Living, loving and learning

San Francisco, CA. to Denver, CO.

These are the party girls and the party boys in San Francisco, i stayed with the girls 4 nights, they are getting ready for their first bike trip: San Francisco to Ensenada, Mexico about 700 miles in one month. It was fun to witness the whole precess of them getting everything ready, they asked me a bunch of questions which i was happy to answer. It all comes down to one thing i reveled the secret for a successful and fun bike trip. That secret is simple and anybody can do it: “Just SMILE”. A simple smile can take you to different places, it can open a conversation and in some cases it can save you from a dangerous situation. These 3 girls, Alex, Kalina and Julia will be on the road and even though it is highway 1 Which is highly traveled by other cyclist, there is nothing wrong with being cautious and always smiling at people. Good luck party girls, i wish you the best, be safe, be smart and enjoy your trip. “A TRIP TO REMEMBER”. Thanks for your hospitality.

When in Denver i just realized that i did not take any pictures, but what i can say is that i stayed with Dante Barragan, a childhood friend, who i had not seen since 6th grade. He opened the door to his home along with my good friend Lars (a cyclist from Germany that i met in Arizona) we rode together for 4 days and stayed in touched, we went to Zion National park and then parted different directions. 2 months later i got an email from him saying that he was going back home and he was going to fly from Denver, i said to him that i knew somebody in Denver and since i was taking the train from San Francisco we should celebrate his departure; after all he biked all the way from South Carolina, he visited a few of the national parks here in the U.S. and i was surprised that he knew a lot about this country, history and geography, even more than other people i have met on the road that have lived here their entire life, that is pretty admirable and i respect that. He was here for 3 months and i am glad he only has good things to say about the U.S. and “WE THE PEOPLE…” i am pretty sure we’ll bike together in the future, and “spoil alert” for my next trip; it involves lots of mountains.

This is Lars in Arizona, (notice the background, just beautiful).
It was also in Dante’s house that we decided to treat ourselves with nothing but healthy meals, that is when we shot the video of Mexican Taquitos. Thanks to Dante for putting up with two hungry cyclists, we pretty much rested the 4 days we were there, watched some movies and i should also mention that i once again watched Forrest Gump, for the 5th time on this trip, it is funny because i remember that when i was in Georgia giving a talk in a church to the youth group a girl told me that my story reminded her of Forrest Gump, i am only crossing the U.S. 3 times; Forrest did it 4 times and even though it is a fictional story i admire the character who would not take no for an answer and accomplished so many things in life. ” MY MAMA ALWAYS SAID LIFE’S LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU GONNA GET”

How to make your very own Mexican Taquitos

Adventure Calling

Meet Lisa, Rio, Forest and Dean a family from Indiana that i met as i was biking north on highway. 1. They made a sacrifice to hike the Appalachian trail, now; i must say that to hike the entire length of the trail takes tenacity, stamina, determination, heart and most of all it needs to be pleasant for all the members of the group. Unfortunately for this family, to hike the whole trail was not possible so they decided to drive along the west coast, visit national parks, and do day-hikes. That doesn’t mean they don’t have all the attributes i just mentioned, they have that and more, little Rio was full of energy, telling stories from the trail and things he learned from his journey. I had a really interesting conversation with Dean, about life, adventures, hikers, bikers, campers and pretty much everything in between. It had been a while since the last time i talked to someone in a deeper level, we shared stories, he taught me a few things and i hope he also learned a few things from me. See you guys in Indiana.

Meet Chris and Brendan (photo taken in the grand canyon national park). Just like many other cyclists these two had been biking to see the country. They started in Charleston, South Carolina March 1st, and i met them mid April, which meant that they covered close to 3000 miles in 7 weeks, crazy? yea!! but not really, they managed to see cool places, meet great people and most important of all to have fun while biking across the nation.One thing to say about them is that did not really have a budget, which allowed them to have really nice privileges and comfort such as nice cozy bed at the end of the day (staying at motels) stopping at any restaurant, anytime, anywhere. They were only going to be on the road for less than 3 months, so they had a schedule and in a way time was limited. Regardless, i happened find them once again on the West Coast, about 3 weeks later after we met for the first time, totally unexpected. When i saw Chris outside a a grocery store i asked him which way they were headed, he said: “North, i think we met before!. I asked where?, he said “Grand Canyon” then i realized it was them, what a small world. Seeing two cyclist in two different places at different times, completely unplanned, that is pretty awesome.

This is them at the Golden Gate Bridge, their final destination, we rode together for 4 days, a couple of motels and a couple of nights camping. They were really fun to ride with, after all for me; 95% of the time i am riding solo, so to have company for a few days is not bad, i enjoyed talking to them and learning about the way they traveled, covering close to 100 miles a day, staying at motels, but what really mattered was that they were having fun, undertaking this adventure/journey/quest/mission.
On the final day of their adventure i encouraged them to drop a tear or two, to take a few minutes to enjoy what they had accomplished, they could add Cross Country Rider to their resume, that is something to be proud of. So i let them be for a few minutes and the rest is in their hearts, cherishing the memories, the good times and also the pain they endured, after all; it is part of the adventure. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In a couple of weeks they will be back to the “real life” although there is one thing to say, what they lived for the last 10 weeks was also real, it was just something different than what everybody else is used to doing, breaking the routine, stepping outside their comfort zone and accomplish something extraordinary. Good job guys!!! Congratulations on your cross country trip.
Brendon: I don’t know if you found the best pie in America, but the best way to find it is by doing what you did.
Chris: i don’t think you saw an UFO, but i think i saw one for you, since going through Nevada, we pretty much covered the same route, on my latest video you will see a clip of something i could not describe, a light up in the sky, i leave it up to you.
Thanks guys for company and the things you unknowingly taught me, til next time, i hope we cross paths down the road, preferably on our bikes.

Nada como la familia

Una de las tantas cosas que doy gracias a Dios es por la familia que reside en el area de Los Angeles. El Tio Luis se tomo la molestia de manejar a Las Vegas para ir a recogerme, cosa que le estare eternamente agradecido, me ahorro, 300 millas de puro desierto, aproximadamente 10 dias de sufrimiento brutal y fastidioso. Cuando llegamos a su casa me presento a los primos, primera vez que los conocia, Luis Jr, Crystal y Paco, tambien tengo que mencionar a la tia Lorena. Muchas gracias por al hospitalidad que me ofrecieron, la comida, las platicas, los juegos que vimos, la musica que escuchamos, me trajo tantos recuerdos de la tierra que me vio nacer. Cabe destacar que precisamente en la ciudad de Santa Ana existe una gran poblacion de paisanos, no solo del mismo estado si no tambien del mismo pueblo: Cuajinicuilapa de Santa Maria, Guerrero.

Tambien pude re-encontrarme con viejos amigos, Yadira y Ricardo Leyva, ya hacia varios anios que no los veia y tuve la oportunidad de pasar un tiempo con ellos, no tanto como hubuiera deseado pero almenos ya les vi las caras y estoy seguro que los vere otra vez en un futuro cercano.

Mi estancia en Santa Ana fue placentera pude finalmente disfrutar de buena comida y escuchar ese acento tipico de la costa chica. Aveces me entra la nostalgia y me da por recordar las calles de mi barrio, ese barrio donde en algun tiempo habia tantos puercos por todas partes y tenias que ser cuidadoso donde pisabas pero a la vez la gente que pasa te saluda y platica contigo, donde todos se conocen, se ayudan y se muestran una solidaridad unica. Algun dia pasare por ahi en mi bicicleta, por la costa chica de Guerrero pero por ahora me enfoco en los ultimos cinco estados que me faltan: Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee y finalmente terminar en West Virginia y para ello tomare el tren de San Francisco a Grand Junction Colorado. Estoy emocionado y a la vez triste ya que empieza la ultima etapa de este viaje. Tantas cosas que he aprendido, tantas personas que he conocido. Muchas gracias a todos;

 

Dios me los bendiga y hasta la proxima 

 

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Carpinteria, California

Meet Roland, Max and Bob ( left to right) i had the pleasure to stay one night with them at their camp site in Carpinteria. I met Roland on my way north, he was riding his bike from Burbank to meet Bob and Max and he offered me a place for me to pitch my tent; in the end i did not have to pitch my tent, they had a tent that could fit up to 4, so it worked out good.
Roland is originally from Germany, Bob from Scotland and Max is As American as a hamburger.
we had a good time, had some beers by the way Max is an excelent cook, he cooked dinner and later that night we went to a bar to check out the Lakers game. Well, i have nothing to say about that game.

At the bar i met this girl: her name is Rose.

Now there is a story: the minute she walked in i could not take my eyes off her, there was something about Rose that got my attention. She looked so much like my ex-girlfriend, i was trying not to be too obvious but then i mentioned it to Max and he went over by her and asked if i could take a picture, so this is it and you can see by the big smile on my face i was a happy camper.

In the end, we all had fun, i shared some of my stories, we laughed, we had a few beers we had a good time.
these three guys opened up to a complete strangers, they trusted a guy on a bicycle, showed me great hospitality and i hope that i made a positive impact in their lives, they did on my life, i am just an average Jose riding his bicycle across the nation.
You never know what kind of people you could come across but with people like them, the world would be a better place. That is my opinion anyway.

Til next time, take care and God bless Ya’ll.

next posting: my family in the LA area.

Current Location

This is as Mexican as it gets, Life is good with old friends anf family.

i am loving it.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona

Once again i would like to thank Craig for hosting me twice in two different Reservations. Thanks buddy you are a great man and your kids are just wonderful.
Pretty much everyone that i stayed with in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, from the bottom of my heart thanks.
A lot of people said to me, be careful when you go through the Navajo Reservation, but i must say that it was the complete opposite, i got to see the horses all over the place, dogs on the streets, dogs chasing me, broken glass on the road that caused me two flat tires; in the end, it is all part of the adventure, i got to meet great people, in Teec Nos Pos, Tuba city, monument valley, marble canyon, mexican hat, shiprock, kayenta, cameron and of course the grand canyon. They all treated me with respect and offered great hospitality, even a state trooper in Arizona stopped to see if i was ok, i was just fixing my flat and he offered me water, he just wanted to make sure i had enough for the day. In general, my time through this 4 states was pleasant, i enjoyed and i learned a lot. Thanks everybody. Tomorrow i will be crossing into Nevada, that would be my state number 42 and the countdown beginnings; only 5 months to finish my trip. Til next time God bless you all.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park, Utah

Grand Canyon

I wont be able to conect to the internet for a few days. this is where i am and i am loving it.
God bless ya’ll