3,430 miles of backroads, fire tracks, coastal trails, and mountain passes. A bear hug of the incredible place I'm pretty lucky to call home.
I am linking backroads, unpaved tracks, fire and logging roads, bike trails, and quiet paths into one loop around the perimeter of California.
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California.
All my landmarks are here — childhood, school, teaching, building a life with my wife and kids — and almost all my outdoor ventures too. For the next two months, I am tracing California's wild perimeter on two wheels, linking backroads, unpaved tracks, fire and logging roads, bike trails, and solitary paths into one rugged route I'm calling The California Crown.
("Great California Granddad Gravel Trail" was shot down by my daughter, though I'm still holding out for that one.)
For sixty days, I'll be doing my best to complete an unpaved circuit of the shores, canyons, forests, mountains, and desert moonscapes of my own backyard, and a celebration of the spirit of possibility I absorbed from a California childhood. Call it an act of radical presence — a bear hug of the incredible place I'm pretty lucky to call home.
Interactive Leaflet map with GPX upload, leg-by-leg progress tracking, and sharing
Printable day-by-day itinerary with estimated distances for the full perimeter route
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