October5 Where’s it go?

I’ve been scoping it for a while , been gazing down the line . How far ? Little dots flying out of the haze , zig zagging through the shimmer . They’re all old fuckers , surely I can handle it ?You wonder where they started and do they go all the way back ? I could drive it but it’d be tricky and I wouldn’t be able to see enough , gotta concentrate on the road . Some days (rare) you can almost reach out and touch it . Steely grey , no fog and wind , you know the days I’m talking about . You can stand at the top of Fishys beach and see Melbourne , Stkilda Rd all the way around the cliffs of Black Rock to the arc of sand that stretches along Patterson lakes . Malibu , Santa Monica and Venice Beach you can see them most days . Can I do it ,? Tex said his mates did it . I’m sceptical, when am I not?  Today I headed off , I took the princess’s ugly half brother . The cruiser , all black , wide handle bars , fucking cool . I hit the strand and I get the nod from a few , this bikes got status . It’s Hermosan and i’m puting the bad boy through its levers . Sunnys , hat and black shirt ,mandatory attire if you wanna be cool and important , not some fuckin soft house husband . I’m gonna see where this path takes me. It’s pleasant early , straight and busy , bunched up beach mansions and old money .Plenty of path traffic , mainly retirees in lycra and wealthy tennis wife’s walking their designer poodles . ( yeah , I know we had one too . Chokkie was a fuckn legend ). Manhatten Beach , it’s still straight but the path is slowly arcing in , facing more South the further you ride . This is the point that the beaches get exposure to the bigger southerly swell that sneaks through over the summer .Its also where new wealth and monster modern beach front digs appear . This stretch along  the coast has a procession of Portsea style mega palaces . Modern , contemporary building of the style you see a lot more in Australia.Past the iconic Manhatten Pier the path sits up high . I cruise slow , checking the old boys pick up the slow moving rollers ,sliding down the line on their logs ( mals). It’s quintessential California , beach boys , wiry bronzed old boys with long silver hair and the odd waft of ganja floating across the car park . It’s a slow descent through to Elporto , houses a bit older , weathered but remember this whole stretch is sought after . Nothing under 10 million for this 5 mile frontage. It flattens out now , I’m on my way past the Chevron plant , wire fencing , concrete stacks , rock groynes . Massive ,ugly , it’s a point i havn’t been beyond . Keep going , it’s quiet , the path hits an open stretch of sand , with old concrete blocks painted beige . It isn’t pretty , there’s no beach front housing . There’s a road that runs along the top , with an old metal fence , barren , rocks and tumble weed . The smog and haze join , its all a grimy yellow .The ships you see in the distance are now massive hulks parked out front , draining their black juice into the Chevron pipeline . It’s swimmable , not today , not ever but it’d be a mile I reckon. I spotted my 1st bit of reef , the swell catchs it , shit this might be a bit of a spot when the surfs up . Then it becomes apparent , it’s the large oil pipes that run out to the waiting tankers , the waves lick across the top of it , teasing but not breaking . It’s not wide enough .  Dockweiller Beach now ,it’s wide , harsh ,a desert on the beach .No one around , concrete pits all over the sand. The pits are for fires . Weekend beach party’s , this must be the location . You’d never see a council set up spaces for open fires at the beach for people to gather in a populated space like this , but this is the land of the free . I can see the breakwater but I can hardly concentrate for there is the constant roaring of jumbos blasting overhead . I’m counting them , 2 a minute are taking off . I told you a lot of people live here , there’s a lot leaving as well .Im nearly at the main water way , there is a large car park full of motor homes . What a spot to camp , right on the beach at the foot of LAX , with the twisted metal of the Chevron plant in the background. This is LA beauty in a different light , its masculine , dry and like nothing I’ve seen in Aus. Push Altona on to the surfcoast and now you’l see it .Im finally at Marina Del Ray , I’ve come to the end of Elsugundo and now must push in along the Chanel , away from the beach . I can see the Hollywood hills ,Venice Beach too ,it’s 200 m away but I can’t get to it , other than to swim the Chanel . Nah fuck it , I’m not going inland to cross a bridge at  the marina to trek back to Venice Beach . I like the quiet here , the zoo can wait for another day ………. I gotta get back now .   It can be done , Venice Beach along the coast in an hour no more , that’s the same as a car in low traffic. I’m closer than I thought .