Cycling the US West Coast Seattle to San Diego! Bike and Book tour Part IV

“Hey man, I care about clean air. Right on!” someone shouted from a car passing us and honked in support as we pedaled out of Arcata, CA.

“Around the world for asthma? No way!! How many miles did you bike?” an older couple in our campground on the Columbia River in Washington asked as they passed our tent on their evening walk.

“Why asthma?” a woman questioned, staring at the sign on the back of our bikes in the Bandon, OR parking lot while we took photos of a set of craggy sea stacks.

“Are those bikes yours?” We nodded as we drank our coffee on the outside veranda of a café in Santa Barbara, sitting next to our heavily loaded touring bikes. “Where’d you start?”

The signs on the back of our bikes were certainly a conversation starter as we pedaled down the west coast from Seattle to San Diego. We had not counted on chatting at least an hour or two each day to others about clean air, asthma and our book, Breathtaking, on our bike and book tour. But after two years of isolation during Covid, it was wonderful to talk to people again. It seemed, as we cycled down the classic west coast tourist sightseeing routes of Highways 101 and Route 1, that the entire country had poured out of their homes, excited to be outdoors, on vacation and enjoying life after the pandemic. And we were too!

If I had one word to describe our journey this summer, it would be People. On our route, we met hundreds of friendly, caring Americans who believed in our cause, encouraging us when we would stop to catch our breath on yet another steep hill or pull off on a wayside to take a break from the relentless heavy traffic in many sections. It was rare to have day where someone did not pass us and call out, “Thanks for what you’re doing,” “Keep up the great work,” or “You’re an inspiration. I’m so glad to have met you.” Don’t believe the newspapers. Americans are kind, helpful, friendly people. They always have been and nothing has changed since Covid—except maybe that we’re all even more desperate to meet each other after the long loneliness.

I have also been shocked at how many people have asthma or have a loved one with asthma in the U.S. In fact, most days, we would meet someone who struggled to breathe. On our journey cycling around the world, we met people with asthma too, but not this many, not every day. Very encouraging were the many people who were worried about our air quality. Annual summer fires and red smoky skies have become a permanent reality on the west coast now and even those of us with healthy lungs can’t breathe any more.  Over and over people would tell us how glad they were someone was bringing attention to this issue. And we loved having people honk and wave in support as they passed us in their cars. Some donated money, which we have been sending to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation and International Asthma Services.

Best of all was the support from our former sponsors, Patagonia and REI. Both companies were excited and delighted to host events for us at their stores as we pedaled down the coast. Strongly committed to saving our planet and our cause, they went to amazing lengths to organize and create fun events in beautiful venues. At several venues, REI set up tents outdoors under the moonlight, complete with garden lights, making for a lovely evening. And Patagonia was amazing, providing free food and beer from local vendors and even hiring a local band for one event!

Equally inspiring was Patagonia’s (and their employees’) commitment to their nonprofits and environmental issues. At every one of their events, they invited a nonprofit organization to set up a table and speak briefly before our talk. We had the chance to meet many fabulous organizations working towards the same goals (including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the Environmental Health Coalition, Climate First (CFROG), Bike Ventura and Girl Ventures). Best of all, Patagonia raised money for their guest nonprofits by asking people to donate for the free food and drink.

While planning a book tour by bike sounded reasonable on paper, I will admit that its execution was often very challenging. On all of our bike tours around the world up to now, we have always pedaled without a fixed schedule, adjusting our plans to the weather, cycling conditions and breakdowns. This was our first cycling trip where we had to make certain destinations on time, which changed the entire dynamic of the journey. I know that many people are tempted to plan their bike tours like their lives, with a clear schedule of where they are staying every day. It can be done, but it does take a lot of the freedom and sense of adventure out of the trip.

Getting to the talks on time and in presentable condition also required a lot of challenging logistics, which we are amazed we managed. Generally, we would camp about 20 or so miles away from our next talk, bike to the store, arriving sweaty and dirty to set up our computer and the AV, then try to find somewhere to clean up and change before an evening presentation. After the presentation (often at 8:30 or 9 pm), we’d get back on our bikes and head for another campsite or, if we were lucky, a hotel.

There was one extremely challenging day where we biked twenty-five miles to the REI at Santa Barbara, gave our talk and pedaled off at 7 pm for our campsite ten miles away in Carpenteria, with the sun setting. As luck would have it, we had a flat on the way and spent an hour pumping the tire up in the dark, pedaling for two miles, then pumping again, then another two miles of pedaling, until we finally arrived at Carpenteria rather cranky without dinner at 9 pm. The next morning, we had to fix the flat before heading to our talk at Patagonia, Ventura.  Of course, there has to be one disaster story on every adventure, and this one turned out alright in the end. Thankfully, the Patagonia stores were extremely generous and put us up in hotels after their talks, which was a wonderful luxury and reward after a hard biking and speaking day!

After 1642 miles of pedaling, giving book talks at eight Patagonia and REI stores along the way, and talking to hundreds of people about clean air and asthma, we are happy and proud to announce that we arrived in San Diego on September 8. It has been an amazing adventure. The US truly has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, studded with sea stacks,  pristine cliffs. rolling mountains and sealions and whales. Best of all, we have met many friendly, kind and socially concerned and dedicated people along the way. They have given us hope and encouragement that we can and will make this world a better place to breathe!

NOTE: We have had a change in plans and will be heading to South Korea today for a three week bike trip there. We’ll back in Seattle after that, giving more book talks in the larger Pacific Northwest. We are looking forward to a little book break and some more exciting adventures.