Meet us in Chico and depart for Wheeled Migration’s 2nd Annual Spring Sojourn. It’s 250 miles of community bicycle touring to the Lost Coast of California. This is your ride, do it your way. Haul your gear, bring your own SAG vehicle full of friends, be supported, and be there for others. Camping & potluck-style meals. Perfect for seasoned riders or people just ready to go further.

This years tour leads us through California’s North Coast Ranges and into the remotest region our state. We will sleep among lush old growth Coast Redwood, bask in the clear waters of the Van Duzen, and taste the ocean breeze as we descend though seaward mountains of the Pacific Rim. Our journey ends at the Lost Coast where the Mattole river opens into the sea.There beside towering campfires we will be joined by dear friends, set to carry us home. It’s our one and only for Chico and always from Chico DIY ride!

 

  • Start: By 9:00am May, 28th Downtown Chico Plaza, CA
  • Finish: June, 1st in Mattole Camp Ground, CA
  • The Map!
  • Distance: 250 Miles
  • Ride Days: 4
  • Difficulty: Not Easy
  • Comfort: Self-Supported (Bring your own)
  • SAG Support: Bring your own SAG Vehicle
  • Accommodations: Camping / Car Camping
  • Meals: Pack your own & potluck style
  • Cost: $150 – $300 Sliding Scale!
  • Deposit: $150

Not ‘just like riding a bike.’

Our intention is to host the Sojourns in the original flavor of our Wheeled Migration ’08 tour: community supported exploration. We cook together, lend hands, trade skills, roles, ideas, and tour as group. It’s camp, on bikes.

We’ll meet new faces and seed relationships, find rhythm in the roads and leave our worlds behind. What takes shape is always different and something to explore. We create a world together and for a moment, watch it go.

Q & A

Bring your own SAG vehicle?!

The Sojourn is a place to discover bicycle touring. We understand riding fully loaded isn’t for everyone so we’re trying something new. We are opening the ride to friends and families to support Sojourn riders with private vehicles.

We imagine it to work like this:

You got a group of friends, someone wants to ride the last day, someone wants to ride the whole way, and another is happy driving the rig and hanging out along the route. Yawl agree to support each other down the road and no one stresses about heavy gear, running out of food (or beer), or not being able to “make it.” Ride your way, it’s vacation.

SAG drivers may (will) be called upon to lend a valuable hand to the tour. Let us know if you plan on bringing a hooptie onto the route and we’ll help you fit in.

So I have to pack my food?

Yep. Fortunately there are lots of ways to keep fed. We’re only limited by our imagination, ingenuity, and resources- right? Here are several ideas up front:

  • We pack an abundance and potluck. Nobody goes hungry on WM.
  • Form a group, pack panniers together, cook with each other and trade around in camp. Easy.
  • Arrange food drops or have someone deliver you prawns scallopini in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness.
  • Pack lite and only what you absolutely need.
  • Have a friend follow you with an SUV and a cooler of ice cream and cold beer !!!!!

Are there hills?

This ride goes up and down the whole way. In total we’ll climb nearly 15,000 feet over 300 miles. That’s a bunch, but not as much as it sounds. Chico riders can prepare for Sojourn climbs on Honeyrun and Cohasset. Ride lots.

What if I ride slow?

So…?

What if I want to sleep in until noon and swim in the Mad river all day?

Awesome, but the bike tour’s going that-a-way. The group can bend and flex but eventually you’re either in or out.

Sooo, what’s WM doing out there?

If you’re riding in this group you send and receive support as needed. On the road we’ll be roving through the pack with mechanics and medics and following you with a sweep rider. In camp, we’ll help get the party started but this is also our time to ride and enjoy ourselves without being your “tour guides.” Dig?

We’re camping? In the woods?

Bingo! WM has our campsites staked out. Did you know?!! The Coast Range has the highest density of recorded Yeti incidents in North America.

I don’t have any experience bike touring or camping, can I still come?

The Sojourn is a great place to have your first tour, just be prepared. Someone could ride to the Lost Coast on a Wal-Mart cruzie bike with a back pack and tennis shoes. But that’s not much fun and it shouldn’t take a week.

First, check in with yourself. Then we suggest you spend more time on your bike. Get comfortable up and down hills, ride for hours at a time, test your systems, research/learn, and ask lots of questions. Gyms and training programs are great but you don’t need to train, you need to ride more bike. Give us a call if you need some encouragement.

Again, you could team up with friends and support each other down the road. Not a bad way to go and the rewards are sweet.

Can my band come play?

If you make it fun, sounds good to us. Keeping with the DIY spirit of this ride we’re encouraging musicians to make that their own thing. Carry a ukelele on your top rack or make a music video with the whole band, do what you feel.

Do my friends have to pay if they’re not riding bikes?

Absolutely. Maybe even twice as much.. Three times as much…

Do I need to train?

Ride more bikes. Make it what you do and do it regularly and you’ll have no problem out there. If you have questions about gear, start here. Then we suggest Google searches like: “bike touring gear” and “packing for bicycle touring.” You got it.

Do we train together?

WM hosts tours and events. However, there are plenty of club rides and everyday people out there on Facebook to keep you challenged, learning, and on the bike. Less questions, more bikes!

What if I don’t live in Chico? Can I still go?

Come on over! We’ll make a place for you and leave together in the morning. Tell us when you sign up and we’ll call you with details.