In previous posts Ini and I, Wren, have detailed our search for land, which began in earnest after our return from Peru.

1. Following Your Dreams: Lost? Stand Still. Our Story of Finding Land.
2. Living With the Wise Woman Amidst the Trees

What hasn’t been touched on is my own search for land and community that didn’t lead me to land, but to meeting Ini.

In order to continue with this story, I think it will behoove us to go back to the beginning.

For the story does not start when Ini and I were traveling to find home.

The story starts when I made a move to find home...

You see, I had just finished massage school in Southern California. I had made a good group of friends and together we were active in transitioning people’s yards into gardens. But I knew I wasn’t meant to stay there. I felt the itch to move on.

I was house and cat sitting for two friends and researching natural building in the Pacific Northwest (a place I had always wanted to travel) and met someone through a facebook page who was to change the course of events of my life.

He said, You should come up to OUR Ecovillage, we’re doing lots of natural building here.

Such a simple statement, but when I read it, the energy in the room shifted. It literally got more ripply and slightly foggy… I thought, Woah, I’ll have to keep that place on my list.

A Dream Was Born

Soon enough an idea to do a solo bike adventure up the West Coast was born. I was so longing to spend the entire time by Mama Ocean on the Pacific Coast Highway and my plan was to stop at as many Ecovillages and Intentional Communities as I could. I was also looking for a place to land and create my own nest. This Wren is a bird who was feeling the call home. Oregon had always caught my eye so I wanted to see if it was a good fit, and I also had never seen the Ancient Redwoods!

So I set off and stayed my first night just north of Santa Monica in Point Mugo.

I remember feeling this odd sense of complete freedom. Like I could go where I pleased when I pleased and the greatest part was the empowering locomotion of the bike travel. Bikes are different than any other mode of transport, except perhaps walking, because you can easily hide or stash the bike anywhere. That means you can sleep relatively anywhere unnoticed.

I carried all of my food with me in my trailer (bob yak trailer- highly recommended!) and that also gave me the freedom to go places for whatever length of time I wanted. I had a sleeping bag, pad, extra clothes, journal, water purifier, lights, and that's about it!

I used this to my advantage on my bike trip, often tucking in the woods when the day was over. As a solo woman, I felt some trepidation a few times, but actually I felt very protected on the trip and blessed. I was riding on an unseen wave.

First the beauty just completely broke me open. A Hoosier born and raised, I had never spent so much time by the ocean. I remember days in just weeping at a cliff’s edge as the waves crashed on the shoreline. An openness and light spirited ethos took me over and made me feel like I had wings to fly. At one point a hawk even perched by my sleeping bag and stayed there statuesque all morning while I got ready! The winged ones were with me the entire way.

Each day I reveled in the brilliance of nature, of life, of the people I would meet, the synchronicities that would happen. It was a complete time of freedom and thanksgiving.

Of course, pedaling every inch of the journey is also very physically taxing, but I loved it. Oftentimes in my life, it has been the times when I am moving, sweaty and outside that I am happiest. My body is built for speed and endurance in many ways and the challenge and peace of hopping on the bike basically every day nourished me like a meditation retreat. The long hours on the road fortified my sense of self, of belonging to a greater story and of the importance of caring for the earth. Always the importance of caring for the earth. For when we fall in love with something or something breaks our hearts open, we naturally care for it.

(Made it to the Golden Gate Bridge on Day 11 - nearly 500 miles!!!)

Here’s a break down of my trip up until I reached San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge:

Sunday August 5th, dad and I take a day trip from Pasadena, California to Malibu. Drops me off at Point Mugo.
Monday 6th, point Mugo to Ojai, sleep at friend Laura’s friend’s
Tuesday 7th, ojai to Refugio Beach, that is moving through Santa Barbara, made it there at dusk, slept by the ocean to a star packed sky and waves lapping. Not using a map at this point.

Wednesday 8th, Refugio to Pismo Beach. Challenging evening at a crowded RV park between the highway and train tracks packed in on a postage stamp sleep site with four other cyclists. Couldn’t wait to leave next AM.
Thursday 9th, leave Grover (Pismo) beach, rode part way with Howard, ate lunch at Cambria, not sure where I was that night

(Loved eating SO MUCH!)
Friday 10th, slept at San Simeon with some Germans and Chris who gave me a map set. I painted him a picture of the sunset in thanks.

I think I fudged a day, somewhere slept at Kirk’s Creek.
Saturday 11, Kirk’s Creek to Seaside, long ride through big sur. used warmshowers.org this evening. Met some guys skateboarding the entire coast of California.

(Big Sur was definitely the tightest section of the ride. While RVs would go by, sometimes it felt like I was only a hair away!)

Sunday 12, seaside to new Brighton outside of Santa Cruz. They have a strict guideline on when you must leave, so luckily I met some sweet folks who let me sleep at their site the next day because I needed a day off from riding. That night a homeless guy made me a fish and potatoes dinner in the fire; it was delicious.

Monday 13th, rest day with Noreine and the gang. Sweet folks, included a talent show and visit from Father Paul, an old time friend.
Tuesday 14th, New Brighton to Butano, 1st time sleeping in a grove of redwoods. Ancient ladies speaking to me! Fending off more offers for herb smoking, as I’m not drinking or smoking on trip. This park was very lovely.

Wednesday 15th, Butano to Half Moon Bay. Trippy experiences with hawks hovering every where. I take it as a spiritual sign and rest and pray that evening. The next morning a hawk is perched 15 ft from me, statuesque though people are walking up to him, and remains there the entire morning.

Thursday 16th, half moon bay to Samuel p Taylor, Golden Gate Bridge Day! Beautiful day full of sunshine, thanks and quite proud of myself. Met Canadian who wanted to date me and travel together. We kept “bumping” into each other the next few days, so I had to set firm boundaries.

To be continued…