2022: US/Mexico Border

Total Distance Biked: 230 Miles

US Mexico Border Day 1: The start of our ride was quite early, and we were feeling anxious but good. I had just received quite a few backpacking items (that are now a staple in my gear) but had yet to try them. We were unsure of the road ahead but were excited to be even trying a ride so daunting. We made it into a nearby major city in good time with little problems. Our gear was working, and we started feeling like we had the hang of it.



After making it to the major city, we decided to try and push forward so we weren’t out at night. The area we were biking through was well known for not being great, so we kept our heads down and didn’t stop. After making it to our friend’s place, we got some food and relaxed on the sand. The sunset was pretty, and after watching the “night people” come out we went to bed.





Day 2: We got on our bikes and felt good for our second day. We continued south and went through some of the most scenic places I have ever seen. Beach town after beach town we rode until we stopped at a Ralphs in Oceanside. After getting our energy back, we made the final push to camp at Pendleton. We were told that we could not camp there because the slots were. After checking maps, we opted to spend the night at a golf course.



My friend’s leg was hurting bad at this point due to an extreme sunburn. So, I helped scout the area out before we made our move. We waited until it was getting dark and made our way into the brush. We were protected on all sides, and it was a great place to camp. After getting our sleeping bags setup, we started to hear animals climbing up and down the trees next to us.



Day 3: Despite the animals scurrying around throughout the night, we were only awoken by the sound of gardeners mowing the grass right outside our bush. After assessing the situation, we covertly packed our belongings while the gardener unknowingly came very close to us. Due to us being out of food, we then made our way to the only place open that early, Burger King.

While waiting for the store to open, we had multiple homeless men waiting outside with us. When we all walked in, the manager said we weren’t allowed but eventually let us just keep our bikes in the store. Two of the men walked in, one extremely intoxicated and the other quite sober. We ended up talking to the sober man for a while about his life story. He was a guy who definitely lived an unconventional life.

When the man was younger, he was up to nefarious things before he turned his life around and went to college and worked for a chemical company (if my memory serves me right). He was able to work just a few months out of the year and live out of his car, traveling and enjoying life. He was seriously invested in our adventure and said he was jealous of us. After talking to him for about 10 minutes, we parted ways to continue our trip, and he said something I will never forget. He said, “I hope you meet some really cool people.”



We continued down south through camp Pendleton and made it to the cities again after biking on the freeway for some time while playing rock paper scissors with some people stuck in traffic. We had made it to the beach towns and spent hours weaving through streets, going by beautiful scenery. After making it up a ridiculously high hill, we finally made it to San Diego. We biked next to the train tracks and our destination was near.



We stopped at the original Rubio’s, and figured we could try the nearby Boy Scout Camp on Fiesta Island. After being turned away, our options were limited and with the nearby park or Fiesta Island, a place where people were supposed to party most of the night. After scoping out or options, we decided to make our way to the dog park on Fiesta Island as it seemed to be the most desolate. It was near the water and gave us some cover from both the water and the island.



After waiting to head to the spot when no one was around, we setup camp and were treated to a beautiful fireworks show from SeaWorld. It was even closer to us than it was to SeaWorld and it was a great reward for biking so far. After seeing the line of cars being ticketed by the police on their way out (for not complying with the curfew for the island) we went to bed.



Day 4: After packing our bags, we made our way to the portable bathroom’s setup on the island. My friend was using the bathroom when a woman who was clearly living out of her car, and with her son asleep next to us started talking to us. She was incredibly nice and was extremely worried for our safety going down south. She said there was lots of crime, and that it would be dangerous after saying “I am not trying to sound like your mom.” Although, our friend from the prior morning had said if we “kept our heads down” we would be fine.



We made our way to the border and were pumped that we were so close. After riding for a few hours, we finally made it. There were lots of people walking up to the border crossing, and we took our photos and enjoyed the moment. Looking back, it really was never the locations or the amount we biked, as the man at Burger King said, it was really about the people we met along the way.