It's day 12 of the earthy West Coast Tour - where I am riding and my business partner Brooks is running from Canada to Mexico, relay style. One of us starts running/riding while the other drives the van, stashes the key and gets moving. This is the best way we've found to maximize our time moving concurrently, so we can continue running and building the business. We are stopping at local gyms, bike and run shops to share our love for movement and mushrooms and start building our tribe.
Today we had to make a tough decision. To this point we have covered every inch of ground either running (Brooks) or cycling (Kyle). So far, “winging” the route as we go has worked out, but starting the climb up Grant's Pass in Southern Oregon we realized the I5 route wasn't in the cards. Forest fire smoke, combined with 90+ degree heat and no way to avoid either running/riding on I5 or taking long gravel mountain roads, we bit the bullet, checked out egos and pivoted.
Initially, we figured driving up Grant's Pass and getting back on foot via route 199 out to Crescent City would be a viable solution. We spent the afternoon in a Starbucks sending emails and catching up on business operations before making our way about 25 miles down highway 199. Brooks and Josh ran a few miles out of town and Kyle I left the van and started riding.
The 199 was beautiful. There was no sign of danger and with about 8 miles to get to our campsite for the night I stopped at a general store for a Snickers bar. As I wolfed it down and mounted my bike, ready to hit the road again a woman (pretty sure she was drunk) approached me and gave me a stern warning. She said if I was her son she would be pissed, and that riding on "death highway" wasn't worth it. I didn't have enough lights and little did I know that a few more miles down the road the shoulder goes away completely, winding through narrow corners. There were malnourished stray puppies on the highway and reports on Google maps of tourists being held up at gun point at the nearby campsite. No bueno.
Up until this point we had either ran or rode every inch of the route, and now found ourselves considering driving another 74 miles to Crescent City. Two curveballs in one day was definitely not fun, but a few minutes after the first woman warned me, another couple said the same thing, using the same term, "death highway." Not only that but earlier that day a 17 year old US National team rider was killed by a motorist on a training ride. Three clear signs was enough for me to pull the cord and get back in the van.
Transparency is foundational to earthy and we knew that if we said we were going to do something, we would either have to do it or share why we couldn't. As frustrating as it was to get in the van and drive out to the coast, it’s already been a blessing in disguise.
For one, we’re planning to arrive in San Francisco a day earlier and have more time to connect with shops. We also forgot to budget off days and significantly over estimated how hard 70+ miles a day would be. We’ve learned to go with the flow and adjust as needed, so tomorrow the route continues through the Redwoods, the tallest living things on earth.
The tour continues into the Redwoods and down the California coast with renewed energy and a completely different route ahead. Stay tuned to join us for an epic event in Los Angeles Sunday, August 20th. We are a few days away from taking pre-orders and a new website look. We're also sharing content and updates on Instagram.