Really heading home now

Is 1:15 Tuesday night the 27th and in 6 hours I will be in a car going to LAX. My flight isn't till 11 but this is the ride I could get. I am getting a ride from Rachel who lives below Thom, Nathan, and David and also happens to be Davids girlfriend. Shes a pretty standup lady and I am glad I met her. Speaking of meeting people, Haley and Julia are also most top notch, they made me a Snickers cake to send me off and it was delicious. Over all LA has been really nice. For the most part nice weather, no obligations, friendly people. I didn't really do very much or anything really to be honest. I sat on the couch a lot, sat outside on the couch and read, and I ate a lot of peanut butter, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Thinking about it I feel its almost humorous concidering how I have been here twice since I started college for over a month total and I have done 0 LA things. Anywho. Hallowen!! This weekend! I just love the fall and can't wait to bundle up with some real weather.

See erybody real soon,
Love Arthur.

Home

I have been hanging out in LA and it is great, just relaxing and whatnot but everything must end. Thats why I have bought my ticket home and it is for the 28th. Yay!



See yall in a bit,
Arth

LA?

Yes. Leaving any second.

Dr. R Kohl-A

Been a little while

I am still in San Francisco but will be leaving Monday morning by way of Craigslist rideshare with a guy named Fred in a pickup. It was crazy how moany offers there were to get really anywhere on the west coast last minute. I had to be a little bit more choosy as to find something that would fit my bike but I called him and he seemed real cool, willing to pick me up from where ever in the city and drop me off at Thoms place in LA. Anypoo's this last week and so is SF has been amazing. I haven't really done much either, just biking around trying to get fermilier with the areas I will be spending my times in. Yesterday Willie texted me saying that my brother had sent me a pakage to his place and I could come pick it up... Goggles!! They are pretty boss and better late then never.

Sooo, yeah if you are reading this I probably miss you or you are a vauge aquantice of mine who is interested in my journey and either way thank you. More to come from LA.

Hunter.

Naw kidding,

Arthur.

Strictly Hardly Bluegrass

There is a festival going on right now at Golden Gate park called Strictly Hardly Bluegrass Festival and it is a hoot. Two of my friends I was biking with for a little bit in Oregon were heading here for it and we exchanged numbers so we could meet up in the city, and what do you know. I am standing on to the left of the stage waitin for MC Hammer(!!!) and I get a phone call from Tom asking where I am, I tell him and we meet up after MC Hammer(I KNOW!!!!) he is still with Chris, an English bloke who started biking from the tippy top of Canada and is heading down to the Tipy bottom of the South A. I hook onto their group of folks who are some good people for the rest of the day. We go to get some lunch and we happen on a nice looking dum sung(?) place and head in. There were ten of us so someone tells the woman just to keep the buns and dumplings coming, and that is exactly what she did. Sooo much food and she brought veggie ones me and wow it was awesome. We then ask for the bill and she is like naww, "3 dollars a person" what?! this was like a big old legit meal for 10 people for 30 dollars. We end up paying like 40 because it was just to convenient, she tried to not take the 10 extra but we insisted on it. We walked back to the festival and watched some funky music for the rest of the day, I guess there were some big names playing but the only one I was familiar with was Lovit. But Boots from The Coup was invited up during someone elses set and he rapped a bit which I was surprised and pleased to see. Oh, all this is going on on my 21st birthday. Right, so that evening I meet up with Willie and his friend Elliott and Chris is kickin it with us because Tom is going to some show that costs money and Chris didn't want to go. Chris didn't have his bike with him but Willie Elliott and myself all did. Have no fear, me and Chris double road through the streets of San Francisco and it was awesome. I felt like a coxswain again sitting at the back pushing him through it. We went to a cafe first and WOAH! Chris, the guy I Couch Surfed with in Eureka was there! He wished me a happy birthday and we talked for a bit and then we headed to a bar near Willies place that has an oldies night once a month and it was a blast. It was quality oldies, not like an oldies radio station. I danced a lot and then when they closed me and Chris went next door and got some Mexican food and tried to figure out how he was going to get to where he was spending the night. At the Restaurant there was a nice lady who was also turning 21 and we talked about that for a minute and then she helped us get where we thought we were going. Us, her and her boyfriend started walking to the bus and waiting for it but they decided to get a cab and I think Chris went with them and got back alright because I didn't get any calls from Tom But I am going to meet up with them today so I will hear how that turned out. I biked slowly back to Mulligans place and slept very well. Yesterday was pretty chill, I slept in and then Maya and I walked downtown to see what the Love Fest was all about. I got a smoothie on the way and then some dried mango, ohh yeah. We got to the fest and were both pretty glad we hadn't made a day of the place. It was a sea of 16 year olds wearing bright colors and awkward sunglasses and dudes with arms way to big for their size. That night Mull and Maya were sitting for the kids upstairs so I explored a bit and found Mission Pie, a pie place in the mission. I ended up hanging out there for a few hours reading and talking with one of the employees named Alex. I told him bout my trip and how I would be coming out here in the spring and would be looking for a place and he was all. Cool, I have a house in Potrero and there is a good chance a roommate or two will be heading out in the spring. He gave me his number and told me to call him and check in in December. Everyone is so friendly so far! 

I am heading back to strictly hardly to see Billy Bragg Dr Dog Booker T Aimee Mann and Neko Case real soon so yall have a good day!

Lalalarthur

1st flat

Today I was biking to a coal movie which I was invited to by some of the GP people here and what do you know, I get a flat. I had a patch kit on me but my pump was in my trailer so I started walking. I passed a bike shop and figured I had better get it taken care of before the movie or I would be stuck walking my bike pretty far kinda late. I pull in and ask to borrow a pump, I take off the wheel and tire, find the whole, which was caused by a big nail which I also found, and then decided I didn't have time. I know how to fix a flat but have never done it before.I brought it into the shop, paid 10 dollars for a new tube and they put it on. I hurry out now with 8 minutes to get to the screening at the MOMA and three blocks later I get my second flat of the trip. Over 1000 miles with no flats and I get 2 in a row the only time I have been in a hurry this whole time. anyways, I ride on the rim to the MOMA and meet the Alexa the Greenpeacer who invited me with a minute to spare. The movie was real powerfull focusing on mountain top removal and was followed by a question and answer session which was also helpful but wow, the reception after was amazing. If I wern't in a new city on my own and wanted to drink . But even so, the ordorves(?) were crazy! and they just kept comming arouund with great treats! I then carried my bike to Mulligans place in hopes that she had a pump, which we couldn't find and then watched American Splender with her and her roommate Maya. I walked back to Willies around 2 O clock, it was a nice walk with the exception of a cop pulling over and asking if I had seen a crazy woman and then driving really slowly looking for formentioned crazy woman.

I think I am going to like it here,
ArthYouAre

Still here

Like I said there is more to my story since my last post. I ended up staying at that coffee shop for a pretty long time, it was in the town Mendicino and there was a nice campground just a few miles south so that ended up being a pretty short day. Then the next day I headed out to Galalala(?) to camp when what do you know, my trailer breaks. So I hitch a ride to Manchester where there was a nice hardware store and rig up something I hope will work. I bike the last 15-20 miles to this nice campground and share the site with a girl/woman from Quebec. She shares her hummus and I call up some of the hostels in San Fran because she is poor with English, It was fun. The next morning I am a little worried about how my trailer is holding up after biking about 15 miles so I stop at a general store and the man tells me there is a bike shop in Bodega Bay, so I make a sign reading "Bodega Bay" and about an hour later after several "sorry no room" and whatnots a guy picks me up with a truck. He is only going like half way there but then he pulls over at a park to check on the water and decides the conditions aren't very good so what the hell he will drive me the whole way. What the conditions wern't very good for was diving and for most of the ride when he was talking about it and I was asking questions I assumed he meant scuba but turns out he actually just meant diving. He would dive down 30-50 feet for like 2 minutes and spear fish or collect some snail like thing of which I forget the name. Pretty cool stuff. So he drops me off at the bike shop, I bring my bike in, and the guy is all "Just sold what you would need" but he took a look at my rigup and deemed it a very good substitute for what had broke and that I shouldn't be to worried about fixing it and just to get a new piece when I get the chance. Having not planned to get to there that day I wasn't sure where to camp so I asked and he said the only real campground south of there was Taylor P something something and that was about 43 miles from town. So leaving Bo Bay a little after 3 I had some pushin to do to get there 'for it got dark. As soon as I started heading inland after the town the landscape changed dramatically. Big bare rolling hills, seemed like a totally different state. Oh, and the wind, it was hella windy and it would have been a perfect tailwind if I weren't going south east inland a bit. Anywho, I made my first wrong turn of my whole trip, or should I say wrong not turn, as Highway 1 took a 90 degree turn and I missed it. I went about 2 miles passed before realizing it. And those to miles out of my way were easy, downhill with a fast tailwind, getting back was crazy slow due to said wind and hill. I got back on route and proceeded to climb a few big climbs and descend a few big descents before arriving at my campsite with just enough sunlight to put up my tent. I woke up the next morning(this morning) with what looked like an easy 25 miles to the Golden Gate Bridge. I packed up slow and hit the streets a little after ten. It wasn't a hard ride at all with exception of a big hill but it was definitely a change of scenery. After the first 5 miles it was pretty much all city riding. There were just continuous back to back little town/citys all the way to the bay. Again, not bad just different. I was biking up that big hill I mentioned when a guy came up behind me also biking and asked where I was coming from. I told him my story as we climbed the hill and asked for advice on the best way to get to the bridge. He told me to just follow him for most of the way cause he was going pretty close cause there is a pizza place he likes to go to for lunch and whatnot. I end up going to the pizza place and he insists on buying me lunch as a welcome to the bay area sort of thing. It was great. I biked over the bridge which was windy to say the least and then made my way to the Greenpeace office on 17th st. Got introduced around to some of the GOT people and then spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing around the city.

Hope alls well
Arthurs.