Biking the PCH Bucket List on the TLG AmpTrail

Today, we are sharing a profoundly special story—one that reminds us that true adventure doesn’t have an expiration date. It is a tale of resilience, the unbreakable bond of a chosen family, and the realization of a lifelong dream against the backdrop of the breathtaking California coastline.

When Bruce Walker, an intrepid soul now in his early 80s, originally connected with Marty Schlesinger, the owner of Small Planet Ebikes in San Antonio, TX, they formed an unlikely friendship. It was a relationship that quickly surpassed the boundaries of a traditional customer and shop owner. Over the years, with each new trip around the sun, Bruce's persistence to actualize his ultimate dream intensified: he wanted to bike 300 miles along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), tracing the edge of the continent from San Francisco down to Santa Barbara.

Ultimately, it would take 6 unforgettable days, 5 starry nights, 4 TLG electric bikes, 3 generations of the Walker family riding shoulder-to-shoulder, and 2 extra batteries to bring this bucket list experience of a lifetime into reality.

How The Dream Came To Be

Marty shared the entire story with us on his crew's behalf, saying that Bruce is the absolute epitome of an adventurous soul. He loves cycling and was an avid white-water rafting guide, guiding trips of 4 to 5 boats with full crews of 20 people at a time down the roaring rapids of the Grand Canyon and in the US's upper North-West. Bruce, his son Steve, and grandson Reed would also always plan on and prioritize some sort of an annual family adventure.

In addition to being an adventurous spirit, Bruce is a long-time customer of Marty's. He had purchased several electric bikes over the years, always seeking the best ride for his outdoor excursions. This ambitious bike-packing trip was Bruce's way of changing things up while fulfilling the last of his major adventurous goals.

Bruce had been asking Marty to join in on his bucket list adventure for about 10 months. The hope was for Marty and a friend of his to be their guides and help them achieve the 300-mile trip. Although this wasn't something originally on Marty's bucket list, as he looked into what it would take to bring this journey to life and realized what it meant to his friend, his outlook shifted from one of hesitation to an enthusiastic, “Yeah. Let's do this!”

Preparing For The Journey Ahead

The crew consisted of five members in total:

• Bruce (83): The visionary and patriarch.
• Steve (52): Bruce’s son.
• Reed (24): Bruce’s grandson.
• Marty (55): The bike expert and friend.
• Henry (52): Marty's trusted friend and co-pilot.
• At any given time, four riders would journey down the Pacific Coast Highway via ebike while the fifth would drive their Toyota Sequoia, switching out at various points.
• Carrying cargo via a SAG (Support and Gear) vehicle allowed them to not only carry the best fuel (great food!), camping equipment, and clothes, but also the tools needed to charge their batteries. By installing a high-capacity inverter into their SAG vehicle, they could quickly recharge the batteries—whether during the day at a lunch stop or at night by the campfire—and keep journeying on without missing a beat.
• The crew needed to determine how many miles they could realistically travel per day to then shed light on where they could plan their overnight stays. From the foggy shores of Half Moon Bay to the towering Redwoods in Big Sur, they reserved each of the 5 nights at various picturesque campsites along the coast.
• While planning the route and logistics was one thing, the most important factor was safety throughout the biking journey itself. Marty prepared for every best and worst-case scenario during their daily rides, packing plenty of tubes, extra tires, batteries, shifters, and brake levers. As he put it, he brought “all of the tools you'd need to basically tear an ebike apart if we needed to.”
• Around the time of their rigorous preparations, Marty received news about the release of the TLG AmpTrail. He immediately thought it would be not only a great opportunity to see and experience the new bike in action, but that its advanced torque sensor and rugged build would be the perfect balance of motorized power and human output for Bruce. A quick pitch and some days later, TLG supported the journey by sending the crew new AmpTrail ebikes and spare batteries!

Biking the Iconic Pacific Coast Highway

Starting in San Francisco, the crew of five leisurely made their way down to Santa Barbara in 6 days and 5 nights, biking a total of 300 miles. Though they'd average about 50 miles a day, the journey wasn't so much about reaching the destination as it was enjoying the experience: every single twist, turn, and stop along the way.

Rules of the Game All five were in absolute agreement that one thing was for sure—there would be no throttle usage. The goal was to ride, not to be chauffeured. Additionally, they’d use pedal assist only to a certain degree. The crew prided themselves on standing by their "no throttle" rule and even more so for never going above pedal assist level three. Because of this disciplined riding style, their batteries regularly stayed in the 40th percentile at the end of the day, only dropping into the 30s through the most grueling, hillier sections!

A Glimpse into the Journey They’d always have a comfortable start to their days, saddling up no later than 10 am. With excitement high on the first day, they took to the road with their fresh TLG AmpTrails, biking a total of 66 miles. Marty told us he was amazed at how well the batteries held their capacity, with the AmpTrail rarely even needing a replacement swap midway through the day.

Every day, completing the 50-mile trek would take roughly 6 hours. That's also factoring in countless stops to admire breathtaking scenic overlooks. The best part of traveling PCH on an ebike was that they never knew what they'd expect. Marty says, “One minute we're descending through steep bluffs with heavy fog, only seeing about 100 feet in front of us, then we're climbing a few thousand feet back up the hill into the sun. Cascading through mountains in the morning fog was spectacular.”

Every day, they'd reach their campsite sometime in the late afternoon or early evening, and wind down with a delicious and nourishing meal, courtes()y of Bruce's lifelong love for campfire cooking.

TLG AmpTrail Effortlessly Paving The Way

When it came to tackling the demanding terrain of the California coast, the TLG AmpTrail performed flawlessly.

While PCH had mostly flat, excellent road conditions to bike effortlessly through, there were fair amounts of massive hills. Marty said they encountered a lot of major descents. They'd climb a few thousand feet for 5 to 7 miles, then transition into a sprawling descent, coasting at top speeds down the mountain with total stability and confidence.

With the AmpTrail's highly responsive torque sensor, the motor didn't just push them; it intuitively matched their effort. “It only makes you stronger,” Marty noted. “Instead of needing to pedal faster, pedaling just a little harder when we were tired made us feel like we still had that extra, natural-feeling power behind us.”

Averaging about 16-22 miles an hour became no challenge for the crew, especially for Bruce, who rode the AmpTrail for the journey's entirety! Marty said the ebikes allowed the journey to be an almost effortless adventure for the octogenarian. “He did it like he was in his 20s.” And it was quite an amazing accomplishment as a friend to see him complete the journey—when he otherwise wouldn't have been able to on a traditional bike—and fulfill one of his wildest dreams.

The Best Memories Are Unexpected

The journey in and of itself was the key to making this the experience of a lifetime. It was one thing for a group of adventurers who love cycling to travel via ebike. But it was another to fully immerse themselves everywhere they went. From the Monterey Aquarium and Santa Cruz's Boardwalk to countless hidden food trucks along the way, every day was an opportunity to experience the unexpected.

Marty says that making all their stops along the journey was far more fun to do on a bike than in a car. “You'd have to find a place to park, pay for parking. Instead, we were like 'Oh, we're here! Let's just lock up the bikes.' It made the experience so much more fun and hassle-free.” Everywhere they went was on their TLG ebikes, oftentimes finding the best food spots in the middle of nowhere and knowing they had to stop because they'd never be in that exact spot again.

While the electric bikes made the daytime journeys thrilling and freeing, the memories continued on into the evenings. They chose their camping sites methodically, hearing the owls chirping and creatures of the night wandering around, or waking up to the sounds of the surf pounding at the shoreline. As Marty says, it was “pretty epic.”

How Adventure Keeps The Soul Alive

One of Marty's favorite aspects of the journey was meeting people along the way. Everyone has a backstory, and swapping stories of resilience not only keeps you going but inspires you to carry on as well. He recalled meeting a young cyclist from Europe throughouttheir journey. He started in Eastern Canada, rode all the way across reaching the Vancouver/Seattle area, and then decided to ride south to San Diego before flying back home since he had more time on his visa. Marty says, “There are some pretty adventurous souls out there, and you have to give credit to them for just going for it.”

For Bruce, the journey was exactly that. Being the epitome of an adventurous spirit, biking the Pacific Coast Highway with his family and chosen family was his way of saying, “I'm going to go for it. I'm going to cross one more unforgettable experience off the list.” He proved that physical limitations do not have to hinder you from achieving your goals, even if it means that adventure doesn't look the same as it might have in your youth.

Although this was never Marty's bucket list experience per se, it became one. He's grateful to Bruce for pushing him to bring this journey to life. He's grateful to have lived vicariously through Bruce, his son, and his grandson, and he's thankful to have received TLG's support in leveling up this journey for Bruce with the AmpTrail.

Marty has always looked at bicycles like the fountain of youth. He believes they keep you young in mind, body, and spirit. Being a lover of two wheels his whole life, bikes are Marty's escape to reignite his fire and make him feel most alive. “Anytime I feel like I need to clear my head, or I'm too tired, that's where I recharge my soul. I hop on my bike and go out to play.”

To Close

With that in mind, we hope this story has inspired you too. Whether you're trying to get back into biking, planning to go the extra mile on your next trip, or simply being more present on your next ride as you soak in your scenery.

However you've found this article and however it has inspired you, we'd like to leave you with one last note: However you're feeling today, we hope you prioritize some time to go outside and play.