Days 78-80 - 12/9/16-12/11/16 - Los Feliz to Claremont to Redlands to Palm Springs, CA

My time with Hallie and Jack was a perfect way to end my stint in the city, going from LA to San Diego and back up, I was pretty fed up with the traffic and red lights and crazy drivers that don’t give a shit about cyclists.  

I lucked out with a couple Warm Showers on my way out of the city.  Oris in Claremont took me out to dinner and breakfast, emphasizing the importance of conversation with locals and other travelers and the potential for interesting interactions by sitting at the counter rather than booths.  He’s logged over 100,000 miles in his 82 years on this Earth.  

Next was onto Kathy and Roger’s orange grove in Redlands.  Kathy met me 10 miles out and we rode to a local brewery where Roger met us.  They were very recently on a 10,000 mile loop tour on their tandem bicycle but were hit by a car with just about 300 miles to go.  They were both taken to the ER, Kathy needing some stitches, Roger twisting his knee a bit.  

They’re still recovering but, they’re mostly there.  Their bike has been considered totaled.  Kathy was happy to have me, they needed to hear some tales from the roaad to reignite their desire to finish their tour.  I was up and out early, around 9:00am, after coffee and oats.  

I sleepishly rode through more orange groves until the landscape opened up into more barren desert.  The sun came out and the wind picked up, luckily it was on my back and pushed me all the way to Palm Springs which is quite literally an oasis in the desert; riding in on 111, there was an abrupt shift from dry, dusty land to seeing, rich green palms lining the road.  

Max took care of my sleeping arrangements: a fancy fuckin villa once utilized by Howard Hughes back in the day.  I lived in luxury for one more night before Vinny and Nelson would be me up tomorrow morning.

Day 77 - 12/8/16 - Day Off - Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA

Hallie and Jack both make art full time to support themselves, whether it’s comics for some magazine or website, or collaborating on a book together.  I had no expectations of them going out of their way to make sure I had something fun to do, I can’t even imagine how much more work they do than the average joe.  It’s probably comparable to working on a pot farm but you actually need real skills and dedication and I don’t think being a freelance illustrator requires you to shit in a hole in the ground, I could be wrong though.  

So I sat and did what everyone else was doing and did some drawing.  It felt really good.  I was working on a couple images for a friend and it just felt incredible to produce something I was happy to look at on top of making something for a friend’s project.  Talking to these two artists, I explained where and when the momentum of my art production fizzled out after college, I felt guilty, like I could’ve done more but, it also made me think I could get back on track.  It’s been an inspiration time with these two.  

Tonight was movie night at Jack’s  Hallie had too much work to do so she stayed behind.  I got to meet so many of their friends, some of them didn’t even know each other so I wasn’t so far outside the circle of friends.  In fact, it was like the creation of an entirely new circle, like a new planet that would only last a brief time, just one night, where everybody chanted ‘John Malkovich’ and complimented each other to the point where ‘over the top’ was an understatement.  Everyone hugged upon meeting, strangers hugging before any real information was exchanged, all based on a shared relationship with an individual.  

At least in my memory, life isn’t usually like this back home, I don’t meet a ton of new people and it seems like that’s all I do now.  Might as well hug.  Maybe 8 of us watched “Some Like it Hot” an old flick where 2 doods dress like women to avoid being whacked by the mob.  Both of them looked great as girls and there was plenty of evidence that transgender and homosexuality was barely even a thought in show business at that time, maybe the 40’s?  Early 50’s?  It certainly wasn’t offensive, just sort of laughably ignorant.  Jack drove us to Sketchparty after the movie, just him and I, everyone else went home, it was close to 11:00pm.  

Sketchparty takes place at a bar one night a week, they cover all the surfaces and tables with paper and let all the drinkers doodle the night away.  If my environment at home was so geared toward art, would I be where I am right now?  Would I have found some alternative route to venture down?  It’s impossible to say but, being around so many creative folks in LA made me want to make more art.

 

Day 76 - 12/7/16 - Dana Point to Los Feliz, CA

I don’t know if Los Feliz is the actual town or if it’s just some sub-category of Los Angeles; whatever, this is where I am.  I’m staying with more people I know through the internet.  Hallie and Jack, they don’t live together but, they’re both here right now, a couple artists that work at their craft a lot more consistently than me.  It’s nice to be around people that dedicate so much of their time to creating, a nice change of pace from the people that spend all their time riding bikes although, I have yet to get sick of those people yet.  I met another one today on the train from Long Beach to Los Feliz.  

James got hit by a car this morning somewhere in LA, nothing too serious, his ankle was sore, he said. A guy that saw it happen owns a bike shop and gave his bike a complete overhaul, took it apart, tuned it up, cleaned everything and gave it back to him as a new bike, pretty much.  We talked about our gear, our trips, (he’s been riding East to West from Florida) he told me about one of his bags getting robbed from him at gun point, al his money and credit cars.  I gave him some food and some money before we parted ways, I would’ve wanted someone to take pity on me too.  

I’ve had worse mornings but, it was a complete shock to be kicked out of McDonalds.  I’m 90% sure it was because I looked like a homeless guy who was loitering outside earlier but, at the same time, could we have really looked that much alike?  Or did she just assume I’d be hanging out all morning after ordering only a small orange juice?  Who knows, it shouldn’t bother me, McDonald’s is garbage anyways.  But, here I am after a fast and beautiful bike ride back North along the beach, listening to Vince Guaraldi in Hallie’s living room with her roommate, Alice, and Jack.  Plants are everywhere, Alice makes floral arrangements.  Plants make you feel not so alone.  I remember the one pot of English Ivy I had on my shelf under my lofted bed in my room in Peabody; that seems like a lifetime ago, 10,000 miles away.  

Hallie and I took Ozzy (dog) for a walk when I first showed up.  We talked of her’s and her mother’s book in-progress that deals with the reality of a parents death, how do you deal with that?  What are the objective and subjective steps to navigate through this inevitable part of life?  I think my mom needs to read it, if only it was ready.  She asked me all the questions everyone asks me about my trip (and she knew it, too but, I never mind talking about it!).  She also asked me other questions that no one else really asks like, what have you learned about yourself?  I explained my sincere trust in the universe but, failed to elaborate on much else.  “If you could ride your bike next to yourself you’d know everything,” my friend Matt said this to my friend Colin.  What a thought, what an image.  What is there to know?  Must I know what there is to know before I can know?  Maybe it’s one of those things you can’t really put into words, maybe not as gracefully until you’re older, maybe what you know about yourself can only be illustrated through examples, through stories where your character is tested.  

I was made at the woman in McDonalds this morning, mad that she couldn’t give me an answer for why she was kicking me out, who complained and what did they say.  Everyone has a right to refuse someone something.  Everyone has a right to stand up to their rights but, was I going to do that for orange juice that I didn’t even want?  I was just trying to be nice while I used the bathroom to change and fill up my water bottles.  She hurt my ego, judged me on my appearance and it hurt me, bothered me to know someone can look less presentable and be denied orange juice.  I might be misunderstood who I was, what I was doing.  I wanted to yell, my blood pressure went up but, life went on and I’m here amongst friends now, everything is perfect, I feel good and happy, I’m warm and fed.  Every thing has its resolve, life will go on.  And then one day it won’t so why even get upset?  Choose your battles, the orange juice at McDonalds is pretty shitty anyways.