Today, a group of us took a test ride.. Mark from Georgia, Charlie from Ohio and Tom from New York State. They're just part of the group I will be riding with across the country. All four of us had arrived early to the hostel and we all had our bikes shipped and re-assembled, which is why we took a test ride. We rode to the beach, found a bike trail, rode over a bridge and were swallowed up by urban traffic. Instead of logging some miles, we spent the time trying to dodge cars and returned to the hostel. The joys of urban bicycling.
A hostel is a very relaxed community and there are lots of common spaces making it easy to meet people, and since it is California, there was a lot of pot smoking. Reminded me of college. One of the more interesting people we have met is a guy named Menno. He flew in from Salt Lake City to bike the same Southern Tier route we will be taking only he is doing it self-contained and by himself. We saw him off today as he is leaving two days before our group departs. He's already reported back with trail details as well as his own drama. At the sixteen mile mark his rear derailleur broke into pieces. He had to turn his bike into a one speed in order to get to a bike shop and have it repaired. Who knows what will happen to us once we hit the road.
I rode the Southern Tier with ACA last fall, and I am looking forward to following your adventure from your posts here.