gotta go gotta go

I woke up and waited for Ed to come back in so he could see me role my bike out. It brought me great satisfaction to do that. I walked across the tracks and got my bike tire fixed, it was totally flat now. Bob Coffee who worked there took care of the costs which was well needed, thanks Bob. The fall in Long Beach definately put a beating on the bike. After L.A. the ride got tougher. It was more hilly, and more scenic, which made for a beautiful ride but tough on the mental. Getting through Santa Barbara was not easy and riding through the University of Cal @ S.B. WAS FUNNY TO SEE. Every student there rode their beach cruisers to school. I got to highway 101 and wasnt sure if I could get on cause here its tricky sometimes you could and sometimes you cant so you have to find another route around. I saw this guy riding on it and he yelled its o.k. His name was Amerigo, like Vespucci. He and I rode for about 30 miles together, and spoke a lot of how hes from Italy and all the over 60 biking events he competes in. He gave me an energy bar and then he took off to his beach camp site to meet his wife. I continued on through El Camino Real which was beautiful and hilly like most of the parts here. They werent too steep but long. Getting into my next destination in San Luis Obispo. I met Jerry who saw me going slowly, and offered me a ride, and of course without any hesitation I took it. He was heading north towards my next destination to a town called Gonzalez, so I thought o.k. though I would still have to travel another 40 miles to Montery I would knock another day off my trip, oh yeah. So I got to Gonzalez and rode on, but not before Jerry told me of how when he thinks of all the deaths in his family he realized they all died of cancer. Jerry really loves his family. He told me stories of his son and daughter and stories of his grandma cooking those home cooked meals with a lot of love. The subject of death was hard for him to talk about. His cousin died of colon cancer,his grandfather of prostate cancer, and how his grandma was in a coma and finally died of liver cancer. I'm glad I MET you Jerry, you helped me out abd I hope my story helped you out. Jerry was a cool mix of cultures, he is Apache, Mexican, and Greek. It was nice to ride through wine valley and get a geography and agricultural lesson of the land. I got to Montery and it was beautiful. the receptionist at the hostel was Jen from Darien Conn. It was a very nice hostel but no one was really there. I had a whole dorm to myself and the only one I spoke to was Mika from Germany only briefly cause she thought the hamburger helper I made smelled good. After I ate I washed my dishes and went to bed to get ready for my last day of riding until I got to San Fran to see Cey who I spoke to to let her know I was comming in. Its a good feeling to know that you're going to finally see family and have a home to stay in and not feel worried.