And then there was beer.

So there we were, sitting in a Wizard of Oz style breakfast joint in the coastal town of Fort Bragg. We had been out drinking beer at North Coast Brewery (fantastic Belgian styles, another really excellent brown ale which have been popping up all over the West coast), so it wasn't an early start. We had drug the Australian chicks out with us even though they were "rather knickered" and had a blast, but all of us felt it the next morning, especially Jules who had a little spill on the ride home. They still got out on schedule with the promise of coffee 12 miles down the road, but Rusti and I weren't feeling so inspired. As we sat in Fort Bragg looking at the map, we realized that if we were to continue drinking delicious, freshly brewed brewskies we would have to move our trip inland. And Team Krusti does what Team Krusti's got to do. Inland we went.

We spoke to a few different people about routes and decided on the "Greenville-Philo Road." A beautiful drive, I mean ride, they said. None of them had ever biked it. We realized this as we started cranking up mile after mile of 13% + grades. As an empty truck flew past us I was struck with an idea. As the next truck came by I stuck out my thumb and flagged him down. As we zoomed up and up and up and up the hill, I became gladder and gladder and gladder and gladder we had hitched that ride. He took us right to our campground which was totally deserted and bid us adieu. From that point on it was all rolling hills and suds.

First we stopped by Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville. They won our hearts with absolutely impeccable, inventive and deliciously quaffable brews in a nice, airy environment complete with good service and, to top it off, a disc golf course! We even got to meet Don, one of the originators of the brewery. He told us how they jackhammered the brewtuns out of the concrete in Germany and Belgium and brought everything they might have needed and more over to the states from the old land. This care and attention to detail shone through in the beers, which are some of the best in the country. Don even gave us some beer for the road!

That night we slept in the fairgrounds and the next day were off to Hopland to catch Mendocino's last day in their historic brewpub, the first in CA after prohibition. We got to the brewpub just in time, they were running out of beer right and left, but thankfully they still had some cold ones for us along with what every cyclist needs - hot dogs! As we sat at the bar we struck up conversation with Vaugh and John who graciously offered us their home. We had great conversation and even got breakfast in the morning! What great hospitality.

We left Vaughn and John's to go through Cloverdale to Healdsburg. We stopped in the heat of the day at Ruth McGowan's Pub to drink some delicious beers and snack on calamari and learned that the head brewer of Russian River had started there. Small world! Ruth McGowan's was a nice respite, but it was time to head on to Bear Republic in Healdsburg. The feel of this pub was a little different than the others we had been to recently. A little stuffier, mostly people passing through. The beers, however, were great, especially a very peppery saison mmmm mmm mm! We were hoping to have more serendipity in Healdsburg to find a place to stay, but since everyone seemed to keep to themselves we ended up finding a park. It was a beautiful night and would have been perfect if Rusti's sleeping pad hadn't sprung a large leak, leaving him sleeping on the ground.

Regardless we woke up early the next morning and after a great breakfast burrito headed out toward Santa Rosa - home of Russian River Brewing Company and Ken! But that's all to be told in chapter two of this story. Stay tuned!

Support Team Krusti! ------->

Cycle touring is expensive! Way more than you think it would be. It turns out our plan to fill a pannier with Kashi and use it as a feedbag didn't work out since after you've been cycling all day all willpower where food is concerned goes completely out the window. And don't get me started on beer prices in Canada (cheapest 6-pack? TEN DOLLARS! 12 pack of Bud Light (not that I would drink that anyway) TWENTY-FIVE! Plus 20% tax. Crazy.) And food in the middle of nowhere in Alaska is not only sparse but incredibly pricey.

Which brings me to my next point. Now that we're back in civilization it's been easier to keep to our budget, but Alaska and Canada took a big bite out of what we had to begin with. Several people along the way have been more than kind enough to buy us a meal or a beer, or let us stay the night in their house. We thought we'd like to extend the opportunity to support Team Krusti to our, albeit small, online community.

I'll break it down for anyone interested:

A luxurious breakfast consisting of more than instant oatmeal: $25

A meal at a restaurant with hot food we didn't have to prepare over our camp stove: $35

A couple of celebratory brewskies, or a taster tray at a wonderful brewery: $10

As you can see, we don't spend much, but it does add up over time, and there's always those unexpected expenses, like the $100 we spent on new tires for Rusti's steed, or $40 for replacement chains after the first 3000 miles, or $35 for new kicks when the old ones wear out.

In sum, we have had a wonderful time on this trip, being inspired and bestowing inspiration, and we'd like to keep it up. If you would like to see us continue our trip, feel free to add a little (and I mean .50 cents to $50) to the pot by clicking on the paypal button. It will take you to a very easy to use and secure paypal site and all the money goes directly to us and then toward our shrinking waistlines.

 Thank you, thank you, and above all, Thank You!!!!!

Changes Afoot

Well, we are barreling our way toward the two month mark of this trip. How crazy is that?!?! Since we set our arbitrary goal at four months, that would make us arbitrarily halfway done with the trip. That being said, I highly doubt that we will make it to the Baja from where we are in two months. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The ferry ride marked a change in Team Krusti. There are several factors in this change, some imperceptible, some readily apparent. One of the more apparent factors is that we have left lonely Alaska for a place that is still open wide and sparsely populated, but has many, many more people and towns than northern AK. I realized after our stint in the wide open places of Alaska that I am not quite suited for such an isolated lifestyle. It's great to get to a town almost every day. And not a "Census Designated Place" but an actual town with more than one store and several bars! British Columbia, known as BC, is a very different place than Alaska. For one, it's Canadian, not American. Canadians are awesomely funny and nice and speak with adorable accents. It's like the United States, but just a little bit different in small ways.

This has led to meeting a flush of super-awesome, inspiring people in the past few days. We left Petersburg (the isolated of isolated - a small town on a small island, the only nearest small towns long ferry rides away) early early in the morning. Upon loading our bikes on the ship we saw a magical sight! Three touring bikes! We thought, "Who are these tourists? Are they Swiss, German, old, young?"

They turned out to be Americans, our age, headed in the same direction! They had a guitar, some beer, and the best attitudes of anyone I've met in I can't remember how long. I believe they were sent from heaven. These kids were out for FUN and they took us along with them. We needed that kick in the pants so badly and soaked it in. We hit the road in Prince Rupert at 5 am, and after breakfast and coffee hit the road by 8 o'clock to the tune of, "LET'S RIDE BIKES ALREADY!!!!!!!" They "mached it" (Montanan for rode like mother f**ers) and we miraculously kept up. I guess all of that hard riding in Alaska coupled with a few days sitting on the ferry paid off, because I've never ridden any bike like that, especially not a loaded one. It was so exhilarating to be around kids who were that excited about life and cycling and mountains and swimming. We did 50 miles by 1 o'clock and then basked in a river while sipping on some beer. We had the rest of the day to kill, so we rode another 40 after that, and then after pints and fries rode around town to finish of our century, the first for most of us. A totally random fireworks display ended our night. The next day was a little shorter but just as much fun to spend with our newfound friends, and we camped at a free campground and hung around a campfire that night. The next day Team Krusti reverted back to our slower pace and we lost track of our friends. We may meet again before Prince George, we may not meet again until we're all back in the lower 48, but we will meet again. I still need to get learned up from them about how to have a ton of fun.

Our slower pace paid off, however, because we came into the town of Smithers just in time to meet Ali. She was waiting for a friend in front of an Inn and we asked her where to eat. When she realized we had nowhere to stay she immediately offered her house. We readily accepted and found a hot shower (very, very necessary after 3 looooong days of riding), a comfy bed and laundry! Then we met her at the restaurant she had recommended, to find out it was her birthday! We celebrated with her friends and her brother bought us all dinner. We came back to Ali's to sleep in an awesomely comfy bed only to wake up to feta, cherry tomato and arugula omelets. It turns out Ali is a chef! She is also a long distance swimmer and activist, and swam 600 miles down the Skeena river to raise awareness for the watershed that may be in danger from a pipeline. Check out her website here. Her brother and friends were also activists, and planted a seed of interest in both of our minds of learning more about that endeavor.

So now here we are. In great shape, putting some great miles on, meeting great people in a great place. I love adventure cycling.