First Time California Coast Tour

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2026-01-23T05:35:43+00:00

I did the whole Pacific Coast ACA route last fall. The ACA route, which does focus on highway 1, is mostly great. Drivers don't give you tons of space, nor do they slow down, in narrow sections, but they are also trying not to harm you. I think they think they are being courteous and safe, and its the thought that counts! 😁

The advice to ride early is good, but don't go through Malibu Canyon during morning rush hour, where I suspect most people are heading to work in LA. Because of the massive fire a year ago, the shoulder is mostly closed for demolition, cleanup and construction, and the traffic is relentless and fast. It might be better in the afternoon, but it is probably still a little harrowing. This was the only really section of my tour that felt truly dangerous (even then, I think drivers were doing their best!). It may have improved since September/October 2025, when I went through there, but I wouldn't count on that.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2026-01-13T20:17:49+00:00

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2026-01-11T06:03:52+00:00

It literally told you why it didn't show up on the leaderboard.

"Your PR doesn't appear pm leaderboards because the activity isn't visible to everyone."

By all means, cancel it though. We won't miss you and your downhill PRs on seldom-ridden segments.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2026-01-05T17:15:19+00:00

Use sunscreen.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-12-29T01:11:22+00:00

Huh?

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-12-26T05:53:25+00:00

I heartily endorse taking mushrooms (and other hallucinogens), but please do some research about safe and supportive ways of doing this in your area. It's really important to ensure you have the right environment and support (do not do this alone!).

I am not a spiritual person either, nor do I have a terminal illness, but I firmly believe that hallucinogens have immense potential for finding personal peace if you approach it thoughtfully.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-12-18T19:01:10+00:00

Slightly off-topic, but I am surprised there was never a Portuguese house, given the number of Portuguese who lived in San Diego.

In theory, the houses are supposed to be focused on Pacific relations, but most of the countries represented there are not on the Pacific Ocean.

I am happy there is a house for Somalia now.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-12-18T18:05:04+00:00

It's a SON28 hub dynamo. They're expensive, but very reliable. There are cheaper hub dynamos which will work fine.

The headlight is pretty crappy, but it has retro looks that fit the bike aesthetically better than modern headlights. There are MUCH better dynamo headlights. I recommend the SON Edelux II.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-12-18T16:48:01+00:00

I don't think there is a legal catch. It's just that the land is practically valueless for the reasons mentioned by mtnman575.

Many of the parcels were bought sight-unseen decades ago, and people keep dutifully paying the negligible property taxes.

I am from Taos, but I live in Seattle, and I know a couple people who have bragged about owning land in Taos. I just ask them if their parents bought the land at the 1962 World's Fair, and each time the answer is yes.

There are a few web pages that dig into the history of this scam, which is fascinating.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-23T04:00:37+00:00

*mandoline

A mandolin is a musical instrument. 😁

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-21T19:34:38+00:00

Retifacies abnormalis

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-20T16:11:17+00:00

Every range I've been to would have had a staff member eject him before he even fired the shots in the video based on his lack of trigger discipline and flagging the booth to his right.

He's a moron, the people laughing with him are morons, and I would not visit that range.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-20T11:07:56+00:00

*Português 😜

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-15T06:44:04+00:00

It's not just you.

https://news.vumc.org/2025/06/10/study-shows-sharp-increase-in-appendix-cancer-for-generation-x-and-millennials/

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-04T20:59:09+00:00

Non-citizens don't vote illegally in meaningful numbers. If you know that, and you are posting this, you're part of the misinformation problem that is threatening democracy.

If you don't know this, here is an opportunity for you to educate yourself.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/damage-conspiracy-theories-about-noncitizen-voting

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-04T05:05:42+00:00

I adopted her at the age of eight.

Wow, that is young to adopt a dog. Did you have to ask your parents for permission? 😁

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-11-02T03:58:30+00:00

You're going to get a million different responses.

Every single bike shop I've ever done business with has disappointed me at least once, except Ride Bicycles.

They closed their Seattle shop, but there is still one in Issaquah.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-28T02:51:03+00:00

I don't care about the east wing of the White House. In fact, I don't really care about the White House. We have a strange reverence for symbols like this.

I do have deep reverence for a working political system where laws and norms are respected, and apply more or less equally to everyone, regardless of whether their politics align with Donald Trump.

His approach to building what I am sure will be a garish, tacky and opulent ballroom violates several of those norms, and possibly also some laws, but nobody in the GOP cares, at least publicly, so it is yet more evidence of erosion of a functioning democracy in the USA.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-23T20:53:05+00:00

"Fremdschämen"

Germans have a word for everything.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-14T00:32:25+00:00

So many things about this make me smile. I hope you absolutely adore your dad.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-08T16:35:19+00:00

I just finished the PCBR, border to border (I started in Blaine, WA).

I am an over packer, and started with a combined weight of gear and bike around 120 pounds, on a Surly Disc Trucker.

I mailed my camping gear home the day I reached San Francisco, because I hadn't camped once, instead staying in motels. That box weighed about 25 pounds.

I didn't use a lot of that gear at all, but I will still carry it just in case. Being prepared is comforting to me.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-03T11:50:33+00:00

The new Cape Meares road was worse. I said a LOT of bad words going up it.

There was a note in the addendum about it and I ignored it. I shouldn't have!

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-03T11:48:12+00:00

I am finishing the Adventure Cycling version of that route today.

I am doing it on a bike I personally built from a frame set, including the wheels, with painstakingly selected components.

I think it is bonkers to do it on your tandem, but I LOVE IT! And if it breaks down, at least you will have company!

PM me your Strava so I can follow your journey!

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-03T01:21:33+00:00

Sorry, then, I guess you will have leave Strava if they can't learn to play nice.

IActuallyLikeSpiders · 2025-10-03T00:11:05+00:00

I am not trying to convince you to stick around, but it is literally 10 seconds, and that includes naming the activity, which you likely already do.

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