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!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
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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