At Roads End

From: Needles, CA
To: Venice, CA
Mileage: About 464km

Today, I ran out of road.  I even ran out of land.  Read on.

I packed up camp and made my trip through the Mojave desert.

I kept moving, but started getting drowsy.  I stopped for lunch in Barstow, CA.  I used my Starbucks giftcard, and planned out my route for the rest of the day.  Continuing on, I came upon a mountain range.  Once I reached the top, I was greeted with a great view.  I was in the clouds looking out at scenic mountains and cities below.  Sorry, no photos - there was nowhere safe to pull off.  As I started coming down the other side of the mountains, I started getting nice views of the metro area ahead.  Eventually, I entered Los Angeles county.  Tropical trees everywhere, ultra-modern everything, lots of wealth.  Nice cars and bikes everywhere!

I took an exit for Santa Monica and continued on.  Eventually, the mile markers reached 0 and the road ahead of me vanished.  When I ran out of pavement, I had ended up at

Elated, I parked and walked to the water.

Success.

I stayed on the beach for about 20 mins or so, but then needed to take care of business.  So I bought a hot dog on a stick (the original).  I then went in search of a hotel.  I drove into Venice, CA and visited the beach since it's the namesake of my blog.

Venice Beach (by bike)

The outdoor gym

I looked for a place to stay and didn't see much, so I stayed at the Santa Monica Motel.  It sounds nicer than it is.  Here's a quick shot of the Santa Monica Pier:

By this time it was late and dark, so I went to the Third Street Promenade (a touristy pedestrian street) and ate dinner at a cafe before turning in.