Dana Point, CA to Cardiff, CA - 45 miles
We realized halfway through our ride yesterday that we left one of the water backpacks in El Segundo. Good riddance. Here's another consumer reports analysis. The knock-off brand water backpack is a pain in the neck to close! The bite valve is so stiff that it makes your jaw tired and the whole contraption leaks down your back if you didn't fill it perfectly. Maybe there are decent ones out there, but the inexpensive brand we bought at Big 5 doesn't even compare to our Camel Back. Spring for the name brand and it will make your water consuming adventure much more enjoyable.
We've crossed paths a few times now with 2 British brothers named Rob and Andrew. Check out their blog at abrothersjourneyaroundtheworld.co.uk. These 2 adventurers left England 15 months ago and rode their bikes to Singapore. They then rode through Australia and New Zealand before flying to Vancouver to start the last leg of their journey. Their final destination is Argentina. They plan for the trip to take 2 years and cover 27,000 miles. So far they have completed 20,000. They shared a few funny stories with us that I'll repeat here for your enjoyment.
In China, they went to a restaurant and ordered chicken. Since they don't speak any Mandarin, they ordered the meal by flapping their elbows like chicken wings. When they were brought only the head and feet of a chicken to eat, they decided to fill-up on rice instead. In Vietnam, they wanted to get out of the heat for a while, so they stopped at a theater to watch The Secret Life if Walter Mitty. After the movie they were commenting on how adventurous the main character was. Then they looked at each other and one said, "Aren't we cycling around the world?"
These brothers will soon be leaving the United States and entering Mexico. They mentioned that they were studying Spanish in the evenings trying to learn a bit before crossing the border. I thought maybe we should offer to leave them Stephen's cell number in case they ever need help with translation. I decided against it when I realized that if they made it across the entire continent of Asia, then they could certainly hold their own in Spanish.
Meeting these two, I couldn't help but think of my own sons 18 years from now. Have we given them a taste for adventure that will fuel them in the future? Time will tell.
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