Day 45, 46 + 47: Rest days in LA
Going to start combining multiple rest days in a row into single entries, so don’t have to worry about writing on rest days.
Rest day 1 Am not much of a city guy, but given I am in LA, I guess there is some stuff I am supposed to do here. I know so little about LA, and my general knowledge is so bad, that I only put 2 and 2 together and realized that Hollywood etc was in LA a few days ago. Guess I shouldn’t be admitting this kind of stuff publicly.
Had the idea to rent an e-bike and get some assisted easy zoom zoom type cycle to LA proper and see the Hollywood sign. Not sure what else I am supposed to do in LA but know I am supposed to see this sign. And didn’t really want to cycle, but decided an e-bike cycle is ok. However, when I suggested this to the e-bike rental guy, he just laughed at me. “That is way too far for these bikes/batteries”, he says after finishing laughing. LA is so big and I am in one of the towns on the outskirts. He recommended just biking it with a regular bike or getting public transport.
Given it was already 10.30am and would take 2+ hours to get to LA proper on public transport, I decided to just hang around Redondo beach for the day and figure out how to get to LA tomorrow. I like Redondo beach.
Also put a quarter into a weighing machine just to see what effect 1 and a half months of cycling had on my weight. I was 103 kg before starting… And now… Still 103 kg. Not sure what to make of that! Guess I can’t expect to lose weight given how much I am eating..
Did a little bit of shopping. Currently have 2 pairs of pants that are exactly the same. They are loose enough around my ankles meaning the bottom of the right leg of both is black from chain greece. No amount of washing will remove this. So I decided that a pair of non cycle pants was a good idea so I can feel like a regular non-cyclist on rest days. Also got a multi tool including a plier as I know it will come in handy. Also needed the pliers to tighten the front rack that I installed the other day.
Any time I try to eat sea food, I make a fool of myself and end up wasting most of the food. So I went for a fresh crab dinner with my hosts, who attempted to teach me how to eat. Not sure how successful they were but the crab was nice.
Rest day 2 My host, Kyla, works (very early) half way into LA proper so I decided it is a good idea to get up at 3.30am and get a lift. Could then catch a sequence of Metros towards the compulsory tourist attractions that prove I have been to LA.
The first metro was a success, but then I spent about 30 mins looking at the Google maps and walking up and down random streets looking for the 2nd metro station only to realize I should be looking for a bus stop. I felt very stupid…
Eventually I reached the Hollywood walk of fame around 5am. Was mostly just myself and homeless people at this time of the morning. Decided it would be smart to find a coffee shop and hang out there until a little after sunrise.
Seen the Hollywood sign from a distance from a side street off the walk of fame. Thought about hiking up to it but then decided I didn’t want to. Instead I went to another coffee shop and decided to try cold coffee as it seems popular here. I absolutely don’t recommend it. Coffee needs to be hot.
Looked up on Google to see what else I am supposed to do in LA. Beverly Hills was mentioned, and I am cultured enough to have heard of these hills, so I decided to go there. 3 bus connections later, I took the needed photo and walked some random streets, which given their namesake, were surprisingly unhilly. This is a super fancy place. There are fancy valet parking services outside every restaurant, queues of rich looking people outside some perfume shops. Even some coffee shops I passed didn’t have prices so I decided it wasn’t worth risking ordering something. I saw some estate agents so I looked in the window. The first house I saw was 150 million… Photo attached. Decided to pass on this. So many fancy expensive sports car shops. Thought about going into one and asking for a test ride but thought better of it. And there were loads of tour buses offering tours to rich famous people’s houses. This seems like the most unappealing waste of time and money and I struggle to find something less appealing to me… So I didn’t do that. Decided I can’t afford to eat anywhere in this area. I even looked up McDonnels as though I might afford that but there was none in Beverly hills, surprisingly. So jump on a random bus out of there. Had paid the cap of 5 usd on public transport for the day so all following rides would be free.
Public transport was an experience. Somehow ended up at the airport… Don’t ask. Eventually got back to the host house. Spent about 6 hours on public transport today. And was knackered.
Rest day 3 Left my helmet in a hostel a couple of days ago. Got it back today. Thanks Fiona! I owe you one!
Most of the hiker biker sites south of LA have been closed due to homeless problems. So I have sent a couple of warm shower requests for tomorrow night.
Spent too much money on a Garmin InReach mini 2. This is a satellite communication and SOS device. It isn’t really needed for the USA pacific coast route I am doing but will be needed for my Mexico route and the rest of my trip, where I can’t rely on coverage. Probably should have gotten it at home in Ireland but decided that it was smarter to do the USA pacific coast first before buying it in case I decide that I don’t like cycling and don’t want to continue. That isn’t the case so spend 400+usd on this device. Immediately have trouble setting it up. For some reason the phone number verification message doesn’t work. I don’t receive the verification SMS code. Ok, I am roaming but other text messages/calls/data work fine. Will investigate more in the next day or so.
And in other news I found my spork! Though I lost it before I could even use it once. Turns out someone put it in my electronics bag… So now I am back to having only lost 2 sporks.
It was great to have a few rest days and thanks again so much to Joshua, Kyla and their dog Tyton for hosting me. Hope ye make it back to Oranmore soon!
Tomorrow I cycle. Not sure where yet other than south. It will depend on if I can get a WarmShowers for the night. If not, I will go 100ish kms and find a cheap motel.
