Chapters

San Luis Obispo Spring Bike Rides

April 2023

As someone who usually rides my bike in the Los Angeles Southbay area, views of the ocean are common but the crowded roads and all the bad drivers made it feel like a gauntlet at times. I was always lucky to make quick trips up to Cayucos and bring my bike because it meant that I could get on less crowded roads and mixed gravel routes to explore more space.

On this trip I did a couple rides. The first was starting at Madonna Mountain and heading up Perfumo Canyon and then down into Avila Beach. Once I reach the end of the pier, I turned around and heading to downtown SLO with a welcomed tailwind.

The second day I rode from Cayucos down highway 1, through Morro Bay down to Los Osos and all the way to the end of the road in Montan De Oro state park. Turned around and went all the way back. It was a beautiful day and a perfect ride. Then for fun, we drove inland to scope out the super bloom that had just taken place. Although we missed the prime blooming of flowers by a couple weeks it was still great to see nature and wildflowers out in what felt like the middle of nowhere.

Philip Skinner
May 2023

When we get invited to our friends cabin in Running Springs, we can’t pass up that opportunity. It began with meeting our friends Kait and Kevin at a brewery in Lake Arrowhead and giving them the exciting news that Mia is pregnant with Leo - so she can’t have beer with us. We got to chill out, go for hikes, and go up the secret watering hole which still has ice around it. Another opportunity that’s hard to refuse is taking a dip in a mountain lake. Finn really seemed to be in her element in the mountains and on a cabin porch, but we were specifically paying attention to how she was around little kids (all good!).

Trips like this are a great way to kick off summer.

Philip Skinner
Estes Park

May 2023

This Ramily has an official CSU graduate! We got to travel out to Fort Collins for Maeve’s graduation and spend a couple days in Estes Park to celebrate. This is a small mountain town at the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park and quick access to hiking trails and scenery. We drove into the park one afternoon and I think the rangers might have felt generous that day or bad because winter storms kept most of the roads closed, because they didn’t charge us. Of course, because of the closures we were in and out in about an hour. Highlights of things to see were elk, moose, and a Frank Lloyd Wright designed visitors center.

Philip Skinner
Carrizo Plain Gravel Biking

November 2023

Carrizo Plain is known for superblooms. When California receives a lot of rain all winter and the right conditions line up in Spring for this dry and empty section of Central California to turn into unbelievable stretches of wildflowers. Instagram probably made it a lot worse. But this is why we came to Carrizo.

It’s the middle of fall, it hasn’t rained for like 10 months. There’s some ranches and shacks and a national monument and a dried up lake bed. Oh, and a lot of gravel. Perfect for gravel bikes.

I picked up Connor on a Friday and we drove the 3 hours to get up to Carrizo and he was checking an app to see where could be a good spot to camp on BLM land. “Power line with a view” sounded great to us. We rolled onto a dirt trail that wrapped around some hills and up to the power line and a clearing. The sun was about to go down and we could hear gun shots echoing through the hills. I felt like I was going to be sniped from on top of his hill. Oh well. I slept in the back of the tundra and Connor made a tent with an air mattress. I think he was better off than I was. We ate mystery meat burgers from an interesting restaurant where we got to know the owner/cook while we waited. It was a gamble, so I took a pepto pill before trying to sleep.

The next day we got up at sunrise and started to warm up and check the bikes. The temperature was in the 40s at the time, the sky was clear, and there was a breeze coming from the South. I would end up hating that breeze in a few hours.

If you look at he map below, the ride started at the bottom right corner and went counterclockwise. It starts with a steep climb over a ridge and into another valley - right alongside the San Andreas fault line. The entire first 2 hours were pretty fun. There was a lot of washboard to navigate, ups and downs and cattle crossing bridges. We stopped for lunch (PB&J and Clif Bars) before crossing the plain and beginning the ride South to the finish. This is when I bonked, My back, arms, and neck were starting to tingle and hurt because of the rattling of the washboard roads. And we were basically going up a 20 mile long gradual uphill into an afternoon headwind. I hated it, I hated my bike, I hated biking, I hated Carrizo Plains, I hated the sun and the wind. This it was bonking does to you - or at least to me - where physically and mentally I’m just discouraged to continue. But, there was no other way to finish and we couldn’t quit. So pedal on. And on. And on.

Of course, once we got back to the truck and off the bike, and I used my massage gun on my back and legs, all the suffering was forgotten and for the whole drive back to LA we talked about more intense routes to try next.

Philip Skinner
Catalina Island Biking Trip

In September 2022 I set out with Connor on his 27 foot sailboat with my gravel bike and mountain bike tied down below in the cabin.

The plan was simple:

  • Sail to Two Harbors on a Friday afternoon

  • Ride a 35 mile loop across the island on Saturday

  • Ride a 15 mile out-and-back stretch to Parson’s Landing on Sunday

  • Sail Back Sunday afternoon

  • Have no mechanical failures on the bikes or the boat

Although we would catch strong winds in the channel, the boat was unable to convert the power into more speed because of the dinghy in tow. That’s a reminder to not tow an inflatable dinghy in open ocean. Our bungee cord and valcrow straps held the bikes in place and we arrived in Two Harbors easily. Unlike Catalina trips in the past, there weren’t celebratory drinks. Just water and non-alcoholic beer, tomorrow as going to demand a lot from us.

I recommend doing the route by climbing from Shark Harbor up to the airport and then descending from the airport through the valley back to Shark Harbor. That’s because the climb was shorter and steeper this way and the views were nice. And when you arrive at the summit you’re right there at the airport. Otherwise, you’d reach a peak and have to keep going on really unenjoyable semi-paved road. Leave that for the descent.

The airport offers lunch - burgers and sandwiches - and to refill on water. The worst part of this 35 mile loop was going back to Two Harbors on the final climb out of Shark Harbor. It was the hottest part of the day, vans and trucks would drive past and throw trails of dust in the air, and my legs were burning just like my neck and arms. On the final downhill section overlooking Two Harbors, we could see the sailboat bobbing on the ocean that I couldn’t wait to jump in. It was on this downhill race to the finish that I was crouched down using my arms as suspension to absorb all of the bumps that I noticed the through-bolt for my front wheel was about to unscrew and come out. I guess it was all the vibrations up to that point.

On Sunday we knew the route to Parson’s Landing was much more mellow, hardly any elevation change, and less than half the distance as the day before. It’s a fun ride with nice scenery because of just pass through all the other coves and camp areas along the cliffs edge. When we reached the cove, Connor, who is much more comfortable in water than I am, suggested that we swim across a cove over to a huge rock, climb up it, and jump off. I faced my fears and we put on snorkel masks, fins, and made the journey. It was beautiful. It was freaking me out to feel that vulnerable to sea creatures without a spear or anything. But, I am easily persuaded to jump off rocks. It was all totally worth it.

On the bike ride back to Two harbors we see all the boats that visited for the weekend begin to leave, like ants marching, back towards Los Angeles. We joined the line after one more swim and were greeted by perfect sailing conditions for the whole way back.

Philip Skinner
A Mediterranean Trip
Philip Skinner
Can I vlog instead of blog?

I haven’t abandoned my blog, which I renamed to ‘Reportage’.

I realized that I wasn’t sharing stories, rather I was sharing small life updates and of course there’s a harsh realization that I have zero audience.

I tried editing some videos for Vimeo of surfing and bodysurfing over 10 years ago but I had no clue what I was doing. I still don’t! But I’m trying it again just to see if it will catch on. I find that it’s easier to come back and watch a video instead of read something I wrote. Except, it means I have to listen to my voice which might actually be worse than reading my blogs. We’ll see.

If I can figure out a convenient workflow then I plan to catch up on the last 2 years of life events through video instead of written posts.

Philip Skinner
Honeymooners, Part 2

For the second half of our honeymoon we took a ferry from St Barts to St Martin and then an 8 minute flight across to Anguilla. Anguilla had a special resort called Cap Jaluca, the island is very different from St barts because it was flat and dryer and still had beautiful beaches and amazing food.

This kind of travel is more Mia’s style, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. We hung out at the beach, got massages, hung out at the beach more, and checked out some other gems across the island - plus I got an afternoon to bodysurf and drink coronas.

All of the fantastic memories we now have are thanks to the generous honeymoon fund contributions from wedding guests (thanks to any of you who reads this!)

Philip Skinner
Honeymooners, Part 1

The first stop for our honeymoon was St Barts. We got to enjoy 4 days in a private rental in a regular community and away from touristy areas. We had a rental car, I got to drive on the other side of the road through the crazy streets, it allowed us to access all kinds of beaches, trails and restaurants across the island.

The host of the rental brought by fresh bread and pastries every morning, we had some large iguanas alway hanging around, and a pool with a view. It was such a fun way to explore the island and feel more immersed there - definitely my kind of travel - before we got to the even better place (next post!)

Philip Skinner