2024: Piru

Total Distance Biked: 40 Miles

Day 1: I started riding with no plan in mind and decided to bike down some roads I had not ridden before. I went through a couple of cities and stopped on the side of the road to figure out where I was going. I was severely out of shape but was excited to be out on another trip. I decided to take a lesser travelled canyon, as the other one was steep and had lots of people. The road was quite nice, and there weren’t a lot of cars. The road down was fun and hung out with some cows.



I made it into the city and stopped by the store to get some food for the night. I sat outside next to a man who seemed to just be enjoying life, sitting and smoking. I took off again on the road and decided I would sleep somewhere in the mountains that night. After stopping by the gas station, I wanted to get some fruit from the fruit stand. Unfortunately, they only accepted cash.



After sitting down the street with my bike and checking locations to see where I could camp, the man ran over with a fruit cup for free. He was packing up and made me one for free. After that, a biker stopped by and asked where I was headed. He was helpful and was just out for a bike ride. He told me about his previous trips and offered some advice on where to camp.



I opted to go up a dirt road and make my way into the hills. Unfortunately, this was near a farm, and there was a chain linked fence. There were no No-Trespassing signs, so I was cleared to follow the creek with one foot in to prevent any legal issues. Aside from the dead cow on the path, I was feeling somewhat confident in my location.



I followed the Edison Road up the mountain and opted to sleep behind a large bush. After settling in I started hearing movement in the bushes all around me. The animals were coming closer and closer, with sounds being only a couple feet away from me. I had my phone flashlight ready and caught one charging me. It was a rat. I should have realized the nearby owl was a sign that there was prey around. I moved to the nearby electrical pole.

Day 2: After waking up, I sat up and realized that the road I took in was being used by farmers. I was not in the mood to have a conversation of how I ended up on the mountain the night before. I decided to continue down the road which according to my maps would end up at a public street. I packed my bags and started moving, quickly realizing my tires were flat.



I went down the last hill, and realized I was ending up at some sort of electrical building. There were workers and trucks, and I was locked in. I saw a dirt road slightly up the road and decided to book it across the street and see where it took me to avoid any confrontation. It was overgrown and clearly had not been used by any normal person in years. After making it up about halfway, I heard someone yelling and realized it was for me. I wasn’t in a mood to run so I went down the hill and met one of the workers. I explained my situation, just saying that I had made it down the hill late last night and had no idea it was a locked gate. He was a little apprehensive but nice to the “lost biker” and let me out the gate. Shortly afterward changing my tires, I saw a police car coming (for me) and luckily, they must have not thought it was me. I spent the remainder of the morning hanging out at a park until I was picked up.