Overland to La La Land

This post is from a newsletter I sent out while cycling from Canada to Mexico in 2017

Hello friends,

After the Big Sur shenanigans, last week felt a little more mellow, which seems fitting now that I’m in the heart of Southern California with its palm trees and technicolour sunrises and sunsets.

I slowed down a bit to soak it all in, stopping for a few days in Santa Barbara where Mitch wanted to tend to his tan, which worked out well for everyone as I was able to realise a long-held dream of renting a feather-light road bike (found one called Mitchellita!) and taking on the iconic Gibraltar Road climb in the mountains above town.

Back on the Pacific Coast Highway, I passed through Ventura and Malibu before reaching Los Angeles yesterday. It’s just a flying visit for now but already long enough to meet enough locals to produce a short film (actor, acting coach, stunt woman, assistant director, distributor) and join a vegan Thanksgiving dinner where the table’s centrepiece was an adoption certificate for a turkey called Madeleine.

I also managed to get caught up in an unlikely bike shop brawl. The Bike Kitchen is a great community space in LA where you can help yourself to thousands of second-hand parts to fix or build your bike. I was in there helping a friend prepare her frame for South American adventures when 3 guys waltzed in acting like they owned the place, generally disturbing the peace until the owner politely asked them to leave. A hilariously millennial fight ensued where they kicked one or two bike parts around and threatened us with the wrath of their many social media followers (“I’m gonna Yelp yo’ ass!") which seemed to slightly miss the point of a volunteer-run bike kitchen where you can’t actually buy anything.

Just 170 miles left now till I hit Mr Trump’s favourite talking point and the end of the road.

Love, Elishka