"Surf`s up!......San Diego to Carlsbad"

I try to maintain a “100° policy”, that is, I ride until it gets to 100º and then get off the road and find somewhere to stay until the next morning. This usually means riding until 9.00a.m. at the latest! So after 3 days racing across the Arizona desert in short bursts with overnight stops at GILA BEND and YUMA I finally reached the outskirts of SAN DIEGO and my next couchsurfing experience with Sally and Larry.

Larry is involved with Motorola doing technical wizardry and Sally is a languages specialist and is involved in innovative ways of training teachers how to teach languages to children. My arrival coincided with their son Alan announcing his engagement, and an impromptu trip to the races at Del Mar with several of their friends! I seemed to have been swept away on this surreal whirlwind of activity.

I arrived, unpacked and showered and was then whisked off to breakfast at a very popular Jewish deli/diner and then to downtown San Diego to pick up their friend Alexis and then onto another friend`s place to pick up the race tickets and then on to the races! It felt like I was gate crashing the busy and hectic life of total strangers! Which of course I was! But they were all so welcoming and friendly it just seemed natural. I had a fascinating conversation with Alexis who works as a coach and facilitator with major companies, a very bright and engaging man. Another great experience and I didn`t lose any money on the horses! (Probably because I didn`t actually place any bets!) but, just as with Las Vegas, it was fascinating to watch people. I only planned to stay one night as I had to go to CARLSBAD to meet up with my friends Tony and Claire and their boys Mark and James. However, that night, Sally told me that she was piloting an innovative method of teaching Spanish and invited me along if I was interested. It would be the following weekend so I readily agreed. Any help before going into Mexico would be a real bonus. I had been attempting to learn Spanish with a programme I`d put on my ipod months ago, but I`d let it lapse, and now felt an impending sense of urgency with Mexico around the corner!



So with my Spanish lesson booked I headed for the coast and the short ride to the surfing hotspot of Carlsbad. As I negotiated the 5 lane freeway out of San Diego at my standard 55 mph (easily the slowest vehicle on the road – even big trucks were passing me!) I was looking forward to seeing my friends, catching up with news from home and just relaxing for a few days. Tony and Claire treated me to an excellent Chinese meal that night and I spent a lazy few days drinking beer, chatting, walking on the beach and lounging by their pool. Almost like a proper holiday!



After a couple of nights I decided to check into a cheap and cheerful (well cheap anyway) motel not far away, as I was worried about the luxurious surroundings making me too soft for the culture shock of Mexico!

I busied myself with the blog and poured over maps of Mexico trying to decide what route to take. I found out that whichever route I was going to take it was going to be “muy caliente!” – mad hot to you and me! My time chilling with Tony and Claire passed all too quickly and it was a strange feeling leaving to carry on with my journey, while they were going to be heading home from holiday. For a brief period of time I had felt “normal” being around familiar faces, now it was back to the routine of the road with only my own thoughts to accompany me. But first, I had a very special Spanish lesson to focus on back in San Diego.

I arrived back at Sally and Larry`s in the afternoon and we chatted by their pool before the other “students” arrived. A friend of Sally`s and fellow languages teacher, Monique arrived for a brief chat and then was persuaded to stay for the evening lesson. She was a pretty amazing woman and we had a fascinating conversation about life, the universe and everything! (as you do!)

The Spanish lesson was like no other language lesson I`d ever had. It was fun and Sally made it so interesting and easy to learn. The fact Larry plied us with fine red wine throughout, merely added to the enjoyment. Now that`s how Spanish should be taught! Again, time passed so quickly and I had to be up at 5.00a.m. the next day (for another dawn race against the rising sun) so I thanked Sally and Larry for their magnificent hospitality and turned in for an early night, feeling a little more comfortable with my basic Spanish.

The real test would come in a few days time.