On Friday I was bound for Los Angeles. I biked from my hostel to the Greyhound station and caught the bus. It was almost a smooth boarding, except that the bus driver firmly told me that he would not accept my bike on the bus without a box (though I could swear I read on the website that a box was not required). After a minor panic because I did not have a box, I realized that the bus station had some available. I quickly packed my bike and boarded the bus with very little time to spare.
When I got to LA, I was finally able to comprehend just how big the city was. The trip from the bus station to my hotel, which looked like a rather short distance on a map, turned out to be an adventure in itself. Luckily though, in LA you can take your bike on the subway trains for no extra cost! It was certainly cramped, but three trains and two hours later, I was finally biking the end leg to my hotel. Hot, sweaty, and exhausted, I checked into the airport Hilton (thanks for the upgrade Mom and Dad!) and had the best shower I’d had in a while. For the first time on my trip, I had a room all to myself – it was refreshing, but also slightly lonely; I had become so used to being surrounded by other friendly travellers.
I mostly relaxed for the rest of the day; I went for a swim, got takeout, and watched HBO on my king-sized bed before I went to bed early at 10pm to try to adjust my body to the time difference ahead of time. My bike connections for Friday added up to a total of 8.1km.
Beyond the Automobile 