.

I eventually was herded back in for an IMAX viewing of a movie about Niagara Falls. Again, the air conditioning was the highlight and the movie was cheesy to say the least. A general overview of the falls and the people who discovered it or fallen off of it and lived to tell.

When the movie ended, we were given about an hour to grab dinner and be back at the bus by 9:30PM so that we can be bused over to Goat Island for the best view of the fireworks. With the combination of people being late as well as crowds of cars and tour buses, we ended up not being able to go over to Goat Island. Instead we were dropped off again at the Visitor’s center. We made it 10 minutes before the fireworks show started right above the falls. It was spectacular. Overcrowded but beautiful view of colorful display of art in the sky.

It took awhile for us to gather all the people and head over to our hotel which was in Buffalo, NY. I was exhausted and easily knocked out. 2 days down 1 more to go.

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By Johnny, July 14, 2010 9:18 am

In my last post, I described my hostel experience up to the point where I was getting ready to go in and sleep. Apparently while I was out using the Internet, I had 2 roommates show up and was already sleeping. I quickly and quietly made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth and prepare for bed. I purposely had my iPhone charged up and ready for me to drown out any noises from the night. The helped all but the 1 hour that I had it set to stop. I kept on hearing all sorts of noise coming from the street. From emergency sirens, cars honking and revving away, people yelling in the streets, and the heat in the room, I had a very restless night.

So when 6AM rolled around, I quickly hopped out of my bed, got cleaned up, and gathered all my stuff and bolted out of my room. Everyone was still asleep.

It was refreshing walking through the streets of NYC with a few people around. I walked the 1.2 mile to my destination in Chinatown. I eventually found my tour bus and had some breakfast Chinese food style (bbq pork bao and fresh squeezed soy bean milk). Lucky for me, I was assigned a seat right up front with the tour guide.

We left Chinatown with a partial full bus towards New Jersey to pick up the rest of the people at 8:05AM. Our tour guide was very energetic and knew what to point out to us as we pass it. Strangely enough, I’ve seen more sports stadium in one day than I ever want to. I must digress, our first stop for the day was in Philadelphia, PA. There we had the opportunity to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The line to go into to see the bell was way too long for the 30 minute allotted time the tour guide gave us. Instead we got to peak in from the side window.

The courtyard was teeming with tourists given the fact that it was 4th of July weekend. I got to go into the Old Courthouse and walked by the 1st Library that Benjamin Franklin founded. The cobblestone streets gave it a touch of historical reference.

We eventually made it over to Washington D.C. and was greeted by the MLB’s Washington National’s ball park and the view of Capital building. Our tour guided scheduled a boat tour of the Ptomac River. The captain of the boat gave us brief facts about Washington D.C. as we cruised through the warm and windy harbor. Highlights included Reagan Airport, the Washington monument, and the Pentagon.

One hour later, we boarded our bus again and made it to the Smithsonian Airspace Museum. The tour guide said the place was only 2 stories tall. It was a huge 2 story. I didn’t get to see everything that wanted to or dive deeper on some of the exhibits. I was actually late to get back to the bus and had to jog towards the Capital reflection lake where the rest of the group was.

We took a brief ride over to the next stop; the White House. No, we didn’t go in to see. Instead we hung outside the front for a glimpse of our nation’s capital. Throughout Washington D.C. (as well as everywhere else) they were preparing for the 4th of July celebration. At the same location we saw the Nation’s Christmas tree. Again, Washington’s Monument was prevalent throughout our tour around the area.

Our next stop was Jefferson’s Monument. This was an impressive building for the author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was my favorite President when I was learning history back in grade school. The power of his written words moved the creation of our great nation.

As we made our way towards the Lincoln Monument, something unfortunate happened. We got into a car accident. I was prepping post cards and looking at my iPhone at the moment. I look up to see a SUV pull right in front of our path. The bus driver swerved left but it was too late and we smacked right into the SUV. Luckily for the sheer size of the bus, nobody was seriously injured. One lady was complaining about back pains but other than that we were all fine. It took about 2 hours to clear up the mess. By the time we got to the Lincoln Monument, it was dusk and there was an especially large population of students from schools scattered throughout the steps up to the monument. This was the most impressive monument I’ve seen.

Ironically enough we never stopped to see the Washington Monument. Like I said before, it was prevalent throughout our stay at Washington D.C. so we weren’t missing out too much. Our tour guide said there’s usually a line in the morning to go up the monument. The elevator only fits 7 passenger at a time since it narrows out at the top. He also pointed out the two shade of color. The reason is that when they first built this monument, the Civil War broke out. So they ran out of funds since it all went into the war. When the war ended the completed the monument. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the right material after the war. That is why you see 2 different material or shading of the monument when you’re up close.

Our day concluded about 10PM when we reached our hotel outside of Washington D.C. I ended my day with a meal in my room and just passed out on my bed. We were told that the wake up call was at 5:30AM. One day down and 2 to go!

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By Johnny, July 2, 2010 8:22 pm

So I’m in New York City, it’ s 10:30PM EST and I’m blogging from the lounge area of the hostel I am staying at. After a grueling week of training, I can finally take the next few days to relax. My first experience of living in a hostel is somewhat interesting. I’ve been told to be very careful and watch my back. Folks also told me they got scabies staying over a 1 star hostel in Europe. Obviously, anxiety would be a perfect description of what I am feeling right now.

I check in here at 3:30PM. After multiple attempts to open my door since the card reader did not seem to want to work, I finally got into my room. The bed that was suppose to be mine was already occupied so I took the only available bed which was a creaky top bunk. The bed is smaller than a twin size and feels very unstable. There are lockers in the room which I brought a padlock to lock up my valuables. I spent some time to plan out my route for tomorrow’s bus tour departure. This was capped of with a brief walking tour in the city. Didn’t go anywhere in particular but got a baguette for dinner. I come back to an empty room and jumped into the shower. During this time I hear one of my roommate come back. He’s from Austria and is on his way to Florida and then eventually to California.

He tells me he’s going to be taking a nap and then go out to explore the city later. I climbed up to my bunk directly above his and was on my computer. Another couple comes in and they introduce themselves to me. Forgot where they were from but they took a quick power nap as I dozed away as well.

I wake up to the Austrian leaving and then the couple leaving as well to explore the night of New York City. I made it down and now I’m here blogging. People have been generally nice. Did I mention that I’m in my pajamas?

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By Johnny, June 11, 2010 12:14 am

Here’s a video of the ride. I can’t wait to take part in this! If you haven’t done so, click on the link to the right to help fight arthritis and guarantee me a spot on the ride. >>>

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By Johnny, April 16, 2010 4:41 pm

One of the items on my bucket list is to ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a bicycle. I was planning on participating on the ever-popular AIDS/Lifecycle ride but that normally takes place earlier in the year. This pretty much gives me 2 month’s time to raise $3,000. Yup. Not gonna happen. So instead I found another ride for the Arthritis Foundation called the California Coast Classic. This will start and end at the same location and I also have to raise $3,000 to participate. Fortunately, the ride will take place from September 25th to October 2nd. This will give me plenty time to fundraise. I’ve included a donation progress meter to the right of this post to track my progress. >>>>>>>>>

Please help me reach my goal by donating or if you like, join me on this great adventure! If I know you personally, I’ll be asking you soon. The next task is to learn more about the organization so I can sound half-way knowledgable about who I’m helping here. Big plans are yet to come for this so I’ll keep ya’ll posted here.

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By Johnny, January 5, 2010 10:00 am

Between Christmas and New Years in 2009 I rode 431 miles in the span of 7 days. It all began on Christmas evening when I decided to ride out to my sister’s place in Chino Hills. The ride was good with some notable hills through Eagle Rock / Pasadena and the 3 hills entering the City of Walnut on Grand as well as through Diamond Bar / Chino Hills. It took me about 5 hours to go 55 miles. I was carrying with me a change of clothing and some Christmas gift for our gift exchange. Everything including myself made it safe and sound.

The next afternoon, I had to make the journey back home. The toughest hill this time around was the one from Chino Hills to Diamond Bar on Grand. All the other hills from the previous day made it enjoyable since the grades was a bit more steep on the way to CH. I got up to 38 mph flying down Grand in Walnut. I got home a few minutes sooner than I did the previous night.

On the 27th, I took the day off from riding knowing that the next day would be the start of my bicycle touring / camping trip.

The next morning on the 28th, I left the house at 6:20 am. I was suppose to meet Jeremy at the Vermont / Santa Monica red line station at 7 am. I underestimated the time it took to get from my place to the station with a full bicycle load. Needless to say I was late by 30 minutes. We immediately took off riding down Santa Monica towards the ocean. After about 25 miles completed we rested in Santa Monica where we were greeted by a furry friend looking for food in Jeremy’s bags. We rested and collected ourselves and prepared for our next stop, which was going to be some 30+ miles away.

We hopped back on our bikes and pedaled north on PCH. We didn’t stop until we rode past Zuma beach in which I had to take a bio-break. I was feeling good and excited about the trip. I was eagerly waiting for the scenery to change from the rolling hills of the Pacific Coast. Strangely enough, the bottom bracket on my bicycle started to act up. It was making loud squealing noise off and on. Interestingly enough, that noise was gone after the first day.

The next time we got off our bike, we were at a cool rest stop outside of the Naval Base where they showed replicas of fighter jets and missiles. We had our first meal there. When we got there, there was a guy playing with 2 new puppies. The dogs were adorable but I didn’t approach him to talk about them. I was just zoning out from the ride. Eventually we see the same CHiP officer pull over 2 cars on separate occasions. It seem to us that this was a hot spot for this particular officer. Right when we were getting ready to leave, another touring rider stops by to say hello. He was traveling from San Francisco down to the southern border from Germany. He takes 2 months off every year around the same time to tour the United States. He was riding through Yosemite and was cruising through the area we were planning to visit. We wished each other safe travel and proceeded opposite directions.

We rode through Oxnard which featured a fairly busy suburban neighborhood highlighted with various service people driving their big trucks, sports bikes, or obnoxiously modified import car. It was a relief to finally get out into Ventura before sunset. That was cut short when the clouds prematurely covered our sunset and we were forced to ride in cold.

The final leg of the ride had us riding through 2 camp sites preparing our dinner, cruising through the 101 / 1 freeway, and finally highway 150 before we found a camp site at the side of the road. We spent the night covered in our tarps listening to the calls of bats and barking of dogs through-out the night. We finished 104 miles but I could not comfortably sleep. It was the fear of being caught that kept me up. I have to admit, stealth camping is not my thing. Jeremy seemed very content since he was able to sleep through the night undisturbed.

The next morning we crawled out of our slumber back onto the 150 highway. We proceeded another 16 miles through Carpenteria and Summerland until we reached Santa Barbara. Our focus this morning was to find a spot to have breakfast. We were able to locate a spot on a park right next to the ocean walk.

I enjoyed some oatmeal and a cup of hot cocoa. Also had a banana and some trail mix. What seemed to me at the time plenty of food for a ride, was certainly not enough for what was in store today. We packed up everything and got back on the road. The mission this morning was to locate more water since we were running really low. We followed the maze of bicycle lanes and routes through-out Santa Barbara and found ourselves outside of a Vons where Jeremy bought 2 gallons of water.

We finally located the road that was going to lead us up to the road to Lake Cachuma. To say that this road was tough would be an understatement. It was suppose to be only 15 miles of straight climbing. After the first 2 miles I was beat. I was really tired. There were switchbacks and hairpin turns that would take you up 4 stories up after 2-3 turns. After 4 miles, I gave up and decided to walk the bike up. The pictures below showed a very naive me thinking I can take on this mountain. Little did I know…

We made our way onto highway 154 which was a straight climb up. When I mean straight climb, it was a complete ascend up to the top. At the end of it all, we probably climbed about 2600+ feet. At that point, Jeremy wisely suggested we put on a sweater because it was going to be cold flying down. Boy was he right! We hit speeds of 40 mph flying with speeding cars and trucks. It was a pleasant ride up and down all the way through to Lake Cachuma. We finally had our lunch right next to the lake. I foolishly thought this was it. Jeremy had other plans. He was seeking for a fire road that was suppose to take us over to the beach the same day. Luckily for me, that road was closed to the public so I offered that we stayed at Lake Cachuma for the night. I was both mentally and physically beat. I did not want to climb more mountains that evening. Thankfully, Jeremy agreed and we got to camp at the Lake Cachuma area.

During the night we were kept up by frat boys who were extremely loud. They were freaking themselves out when a enormous raccoon invaded their site. The same raccoon came through our site and stole some bread off of Jeremy’s bike. Jeremy took the bread and threw it away from our tents. It was comically because I thought I was hearing him eat in the middle of the night while it was really a raccoon. And yes, that animal was fat and enormous!

The third day of the bike tour began with a rain in the morning. We spent our mornings preparing breakfast in our tent. Knowing that I had hills, I ate more oatmeal than usual hoping that this would help. We packed up and began our ride out in the rain. I didn’t mind the rain all too much. It was actually therapeutic as we ride 10 miles towards Solvang. We finally reached Refugio Road. Locals pronounce it as Refufio. A guy on his truck stopped by to ask us if we were doing okay. We told him we were good and asked him about the road. He said he’s done the hill and said it wasn’t so bad. I guess I took that literally because I was shocked when I reached to part of the ride where the roads were so bad that the only way a car could make it up these hills, is if you have a 4 x 4 vehicle. We climbed and climbed up this mountain. Our tires and mud guard on the bike was caked with mud. We stopped several times but managed to get back on the bike and continue to pedal up towards the top. My tires were not suited for that type of situation but I pushed on slipping and sliding. Fortunately for me, I did not fall. I was able to finally make it up to the top. Jeremy once again was able to reach the top well before I did and waited patiently for my arrival.

I was greeted by a couple of old folks exclaiming, “You look like you rode from China!” I didn’t know if I should be offended or not but I was thoroughly exhausted. Again, I had to put on my layers of clothing because at the top, we were amongst the clouds or fog. Descending on the other side, we were told was going to be step and fast. Jeremy went ahead of me since he had plenty of time to rest. On my way down, I bumped into the same old couple who wanted to take my picture. We talked for a few minutes and found out that they were from LA in the Ontario area. They had a place in Santa Maria and was touring the hills to see Reagan’s Ranch. The were retired teachers who had a lot to talk about. I finally got to leave on my descent down the road after they took a few pictures with me. It was a frigid ride down. Really not a ride but rather an exercise of concentration and arm control. The roads were slippery and the visibility was horrible. It took me about 10 minutes to fly down the mountain onto the beach. I was so relieved to have lunch after the crazy 3000+ feet of climbing we just did.

After lunch, we began the last leg of our ride to Carpenteria. It was going to be a 50+ miles ride on the freeway and through Golieta and Santa Barbara. Jeremy had an abundance of energy and I found myself about 1 – 2 miles back from him at one point. I finally catch up to him when we exited the freeway and began our trail on the bike lanes of Golieta and Santa Barbara. That was probably one of the most entertaining ride that I’ve experienced. We were weaving in and out of multiple bike paths which gave the right-of-way to the cyclists.

Oddly enough, I had lost my sleeping mat on the road and a motorist found it and returned it to me. I was so grateful. When we got into Santa Barbara, the sun had set and we needed to find water and snacks. We met a few veterans who asked for change. We gave them some change and one actually told us where to get free clean water. By the time we got going again, it was pitch dark. During this whole time I was thinking to myself how amazing it is that no one got a single flat. Murphy’s Law kicked in and I got a flat on my rear tire right before we entered Carpenteria. We had to pull over and I had to unload the bike completely. It took probably about an hour to change out the tube, load and unload my bike. We finally make it to Carpenteria and found that they had a campsite for hikers and bikers available. We gladly took the spots offered and setup camp. We ate and I took a nice warm shower before I went to bed. Jeremy on the other hand was exhausted so he went to sleep right after dinner. Total mileage this day was 67 miles.

The next morning we were suppose to leave by 9am. I was up by 7am. Even though I was the early bird, I was the last to pack up my stuff. Jeremy had finished breakfast while I was putting my tent away. I felt so lethargic and drained. The ride did not start out well. I was instantly left behind by Jeremy. By the time I got my pace back we were ready for our first break.

We proceeded down toward Ventura. Once again Jeremy ran into some problems with his chain. He worked on it for about an hour before we got going again. We kept pedaling until we reached Oxnard. We stopped at a park for a breather and then about 10 miles later we decided to grab lunch. We both agreed that a nice lunch was well deserved for our efforts so we decided to go get some good Mexican food. Our first restaurant meal included a combination of a burrito and a couple of tacos. I was stuffed. Once again I thought this was enough to last me through the rest of the ride.

We left the restaurant and proceeded to ride through the same Naval Base that we had passed 2 days ago. This time we just rode pass the aircraft and missile display. By the time I reached Point Mugu, my calves started to hurt. In fact, it all just went down hill for my body from that point forward. With about 70 miles to go, I was in for a tough ride back. We patiently ascended and descended the hills on PCH until we finally reached the Santa Monica Pier. Due to the fact that it was New Years Eve, the pier was especially crowded by tourists and family.

It was in Santa Monica where I felt the chaos of traffic begin to creep up on me. Not only was I exhausted, I had to dodge people and cars while worrying about my leaning bag and sleeping bag on my bike. I didn’t want to lose anything. Jeremy took me through Beverly Hills and through Korea town in which he showed me my way back over to Burbank. He was done about 20 miles before I was. By the time I reached home, I was in a daze, hungry, and drenched in sweat. The mileage I covered was 105 miles for the last day of my trip.

There’s something about carrying all your personal belongings with you on a bike that humbles you down. A couple of notable first would be my first and second century ride was accomplished on this trip. I rode on the freeway for the very first time as well. I also learned a lot on this trip about myself. I learned that I am in decent shape for a guy who only rides on weekdays and occasionally on weekends. At the same time I learned that I need to be in better shape and battle more hills around LA. I learned to listen to my body whenever it needs something. More food, rest, and bathroom breaks. I also learned that people are generally very nice, kind, and curious. Everywhere we stopped there seemed to be someone willing to start a conversation with us. They’d ask where we were heading or if we needed any help. It was good to know that in a world where everyone is closed in their cars, people would still be willing to talk to a couple of bikers with their entire possession strapped to their bicycles.

A big thanks to Jeremy who planned the route and blazed the trail for me. He was methodical and direct with his planning. Like I said on Twitter, he was a beast on his bike and I’m glad he waited up for me when I was struggling through the hills. Here are some pictures from his camera. He took much better photos about the journey. His camera was readily available than mine so my pictures didn’t capture everything. I’m looking forward to the next trip.

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By Johnny, August 31, 2009 10:11 am

I wanted to point out a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

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By Johnny, August 30, 2009 5:56 pm

I have returned from my latest adventure through Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the Grand Canyon. My travel-mates, my sister and her fiancé planned this trip a few months back. Here was the itinerary then.

• August 22nd – Las Vegas
• August 23rd – Zion
• August 24th – Bryce
• August 25th – Page, AZ
• August 26th – Grand Canyon
• August 27th – Grand Canyon
• August 28th – Havasu Falls

Saturday morning we got all our camping stuff together and it looked a little like this.

At first we couldn’t get everything packed in the car. Eventually we left the canopy and few other items at home. We were very close to calling it quits to the trip since all the SUVs and vans were rented and that would have been a $500 increase to the rental rate even if they found one for us. We began our journey towards Vegas in our rented Nissan Altima around 11AM.

We eventually made it to our Vegas location. We stayed at a friend’s vacation condo located about 4 miles from the strip. It was a hot and muggy day. Notice that the floor is wet when we arrived. Eventually we made it out to the strip and parked our car at the Bellagio hotel. We pretty much spent our evening walking through the strip from hotel to hotel after having our last meal before our camping trip at the Paris hotel. We eventually went back to the condo and called it a night.

The next morning we started our journey towards Zion. This was the first time we ever drove north on the I-15 freeway. After about 3 hours of driving and being lost at the north part of Zion we eventually made it to our campsite. We quickly setup camp and had our lunch. Marie had mentioned that this was “the best sandwich” ever. Probably because of the fact that we didn’t eat until 3PM.

We eventually hopped on the free shuttle that ran through Zion Canyon and took it all the way to the end. On the way we saw so many different sandstone formations. I was in awe to be in such a beautiful environment. We definitely felt so little at a place like that. The history of the Virgin River running through the canyon which was pretty much the reason why the canyon was carved in the way it was.

Our first hike was about a mile hike to the beginning of the Narrows. This was a section of the hike that you had to get your feet wet literally. We didn’t go too far due to the fact that in places like this with thunderstorms looming, you can easily be caught in a flash flood and we did not want to risk that. Thunderstorms was the theme of this trip after my friend Camille had told me she had lost a friend during a flash flood in Grand Canyon. We were very conscious about not putting ourselves in the position. Luckily when we got back from the hike, it was drizzling right before we hopped back onto the bus.

We then stopped at another location called the “Weeping Rock”. This was a half mile hike which featured a rock that had a constant stream of water flowing on it. We were under it to see and feel the water fall off the rock. The hike was steep but very short.

By the time that was over, we ended up going back to camp by the shuttle. We prepared some salmon and corn for our dinner and sat around our first night of camp fire. There was a general store right outside the park in which you can buy almost anything you need for camping. We went and bought some firewood and some citronella candle to deter the yellow jackets that was constantly buzzing around our meals.

The campsite was very nice. We were under the shade for the most part. At nights, it got windy. Perhaps not as windy as it seemed if you were sleeping in a tent. Our second night was much worse when it felt like the tent just was about to be blown off from it’s foundation.

The next day we got up and headed out of Zion and into Bryce Canyon. It was a 2 hour drive towards the Northeast. Very beautiful drive on a 2 lane highway. On the way we saw a group of cyclists who was doing one of those fully supported rides. I vowed one of these days I will be doing that. But for now, I admired my view at speeds ranging from 45mph to 70mph.

When we got to the Visitor’s center we had our lunch of Lunchables crackers, meat, and cheese. Again there was a free shuttle that drove us from various points of interest. We stopped at Sunset Point and was treated to majestic view of what this park had to offer. All three of us was in pure amazement to see the pylons of stones that made up this location. After several minutes of photo sessions, we hiked down to the canyon.

Our hike was initially going to be a 1 – 2 miler but ended up to be about 4 miles. We were very anxious at the beginning but towards the end it got tough with the hike terminating at the top of the look-out.

After the hike, we jumped on the shuttle for 2 more stops at Bryce Point and Inspiration Point. From there we were able to see more beautiful rock formations. We had lots of beautiful pictures from this hike and was probably the most scenic of all the places we went. Towards the end, we stopped taking pictures since it pretty much looked the same at each of the points. We left the park at 6PM and retreated back to Zion. We ate dinner, sat around the camp fire, and went to bed.

The next morning, was check out morning for Zion. We had breakfast and packed up our campsite. We had to remember how we originally packed the car so that we used every space optimally. After we were all packed up, we went on one last hike through Zion. We hiked to a location called the “Emerald Pools”. It sounded very interesting but unfortunately didn’t lived up to our expectations. Because of the fact that there isn’t a lot of water during summer, we didn’t see magnificent waterfalls. Instead a few spouts of water falling from the rocks above. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good hike.

When we got back to the car, we began our journey to Page, Arizona. What’s in Page, AZ? That was going to be the stop before the Grand Canyon so that we can sleep on beds and take our much deserved showers.

What we didn’t realize was that Page offered many places to see. Ranging from Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge, Horseshoe Bend, and the Glen Canyon Dam. We eventually decided to go see Horseshoe Bend before dinner. We were not prepared for the minor hike to the location but walked through it with slippers and all. When we got there, we were treated to another sight of beauty. Sunset at the Horseshoe Bend was incredible. We spent almost an hour admiring the view and getting over our fear of heights.

We meet a German family on the way back from view Horseshoe Bend. The father helped us snapped a group picture at the spot. We found out they were doing pretty much the same trip we were doing. Instead of starting at Las Vegas, they were going to end there. They were at Zion and Bryce at the same time we were and was heading off to the Grand Canyon the next day as well. We bid them farewell only to meet them again at the restaurant where we had Chinese food. They were very friendly and pleasant. Through out the remainder of the trip we referred back to them several times. One of the most interesting part of the trip was that we kept on hearing so many different languages. We were surrounded by Europeans everywhere we went. They really love our national parks! We got back to the motel and surfed on the Internet for a few hours as well as watched TV. Eventually went to sleep in our somewhat comfortable beds.

We got up, went to Walmart and McDonald’s for breakfast. I was surprised by the fact that it cost us almost $20 for breakfast at McDonald’s. That was 3 of the same “value” meal. Anyhow, we got on the SR-89 going South. What we didn’t know at that time, our GPS made us go to “Grand Canyon National Park” location in Flagstaff. We obediently obliged and drove all the way down to Flagstaff only to realize that the location it was directing us was an office location.

Our detour did bring us to another National Park at the “Sunset Volcano Crater”. This was an active volcano few thousands of years ago. It pretty much was one of the bigger ones around the area and around the park was surrounded by remains of hardened magma. We hiked around the Lava trail for half a mile. The place was interesting but it wasn’t as “scenic” as we thought it would be.

Our detour led us more Southwest than we would have wanted to be. Eventually we made it to our campsite in the Grand Canyon National Park around 5PM. We quickly setup camp and bought some more firewood for the night. The free bus at the park ran until 11PM every night in the summer so we thought it was a good idea to go to one of the stops to see the Grand Canyon.

We eventually made it out to Yavapai Point in which we were treated to a beautiful sunset. The canyon was massive. Much bigger than that of Zion or Bryce. I felt much smaller being there especially when you look through a pair of binoculars towards some trails in the canyon. We eventually took the bus back and settled in at our new campsite.

The camping at the South Rim of Grand Canyon was cold at nights. It was comfortable and not too cold. We heard lots of crickets and insects that chirped through-out the night. We saw bats flying over while the stars sparkled in the sky. The first night, the moon was missing after a brief appearance. The second night, it lit the sky and our paths.

The next day we went to the Visitor’s center to ask the park ranger on recommended day hikes. We were told that there is a 2 hour hike we can do called the “Ooh Aah Point”. This hike was great going down, but on the way back up, it was strenuous. Nevertheless, the reward at the bottom was another beautiful view of the Eastern part of the canyon.

We eventually finished the hike drenched in sweat and exhausted. We went back to the Visitor’s center by bus and meandered through the Rim trail. That was another 1.5 mi walk back to Yavapai Point, which was the location we were at the evening before. We took the bus into the Village. We were actually in search of these “cancellation stamps” from the National Park. At Bryce, we bought some National Park Passports which allows you to put stickers and have cancellations stamps from all the major US National Parks. In the Grand Canyon there was 5 of them. I only got 4 of 5. We treated ourselves to some ice cream before taking the bus towards the western side of the Grand Canyon. We ended up at Hermit’s Rest.

We found the 3rd stamp there and proceeded back. I remember being exhausted and falling asleep on the bus ride back into the Village. Marie & Sang decided to head back into camp and take advantage of the showers. I decided to find the remaining cancellation stamp at the Visitor’s Center. I soon found out that the last stamp was at the Desert View location which was only reachable by car. It was a 25 mi drive to the East side of the canyon, outside of the park. I was fortunately to find the 4th stamp at a location where we found the first one.

I made it back before it got dark and just sat around until they came back. We had dinner and discussed the details of our last day. When I was sitting around I was doing some quick research about Havasu Falls. This was going to be something we needed to do in more than 1 day. It wasn’t a simple trip of going there and hiking to see the falls. It was going to require some hiking to a location, camping and hiking back. We decided that it wasn’t going to be a good idea to go there and decided to head back home a day earlier. We forfeited the night at the hotel as a result. But that was evened out when we returned the car a day earlier.

Thinking back, we did a lot for a week long trip. It was non-stop action and I loved the camping aspect of this trip. I can’t wait to do another camping-centric trip again. I believe we may try to go see the Arches and make our way into Yellowstone. You know we have these cancellation stamps to obtain!

Here is the Flickr set of the remaining photos in our trip. Enjoy!

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By Johnny, July 16, 2009 1:10 am

The photo updates into Flickr are going up slowly but surely. I’m currently on my vacation back in 2007 of the Great Pacific Northwest. Looking at those images brings back fond memories. I can’t wait to be able to go on my vacation trip this year. We’re planning on heading over to Utah and Arizona to visit Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon National Park.

Tonight I had the chance to ride from work to the Bike Oven and then from there back home for the first time since I’ve moved. Logged about 34 miles. Most on a school night on my commuter. Not that I’m proud or anything but I finally got to find out how it was to ride to the Bike Oven and back. I’ve been hesitant in the past because it didn’t seem too safe so I drove there most of the time. I think I’ll be riding there more often now.