November 1- like the 13th
Break time! I wanted to stay a week, but Fuji took 10 days to get my a replacement wheel. I'd chronicle these days, but they mostly involved Batman Arkham Asylum (amazing), Halo ODST, entirely too much Korean BBQ, LOTS of netflix, all of dexter, and some visits with Naveen.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
My costume? Dirty bicyclist!
October 31
I head out the crack of daylight and head out, with the mindset, the second I break another spoke, I'm hitchiking to san fran. Sure enough, 1 mile into the ride, PING. I had my bike down and thumb out within 30 seconds. I got a series of rides from cool people, and one dude in a BMW drove me SIXTY miles. First of all, he was driving like 70 around blind corners and if there had been bikers on the road, they would have died. Second, who picks up a biker when you're in a Beemer? No way I would. Scratch the leather! He told me all about the vineyards that we passed by, letting me know the inside scoop on the good the bad and the just plain cheap. Once I got off the 1 and near the 101, hitchhiking was a waste of time. Whereas before I only waited for 5 minutes at a time, in 2 hours I got no nibbles. So I took a bus from santa rosa to san fran with the biggest dick of a bus driver possible.
And yes, I crossed the Golden Gate bridge in a bus. It upset me, but I'm not superman. I would have liked to have done the real deal, but I was at my breaking point due to the wheel. Peter picked me up at the gate and took some pictures in the fading sunset of me raising my dilapidated bike in triumph.
Trick or treating didn't happen. I smelled so bad that there was no chance anyone would give me candy. I mean, isnt that what CVS is for the day after?
I head out the crack of daylight and head out, with the mindset, the second I break another spoke, I'm hitchiking to san fran. Sure enough, 1 mile into the ride, PING. I had my bike down and thumb out within 30 seconds. I got a series of rides from cool people, and one dude in a BMW drove me SIXTY miles. First of all, he was driving like 70 around blind corners and if there had been bikers on the road, they would have died. Second, who picks up a biker when you're in a Beemer? No way I would. Scratch the leather! He told me all about the vineyards that we passed by, letting me know the inside scoop on the good the bad and the just plain cheap. Once I got off the 1 and near the 101, hitchhiking was a waste of time. Whereas before I only waited for 5 minutes at a time, in 2 hours I got no nibbles. So I took a bus from santa rosa to san fran with the biggest dick of a bus driver possible.
And yes, I crossed the Golden Gate bridge in a bus. It upset me, but I'm not superman. I would have liked to have done the real deal, but I was at my breaking point due to the wheel. Peter picked me up at the gate and took some pictures in the fading sunset of me raising my dilapidated bike in triumph.
Trick or treating didn't happen. I smelled so bad that there was no chance anyone would give me candy. I mean, isnt that what CVS is for the day after?
October 30
A guy in the campsite said there was an 8:15 bus a 1 minute walk away which turned out to not exist. So I walked 2 miles to town to miss the bus into fort brag by 2 minutes, with a 3 hour wait till the next one. Hitchhiking time! Within 5 minutes a lady picked me up in a minivan and proceeded to recite poetry from memory and speaking about love and faith. And then she gave me a hug after the ride. Perfect! Haha. The wheel needed to be replaced, and it turned out the shop guy was going to receive a shipment "sometime between 1 and 4. Waiting time. Hey, I'll just go to the library. I mean, it's a Friday, right?
And right next to the closed friday sign is a little image of a dollar bill being cut by scissors. Because, of course, libraries are closed on fridays in such a budget crisis. Yay! So I decided to buy a journal... from a toy shop, and some sharpies. Then I grabbed a piece of cardboard from behind CVS and decided to make a decorated hitchiking sign. Because I was pretty fed up with bike repairs at that point. I made a pretty badass looking sign, with people giving me the "hey I think that's a bum" look.
Eventually, I went back to the shop at 3. The owner started bring boxes in, so I decided to offer a hand. It turns out "i have a shipment coming in between 1 and 4" meant "i have a shipment the size of a small house coming in between 1 and 4." And I was the hired help. 1 hour of carrying in boxes upon boxes of bikes, I got my tire for a 30 dollar discount! Sweeeeet. I take a bus back to the campsite cause the mist is so think I would be invisible. I had a nice conversation with a meth head though, and by conversation I mean trying to not get the guy to kill me. Apparently, according to him, my sister's name is Melissa. On my way back i get a carton of real milk (omg not dry milk) for cereal and an entire coffee cake, which I cannot finish. What's left is given as an offering of "wow" to another group of campers who spearfished 2 catfish weighing over 5 pounds each. Sleepytime.
A guy in the campsite said there was an 8:15 bus a 1 minute walk away which turned out to not exist. So I walked 2 miles to town to miss the bus into fort brag by 2 minutes, with a 3 hour wait till the next one. Hitchhiking time! Within 5 minutes a lady picked me up in a minivan and proceeded to recite poetry from memory and speaking about love and faith. And then she gave me a hug after the ride. Perfect! Haha. The wheel needed to be replaced, and it turned out the shop guy was going to receive a shipment "sometime between 1 and 4. Waiting time. Hey, I'll just go to the library. I mean, it's a Friday, right?
And right next to the closed friday sign is a little image of a dollar bill being cut by scissors. Because, of course, libraries are closed on fridays in such a budget crisis. Yay! So I decided to buy a journal... from a toy shop, and some sharpies. Then I grabbed a piece of cardboard from behind CVS and decided to make a decorated hitchiking sign. Because I was pretty fed up with bike repairs at that point. I made a pretty badass looking sign, with people giving me the "hey I think that's a bum" look.
Eventually, I went back to the shop at 3. The owner started bring boxes in, so I decided to offer a hand. It turns out "i have a shipment coming in between 1 and 4" meant "i have a shipment the size of a small house coming in between 1 and 4." And I was the hired help. 1 hour of carrying in boxes upon boxes of bikes, I got my tire for a 30 dollar discount! Sweeeeet. I take a bus back to the campsite cause the mist is so think I would be invisible. I had a nice conversation with a meth head though, and by conversation I mean trying to not get the guy to kill me. Apparently, according to him, my sister's name is Melissa. On my way back i get a carton of real milk (omg not dry milk) for cereal and an entire coffee cake, which I cannot finish. What's left is given as an offering of "wow" to another group of campers who spearfished 2 catfish weighing over 5 pounds each. Sleepytime.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Leggett hill owned
October 29
I know this day is going to be painful. The altitude section of this map says there's a 1500 foot climb around leggett. My campsite is nearby so I know it's going to be a fun start again (/sarcasm). On the way up I run into Stephen again, smoking and coughing his lungs up. Three times. Now this guy is basically riding with a $100 bike, bottles of sunkist filled with water, and a blanket. He apparently ran out of food, so will have to take a bus the remainder of the journey. So much for my chance encounters with Stephen. I really regret not taking pictures of people like stephen or jaime or other friends along the way, but it feels weird to ask others for pictures. Kind of makes me feel like I'm taking a picture of the novelty of who they represent instead of who they are.
Anyways, so I get to leggett and I'm on state highway 1! Apparently it's not called PCH here but shoreline highway... and I'm confused, cause there's no big hill. I mean, there's been a lot of gradual uphill the last 10 miles but nothing big. BAM, 5 miles of windy, windy uphill with blind corners and logging trucks. Whenever I hear a distant rumble, I get off my bike and just hug the side of the road. Probably saved my life in a few situations. The problem with these hills is you just never know when they're going to end. Hope is all you have. The downhill of this was aaamazing. For the entire 1500 foot descent there were no cars going my direction, and I definitely did not abide by the 20 mph speed limit. First, my brakes would have died in 2 minutes if I slowed down to 20 mph. But most importantly, there was no way I did an hour long climb so I could go 20 miles per hour. I zipped around corners, being as efficient with maneuvering as possible, as I learned from hours of playing Cruisin' USA. Sweet downhill, right? And then a painful uphill again. Arrrgh. At this point in my trip, I'm feeling the onset of a cold, so I'm getting pretty grumpy. The wind is kind of howling so I can barely hear the rumble of logging trucks as WAM one rushing around a corner and i fling my bike into a cliff wall. Screw that, I can't hear, and I'm not about to die to a logging truck, so I walk the rest of the climb for safety's sake. The descent then was not nearly as sweet.
Back to the ocean. Beautiful views of the Pacific once again. Met a guy who was on a solo mountain bike ride going north to Seattle, and actually taking majority mountain bike routes. Insane. There were also lots of beautiful homes on the left side of the road, and one single home on the right which I can only assume belongs to a multimillionaire or mob boss... or both. I pass through towns I would never stop at.... ever. Today was my discovery that cheetos go amazingly with peanut butter sandwiches. This tided me over till I got to Fort Bragg, where, you guessed it, I had to get my wheel adjusted at the bike shop. I head to McDonalds on the way out of town, surprise surprise, and am on my way when 5 miles later I break another spoke. At this point, I'm cursing the universe and everything in it, when I get passed by an entire family on one bicycle. They had the seat on the back of the bike, a trailer with a kid on it, and a sit on the front of the bike, not a dual bike, but a seat in front of the handlebars, which also had peddles and gears. Balllllller. I'm slightly less pissed off, and get to ANOTHER bike shop at 4:45, but they're about to close and dont have time to solve my life problems. There's a campsite 2 miles down the road so I think, hell, I can ride that far and just come back tomorrow.
Wrong. 400 meters later my wheel blows up. Like, practically blows up. A gaping hole 1 inch long. It's walking time. And a lady stops and drives me and my bike to the campsite. She even offers me a place in her house for the night, but I smell like ass and don't want to impose (raccoons have stolen my soap twice already and I havent replaced it and as such don't really clean very well. at least they won't curse anymore). At the site I meet a couple who have had a couple rough days mountain biking in the middle of nowhere. And the really weird meeting. When I got dropped off in Arcata, there was a guy who was also in the car with me hitchhiking who was at this campsite. Crazy coincidence. He's hitching around the area in his free time after his summer job in Washington had an encounter with Fall. But hell, I'm tired so it's bedtime... 7:30 mmhmm mhmm good.
I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be on good pace and be tearing up the roads and consistently be stopped dead in my tracks by bike problems. I had gone 50 miles by noon, which would have meant 100 miles today! Instead, I went 60 miles total. It's like some deity doesn't want me to feel accomplished by making good time.
I know this day is going to be painful. The altitude section of this map says there's a 1500 foot climb around leggett. My campsite is nearby so I know it's going to be a fun start again (/sarcasm). On the way up I run into Stephen again, smoking and coughing his lungs up. Three times. Now this guy is basically riding with a $100 bike, bottles of sunkist filled with water, and a blanket. He apparently ran out of food, so will have to take a bus the remainder of the journey. So much for my chance encounters with Stephen. I really regret not taking pictures of people like stephen or jaime or other friends along the way, but it feels weird to ask others for pictures. Kind of makes me feel like I'm taking a picture of the novelty of who they represent instead of who they are.
Anyways, so I get to leggett and I'm on state highway 1! Apparently it's not called PCH here but shoreline highway... and I'm confused, cause there's no big hill. I mean, there's been a lot of gradual uphill the last 10 miles but nothing big. BAM, 5 miles of windy, windy uphill with blind corners and logging trucks. Whenever I hear a distant rumble, I get off my bike and just hug the side of the road. Probably saved my life in a few situations. The problem with these hills is you just never know when they're going to end. Hope is all you have. The downhill of this was aaamazing. For the entire 1500 foot descent there were no cars going my direction, and I definitely did not abide by the 20 mph speed limit. First, my brakes would have died in 2 minutes if I slowed down to 20 mph. But most importantly, there was no way I did an hour long climb so I could go 20 miles per hour. I zipped around corners, being as efficient with maneuvering as possible, as I learned from hours of playing Cruisin' USA. Sweet downhill, right? And then a painful uphill again. Arrrgh. At this point in my trip, I'm feeling the onset of a cold, so I'm getting pretty grumpy. The wind is kind of howling so I can barely hear the rumble of logging trucks as WAM one rushing around a corner and i fling my bike into a cliff wall. Screw that, I can't hear, and I'm not about to die to a logging truck, so I walk the rest of the climb for safety's sake. The descent then was not nearly as sweet.
Back to the ocean. Beautiful views of the Pacific once again. Met a guy who was on a solo mountain bike ride going north to Seattle, and actually taking majority mountain bike routes. Insane. There were also lots of beautiful homes on the left side of the road, and one single home on the right which I can only assume belongs to a multimillionaire or mob boss... or both. I pass through towns I would never stop at.... ever. Today was my discovery that cheetos go amazingly with peanut butter sandwiches. This tided me over till I got to Fort Bragg, where, you guessed it, I had to get my wheel adjusted at the bike shop. I head to McDonalds on the way out of town, surprise surprise, and am on my way when 5 miles later I break another spoke. At this point, I'm cursing the universe and everything in it, when I get passed by an entire family on one bicycle. They had the seat on the back of the bike, a trailer with a kid on it, and a sit on the front of the bike, not a dual bike, but a seat in front of the handlebars, which also had peddles and gears. Balllllller. I'm slightly less pissed off, and get to ANOTHER bike shop at 4:45, but they're about to close and dont have time to solve my life problems. There's a campsite 2 miles down the road so I think, hell, I can ride that far and just come back tomorrow.
Wrong. 400 meters later my wheel blows up. Like, practically blows up. A gaping hole 1 inch long. It's walking time. And a lady stops and drives me and my bike to the campsite. She even offers me a place in her house for the night, but I smell like ass and don't want to impose (raccoons have stolen my soap twice already and I havent replaced it and as such don't really clean very well. at least they won't curse anymore). At the site I meet a couple who have had a couple rough days mountain biking in the middle of nowhere. And the really weird meeting. When I got dropped off in Arcata, there was a guy who was also in the car with me hitchhiking who was at this campsite. Crazy coincidence. He's hitching around the area in his free time after his summer job in Washington had an encounter with Fall. But hell, I'm tired so it's bedtime... 7:30 mmhmm mhmm good.
I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be on good pace and be tearing up the roads and consistently be stopped dead in my tracks by bike problems. I had gone 50 miles by noon, which would have meant 100 miles today! Instead, I went 60 miles total. It's like some deity doesn't want me to feel accomplished by making good time.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Vagabond day
October 28
I know there's a bike shop in garberville, 30 miles away, so I haul ass there to find that no, it's not a bike shop, but a sporting goods store with a bike shop open every monday. It's tuesday... or something. Heck, I have no idea what day it is anymore. I see two people in beige colored clothing with beige packs on their bikes and come over to talk to them. They have a sign up saying "Cancer surviver. NEED WORK." This is Jaime and her boyfriend, two young people who have lived the bike vagabond lifestyle for 6 years. Last year the guy had testicular cancer and overcame it, but they've had hard times since. Wonderful people.
So Lance armstrong had testicular cancer and this guy did too. Now i'm afraid I will too. Oh crap.
I bike some more and run into Stephen again! I pass and get to a basically empty campsite just short of a huge, daunting hill. There's a small grocery store across the street (in the middle of nowhere) and I grab some chocolate milk which i've been craving for a while and two ice cream bars. The lady was really nice and gave me some free, very hearty soup made from veggies from her garden. Contented, I pass out.
I know there's a bike shop in garberville, 30 miles away, so I haul ass there to find that no, it's not a bike shop, but a sporting goods store with a bike shop open every monday. It's tuesday... or something. Heck, I have no idea what day it is anymore. I see two people in beige colored clothing with beige packs on their bikes and come over to talk to them. They have a sign up saying "Cancer surviver. NEED WORK." This is Jaime and her boyfriend, two young people who have lived the bike vagabond lifestyle for 6 years. Last year the guy had testicular cancer and overcame it, but they've had hard times since. Wonderful people.
So Lance armstrong had testicular cancer and this guy did too. Now i'm afraid I will too. Oh crap.
I bike some more and run into Stephen again! I pass and get to a basically empty campsite just short of a huge, daunting hill. There's a small grocery store across the street (in the middle of nowhere) and I grab some chocolate milk which i've been craving for a while and two ice cream bars. The lady was really nice and gave me some free, very hearty soup made from veggies from her garden. Contented, I pass out.
Widowmaker threat
October 27
I need another break cause my spirits are down, but I replace the spoke and true the wheel as best as I best I can. And what better place to take a break than the redwoods. It's a wonderful tailwind south, which would be a perfect day for hardcore riding, but decide to stay instead. Jacob and I bike 7 miles to grab some food (it's funny how a 14 mile bike ride is a leisurely pleasure ride now) and get to the drive through tree, which bikes have to pay 3 dollars to bike through. Seriously? Why is that something you have to pay for? But I have a meal of Annies mac and cheese to look forward to!
I'm sitting at my campsite doing some work on my bike, and SLAM a 10 foot tree branch falls right next to me. Holy shit. If that fell on me, I'd be screwed, or scewered i guess. So I pop on my bike helmet and go for a walk. No way I'm staying there. On a walk in a grove, I find out those fallen branches are called widowmakers, cause, well, that's what they do. A great walk, a great meal, a great campfire. Wonderful rest day
I need another break cause my spirits are down, but I replace the spoke and true the wheel as best as I best I can. And what better place to take a break than the redwoods. It's a wonderful tailwind south, which would be a perfect day for hardcore riding, but decide to stay instead. Jacob and I bike 7 miles to grab some food (it's funny how a 14 mile bike ride is a leisurely pleasure ride now) and get to the drive through tree, which bikes have to pay 3 dollars to bike through. Seriously? Why is that something you have to pay for? But I have a meal of Annies mac and cheese to look forward to!
I'm sitting at my campsite doing some work on my bike, and SLAM a 10 foot tree branch falls right next to me. Holy shit. If that fell on me, I'd be screwed, or scewered i guess. So I pop on my bike helmet and go for a walk. No way I'm staying there. On a walk in a grove, I find out those fallen branches are called widowmakers, cause, well, that's what they do. A great walk, a great meal, a great campfire. Wonderful rest day
Loss of contact
October 26
Keith's son decides to watch superbad in the morning, which I cannot refuse, and I leave by 12. The first 10 miles are a terrible start as I simply cannot go faster than 10 mph. I stop at a viewpoint to figure out whether I passed an exit and MY PHONE's GONE. Oh shit. I ask some dude at to borrow his phone, and it rings then voicemail. Oh shit. I bike back faster than I've ever biked 10 miles and it's not at the guys house. I call again and instant voicemail. Oh crap, is it run over? I bike around like a lunatic trying to find it, make a report at the police office, check a church that I stopped in front of in the way.
I was defeated. This was the low point of my trip by far. I'd had bike problems the entire journey that have slowed me down and now this. But I keep going... and another goddamn spoke breaks. I'm so sick of that shit. 8 spokes breaking in 7 days. So now I have to walk the 12 miles to the campsite in the redwoods. I'm stopped on the side of the road in shelter from the rain. Oh yeah, it's raining, when a guy bikes up. Meet Stephen. Stephen's a bike vagabond who's been on the road for god knows how long. We chat for a while and he goes off and it's time to keep walking.
When a spoke breaks, the tension caused by peddling untrues the wheel further, so during flat sections i barney rubbled it. I had one foot on a peddle and then propelled myself on the ground with the other. On hills I road it out, and eventually got to Weott. Right as I approach the campsite in the utter darkness, Holly and Jacob come up behind me! Sleep time in a hiker biker. Oh how i love $5 campsites.
Keith's son decides to watch superbad in the morning, which I cannot refuse, and I leave by 12. The first 10 miles are a terrible start as I simply cannot go faster than 10 mph. I stop at a viewpoint to figure out whether I passed an exit and MY PHONE's GONE. Oh shit. I ask some dude at to borrow his phone, and it rings then voicemail. Oh shit. I bike back faster than I've ever biked 10 miles and it's not at the guys house. I call again and instant voicemail. Oh crap, is it run over? I bike around like a lunatic trying to find it, make a report at the police office, check a church that I stopped in front of in the way.
I was defeated. This was the low point of my trip by far. I'd had bike problems the entire journey that have slowed me down and now this. But I keep going... and another goddamn spoke breaks. I'm so sick of that shit. 8 spokes breaking in 7 days. So now I have to walk the 12 miles to the campsite in the redwoods. I'm stopped on the side of the road in shelter from the rain. Oh yeah, it's raining, when a guy bikes up. Meet Stephen. Stephen's a bike vagabond who's been on the road for god knows how long. We chat for a while and he goes off and it's time to keep walking.
When a spoke breaks, the tension caused by peddling untrues the wheel further, so during flat sections i barney rubbled it. I had one foot on a peddle and then propelled myself on the ground with the other. On hills I road it out, and eventually got to Weott. Right as I approach the campsite in the utter darkness, Holly and Jacob come up behind me! Sleep time in a hiker biker. Oh how i love $5 campsites.
Uneventful
October 25
Headed out around 12, leaving Arcata behind and went on my way towards Eureka. Eureka wasn't exactly exciting, and I took a bike route to avoid the city. I stopped on the side of the road to fix a problem with my breaks and had a crazy lady preach hatred of police for 2 minutes and then curse at me as I rode off. My first real loon on the trip. Another visit to my bike shop, yay, and on my way again. The ride's fabulous, through farmland and lots of cows who I moo at.
My intended campsite is too far for me to get to by nightfall, plus the pathway's through a redwood forest which i really don't want to miss, so I ask a man named Keith, who's out in his yard, if i can sleep out front and he offers me the greatest hospitality.
Headed out around 12, leaving Arcata behind and went on my way towards Eureka. Eureka wasn't exactly exciting, and I took a bike route to avoid the city. I stopped on the side of the road to fix a problem with my breaks and had a crazy lady preach hatred of police for 2 minutes and then curse at me as I rode off. My first real loon on the trip. Another visit to my bike shop, yay, and on my way again. The ride's fabulous, through farmland and lots of cows who I moo at.
My intended campsite is too far for me to get to by nightfall, plus the pathway's through a redwood forest which i really don't want to miss, so I ask a man named Keith, who's out in his yard, if i can sleep out front and he offers me the greatest hospitality.
Day off in the emerald county
October 24
Day off. LAUNDRY. Oh my gosh I smelled so bad even after I took a shower and it was SO needed. My neon yellow biking jersey was in fact mostly black. So I washed my clothes in a solar powered washing machine and dried my clothes on a fireplace/furnace for the first time in my life. Sweet!
So we went walking around Humboldt to check out the scene, and never before in my life have I smelled weed so frequently and pervasively. Everywhere! You'd walk into restaurants and 3 people would reak of it. Haha. We went to a pizza place, where Jesse suggested a Garlic Lovers pizza. It was fabulous, but my mouth was so assaulted that when we went to see "Law Abiding Citizen" I had to pay the ludicrous prize for a bag of skittles cause I needed to clear my mouth. The movie only cost $6 though. The last time i paid $6 for a movie was like... the 80s.
Later in the day we went to a friends of jesse's and passed out. Such. an. old. man.
Day off. LAUNDRY. Oh my gosh I smelled so bad even after I took a shower and it was SO needed. My neon yellow biking jersey was in fact mostly black. So I washed my clothes in a solar powered washing machine and dried my clothes on a fireplace/furnace for the first time in my life. Sweet!
So we went walking around Humboldt to check out the scene, and never before in my life have I smelled weed so frequently and pervasively. Everywhere! You'd walk into restaurants and 3 people would reak of it. Haha. We went to a pizza place, where Jesse suggested a Garlic Lovers pizza. It was fabulous, but my mouth was so assaulted that when we went to see "Law Abiding Citizen" I had to pay the ludicrous prize for a bag of skittles cause I needed to clear my mouth. The movie only cost $6 though. The last time i paid $6 for a movie was like... the 80s.
Later in the day we went to a friends of jesse's and passed out. Such. an. old. man.
6 mile hill
October 23
I start this day with my largest hill of the trip. 6 miles of uphill through a beautiful redwood forest. 6 miles of uphill is downright intimidating. However, it wasnt just downhill. I have to say that when you're on a 6 mile uphill, it's really depressing to have downhill segments on the climb, cause you know you're going to have to climb it again. But at least I didn't have 110 pounds of gear, right? On the way up, I stopped at a lookout where I met a dude who did my journey back in 1947... on a fourspeed. Woow. On hills he would have to change components and chains and gears and change back on flat stretches. Makes my journey seem like a cinch.
The 1000 foot descent was increeeedible. So at the top of the climb there was road work, which, you know, usually sucks. However when there's road work that makes for a one lane road, that means there are stretches of time when there is no traffic in one direction. So the whole road was MINE! Oh I was flying, watching the coast, and angel winging it down the hill. Soon after I took a picture of a 40 foot blue ox, you know, Blue or whatever, teabagging me. Then karma hit me and my pffft. Turns out my wheel isnt attaching to the bike correctly and I can't move. I hitchike for the first time in my life and Arcaaata woooo.
Jesse Shrader, a friend from home goes to Humboldt State and lives in the coolest digs ever. He lives in CCAT house, a super environmental house with walls painted with flour, a bicycle powered blender and television, solar powered heating, and tons of other neat stuff. Linguine dinner and Jesse has a little break dancing party, but I fall asleep at 8 pm because i'm an old man
I start this day with my largest hill of the trip. 6 miles of uphill through a beautiful redwood forest. 6 miles of uphill is downright intimidating. However, it wasnt just downhill. I have to say that when you're on a 6 mile uphill, it's really depressing to have downhill segments on the climb, cause you know you're going to have to climb it again. But at least I didn't have 110 pounds of gear, right? On the way up, I stopped at a lookout where I met a dude who did my journey back in 1947... on a fourspeed. Woow. On hills he would have to change components and chains and gears and change back on flat stretches. Makes my journey seem like a cinch.
The 1000 foot descent was increeeedible. So at the top of the climb there was road work, which, you know, usually sucks. However when there's road work that makes for a one lane road, that means there are stretches of time when there is no traffic in one direction. So the whole road was MINE! Oh I was flying, watching the coast, and angel winging it down the hill. Soon after I took a picture of a 40 foot blue ox, you know, Blue or whatever, teabagging me. Then karma hit me and my pffft. Turns out my wheel isnt attaching to the bike correctly and I can't move. I hitchike for the first time in my life and Arcaaata woooo.
Jesse Shrader, a friend from home goes to Humboldt State and lives in the coolest digs ever. He lives in CCAT house, a super environmental house with walls painted with flour, a bicycle powered blender and television, solar powered heating, and tons of other neat stuff. Linguine dinner and Jesse has a little break dancing party, but I fall asleep at 8 pm because i'm an old man
I can see clearly now the clouds are gone
Cloudy skies, right? After all I'm still in Oregon. Turns out my bike had been assembled incorrectly back in LA and I've been biking harder than I've had to. Arghhhhh.
30 dollars later, I'm on my way, sin P & J. They had to hold back and wait for their wheels to be replaced. But, I'm off to California... or am I. THERE'S NO WELCOME SIGN. The wonderful produce officers and a "Truck drivers register with CA blah blah blah" sign bid me welcome to my homeland because some dick knocked down the california welcome sign 4 months ago. FOUR MONTHS!
I look north... and I see a set of tumultuous clouds! And south.... ooooh yeah bright skies. BAM California. Soon I come to Crescent City, the first city along the coast, and take a detour that's well worth it along Pebble Beach Blvd. Absolutely stunning. I couldn't keep my eyes off it, and instead stayed around watching the sunset and found my home at an RV Park. 6 nights of camping in Oregon in beautiful campsites cost $24 and one night of a P.O.S. RV campsite made me drop $19. I devoured 4 McDoubles, because, you know, I can eat as unhealthy as I want because I need Calories or it's unhealthy. Ziiing.
While munching, I saw a bike light across a river from me and biked to the front of the digs and I met Basti, a fellow tourer who was about to turn around and camp illegally because no one should be charged $19 for a piece of grass like this. I lie to the lady at the desk and say he's with me and now I have some company! I convince Basti that McDoubles are god's gift to bicyclists, and he stuffs himself too. Turns out this German dude started 5 months ago in Alaska on a personal journey. He was loaded with at least 110 pounds of weight compared to my 50 pounds, PLUS he was running on mountain bike tires. That's insane. He also decided to bring a SLR Olympus camera, a 6 pound bad boy I'd never want on a journey like this.
I'm in motherfracking California!
30 dollars later, I'm on my way, sin P & J. They had to hold back and wait for their wheels to be replaced. But, I'm off to California... or am I. THERE'S NO WELCOME SIGN. The wonderful produce officers and a "Truck drivers register with CA blah blah blah" sign bid me welcome to my homeland because some dick knocked down the california welcome sign 4 months ago. FOUR MONTHS!
I look north... and I see a set of tumultuous clouds! And south.... ooooh yeah bright skies. BAM California. Soon I come to Crescent City, the first city along the coast, and take a detour that's well worth it along Pebble Beach Blvd. Absolutely stunning. I couldn't keep my eyes off it, and instead stayed around watching the sunset and found my home at an RV Park. 6 nights of camping in Oregon in beautiful campsites cost $24 and one night of a P.O.S. RV campsite made me drop $19. I devoured 4 McDoubles, because, you know, I can eat as unhealthy as I want because I need Calories or it's unhealthy. Ziiing.
While munching, I saw a bike light across a river from me and biked to the front of the digs and I met Basti, a fellow tourer who was about to turn around and camp illegally because no one should be charged $19 for a piece of grass like this. I lie to the lady at the desk and say he's with me and now I have some company! I convince Basti that McDoubles are god's gift to bicyclists, and he stuffs himself too. Turns out this German dude started 5 months ago in Alaska on a personal journey. He was loaded with at least 110 pounds of weight compared to my 50 pounds, PLUS he was running on mountain bike tires. That's insane. He also decided to bring a SLR Olympus camera, a 6 pound bad boy I'd never want on a journey like this.
I'm in motherfracking California!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
California dreaming
October 21
54 miles ( the day of my first flat... And second)
rained all night, and didn't show signs of stopping. I've been proven to be a bringer of bad omens on this trip, so I've stopped commenting on the weather all together (out loud, at least). I get on my rainproof pants and rain jacket. I put on my subway bags over my feet and wrap my head in my rain hood. Then I wrap all my gear in a garbage bag. Here's where pat says "thanks for wrapping yourself up for a monsoon, cause now we know it will be perfect weather in an hour"
well, my powers over the weather stayed true, and I basically looked like an dork after and hour. A dry dork mind you. So I'm biking and see some large shards of glass but can't swirve becAuse of a car and pfffft ( no I didn't fart ). My first flat... Ever. I'm struggling when p&j come up 20 minutes later and walk me through the process while they enjoy lunch. Done and done. And then they notice something wrong with my wheel hub which will have to wait till the bike shop at the border.
I stopped at subway and got a meatball sub. I'm sorry, no meatball sub in the world will ever compare to wawa.California dreaming is stuck in my head all day and Eventually, with a few 30 minute breaks to enjoy striking coastline, I get to brookings and Harris beach state park on the BORDER OF CALIFORNIA!!!! great dinner, go to take a shower and pfffft. Dammit it will wait till morning. The hiker biker site has holly and Jacob, p&j and another solo rider sporting a Mohawk named Anthony. We sat around the campfire for hours roasting marshmellows, a favorite pastime of mine. By now, all my trip clothes have been doused in odor du campfire. No raccoons!!
54 miles ( the day of my first flat... And second)
rained all night, and didn't show signs of stopping. I've been proven to be a bringer of bad omens on this trip, so I've stopped commenting on the weather all together (out loud, at least). I get on my rainproof pants and rain jacket. I put on my subway bags over my feet and wrap my head in my rain hood. Then I wrap all my gear in a garbage bag. Here's where pat says "thanks for wrapping yourself up for a monsoon, cause now we know it will be perfect weather in an hour"
well, my powers over the weather stayed true, and I basically looked like an dork after and hour. A dry dork mind you. So I'm biking and see some large shards of glass but can't swirve becAuse of a car and pfffft ( no I didn't fart ). My first flat... Ever. I'm struggling when p&j come up 20 minutes later and walk me through the process while they enjoy lunch. Done and done. And then they notice something wrong with my wheel hub which will have to wait till the bike shop at the border.
I stopped at subway and got a meatball sub. I'm sorry, no meatball sub in the world will ever compare to wawa.California dreaming is stuck in my head all day and Eventually, with a few 30 minute breaks to enjoy striking coastline, I get to brookings and Harris beach state park on the BORDER OF CALIFORNIA!!!! great dinner, go to take a shower and pfffft. Dammit it will wait till morning. The hiker biker site has holly and Jacob, p&j and another solo rider sporting a Mohawk named Anthony. We sat around the campfire for hours roasting marshmellows, a favorite pastime of mine. By now, all my trip clothes have been doused in odor du campfire. No raccoons!!
Epic
October 20 ( wiggles' birthday!)
73 miles ( personal best!)
Bike 5 miles north to get to moe's bike shop and get it fixed. Moe lets me know that the motel i stayed at has the rep as being the spot for trashy troublemakers, with police visits ever other night. Greeeat. As I reach into my back pocket to pay, I notice my room key from said trashy motel there beacause I forgot to return it upon retrieving my bike. It just so happens moe suggests I take another route (101) to make up time. Do I send the key by mail? Taxi? Police car? Of course the motel attendant doesnt pick up the phone. Fuck it I'll just bike the long way. And of course he has a sign up " be back in 2 hours." I just leave it in the mail box. Hell, I tried.
Oooon we go. The alternate route was hilly with a small shoulder, but gorgeous. I saw no one but trees for miles (kinda). Roads like this are why I went on this trip in the first place.
Gather 'round the campfire kids, cause it's story time. The name of the story is "how I lost my granola" or "the Bernstein bears learn bad habits." so I'm biking on this empty, beautiful road with trees all around me. I reach the top of a little hill to find two black dogs chilling in the road. That is they were chilling till I came. Hereupon they decide to raise all he'll and bark and surround me. Well shit, I can't put my bike between me and the dogs if they're on both sides, so I basically sit in the road yelling "no" and "bad dog" so loudly my dogs probably would have peed themselves. Eventually, they lose interest after realizing that I'm in fact a human and not some spinning fluorescent yellow behemoth. I continue and 2 miles later I see another black dog at the bottom of a hill dip.
I do my ceremonial "slow down to 3 mph." crap. That's not a black dog. Now I'm going 3 mph within 20 feet of a small bear. Okay rob, it's small, so it's probably just a small fem... Oh shit. Out of the woods 40 feet past said "small female" is a larger animal that in our culture we'd call "momma." my inner monologue simply calls it a series of profAne explitives.
so here I am, going 3 mph, and have passed small bear and am coming up upon mom. What is it they say about what you shouldn't do with bears. Oh right. Ahhhhhhhhhh click click (biggest adrenaline rush of my life) I switch to eight gear lowest as fast as I've ever done, but the larger gear won't change. Perfect. I have never before heard my bike make more noise, seen my legs peddling that fast, or experienced an uphill climb at that speed. And yet apparently, when bears run (apparently they can't run downhill because of their structure) it's faster that gear one can take you. Think think... !!! GrAnola!!!! I unzipped my handlebar pouch, grab my granola and chuck it out behind me. It's praying time.
Enter bears state of mind. @I'm gonna catch him oh yes I am I'm gonna ooh what's that is that food oh yes it is mhmmmmm@
crisis averted, but I peddle the next two miles crazy fast. Many miles further, I get to humbug mountain state park, which, thank god, is not at the summit, but the base, and eat a wonderful meal of pasta, peas And cheese. Sleep? Nope. Thanks to a couple raccoons who in civil courts would face charges of persistent hArassment, I spend two hours throwing rocks around at glowing eyes, cause that's really all you can see of them. Hey, I hit a few though. Bah, humbug (mtn)
73 miles ( personal best!)
Bike 5 miles north to get to moe's bike shop and get it fixed. Moe lets me know that the motel i stayed at has the rep as being the spot for trashy troublemakers, with police visits ever other night. Greeeat. As I reach into my back pocket to pay, I notice my room key from said trashy motel there beacause I forgot to return it upon retrieving my bike. It just so happens moe suggests I take another route (101) to make up time. Do I send the key by mail? Taxi? Police car? Of course the motel attendant doesnt pick up the phone. Fuck it I'll just bike the long way. And of course he has a sign up " be back in 2 hours." I just leave it in the mail box. Hell, I tried.
Oooon we go. The alternate route was hilly with a small shoulder, but gorgeous. I saw no one but trees for miles (kinda). Roads like this are why I went on this trip in the first place.
Gather 'round the campfire kids, cause it's story time. The name of the story is "how I lost my granola" or "the Bernstein bears learn bad habits." so I'm biking on this empty, beautiful road with trees all around me. I reach the top of a little hill to find two black dogs chilling in the road. That is they were chilling till I came. Hereupon they decide to raise all he'll and bark and surround me. Well shit, I can't put my bike between me and the dogs if they're on both sides, so I basically sit in the road yelling "no" and "bad dog" so loudly my dogs probably would have peed themselves. Eventually, they lose interest after realizing that I'm in fact a human and not some spinning fluorescent yellow behemoth. I continue and 2 miles later I see another black dog at the bottom of a hill dip.
I do my ceremonial "slow down to 3 mph." crap. That's not a black dog. Now I'm going 3 mph within 20 feet of a small bear. Okay rob, it's small, so it's probably just a small fem... Oh shit. Out of the woods 40 feet past said "small female" is a larger animal that in our culture we'd call "momma." my inner monologue simply calls it a series of profAne explitives.
so here I am, going 3 mph, and have passed small bear and am coming up upon mom. What is it they say about what you shouldn't do with bears. Oh right. Ahhhhhhhhhh click click (biggest adrenaline rush of my life) I switch to eight gear lowest as fast as I've ever done, but the larger gear won't change. Perfect. I have never before heard my bike make more noise, seen my legs peddling that fast, or experienced an uphill climb at that speed. And yet apparently, when bears run (apparently they can't run downhill because of their structure) it's faster that gear one can take you. Think think... !!! GrAnola!!!! I unzipped my handlebar pouch, grab my granola and chuck it out behind me. It's praying time.
Enter bears state of mind. @I'm gonna catch him oh yes I am I'm gonna ooh what's that is that food oh yes it is mhmmmmm@
crisis averted, but I peddle the next two miles crazy fast. Many miles further, I get to humbug mountain state park, which, thank god, is not at the summit, but the base, and eat a wonderful meal of pasta, peas And cheese. Sleep? Nope. Thanks to a couple raccoons who in civil courts would face charges of persistent hArassment, I spend two hours throwing rocks around at glowing eyes, cause that's really all you can see of them. Hey, I hit a few though. Bah, humbug (mtn)
Circles
October 19
36 miles (kinda)
It's wierd that no matter how early you wake up it's really hard to get out before 10. I awoke before it was light out and had to do my whole ritual, including charging my phone while creepily sitting outside the bathroom.
I haul ass 20 miles to north bay, where moe's bike shop is apparently closed monday. Balls. Then another spoke breaks. It turns out the other bike shop has gone out of business, as i find by biking around like a lemming for a while, looking for it. I replace the spoke but am an idiot and make the wheel more untrue while trying to imitate herb. Sigh. But luck has it, eventually Jacob and holly come along, and holly trues the bike ( she's also a mechanic. Jeez I feel so novice) but says I should get the shop to look at it. Seeing as how the next shop is basically in California 100 miles away, I decide to take the hit and stick around north bend.
On a while goose chase ( eff you google maps ) I eventually find out all the rv parks that are supposed to allow camPing actually don't, and after biking around for 16 miles, decide to just stay at a motel. Bye bye $50
I'm done looking around so I grab the first place I can, where I'm not even allowed to bring my bike in the room but instead have to leave it in the owners workshop. /facepalm
36 miles (kinda)
It's wierd that no matter how early you wake up it's really hard to get out before 10. I awoke before it was light out and had to do my whole ritual, including charging my phone while creepily sitting outside the bathroom.
I haul ass 20 miles to north bay, where moe's bike shop is apparently closed monday. Balls. Then another spoke breaks. It turns out the other bike shop has gone out of business, as i find by biking around like a lemming for a while, looking for it. I replace the spoke but am an idiot and make the wheel more untrue while trying to imitate herb. Sigh. But luck has it, eventually Jacob and holly come along, and holly trues the bike ( she's also a mechanic. Jeez I feel so novice) but says I should get the shop to look at it. Seeing as how the next shop is basically in California 100 miles away, I decide to take the hit and stick around north bend.
On a while goose chase ( eff you google maps ) I eventually find out all the rv parks that are supposed to allow camPing actually don't, and after biking around for 16 miles, decide to just stay at a motel. Bye bye $50
I'm done looking around so I grab the first place I can, where I'm not even allowed to bring my bike in the room but instead have to leave it in the owners workshop. /facepalm
Fate
October 18
40 miles
In the morning I realize a spoke has broken, and Jacob, who happens to be a bike mechanic, tells me I have to go to a shop to replace it and true the wheel (align properly). So I head off slowly as to not overstress the bike. In one cove there is the loudest barking imaginable as I see about a hundred sea lions in the water. From the other side I see an astounding sight. The beach is simply littered with sea lions. The long stretch of sandy beach is simply black and I really wish I had a telephoto lens cause my camera can't even distinguish them as anything but black.
About 6 miles out I realize I left my pump at the campsite. You know, I didn't like that pump anyway. And then 3 miles later another spoke pops. Walking time! While walking through Florence I find the bike shop is closed Sunday and the next one is 50 miles away. Balls. Then comes my guardian angel.
Here's the biggest show of fate I've ever seen. I'm walking on the right side of the road and decide to cross the road to get to a subway. 2 seconds from the subway, an elderly man named Herbert English (note to self, best name ever) rides his bike out of his church. And onto the road next to me. He was heading the 500 feet to go to the grocery store. It turns out not only has herb toured 60,000 miles, but was a bike mechanic for years, TAUGHt people how to become bike mechanics, and was super nice and generous. He offers to see if he can fix my spokes and I think sure why the hell not.
At his place he doesn't have the right size spokes, so he MAKES me spokes by adjusting longer spokes with pliers. What!?! Then he trues the wheel (all with no equipment), makes me a couple extra spokes (you know, just in case), teaches me a bit about truing, and then offers me lunch. I won't hear of that, so I take him out to subway. What an encounter. You rule herb
Eventually I get to Umpqua lighthouse state park, a spot j&p have previously nicknamed oompa loompa state park. It is thus absolutely perfect that the street sign hanging from the host's rv says "oompa lane." I eat 4 top ramen and pass out
40 miles
In the morning I realize a spoke has broken, and Jacob, who happens to be a bike mechanic, tells me I have to go to a shop to replace it and true the wheel (align properly). So I head off slowly as to not overstress the bike. In one cove there is the loudest barking imaginable as I see about a hundred sea lions in the water. From the other side I see an astounding sight. The beach is simply littered with sea lions. The long stretch of sandy beach is simply black and I really wish I had a telephoto lens cause my camera can't even distinguish them as anything but black.
About 6 miles out I realize I left my pump at the campsite. You know, I didn't like that pump anyway. And then 3 miles later another spoke pops. Walking time! While walking through Florence I find the bike shop is closed Sunday and the next one is 50 miles away. Balls. Then comes my guardian angel.
Here's the biggest show of fate I've ever seen. I'm walking on the right side of the road and decide to cross the road to get to a subway. 2 seconds from the subway, an elderly man named Herbert English (note to self, best name ever) rides his bike out of his church. And onto the road next to me. He was heading the 500 feet to go to the grocery store. It turns out not only has herb toured 60,000 miles, but was a bike mechanic for years, TAUGHt people how to become bike mechanics, and was super nice and generous. He offers to see if he can fix my spokes and I think sure why the hell not.
At his place he doesn't have the right size spokes, so he MAKES me spokes by adjusting longer spokes with pliers. What!?! Then he trues the wheel (all with no equipment), makes me a couple extra spokes (you know, just in case), teaches me a bit about truing, and then offers me lunch. I won't hear of that, so I take him out to subway. What an encounter. You rule herb
Eventually I get to Umpqua lighthouse state park, a spot j&p have previously nicknamed oompa loompa state park. It is thus absolutely perfect that the street sign hanging from the host's rv says "oompa lane." I eat 4 top ramen and pass out
Marathon day
October 17
400 feet
40 mile winds again, I had no desire to bike in such weathr, nor sid j&p, so we didn't! God I love not having a schedule. The Brits had to go on their way though. Pat insanely biked the 10 miles back to the last town to get the trappings for dinner. On account of wind, it took 30 minutes to get there and 90 to get back. Two bikers (holly and Jacob) came in doing the same journey as us and we chatted around the campfire for a few hours. Good times.
400 feet
40 mile winds again, I had no desire to bike in such weathr, nor sid j&p, so we didn't! God I love not having a schedule. The Brits had to go on their way though. Pat insanely biked the 10 miles back to the last town to get the trappings for dinner. On account of wind, it took 30 minutes to get there and 90 to get back. Two bikers (holly and Jacob) came in doing the same journey as us and we chatted around the campfire for a few hours. Good times.
Struck still by sights
October 16
44 miles
Just couldn't get my head in the game today. Start stop, start stop, but it's really hard to get my mind on biking when there are such cool sights to see. Saw a bunch of seals (~75) just lying on the sand while crossing a bridge. The coAstal views are just breathtaking.
There was a spot off cape perpetua that halted me for a good hour. I tried to capture it in an image but it was impossible. The gray clouds cause an intense white balance problem, similar to when my father and I were in Canada this summer. This particular spot had 2 houses just off some coastal cliff/tidepools. I sat there eating sour punch and wanted to watch the waves forever. The sun peaked through at times and created a dazzling glisten over the surface and on the crashing waves. I was truly tempted to sit there till dark and try to hitch hike to the next campsite. It's times like that that I wish I were in my car and had the freedom to do such a thing.
I ran out of food and the grocery store on the way to the campground didn't actually exist, leaving me to ask p&j for oatmeal. My I love oatmeal.
Two guys also came into our campground riding on mountain tires. These Brits were on a journey from Alaska to panama. Holy crap! The roads in Alaska and I assume Mexico aren't all paved, leaving bikers on such a journey to wield thicker tires. I can't imagine biking that far with that much friction. AppArently in Alaska and Canada you can go 500 miles between grocery stores, meaning you have to carry a ton of food with you, which isn't easy.
It turns out they're one of two teams doing a documentary called "cycling across the Americas." the other team started in panama and went down. Filming seems like a task I would want no part of, requiring putting up a tripod and riding by it again and again. Boy.
44 miles
Just couldn't get my head in the game today. Start stop, start stop, but it's really hard to get my mind on biking when there are such cool sights to see. Saw a bunch of seals (~75) just lying on the sand while crossing a bridge. The coAstal views are just breathtaking.
There was a spot off cape perpetua that halted me for a good hour. I tried to capture it in an image but it was impossible. The gray clouds cause an intense white balance problem, similar to when my father and I were in Canada this summer. This particular spot had 2 houses just off some coastal cliff/tidepools. I sat there eating sour punch and wanted to watch the waves forever. The sun peaked through at times and created a dazzling glisten over the surface and on the crashing waves. I was truly tempted to sit there till dark and try to hitch hike to the next campsite. It's times like that that I wish I were in my car and had the freedom to do such a thing.
I ran out of food and the grocery store on the way to the campground didn't actually exist, leaving me to ask p&j for oatmeal. My I love oatmeal.
Two guys also came into our campground riding on mountain tires. These Brits were on a journey from Alaska to panama. Holy crap! The roads in Alaska and I assume Mexico aren't all paved, leaving bikers on such a journey to wield thicker tires. I can't imagine biking that far with that much friction. AppArently in Alaska and Canada you can go 500 miles between grocery stores, meaning you have to carry a ton of food with you, which isn't easy.
It turns out they're one of two teams doing a documentary called "cycling across the Americas." the other team started in panama and went down. Filming seems like a task I would want no part of, requiring putting up a tripod and riding by it again and again. Boy.
The hills aren't alive... But are a pain in the ass
October 15
65 miles
We leave our cozy abode separately, with me leaving first, but I'm quickly overtaken. Ive learned a bit about momentum and how when I go 30 miles in 90 minutes, i don't stop. However, I ran into j & p and ate lunch and it was downhill from there. After breaks my muscles go in lockdown. Then came the hills. The rest of the day consisted of some evil hills and I even threw up going up one hill trying to reach the goal campsite. When I get to the last summit, I Lacked the energy to even view the lookout. I rolled into the camp to the fanfare and cheering of Justin and Patrick and collapsed on the ground. Exhaustion... 10 minutes after dinner the raccoons were already After the food. Ravenous creatures... Smores and a windless, quiet night. Aside for the raccoons fighting each ofer over who was going to jump for our food and miss.
65 miles
We leave our cozy abode separately, with me leaving first, but I'm quickly overtaken. Ive learned a bit about momentum and how when I go 30 miles in 90 minutes, i don't stop. However, I ran into j & p and ate lunch and it was downhill from there. After breaks my muscles go in lockdown. Then came the hills. The rest of the day consisted of some evil hills and I even threw up going up one hill trying to reach the goal campsite. When I get to the last summit, I Lacked the energy to even view the lookout. I rolled into the camp to the fanfare and cheering of Justin and Patrick and collapsed on the ground. Exhaustion... 10 minutes after dinner the raccoons were already After the food. Ravenous creatures... Smores and a windless, quiet night. Aside for the raccoons fighting each ofer over who was going to jump for our food and miss.
Storm of pain and negative miles
October 14
-11 miles
And I wake up 2 hours later to the loudest racket imaginable. The 20 mile per hour winds evolved to gusts of 45 and all he'll breaks loose. I spend the night very awake and praying some branch doesn't land on my tent and end my life.I fall asleep at 5 and wake up at 7 with an inch of rain/sand/dirt in my tent. The other tent was closer to the beach and fared worse. Trees around us had split in half. It was time for a hotel, but with 40 mile wind, there's no hope of biking, so we got a "taxi," which wAs a guy in a van chain smoking cigs.
The hotel is amAzing and has a kitchen, so we bunker down and watch history channel and read, checking the weather channel every hour and eventually make dinner. A great way to end a shitty start.
-11 miles
And I wake up 2 hours later to the loudest racket imaginable. The 20 mile per hour winds evolved to gusts of 45 and all he'll breaks loose. I spend the night very awake and praying some branch doesn't land on my tent and end my life.I fall asleep at 5 and wake up at 7 with an inch of rain/sand/dirt in my tent. The other tent was closer to the beach and fared worse. Trees around us had split in half. It was time for a hotel, but with 40 mile wind, there's no hope of biking, so we got a "taxi," which wAs a guy in a van chain smoking cigs.
The hotel is amAzing and has a kitchen, so we bunker down and watch history channel and read, checking the weather channel every hour and eventually make dinner. A great way to end a shitty start.
Tillamook rules
October 13
30 miles
Well, i wanted to take a rest day but the crowd decides otherwise, so we head out into a 20 mile headwind. In Oregon, winds are supposed to come from the north, but the storm thinks otherwise and we struggle through the day. Here we are biking along and OMG there's tillamook jerky factory and outlet to my left. The 2 guys are too far ahead to hear my cries, so I keep going and we come to the tillamook cheese factory where you can get free cheese! Zing! I go through the cheese line 3 times. Right outside we run into 3 other pairs of tourers. Seems like cheese is popular. But who cares about cheese. I want jerky! I split from pat and justin to meet later, because For the first time in my journey, I backtrack 4 miles ( adding 8 miles) and grab a metric shit ton of jerky (they didn't have slabs, which was saddening)
10 miles away is our meeting campground, a beautiful beachside park. The sunset is wonderfull, albeit dwarfed by the huge clouds. Dinner was braised short ribs and corn grilled over a fire. Holy crap can these guys cook. Smores fish the meal and omg am I happy not to have my beard anymore. Smores are sooooo much easier without it. I fall asleep to the sound of waves...
30 miles
Well, i wanted to take a rest day but the crowd decides otherwise, so we head out into a 20 mile headwind. In Oregon, winds are supposed to come from the north, but the storm thinks otherwise and we struggle through the day. Here we are biking along and OMG there's tillamook jerky factory and outlet to my left. The 2 guys are too far ahead to hear my cries, so I keep going and we come to the tillamook cheese factory where you can get free cheese! Zing! I go through the cheese line 3 times. Right outside we run into 3 other pairs of tourers. Seems like cheese is popular. But who cares about cheese. I want jerky! I split from pat and justin to meet later, because For the first time in my journey, I backtrack 4 miles ( adding 8 miles) and grab a metric shit ton of jerky (they didn't have slabs, which was saddening)
10 miles away is our meeting campground, a beautiful beachside park. The sunset is wonderfull, albeit dwarfed by the huge clouds. Dinner was braised short ribs and corn grilled over a fire. Holy crap can these guys cook. Smores fish the meal and omg am I happy not to have my beard anymore. Smores are sooooo much easier without it. I fall asleep to the sound of waves...
Bikers unite
October 12
35 miles
I felt too awkward to offer the massage :-/ , but I did talk with the lady and her son some more. He mentioned a documentary called " alone in the wild" which I'm intrigued to watch and will when possible. I started off around 11 am. I really wanted to take advantage of the nice campground and take a rest day, but the forecast for the next week looked nothing short of bleak.
I headed off and saw my first signs for Portland, which were tempting, as ive been itching to check it out recently, but bike trips make detours a little intimidating. Soon I was at cannon beach, which was a massively tourist litle town. It consisted of mainly 2 roads wrought with gift shops and restaurants. Oh so expensive. I wandered around to find the cheapest food possible and ended up getting a burger with tillamook cheese. Boy that's some good cheese I thought, oh wAit that name seems familiar! Tillamook jerky is my favorite jerkyin the world. The first and only times I've had it were from a random gas station in Nevada i've visited 3 times before.
- I was driving through Nevada and was in desparate need of gas, pushing 400+ miles on the tank and with the light flashing. I turned off the Ac, radio, and started driving at about 40 mph. I roll into battle mountain Nevada andfill up at a gas station... 13.1 gallons. Not that impressive right? Max gas on my tank is 12.5. Out of appreciation for this gas station existing I grAb a 4x6 slab of jerky, and after tasting feeling the wonderful texture, I grab 10 more slabs and continue to go back for more on every road trip. -
Anyway, get more people talking to me in town asking what I'm doing etc. It seems tons of people go on these touring trips. I'm on my way for two miles when I pass my first other touring biker! He's going the other way and I start waving my arms like an idiot out of my supreme excitement... And he ignores me. My heart sank. Are all tourers that callous? And RIGHT around the bend at a viewpoint turnout are 2 guys my age sitting next to their loaded bikes. Here I meet Justin and Patrick, who have been on a ride since July, coming from wisconsin. Jeeez! We share some stories but start out as a group. I'm scared as he'll. Wisconsin?!? These guys must have legs of steel. I spend the next 20 miles busting my ass keeping up, and they offer to let me stay with them at their aunts house in rockaway, Oregon. Yes! This is just the kind of thing I was looking for on this trip.
We get the fixings for enchiladas and justin cooks while Patrick and I sit down to some cable tv. The weather channel revealed the coming apocalypse for the next 10 days. Lamenting progressing. His aunts house has small collection of 100 puzzles. You know, tiny. One is double sided, with the same image except rotated 90 degrees. Pain. We watch star wars episode V and part of VI till the storm takes it's toll on the cable. Justin is apparently so used to camping he slept on the floor next to an occupied bed. Haha yeeees
35 miles
I felt too awkward to offer the massage :-/ , but I did talk with the lady and her son some more. He mentioned a documentary called " alone in the wild" which I'm intrigued to watch and will when possible. I started off around 11 am. I really wanted to take advantage of the nice campground and take a rest day, but the forecast for the next week looked nothing short of bleak.
I headed off and saw my first signs for Portland, which were tempting, as ive been itching to check it out recently, but bike trips make detours a little intimidating. Soon I was at cannon beach, which was a massively tourist litle town. It consisted of mainly 2 roads wrought with gift shops and restaurants. Oh so expensive. I wandered around to find the cheapest food possible and ended up getting a burger with tillamook cheese. Boy that's some good cheese I thought, oh wAit that name seems familiar! Tillamook jerky is my favorite jerkyin the world. The first and only times I've had it were from a random gas station in Nevada i've visited 3 times before.
- I was driving through Nevada and was in desparate need of gas, pushing 400+ miles on the tank and with the light flashing. I turned off the Ac, radio, and started driving at about 40 mph. I roll into battle mountain Nevada andfill up at a gas station... 13.1 gallons. Not that impressive right? Max gas on my tank is 12.5. Out of appreciation for this gas station existing I grAb a 4x6 slab of jerky, and after tasting feeling the wonderful texture, I grab 10 more slabs and continue to go back for more on every road trip. -
Anyway, get more people talking to me in town asking what I'm doing etc. It seems tons of people go on these touring trips. I'm on my way for two miles when I pass my first other touring biker! He's going the other way and I start waving my arms like an idiot out of my supreme excitement... And he ignores me. My heart sank. Are all tourers that callous? And RIGHT around the bend at a viewpoint turnout are 2 guys my age sitting next to their loaded bikes. Here I meet Justin and Patrick, who have been on a ride since July, coming from wisconsin. Jeeez! We share some stories but start out as a group. I'm scared as he'll. Wisconsin?!? These guys must have legs of steel. I spend the next 20 miles busting my ass keeping up, and they offer to let me stay with them at their aunts house in rockaway, Oregon. Yes! This is just the kind of thing I was looking for on this trip.
We get the fixings for enchiladas and justin cooks while Patrick and I sit down to some cable tv. The weather channel revealed the coming apocalypse for the next 10 days. Lamenting progressing. His aunts house has small collection of 100 puzzles. You know, tiny. One is double sided, with the same image except rotated 90 degrees. Pain. We watch star wars episode V and part of VI till the storm takes it's toll on the cable. Justin is apparently so used to camping he slept on the floor next to an occupied bed. Haha yeeees
"pitbulls really are nice dogs"
October 11
I woke up with a pitbull puppy barking at my tent, just like he had done for 3 hours the night before. The owner eventually came out and talked to me once the dog stopped barking. He was a nice dude, but was bummed that that they were kicking him out of the rv park because of the pitbull. Apparently it's illegal to own a pitbull in cathlamet. Famed eight. He kept putting up a defense of how pitbulls aren't that bad.... Right. That's why pounds are like 70% pitbulls cause they're wretched creatures IMO. I nodded to be agreeable and to avoid upsetting him.
Crossed a bridge and a ferry across the Columbia river to Oregon, where I had a nice 1000 foot climb which overlooked the ferry and bridge. Which was pretty nifty. Hills suck but they do indeed give great vantage points. After I while I came to Astoria and the pacific ocean! At a bike shop I shot the shit with the owner and tried to fix my odometr and basically made a new sensor magnet with spare parts. Nifty. HAuled Ass on the 101 to seaside where I came to an rv park and campground with cramped spaces for the Rvs, while I have 2 acres of campground completely to myself. When I came to the campground the owner was cooking a dinner that smelled like heaven. I expressed my approval and talked a bit with them about coyotes, into the wild, and camping and went to set up my tent. The lady came out with a plate of Cajun stir fry for me. OH My God! Amazing. Despite main components being cooked tomatoes and olives, both of with I hate, I loved it and gobbled it up. I'm gonna offer her a massage tomorrow as thanks
I woke up with a pitbull puppy barking at my tent, just like he had done for 3 hours the night before. The owner eventually came out and talked to me once the dog stopped barking. He was a nice dude, but was bummed that that they were kicking him out of the rv park because of the pitbull. Apparently it's illegal to own a pitbull in cathlamet. Famed eight. He kept putting up a defense of how pitbulls aren't that bad.... Right. That's why pounds are like 70% pitbulls cause they're wretched creatures IMO. I nodded to be agreeable and to avoid upsetting him.
Crossed a bridge and a ferry across the Columbia river to Oregon, where I had a nice 1000 foot climb which overlooked the ferry and bridge. Which was pretty nifty. Hills suck but they do indeed give great vantage points. After I while I came to Astoria and the pacific ocean! At a bike shop I shot the shit with the owner and tried to fix my odometr and basically made a new sensor magnet with spare parts. Nifty. HAuled Ass on the 101 to seaside where I came to an rv park and campground with cramped spaces for the Rvs, while I have 2 acres of campground completely to myself. When I came to the campground the owner was cooking a dinner that smelled like heaven. I expressed my approval and talked a bit with them about coyotes, into the wild, and camping and went to set up my tent. The lady came out with a plate of Cajun stir fry for me. OH My God! Amazing. Despite main components being cooked tomatoes and olives, both of with I hate, I loved it and gobbled it up. I'm gonna offer her a massage tomorrow as thanks
This is why roadrunner is the good guy
October 10th
62 miles
roadkill count: caterpillars - I stopped counting at 50
Fuck coyotes. I didn't sleep a wink. The entire night involved screaming coyotes as close as 10 meters away. I tied tent spikes around my bike pump to make a spear and basically spent the night ready to scewer any coyote brave enough to get close enough to me. At 6:30 I said screw this and left.
So I biked in the 40 degree weather till I got to toledo(pop650) where there was a sign for a pancake breakfast at a senior center. PANCAKES!!!!!!!!!!! I was served endless pancakes, eggs and sausage by the nicest grandmas in the world and at with a bunch of grandmas and grandpas and talked about dogs and dentures and stuff. Amazing!
I also ran into two others in Toledo, one guy who had been an avid biker till he got old, and he was raving about the sit downish bike things, of which I know nothing about. He learned me good about them. Another dude, frank, was super excited about my trip and of California. You rock frank. Farm farm farm, and then I ran into interstate 5, which ran alongside (James) Bond road. I got carried away trying to conquer the rolling hill and ended up 15 miles past my turnoff, which put me massively behind so I hauled asss along the columbia river until i got to cathlamet on the Oregon border before dark.
I've been getting honks from people going the other direction, which I assume is from a party who has also endeavored intouring. YAy I'm part of the club!
Oh and i'm getting a killer biker shorts tan. Sweeeeet.
62 miles
roadkill count: caterpillars - I stopped counting at 50
Fuck coyotes. I didn't sleep a wink. The entire night involved screaming coyotes as close as 10 meters away. I tied tent spikes around my bike pump to make a spear and basically spent the night ready to scewer any coyote brave enough to get close enough to me. At 6:30 I said screw this and left.
So I biked in the 40 degree weather till I got to toledo(pop650) where there was a sign for a pancake breakfast at a senior center. PANCAKES!!!!!!!!!!! I was served endless pancakes, eggs and sausage by the nicest grandmas in the world and at with a bunch of grandmas and grandpas and talked about dogs and dentures and stuff. Amazing!
I also ran into two others in Toledo, one guy who had been an avid biker till he got old, and he was raving about the sit downish bike things, of which I know nothing about. He learned me good about them. Another dude, frank, was super excited about my trip and of California. You rock frank. Farm farm farm, and then I ran into interstate 5, which ran alongside (James) Bond road. I got carried away trying to conquer the rolling hill and ended up 15 miles past my turnoff, which put me massively behind so I hauled asss along the columbia river until i got to cathlamet on the Oregon border before dark.
I've been getting honks from people going the other direction, which I assume is from a party who has also endeavored intouring. YAy I'm part of the club!
Oh and i'm getting a killer biker shorts tan. Sweeeeet.
Well I thought it would be a good idea
October 9th
25 miles
It was absurdly cold until 12, when I went to the bike shop where I waited for 3 hours to get my bike fixed. Yeeeeees I can go up hills now... Wait...
So the ride started out with a nice 2 miles of uphill, which would have been an awful hike w/o my lower gears ... Zing! I experienced a couple Badass hills which involved such speed that tears where flying off my face despite sunglasses. Amazing! I saw the very decomposed remains of a deer, meaning bones, which was wicked. When I got to the state park campground it said closed, but that didn't stop me and some other dude, who both decided to go to a remote are of the park so as to not get caught by the evil park rangers. Good idea?
25 miles
It was absurdly cold until 12, when I went to the bike shop where I waited for 3 hours to get my bike fixed. Yeeeeees I can go up hills now... Wait...
So the ride started out with a nice 2 miles of uphill, which would have been an awful hike w/o my lower gears ... Zing! I experienced a couple Badass hills which involved such speed that tears where flying off my face despite sunglasses. Amazing! I saw the very decomposed remains of a deer, meaning bones, which was wicked. When I got to the state park campground it said closed, but that didn't stop me and some other dude, who both decided to go to a remote are of the park so as to not get caught by the evil park rangers. Good idea?
First meeting with Clifford and all his friends
October 8 thursday... Or something
65 miles - personal best!
My god I love not having An alarm clock or sense of what time it is when I get up. It's really quite something to get up whenever it feels right. Started out towards Elma, which a nice lady at a store in the middle of nowhere (and I mean nowhere) was 10 miles but ended up being 20 miles away. I had my first encounters with dogs being entirely too entertained/protective when exposed to spinning wheels. Big dogs are a bit scary, and I get off my bike and keep it between me and them till they get bored. Little dogs are hilarious. I just keep biking a little faster than they can run. One chased me a good 1/4 mile while right on my heels
This 65 miles was basically a nice trip through a bit of forestedland but mostly farmland. Saw some beautiful digs, a bunch of baby cows and a metric shit ton of grown cows. I kept them confused by mooing repeaTedly when biking by. They all look up. The baby cows all come over to say hi. Pretty cute. Horses couldn't give 2 shits about my neighing. I stopped at this one farm that had a treed in are with hammocks and little covered benches that had a wonderful energy. HAd some lemonade and good talks.
Eventually I got to centralia, a bustling hub of 35,000 where i grAbbed subway and fell asleep at the table. camping cost 25 bucks here while motel 6 cost 35... Hmmm warm bed shower tv security. It was a tough choice.
65 miles - personal best!
My god I love not having An alarm clock or sense of what time it is when I get up. It's really quite something to get up whenever it feels right. Started out towards Elma, which a nice lady at a store in the middle of nowhere (and I mean nowhere) was 10 miles but ended up being 20 miles away. I had my first encounters with dogs being entirely too entertained/protective when exposed to spinning wheels. Big dogs are a bit scary, and I get off my bike and keep it between me and them till they get bored. Little dogs are hilarious. I just keep biking a little faster than they can run. One chased me a good 1/4 mile while right on my heels
This 65 miles was basically a nice trip through a bit of forestedland but mostly farmland. Saw some beautiful digs, a bunch of baby cows and a metric shit ton of grown cows. I kept them confused by mooing repeaTedly when biking by. They all look up. The baby cows all come over to say hi. Pretty cute. Horses couldn't give 2 shits about my neighing. I stopped at this one farm that had a treed in are with hammocks and little covered benches that had a wonderful energy. HAd some lemonade and good talks.
Eventually I got to centralia, a bustling hub of 35,000 where i grAbbed subway and fell asleep at the table. camping cost 25 bucks here while motel 6 cost 35... Hmmm warm bed shower tv security. It was a tough choice.
October 7
October 7
52ish miles (broken odometer)
Roadkill count: 8 snakes 1 raccoon
after 13 hours of sleep, the fog had lifted and I began my trek at noon, biking around the hood canal till I got to a hill, which I dissappointingly and embarassingly had to walk, no, haul my 70 pound bike up due to the broken gears. A wonderful ride through forests and pAst lakes with austere houses lining them followed. People here named
their houses "sandra's playa" or "glocca morra." I was positively enchanted. It thrilled me that anyone in their yard waved and called out hello to me. Yay humanity!
In Shelton, I was greeted by a bronco driver yelling explitives at me, but also by a man at a local burger place who had just done the same journey as I haas just started. We talked a bit, he gave me advice and I was on my way.
Leading into Shelton was a long 1 mile hill. Man I hate down hills. Because youKNOW there's going to be an uphill to compensate. Sure enough the next 6 miles were a slew of uphills. I passed one house Along this section with about 4 private property signs, an equal number of beware of dogs, and a pungent odor of weed. I stopped off the side of a road on a hill for the night and watched the sunset as bedtime hit me. (7 pm)
52ish miles (broken odometer)
Roadkill count: 8 snakes 1 raccoon
after 13 hours of sleep, the fog had lifted and I began my trek at noon, biking around the hood canal till I got to a hill, which I dissappointingly and embarassingly had to walk, no, haul my 70 pound bike up due to the broken gears. A wonderful ride through forests and pAst lakes with austere houses lining them followed. People here named
their houses "sandra's playa" or "glocca morra." I was positively enchanted. It thrilled me that anyone in their yard waved and called out hello to me. Yay humanity!
In Shelton, I was greeted by a bronco driver yelling explitives at me, but also by a man at a local burger place who had just done the same journey as I haas just started. We talked a bit, he gave me advice and I was on my way.
Leading into Shelton was a long 1 mile hill. Man I hate down hills. Because youKNOW there's going to be an uphill to compensate. Sure enough the next 6 miles were a slew of uphills. I passed one house Along this section with about 4 private property signs, an equal number of beware of dogs, and a pungent odor of weed. I stopped off the side of a road on a hill for the night and watched the sunset as bedtime hit me. (7 pm)
October 6
October 6
25 miles
Today I began my journey, leaving my flashing taillight at ben hamm's and losing a part of my odometer system to the streets of Seattle, no, I didn't go to tullys. Deal. I also had the mistaken idea that ferries run frequently. Oops. Apparently they take a looong time too.
But I got to meet bob, a fellow biker and physics/astronomy prof at the university of Washington. We talked about stars, galaxies, telescopes and puget sound. Did you know there's a telescope in chile that will in one yeAr view more of space than every other telescope in history. Wooooah. Poor Hubble deep field.
OThe ferry brought me to Bremerton, a city of 10,000 with lots of hills, which made me aware that my lower gears (hill gears) broke in the shipping process. I saw the first of much beautiful countryside, a wonderfully romantic grafitti and a little campsite off of the hood canal.
25 miles
Today I began my journey, leaving my flashing taillight at ben hamm's and losing a part of my odometer system to the streets of Seattle, no, I didn't go to tullys. Deal. I also had the mistaken idea that ferries run frequently. Oops. Apparently they take a looong time too.
But I got to meet bob, a fellow biker and physics/astronomy prof at the university of Washington. We talked about stars, galaxies, telescopes and puget sound. Did you know there's a telescope in chile that will in one yeAr view more of space than every other telescope in history. Wooooah. Poor Hubble deep field.
OThe ferry brought me to Bremerton, a city of 10,000 with lots of hills, which made me aware that my lower gears (hill gears) broke in the shipping process. I saw the first of much beautiful countryside, a wonderfully romantic grafitti and a little campsite off of the hood canal.
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