Cycling into the Apocalypse
11-08-18, 10:26 PM
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Cycling into the Apocalypse
So I had a meeting in Camarillo 2:30 this afternoon.
The plan was to carpool with coworkers there and get back to Studio City by 5:30, in time to get to the subway and catch my 7:15 train to Oceanside.
So I got the clever idea that I could just take Amtrak from Camarillo at 6:00. So I changed the ticket and loaded the folding bike into the car.
On the way there we passed a brush fire about a mile north of the 101 freeway. Then about 4:00 everyone heads to the parking lot to see this.
The winds are gusting over 50mph and it looks pretty bad.
So the new plan is for me to get dropped off at the station. Problem is the police have the traffic stopp d. So my coworker pops the hatch, I jump out and bike to the station.
Take it easy and get to the station quickly. Train arrives only a few min late.
The plan was to carpool with coworkers there and get back to Studio City by 5:30, in time to get to the subway and catch my 7:15 train to Oceanside.
So I got the clever idea that I could just take Amtrak from Camarillo at 6:00. So I changed the ticket and loaded the folding bike into the car.
On the way there we passed a brush fire about a mile north of the 101 freeway. Then about 4:00 everyone heads to the parking lot to see this.
The winds are gusting over 50mph and it looks pretty bad.
So the new plan is for me to get dropped off at the station. Problem is the police have the traffic stopp d. So my coworker pops the hatch, I jump out and bike to the station.
Take it easy and get to the station quickly. Train arrives only a few min late.
11-09-18, 07:57 AM
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scary!
11-09-18, 08:49 AM
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Glad it worked out for you, hopefully your colleagues got back ok. My daughter had to evacuate from the Woolsey fire last night , she is just south off the 101 at Lost Hills, the fire jumped the 101 last night. 
11-09-18, 10:05 AM
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Good thing the wind was blowing the smoke away from us.
11-09-18, 10:24 AM
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So... funny side story - @tunavic and I were riding on that awesome bike path between Carpenteria and Ventura last month at about 7pm or so, just after sunset. We were standing there taking pics, and turned the OTHER way and noticed a raging bonfire partway up the hill. Vic called 911 and after a little Q&A they told us it was a scheduled burnoff... but seeing an open fire in those weed covered hills is unsettling to a southern Californian, that's for sure.
The sunset was nice though:
The sunset was nice though:
11-09-18, 11:24 AM
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I'd love to have seen the reaction of the 100's of drivers who were totally stopped, when I jumped out of that car, unfolded the bike, and rode past them.
11-09-18, 12:55 PM
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Quite the tale. I always worry about getting stuck on the freeway (well, in a car, in general) in some natural disaster out here. That's part of the reason I like keeping my bike in my minivan. It's so old, I wouldn't mind if I had to abandon it in an emergency to get home on the bike or something.
This morning, I noticed folks looking at a smoke column, turned out to be a brush fire in Griffith Park. Gonna be a long winter.
This morning, I noticed folks looking at a smoke column, turned out to be a brush fire in Griffith Park. Gonna be a long winter.
11-09-18, 01:22 PM
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The new normal. The videos out of the Paradise fire are scary as s*it.
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