Yeah, so, another schmoe riding the PCH. 

I doubt I'll have much great insight to impart  I have a terrific older brother Mark that majored in philosophy so maybe I can crib some philosophical contexts from him to filter these experiences through...and make this really boring.  But wait!  Someone has already covered all that in a book (which I have not read) called Cycling Philosophy for Everyone. 

So really, this will merely be some updates to avoid sending a million separate emails and/or texts to some interested family and friends.  If interesting enough for "others" to enjoy then, hey,  bonus.

Another terrific older brother Tim thinks that my ride down the coast will be shouldering unnecessary and outsize peril and (I assume) anguish.  Mind you, this is a guy who has had more than one near-fatal motorcycling incident, skied avalanche chutes in Colorado, nearly run out of air scuba diving, etc., etc. so I guess I should take those dire warnings at least somewhat seriously.  Realistically, it's gettin' pretty darn crowded here in Colorado so I'm probably already riding in a comparable amount of traffic at least some of the time.  And sometimes it's just fun to do "biggish things" and endure/enjoy some of what these days they call "Type II Fun".  I haven't done any biggish, Type II Fun things for a while.  Also I'm gettin' kinda old so ya gotta make hay while the sun shines. 

I have other siblings.  I'll name drop them soon enough.  So a few words on the bike...

Marin Muirwoods 29er (2021 I believe).  I've only made a few mods to this flat bar bike; I've replaced the stock handlebars with some Falcon Aero bars (kinda like Jones Loop H-Bars, if that's any help).  I replaced the stock tires with the ubiquitous Schwalbe Marathon tires. The original tires (who shall not be named) would start leaking if you gave them a sharp look.   Because of their solidness and simplicity I  replaced the trigger shifters with Microshift thumb shifters, they give me joy.   Marie Kondo would approve.

To be honest, I'm predominantly a recumbent rider these days but I found out on an eight day shakedown tour through Colorado last fall that a loaded-for-touring recumbent (in my hands at least) wasn't really well suited for the dirt road sections and shoulder-less, steep, high-traffic passages of that trip (looking at you Hoosier Pass).  Since I think there will be even more narrow, highly-trafficed sections on the PCH, I opted for the upright bike.  Also, I think it would probably be something of a hassle navigating that thing through the MUPs of Venice Beach and LA.  I've heard tales, passed from our forebears and down through the generations, that its crowded there. 

I will however miss the stability of my recumbent slipping through the air on the downhills.  I've had it up to almost 45 mph fully loaded and the only thing that made me brake was a little shoulder angel saying "Really? Forty-five with a full load?".  The bike, was saying "Really?  I can easily go fifty...".  Specifically the brakes were saying "Jeez I'm hot!  Let it run!" That's all figurative, of course--bikes and bike parts don't talk.  On the flat bar, Muirwoods I start getting nervous well below 4o mph and the air resistance of that thing makes going much over forty sort of a moot point.

That's enough for a first posting.  I'll cover some route, equipment and schedule details in the next post.