Jason Barnhart
Pacific Coast
Look Ma, no car!
It starts with a bowl of muesli and hot cup of coffee. The breaking down of camp is easy, and I feel ready for the day. I am once again on my solo agenda. I started this journey alone, with only myself to answer to the flat tires when they came, or make decisions on where and when to stop. Details such as whether I ate out or prepared my food for the day. Or even when to get up and how long would I ride to the day’s final destination.
Maybe there aren’t many who would have liked my routine. I woke between 5:30 and 6 a.m. to get on the road early. I ate peanut butter and honey on 28 out of 30 days. I stopped whenever I felt like it. It was these details that made the trip uniquely personal, but saying that I was out there alone is not really true. I always had the support of my family, Blackburn, and the tribe of bicycle tourists who are out there cycling each day. I would meet them along the route. I would meet them in camp. Even the local roadies would stop sometimes and share advice or their personal story.
Everyone I met (except one person, cycling northbound, who I met halfway through Washington) was happy to be out on the road adventure. We are there because we are choosing this vacation. There are as many reasons why this type of journey satisfies us as there are cyclists; still, we all do share a spirit of adventure. We get out there.
My run to the border was not as smooth as I would have hoped. I was able to savor all the scenic moments I could find: the surf board bikes at Trestles, La Jolla, the active boardwalk of Mission Beach, and the San Diego Harbor with the city skyline in the background. These are all standouts. Yet, I also became disoriented a little in the congestion and industrial areas. Some roads were under construction, and the traffic fueled me to keep going, rather than take enough time with the details of my maps.
The last day, I did get a little off-route, but I did finish. It was a proud moment and one of gratitude.
My personal journey was 1,903 miles long.
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
- Pacific Coast Milestones -
Jason Barnhart
Gear List
- MY BLACKBURN GEAR -
- MY BIKE SPECS -
- • FRAME-1983-95 Bianchi Sport SS
- • HEADSET-Stock Bianchi
- • PEDALS-Specialized track pedals w/MKS cages
- • BRAKES-Shimano w/ Jagwire cables and pads
- • SEATPOST-Bianchi steel
- • HANDLEBAR-Bianchi drop bars w/Cincelli gel cork tape
- • FRAME SIZE-56cm
- • CRANK-170 Shimano Alero
- • CASSETTE-Shimano Alero 5 speed
- • WHEELS-Vintage Chrome steel 27
- • SADDLE-Prologo
- • ACCESSORIES-Serfas USB combo
- • FORK-Steel
- • BOTTOM BRACKET-Stock
- • SHIFTERS-Shimano 105
- • TIRES-Continental
- • STEM-Bianchi
- - PERSONAL ITEMS - -
- • Opinel No 8 beechwood handle pocket
- • Umbra card case wallet
- • ASP Palm Defender OC Pepper Spray
- • Matches
- • Kiehls SPF 50+ sunscreen
- - TECHNOLOGY - -
- • Flea 2.0 front light w/helmet adaptor
- • Motorola Droid X2 smart phone
- • Flea 2.0 rear light (on helmet)
- • Analog watch
- • iPod Shuffle
- - CAMPING GEAR - -
- • Color Cloud hammock
- • Hyperlite sleeping bag
- • Snow Peak titanium campers cup
- - CLOTHING - -
- • Cycling shoes
- • Sugoi Arm Warmers
- • Levi's cotton bandana scarf
- • Hand knit wool fingerless mittens
- • Native Vim sunglasses
- • Stance socks
- • Bell Volt helmet
- • Facconable cashmere sweater
- • Levi's 501 jeans
- • Castelli cycling cap
- • Chrome 1-off prototype shell jacket
Jason Barnhart
- FROM: San Francisco, CA
- DOB: 1970-11-15
- Single, 1 child
- OCCUPATION: Photographer, Designer
- Jason is one of the Blackburn Segment Rangers. What does that mean? The Segment Rangers may not tour an established route from end-to-end, but rather live their life mile-by-mile, embodying the sort of everyday adventure that Blackburn is proud to support.
- WHAT IS YOUR GOAL FOR THE ROUTE? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF THIS JOURNEY? I'm riding "local" routes. There are a million and one places I have seen in SoCal and NorCal both as I sped by on Amtrak and road trips by car or motorcycle, just wanting to be out there pedaling. I'm looking forward to getting to see more of these places by bike and exploring everything.
- WHAT WAS THE GENESIS MOMENT OR INSPIRATION FOR YOUR UPCOMING ADVENTURE? HAVE YOU TRAVELED BY BIKE IN THE PAST? I'm always up for adventure and find inspiration in the smallest things. Sometimes it's just "time" to grab a bike, climbing gear and basic camp stuff and go. I travel by bicycle everywhere I can in most any weather. I'm fond of riding in snow, even commuting through Northern Indiana winters in college and biking year round in Northern Japan in the late 1990's. I've made trips in and around southern Indiana and Kentucky, Illinois, Bay Area California, Flagstaff and Scottsdale Arizona and a lot of Aomori Prefecture in Japan.
-
Canon 20D DSLR.
My tried and true workhorse still cam.
-
Opinel No.8 folding pocket knife.
Basic, simple, classic, made the same way since 1890.
-
Bandana Scarf
Like a bandana but 20 x 60 instead of the usual 20 x 20.
-
iPhone 3G
An old iPhone 3G I use as iPod, eReader, Skype phone and web tool.