Contributor: Whitney Wright
In June 2019, my friend Kate and I cycled 1,700 miles from outside of Seattle to San Diego. We had been lucky enough to mostly camp at hiker/biker sites at campgrounds through Washington and Oregon (with a couple of nights at a hotel when we both had a stomach bug) and had not yet needed to utilize Warmshowers. However, we had created our profiles before starting our trip to be prepared.
On Day 19 of our tour, we reached the Pacific Coast Highway in Leggett, California, which was a major milestone for us because it was the road we would be taking the rest of the way down to San Diego.
In Leggett is a renowned hill called Leggett Hill, the highest point of elevation on the California coast. It is a long, winding uphill climb without a great shoulder. After slowly making our way to the top, we spent the rest of the afternoon on some elevation changes. We were happy to ride into Mendocino, California, a cute coastal town about 150 miles north of San Francisco.
Like most other nights so far, we had plans to camp. However, as we were eating some big pieces of pie and cake from a local coffee shop and discussing our plans, a man approached us. After introducing himself as Jesse, he told us he saw our gear and cycles and came over to discuss touring. He had completed some tours (all over Mexico on a bike with these massive tires to ride on sand) and is a big cyclist himself.
We got to chatting, and he mentioned that he is a Warmshowers host and then offered us a place to stay! Kate and I wanted to discuss privately how safe we felt staying at his place and told him we would get back to him. We wanted to look at his Warmshowers profile before making a decision. However, we were easily persuaded when Jesse gave us his number and said, “Let me know
—I live behind the big, white Victorian down this street in a water tower.”
After finding Jesse on Warmshowers to confirm what he told us, we pushed our bicycles down the street to Jesse’s house and were completely blown away by where he lives. There are tons of little water towers around Mendocino, and a few have been converted into houses. Jesse gave us a tour of his unique home while we sipped on some beers—there was a large downstairs bedroom with a queen bed and bunk beds and bathroom for us, then the floor above that was the kitchen and another bathroom, the next floor above that had a massage bed and a couch, and then there was a ladder leading up to a loft to his bed—before feeding us.
After washing up, Jesse took us to the very top of his water tower home; after opening a hatch window next to his loft bed, we climbed up a ladder leading up to the very top of the tower, where he had some lawn chairs and a great view of Mendocino and the coast. We enjoyed some beers and discussed his children, tours, and how he came to live in Mendocino.
Before the sun went down, Jesse took us to a ‘locals-only-know’ place on the coast in some cypress trees to watch the sunset. A small group gathered within the trees, and a wonderful older man played the kalimba as we watched the sky turn orange and pink.
In the morning, Jesse bought us coffee, worked on our bikes, and gave Kate a CBD rub to help her knee which had begun to bother her. Then, he left for work, letting us stay at his house as long as we wanted!
Staying with Jesse was really one of those moments you look forward to on a trip like this—just something so unexpected, delightful, enjoyable, and much-needed. It will be a hard Warmshowers hosting experience to beat. Thanks again, Jesse!
Follow Whitney’s blog HERE.