I have taken numerous long distance bike trips starting at the age of 11. All of these rides were done with my dad. At the age of 11, he talked me into doing an 80 mile ride in Canada. I was hooked! The next year we did a 400 mile ride, also in Canada. At the age of 13 and 15 we rode together from Mexico to Canada -- 2200 miles in 21 days. For our last trip, we cycled 940 miles down the coast of California in 2000 (Dad was 71 years old!). We averaged 94 miles a day! Wow! If I can do that at 71 years old, I'll be very happy.
On that trip, I had the idea to eventually cycle back down the coast, this time towing a surfboard to surf the amazing breaks I saw in remote places. I wanted to take someone on the trip, and pass along this amazing experience that my father gave me, and Mike was the obvious person to do this with! I taught Mike to surf a number of years ago, and now we get to bike and surf together. I can't think of another person I would want to pass this tradition on to.
Rather than do the trip solely for self-gratification, Mike and I want to bring attention to the many environmental issues facing our coastline by demonstrating that it is possible to travel and surf in environmentally friendly ways. It just takes longer and is harder. This trip has taken off in ways that we never imagined, and I owe all of this to the initial ride I took back in 1980. Thanks Dad!
