THROUGH CRACKS IN THE PAVEMENT

Little corner pockets like this hardly get a look at 60 mph, but slow it down to 6 and a whole new world of possibilities opens up.

Dan Malloy
After a couple months of being home, I just wanted to go on a surf trip, and that’s when Chris Del Moro rang me up to see if I wanted to pack up some boards and ride down the coast. I was sold right away, because there is nothing better for you mentally and physically than a fun surf trip with some good friends. And the bike thing sounded pretty cool, especially since there’s nothing worse for the environment than cars and airplanes. Of course, once you jump on a bike you start getting all philosophical about different things, like how cool it would have been to be living 100 years ago, in simpler times, or how all the stars are suddenly making sense, and you feel really connected to the whole universe, but the best thing about it was the simplest thing: While it was light, we were riding our bikes, surfing, or eating; while it was dark, we were riding our bikes, building camp, or sleeping.

Josh Kimball
Our 300-mile bike tour was the most physically challenging trip I’d ever been on. There’s a constant supply of big-rig danger on Highway 101; then you have flat tires and broken chains, the grueling hillside climbs with dozens of pounds of gear, and the sheer exhaustion from riding 40 miles and then going surfing—every day for two weeks. All those elements could have prevented a crew of strangers from meshing. But those episodes actually pulled us together. Each obstacle was met with a group effort to overcome it. So the challenge itself, and the fun we had at every surf spot we pedaled past, gave each of us one of the best trips of our lives—and some new friends for down the road.

Dan Malloy
I loved just the immediate thinking ahead. Simple things like, “When are we going to stop and eat?” and “If we hustle up and get to Pumpkin Point, the tide should be dead low and just starting to push, so let’s hurry the hell up.” Rather than worrying about where I’m going in life, that’s the kind of thinking ahead that suits me. And the lack of stress and worry, coupled with being physically exhausted, helps you to sleep like a baby.

Gabe Sullivan
As amped as we were to surf, we also decided to let ourselves get sidetracked occasionally by the surroundings in New Zealand. Aamion Goodwin was really stoked because he’s a fly-fishing fanatic, and we spent two days toward the beginning of our trip fishing the Tongariro River (which, as it turns out, is the Pipeline of fly fishing).

An emerald in Newport.