California

I've been on the road now for one month and one week and have cycled 3,000 km, which means the US leg of the trip is nearly over. I'm in LA at the moment and will be heading down to San Diego, which is my last port of call in the US, in the next few days.

The journey through California has been astounding. It's a big state (about 1000 miles from the north to the south) and the terrain and landscape is accordingly diverse. Every day there's been something new to take my breath away, be it the giant redwoods in the north, the wildflower meadows in Mendocino, the rugged coastline of Big Sur, the palm trees and golden beaches of the south or the warmth and hospitality of the people I meet each day. I could go on, but you'll get a better idea from the pictures.

I spent three days in San Francisco, which was a real highlight. Portland and Seattle were both very nice cities, but of all the major ones I've passed through San Francisco has been my favourite as it's got such a chilled out atmosphere. My next stop was Santa Barbara and then Ventura, where I stopped for my first day of Californian surfing. The further south you get the better the surfing becomes so I can't wait to get to San Diego where I plan to spend a few days catching some waves. I'm also toying with the idea of somehow gerry-rigging a surfboard onto my touring rig and taking it with me as I head south. There are only 2 issues with this: 1) how to do it; 2) given I'm unemployed and technically I'm also homeless if I do something crazy like cycling with a surfboard I think that puts me firmly into hobo territory. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that yet...