SF to Ventura: Day 6 - New Cuyama

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:02 am

I've been waiting for the right time to start writing this trip report for this day and the next for a long time. Reflections, talks with friends, and the occasional cigarette, has finally brought me to my keyboard. This day and the next changed my life. In my head, the transforming experience of the first days of the tour pushed me physically and mentally. I accomplished so much. I was expecting a super hard ride through heat and unknown lands to me. My whole life, I lived by the principle of never believing in karma or anticipating something bad. I had a weird thought at some point weeks leading to my tour. In the past, when I'd have the "I have a weird feeling about this" type of moment, I would overcome it and be fine.

I had this thought that I'd crash on highway 33 and that crash could maybe lead to my death.

This thought was probably fueled by my research and warnings from friends about reckless drivers on that road. There was also the mysteriousness of it, even though I drove it for the first time in May of this year. I had no interest in manifesting my own death on that highway, nor was I or am I suicidal, but it was a random "what if I crashed" type of feeling that kept coming back into my head at random points during the tour that I didn't think that deeply about until now.

I just wanted to share this all with you. I'm fine, currently thriving, and will share my deeper analysis of this later.

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Good morning party people! I slept really well last night and decided to skip a full breakfast and stick with snacking. The night before, I ate teriyaki chicken on rice with some veggies which kept me super full in the morning. I began riding at 6:30am and took Higuera St. to some little donut shop. Here, I drank some gross espresso and pounded some donuts before recording a hype video for my instagram. Something I was looking forward to experiencing on this tour was pushing my body’s abilities and endurance while being in tune with the food and liquid I was ingesting in order to maximize output during a day. Day 6 was going to be all of that but on crack since I was gonna experience intense heat for the first time on the tour which could threaten heat exhaustion and dehydration if I messed up. I’m not trying to be dramatic but all the research I did for this route hyped it up to be a big challenge with lots of potential danger that I couldn’t wait to experience!

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I made it to Pismo Beach where I lathered on the sunblock and ate a few bars. Since it was a Sunday, traffic was light so pushing through the town was a breeze. Being back next to the coast was refreshing and familiar. As someone who’s hated the ocean and the beach for all my life, being close to it for multiple days made me long for it on my off day. I think I made peace with the beach that morning. Very quickly, my route took me inland and to a gas station where I loaded up on conchas and coffee. Then before I knew it, I was off the coastal route and onto my custom Matthew Jackson excursion of extra credit towards Santa Maria.

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Some of these roads were rough and passed through rural farmland, lots of trucks and trucks. Riding on the shoulder felt sketchy and it was clear that the drivers hated me as a cyclist and didn’t want to give me room so I found myself removing my earpods to listen for trucks and hop off the road for them to pass. I had a wonderful call with my brother Patrick where I complained about the trucks a bit too much but the conversation helped get us both excited for my hot ride later.

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I stopped at my last grocery store before the push up highway 166. This spot was blasting cumbia and had no ac. I bought some bananas, 2 sandwiches, some more complete cookies, nerds clusters, and a whole extra 1 liter water bottle. I chugged 3 liters of water there and refilled my bottles which brought me to a whopping 4 liters on the bike counting the backup bottle I bought.

Things were feeling good! I had a phone call with my Mom, followed by a quick call with my Dad and I updated everyone in the family with my location and vibes. I turned onto highway 166 just as the heat started to become noticeable and had my final hyped up phone call with Ali to really push my stoke to a great height. I put on some old Tyler, The Creator and got my first taste of the fast moving highway that I’d spend the rest of the hot ass day on.

The 166 was stunning right off the bat, with scattered oak trees amongst the familiar tall grasses that could burn in an instant due to the dryness. I came to this big beautiful bridge that slowly curved over a dried up Twitchell Reservoir. Something about the size of this bridge, its length, its design, really did it for me, easily taking 1st place from Bixby Bridge in Big Sur. Yes it’s a hot take but the location with the backdrop of the rolling hills and dried reservoir was super cool and pretty and it's easily better than Bixby.

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I pushed on and things got both hotter and greener! The creek was running slowly alongside the highway in some spots and there were lots of flowers dancing around. Before I realized it, I was at the wide open gates of the fire station at the quarter way point to Cuyama and it was only 12pm! I was definitely conserving water but making a decent pace, reaching the station from the start of the highway in 1.5 hours.

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When I called the station weeks prior, they told me that if their gate was open, I could knock on one of the doors and get water. There were a few homes with cars parked outside so I went to the first one and knocked with no answer. I tried a few times and didn’t get anything so I went to the next home and did the same with no response. I went back to the first building and could hear some walking around so I knocked again. A gentleman by the name of Robert answered the door and was excited to see a cyclist like me and invited me into his wonderfully air conditioned home! I asked him if he remembered me calling and he replied that the dude next door probably talked to me. He offered me a beer but I opted for a La Croix instead which I regret now while writing this. He gave me a quick tour of his house which was decorated with Smokey the Bear photos, firefighting gear, a fuckin’ taxidermied deer head, and an obnoxiously large bose sound system. I had never really been in the living quarters of a fire station before, obviously, but Robert had this vibe about him that he was just excited to help me out. Robert sat me on the couch and mirrored his computer screen onto a tv then proceeded to give me a full weather breakdown and CalTrans road report for the rest of my route that day. He rarely would see cyclists on 166 and mentioned that I was the first person to ever come to the station for water and that said something. He mentioned that the only other time he’s seen cyclists on the road is for the Tour De Los Padres but other than that, the highway seemed to keep bikes off of it due to the isolation from services and supplies. I think I was hanging with him for 30 minutes or so until a group of firefighters showed up in a truck and came in to talk to Robert about brush, signalling my time to leave.

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In that 30 minute span of time, the sun decided to heat up significantly to a whopping temperature of 87 degrees and it also told the wind to take a break and not do anything. All I had to do was pedal efficiently up and up the highway to my camp spot. Now the 166 got really really pretty as it winded up through these dark sandstone formations that reminded me of the highway 33 area I’d soon see. I reached the halfway point where I had planned to camp but it was only 1pm and the sun was directly overhead. On top of that, there was no shade and the oak trees that I planned on maybe finding shade under were burned in some recent fire. I had no choice but to keep pushing for the next 26 miles to New Cuyama.

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At 1:30pm, I was feeling very hot. Believe it or not, I had 5 bars of 5g reception so I started calling my family to keep my mind busy. The heat was very persistent and the shade was non-existent. The occasional surviving oak tree would come up and I’d take a 5 minute break under it then continue riding. At one point, I mapped out the remaining trees on my map to plan breaks and found one section of 5 miles that was completely barren, then a big tree, followed by another 3 mile gap of no shade.

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After that 5 mile shadeless stretch, I took a solid 20 minute rest under this big oak until I got a phone call from my Dad. He was stressed that my location stopped moving and I quickly realized that he’s been very closely tracking my location on his phone or computer, more than anyone else. He told me he was concerned that something may have happened to me and this frustrated me a lot. I got frustrated with the idea that I now had to worry about my Dad worrying about me. He got defensive on the phone, ensuring me that he just wanted to make sure I was safe and okay. This was a response I’ve had with him on numerous other occasions, whether it was my InReach not sending a ping because of trees or terrain blocking it for hours or me forgetting to send a satellite text saying I gotta extend my time in the mountains a few more hours.

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I was on this tour to challenge myself and to figure out myself on my own while also keeping my phone on, sharing my location with friends and family who wanted to see my progress. The idea of having an InReach or satellite device as a backup or worst case scenario tool to call for help made sense, but I have always hated the idea of pinging my live location while trying to get off the damn grid on a personal excursion like this. I am thankful to have parents who are alive and care about my well being while I am on a challenging trip but I still had yet to figure out my boundaries on the location and texting in the mountains. My friend Dima has always hated his InReach for the same reason as me, that it will sometimes take forever to send a message because either the satellite goes behind the mountain or a tree is blocking the line of sight. You’d also have extremely frustrating moments where you’re trying to say something important or send a follow up text and the receiver is left for sometimes 30 minutes awaiting important information.

My Dad felt hurt that I was frustrated, like he has many times in the past. We reconciled there on the phone, but the feeling stayed with me and still stays with me.

After hours of shade hopping and what felt like 6 hours of riding from the station, I found myself in front of the Cuyama Buckhorn hotel and restaurant in New Cuyama! I took a few victory photos, locked up the bike, and entered the bar.

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I was welcomed by the bartender named Sam who graciously served me a pint of beer and got my order for food. He told me that he trains packgoats and takes them backpacking or on trail work excursions in the mountains. After eating a full meal, I needed to figure out where I’d sleep that night. The hotel rate for a basic room was $350 for 1 night but other than that, there was no lodging or even a campground in the town. I planned for the possibility of riding past my camp spot on 166 and pushing for Cuyama, and that plan was going to be just sleeping in the 1 public park. I decided to bike over to the sheriffs station to try and ask permission to camp in the park while trying to make a case that i’m on a tour and don’t have $350 for the bougie hotel.This town was so small that the sheriffs station and fire station were in the same building so when I rang the doorbell, a fireman came to the door. I asked him for permission and he replied he will let the sheriff know and that he legally couldn’t say yes but that he said it’s okay with him that one night. Then for the second time that day, the firefighter invited me into the station so I could refill my waterbottles! I told him how far I came and my plans for the next day and he brought down all the other firefighters in the station so I could tell them as well! It was unique to interact with 2 different fire stations, let alone be invited into both of them by people who were excited to help me out on this extremely difficult day! They asked if I wanted my picture taken outside the station, so I said yes.

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I had another beer with Sam at the bar and ordered a big salad to conclude the evening. He had me map out a bunch of places to camp and explore in the Los Padres, as well as his favorite blogs from his favorite explorers to go read later. When I first met Sam, he came off as a bit skeptical of me and my interests of exploring and historic research hobbies. By the end of the night and after many hours of conversations that stayed within the walls of the Cuyama Buckhorn, I understood Sam very well and I think he understood me. I can’t wait to catch up with him when I come back sometime soon.

I set up my bivy next to some picnic tables which were sitting under a big shade structure at the park. As I got ready for bed, the immense exhaustion of the 86 mile day began to show itself to my brain. As I started to close my eyes to sleep, a loud scream seemed to come from in front of my bivy. I quickly opened the door with my heart pounding through my chest to see nothing and nobody in front. I fully got out of my bivy and walked around looking for the person who was nowhere to be found, then crawled back in. I then heard another yell, opened the door again to nobody then decided to call my Mom. I had never hallucinated before, apart from the occasional mushroom journey but this was definitely a hallucination derived from exhaustion. I told my Mom what was going on and she calmed my nerves a bit. I actually thought smoking some weed would help and it actually sent me straight to sleep! Later in the night, maybe around 3am, I was promptly awoken by a coyote who walked right up to my bivy and sniffed around. I quickly opened the zipper and saw it dash away, this freaked me out a lot. And then an hour later, a bunch of foxes started making calls and ran through the park. I can’t confirm if they were real but they did come pass from my left to right so audibly they moved.

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The night of sleep was rough and not good. The phone call with my Dad the day before really bothered me. It reminded me to be more thankful for my loving parents, especially since they’re still around. As I get older (I'm still in my twenties) I try to be more independent from my parents. Somehow I’ll still frantically call my Mom in times of stress where I need comfort, and my Dad will still worry for me when I go into the mountains to challenge myself. I take it for granted when they express their concern for my safety and I find it irritating.

Both of those phone calls I will never forget.

Nate U · Post by **Nate U** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 8:18 am

Great trip reporting. The tension of independence and vulnerability with your parents really brings me back to my 20s. Also makes me think about how that will eventually play out kind of in reverse as my parents further age, and then my own kid too.

This day also makes me appreciate fire stations! And annoyance at $350 for the only hotel in town....

Post by **HikeUp** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 9:01 am

Nice TR. Epic stuff you guys do on the bike.

Not very helpful, but I thought there was a camp site in New Cuyama - Blue Sky or something like that.

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 9:45 am

I dont know what I was thinking but I didn't bother checking Blue Sky's website and finding that sites were only $35 a night. Maybe I did see it and still opted for the park because even that was steep. Lol

As someone who's been having the same conversations with my parents about safety and location sharing, it's annoying and I still only somewhat get it. I think that since the technology exists and everyone with a new iphone has the ability to be "online" with patience and a line of sight to a satellite, it adds a feeling to my parents that they should always be able to reach me, regardless of my boundaries. On top of that, they don't respect my right to disconnect when I'm in the mountains. I also think that people trust the technology too much. I'll go into my further annoyances with InReach on my day 7 trip report!

Nate U · Post by **Nate U** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:22 pm

Matthew wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2026 9:45 am adds a feeling to my parents that they should always be able to reach me, regardless of my boundaries. On top of that, they don't respect my right to disconnect when I'm in the mountains. I also think that people trust the technology too much. I'll go into my further annoyances with InReach on my day 7 trip report!

Not to be a bad influence or anything, but when I go on an adventure I never tell my parents about it. I just tell you guys and Justina. If I go missing you guys are way better candidates for effectively finding me and knowing what protocols are best followed then my parents ever would be. Also I don't want my parents to worry needlessly, because we all know how paranoid parents can get. Like for instance I never told them I took Justina and Forest to a rather remote cabin of sorts until we got back safe and sound. I didn't know if they would have had a problem with it or not, but why give them a chance to have a problem with it?

Its extremely important to tell *someone* where you expect to be and when you expect to get back when you adventure solo - but there's no rules about *who* it is that gets told.

Matthew · Post by **Matthew** » Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:51 pm

Nate U wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:22 pm
Matthew wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2026 9:45 am adds a feeling to my parents that they should always be able to reach me, regardless of my boundaries. On top of that, they don't respect my right to disconnect when I'm in the mountains. I also think that people trust the technology too much. I'll go into my further annoyances with InReach on my day 7 trip report!
Not to be a bad influence or anything, but when I go on an adventure I never tell my parents about it. I just tell you guys and Justina. If I go missing you guys are way better candidates for effectively finding me and knowing what protocols are best followed then my parents ever would be. Also I don't want my parents to worry needlessly, because we all know how paranoid parents can get. Like for instance I never told them I took Justina and Forest to a rather remote cabin of sorts until we got back safe and sound. I didn't know if they would have had a problem with it or not, but why give them a chance to have a problem with it?

Its extremely important to tell *someone* where you expect to be and when you expect to get back when you adventure solo - but there's no rules about *who* it is that gets told.

I'll keep that in mind!