Perhaps the most unique part of cyling on the Pacific Coast is the number of other cyclists doing the same thing, at least north of San Francisco. I met many other cyclist, most nice, all interesting. Together, we formed a kind of nomadic community which made each night an event to look forward to.

Most days we would pull into the hiker/biker area of a campground and find people from the previous night. Many cyclists travel southbound and follow the ubiquitous guide book by Kirkendall and Spring leading each of us to the same campground.

Some Germans I met them north of San Francisco as they were headed for South America.

Each night some new, faster cycle group would show up, adding a new element to the nights conversation. And some other group might drop out, seduced by the comfort of a motel room or taking a rest day. Sometimes we might leap frog each other. I met another cyclist also named Wayne for a couple nights, then missed him for a few days, only to run into him again one last time. Each group followed it's own pace, matching our own for a couple days, then not. It was a wonderful rotaing traveling community.

A typical freespirit we met on the road, this intrepid cyclists had taken off from her home in Colorado on a whim, to do something she had wanted to do for many years.

Three gals from San Francisco who were going north, against the flow of cyclists and wind. They were just out of college and wanting to do something challenging before settling into future plans. So, for their first ever cycle touring trip they decided to pedal first up to Oregon and then across the country to the Atlantic. Against all odds, they made it, I was glad to hear. The guy is an Aussie who I first met a couple days earlier with a broken bike after being run off the road by a pickup truck.

A couple, cycling their way to school, from Seattle to UC Santa Cruz.

A fellow recumbent driver from Vancouver British Columbia. We both had Vision bikes and spent the next couple days sharing tips and ideas. Brad had a time schedule to make San Diego during his vacation, so he left us on our first rest day.

Some more German cyclists joined us for the last days ride into San Francisco, here we're all trying to find our way with a not very adequate map.

Wayne was from San Diego. He had previously cycled from San Francisco to San Diego, so was finishing off the Pacific Coast from Vancouver BC to San Francisco. Quite the comic, I think he could have a second career as a stand up comedian.

A hiker/biker site with cyclists getting ready for dinner or chatting about the day's journey. As you might expect, the most common topics of conversation were bicyles, camping gear, traffic and home.

These two girls, one from New Zealand and the other from England, meet each year for some sort of adventure. This year they choose to cycle part of the Pacific Coast.

These are just a few of the many people I met along the way. Interestingly, the flow of cyclists almost completely dried up south of San Francisco. I only saw two other groups of cyclists in the 8 days it took me to ride from San Francisco to San Diego. In only one hiker biker site did I find other cyclists. But, north of San Francisco one of the best parts of cycling was the comraderie and friendship from other cyclists. In fact, just north of San Francisco I met a future cycling partner, Joshua Urness, who will join me next year on a cycle trip from Spain to Turkey.