It is with heavy hearts that we report the passing of a loving, courageous, exceptional human being: Steve Damm. We've never met Steve but have followed his fight against brain cancer in his wife's stellar, love-filled blog: http://checkonsteve.blogspot.com/ Cancer took his physical health but it couldn't slay his wicked sense of humor or his tremendous will to press on. He was one of the people we rode for, and because we were so familiar with the details of his fight, he was one of our biggest inspirations as we rode.
Please send your thoughts to his wife and two young kiddos.
Be well,
Arik and Mia
http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike
Monday, September 7, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Crescent City, CA to Eureka, CA- Our Eureka Moment
Well friends, we are hanging out at a hotel in Eureka, about 270 miles north of San Francisco, packing up our panniers and readying them for the flight home. After almost exactly one month on the road we've decided to return to base camp a bit ahead of schedule.
It is fitting that our tour is ending in Eureka, because yesterday it was a true Eureka Moment that convinced us it was time to head home. We were biking along a scenic alternate route that took us alongside some beautiful coastline. But instead of feeling that uplifting of spirit that we usually experienced when we saw coastal beauty, and which made all the hills and the cold and the fog and the homesickness worth it, I didn't feel anything. Arik took some perfunctory photos, but at that moment we realized the negatives outweighed the positives. It was a conviction that had been a few weeks in the making, but that we'd hoped would pass with time and distance.
In the movies, it's moments like that that make heroes. They dig deep, persevere, and are rewarded in the end. But, and this is tough for someone as prideful as I am to say, we aren't heroes. We're two kids who set off on an adventurous vacation and ended up struggling through a vacation-less adventure. And though we are confident we physically and mentally could have climbed the hills and negotiated the traffic and powered through the crappy weather that loomed ahead, it just isn't how we wanted to spend another month.
What we've known all along, but what was really driven home by the challenges we faced, is that there were real heroes along for the ride- they were on our shirts. With cancer, there is no returning to base camp or taking a breather. It's a constant, wearying battle, and it's one I'm glad we were able to take some small part in with our fundraising. I wish we could've crossed the finish line in San Diego on behalf of the people we ride for. It was certainly what weighed most heavily on our minds during our decisionmaking process: we didn't want to let anyone down.
Ultimately we painted ourselves into a corner a bit by making our post-school, pre-working world vacation also a goal-oriented, cause-fighting task, and trying to strike that balance ended up wearing us down. Despite that, we don't regret a thing. There are certainly things we could have done differently that would have made things go a bit more smoothly: we could have trained more and gotten some touring experience under our belts, or we could have left without a particular destination in mind and just aimed to get as far as we could. But the month long tour we ended up doing was the toughest, coolest, most rewarding thing we've done, warts and all. We traveled 931 miles, and covered half the country, under our own power. We are proud, we are humbled, and we are ready to go home.
For completeness' sake, here's what happened in the days since our last update:
First, I forgot to mention 2 funny episodes that happened on prior days:
1. We've had to get creative with doing laundry, and Arik's been trying out some unusual methods. The night we stayed at Bullard's Beach State Park (here's the post) Arik took a shower in his dirty clothes and scrubbed them clean. We didn't have anywhere to tie a clothesline, so he just draped the clothes over our bikes. In the morning, he found his yellow tank top laying on a bush close to another campsite. He was confused and walked over to pick it up when the campers told him they'd found it on the ground that morning. Was it the wind? It seemed strange that the wind would've picked up that shirt and flung it 20 feet away while leaving the other clothes undisturbed. Still flummoxed, Arik walked back to our tent, at which time I spied some small gashes on the back of the shirt. I said "did some creature get ahold of your shirt?" Bearded Tom called out, "oh yes- that must be it! There was a raccoon roaming around this morning!" So Arik's shirt, which has already been smeared and stained, just gained a little more character.
2. The following is a tale of danger, chivalry, and death: A number of times we've encountered road construction on our tour, and a common scenario involves a 2 lane road that winds through mountains and along the coast. The construction crews close the road down to 1 lane, then hold stop signs on each end so each lane eventually gets to go. Arik and I usually ride to the front of the line of stopped cars, then wait for them all to pass before bringing up the rear.
At one such stop, Arik decided to go without waiting because we had a shoulder. I wasn't expecting it, and in my haste to get moving my feet slipped off the pedals and my bike wobbled. Anxious to right myself, I turned the handlebars and ended up turning onto gravel, where I promptly slipped and fell...in front of the whole line of slowly passing cars and the construction guy holding the stop sign. Arik leapt off his bike, laid it on the ground, and hustled over to help me up. The sting from my skinned knee was nothing compared to my bruised pride. Saved by my knight, we remounted our steeds and rode off.
About 10 miles later, while struggling slowly up the hill, Arik cried out, "oh no! Where's my sabre!" After looking around on the ground, we realized that it must have come unvelcroed when he put his bike down to help me. We mourned its loss but decided it had died as it had lived: valiantly.
8/30/09- Crescent City, CA to Elk Prairie State Park- 35 miles, 3 hours, 50 mins on the bikes
We picked up cookies and jam at a great natural foods store on our way out of Crescent City and tackled the biggest hill of the trip so far just a little outside of town. It was cold and foggy, but we made it up pretty well and enjoyed a big, fun descent. Arik was freezing after the downhill and had to put on another layer. Not long afterward, we climbed the second highest hill of the trip. Though not as steep as the first, it was much longer and I started to feel nauseous and light headed. We had to stop every mile or so so I could collect my wits.
Cold and Foggy
I felt a bit better once we got to the bottom and started cruising through the Redwood forest. The trees were incredible- towering and huge. We stopped for some pix and as Arik was setting up I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, basking in the serenity of the woods.
Evil Redwood
Mia
Arik
Monstah
Arik
We rolled into Elk Prairie State Park, which was indeed located right next to a prairie set aside for wild elk. We saw baby deer and for the first time dealt with a park where the bear threat was quite real. We had to put all of our food and anything that could give off a scent (shampoos, deodorant etc) in a bear locker and report any aggressive behavior to park rangers- it was intense! It was also the first park where we didn't get any cell reception, so our parents ended up a little worried.
We enjoyed a great shower and afterward met Bill, a 60-something tour veteran who was biking from Eugene, OR to San Luis Obispo, CA with his wife. They do a ton of tours together, which we thought was pretty sweet. Had some red beans and rice and shared a tasty cookie, then retired to the tent to read. This was pretty tough b/c a huge flock of blue jays decided our site was a cool place to hang out and squawk- it felt like we were caught in a Hitchcock scene.
8/31/09- Elk Prairie State Park to Eureka, CA- 52 miles, 5 hours, 33 mins on the bikes
We got movin' pretty early and saw a beautiful deer on the way out of the park:
A little down the road we happened upon a huge elk just chillin' in somebody's front yard, totally unperturbed by the cars flying by or the curious onlookers who stopped for a peek:
We took a scenic alternate route and experienced the turning point I talked about earlier. There were some stretches where the road became a mess of sand and gravel- I have no idea how people tour on skinny tires since we were slip-slidin' along on our hybrid ones.
We made it to McKinleyville ("Where Horses Have the Right of Way") and rode along a bike path that went parallel to the highway- it was nice to not have to worry about cars for a change. The path turned into a rural road that curved through farms, went over a bridge, and then into Arcata. We rode by Humboldt State University and maneuvered through skateboarders and bikers. We got a bit turned around and ended up having to decide whether to get on Hwy 101 (there was a sign that said "Pacific Coast Bike Route") or to try to follow our map (we'd made a wrong turn somewhere). After much debate, we opted for 101, which ended up being a bit scary because it was a true freeway, with cars going above freeway speeds. It was also frigid, but it had been all day.
As we rode along 101 I spied something sticking out of Arik's back tire, flapping as the wheel rotated. I thought it was a piece of cardboard and told him to stop so I could swat it off. Turns out it was a nail-type thing and he had a flat. We pulled off the highway close to some old railroad tracks in the cold and both had a mini-breakdown. Despite our best intentions, in the past week or so the trip had stopped being about the journey and all about the destination: we counted down the miles, dreaded the hills, and looked forward to just making it to the train at the end. We both said we wanted to go home but agreed to think about it as we finished our ride.
Checked into a good hotel in Eureka, called our parents for advice, and decided to go home. It sucked that we wouldn't be able to meet our pals in San Francisco but we couldn't imagine another month of this stuff. Once we made the decision we felt a huge weight lift off our shoulders. We joked and laughed and were full on happy for the first time in a while. We bought plane tickets, then celebrated with burritos and margaritas at a place called Rita's.
Updated: 9/1/09
Got up early, went to FedEx to ship some of our bulkier gear home, then rode to a bike shop called Sport and Cycle. Dan, the bike mechanic, was awesome. He boxed up our bikes for a fair price and even offered to drive us to the airport in the morning. We left a FedEx label with him and he'll have them pick up the bikes. The walk back was long but pleasant- all the big stuff we had to do was taken care of and we could just enjoy the day. We stopped by the Northcoast Co-op, a massive Whole Foods-size co-op, and got some tasty treats, then headed back to the hotel. Reserved an airport shuttle for the next morning (the hotel paid- woo hoo!), then chilled in the room.
We hit up Lost Coast Brewery for dinner, and enjoyed veggie burgers and their homemade brews (Great White for Arik, Raspberry Brown for me).
9/2/09
Thanks to four connections, we actually made it all the way down the coast, just not the way we'd originally intended. We flew from Eureka to San Francisco to San Diego to Denver and finally, 10 hours later, to Dallas. We had a beautiful view of San Francisco and got to see the Golden Gate Bridge as our plane did a loop around the city.
My parents graciously picked us up and Arik's mama stayed up to meet us at home. We also finally got to see our little bear cub Guido. We were worn out from a long day of traveling but pumped up about being home.
Some General Thoughts on Touring
Despite the premature end to the trip, I still firmly believe that seeing things by bicycle is awesome, and usually far superior to glimpsing the world from a speeding car. We did have to put up with a lot of crap you take for granted while driving (bad weather, bad roads, steep hills, feeling invisible etc) but we also saw things we never would have seen from a car. The bikes forced us to slow down and gave us incredible flexibility. We could pull over to look at a vista without having to wait for the "scenic outlook." We saw hawks and deer and elk and rabbits that would've been missed from the driver's seat. We felt the wind in our hair and the sun on our skin on the good days and the rain on our chests and the cold on our fingertips on the tough ones. For better and worse, we felt alive. And I would highly recommend touring as way to travel. Some tips we wish we'd known ahead of time though:
- Start with smaller tours. For 2 big reasons: 1. You can test out your gear and work out the kinks ahead of time. Our gear ended up working out perfectly but we lucked out. 2. You can get your daily mileage up. We averaged around 40 miles/day, which is why our tour ended up taking so long. Many riders average 60-90 miles/day, and can do so comfortably. We would've been a lot less homesick if we had a higher daily average.
- Have a fat wallet or be cool without showers. We initially planned to camp every night a week but one, which we'd spend in a hotel. The trouble was, we wanted a shower every night- can't sleep after sweating all day without one. That meant the county parks and primitive sites (which don't have water at all) were off the table. We also didn't want to stay in RV parks (not big fans of RVs at all). So our options were mostly limited to state parks, which weren't always available on the route. We ended up in hotels/motels much more often than we'd planned, and that made a big dent in our wallets.
- Most essential gear: helmet mirrors. We picked these up in Vancouver and do not think we could have made it without them. I found myself looking up to check the mirror even when I was walking around helmet-less in town- that's how much we loved and relied on those things. Here's the one we bought, but I'm sure any one that clips to a visor would work: 3rd Eye Helmet Mirror
- Essential, but not as essential as the mirrors
A Few Final Thoughts
To those who donated, followed the blog, or sent us words of encouragement, our deepest thanks. I don't know how many times we'd come in drained by a tough day of riding and be instantly perked up when we heard your voices or read your words. To those we rode for, keep up the good fight. Thinking of you kept us riding longer than we would have and was sometimes the only reason we kept going.
Be well,
Arik and Mia
P.S. Arik's gonna pretty up some of the best pix and make a slideshow- check back if you wanna check it out
It is fitting that our tour is ending in Eureka, because yesterday it was a true Eureka Moment that convinced us it was time to head home. We were biking along a scenic alternate route that took us alongside some beautiful coastline. But instead of feeling that uplifting of spirit that we usually experienced when we saw coastal beauty, and which made all the hills and the cold and the fog and the homesickness worth it, I didn't feel anything. Arik took some perfunctory photos, but at that moment we realized the negatives outweighed the positives. It was a conviction that had been a few weeks in the making, but that we'd hoped would pass with time and distance.
In the movies, it's moments like that that make heroes. They dig deep, persevere, and are rewarded in the end. But, and this is tough for someone as prideful as I am to say, we aren't heroes. We're two kids who set off on an adventurous vacation and ended up struggling through a vacation-less adventure. And though we are confident we physically and mentally could have climbed the hills and negotiated the traffic and powered through the crappy weather that loomed ahead, it just isn't how we wanted to spend another month.
What we've known all along, but what was really driven home by the challenges we faced, is that there were real heroes along for the ride- they were on our shirts. With cancer, there is no returning to base camp or taking a breather. It's a constant, wearying battle, and it's one I'm glad we were able to take some small part in with our fundraising. I wish we could've crossed the finish line in San Diego on behalf of the people we ride for. It was certainly what weighed most heavily on our minds during our decisionmaking process: we didn't want to let anyone down.
Ultimately we painted ourselves into a corner a bit by making our post-school, pre-working world vacation also a goal-oriented, cause-fighting task, and trying to strike that balance ended up wearing us down. Despite that, we don't regret a thing. There are certainly things we could have done differently that would have made things go a bit more smoothly: we could have trained more and gotten some touring experience under our belts, or we could have left without a particular destination in mind and just aimed to get as far as we could. But the month long tour we ended up doing was the toughest, coolest, most rewarding thing we've done, warts and all. We traveled 931 miles, and covered half the country, under our own power. We are proud, we are humbled, and we are ready to go home.
For completeness' sake, here's what happened in the days since our last update:
First, I forgot to mention 2 funny episodes that happened on prior days:
1. We've had to get creative with doing laundry, and Arik's been trying out some unusual methods. The night we stayed at Bullard's Beach State Park (here's the post) Arik took a shower in his dirty clothes and scrubbed them clean. We didn't have anywhere to tie a clothesline, so he just draped the clothes over our bikes. In the morning, he found his yellow tank top laying on a bush close to another campsite. He was confused and walked over to pick it up when the campers told him they'd found it on the ground that morning. Was it the wind? It seemed strange that the wind would've picked up that shirt and flung it 20 feet away while leaving the other clothes undisturbed. Still flummoxed, Arik walked back to our tent, at which time I spied some small gashes on the back of the shirt. I said "did some creature get ahold of your shirt?" Bearded Tom called out, "oh yes- that must be it! There was a raccoon roaming around this morning!" So Arik's shirt, which has already been smeared and stained, just gained a little more character.
2. The following is a tale of danger, chivalry, and death: A number of times we've encountered road construction on our tour, and a common scenario involves a 2 lane road that winds through mountains and along the coast. The construction crews close the road down to 1 lane, then hold stop signs on each end so each lane eventually gets to go. Arik and I usually ride to the front of the line of stopped cars, then wait for them all to pass before bringing up the rear.
At one such stop, Arik decided to go without waiting because we had a shoulder. I wasn't expecting it, and in my haste to get moving my feet slipped off the pedals and my bike wobbled. Anxious to right myself, I turned the handlebars and ended up turning onto gravel, where I promptly slipped and fell...in front of the whole line of slowly passing cars and the construction guy holding the stop sign. Arik leapt off his bike, laid it on the ground, and hustled over to help me up. The sting from my skinned knee was nothing compared to my bruised pride. Saved by my knight, we remounted our steeds and rode off.
About 10 miles later, while struggling slowly up the hill, Arik cried out, "oh no! Where's my sabre!" After looking around on the ground, we realized that it must have come unvelcroed when he put his bike down to help me. We mourned its loss but decided it had died as it had lived: valiantly.
8/30/09- Crescent City, CA to Elk Prairie State Park- 35 miles, 3 hours, 50 mins on the bikes
We picked up cookies and jam at a great natural foods store on our way out of Crescent City and tackled the biggest hill of the trip so far just a little outside of town. It was cold and foggy, but we made it up pretty well and enjoyed a big, fun descent. Arik was freezing after the downhill and had to put on another layer. Not long afterward, we climbed the second highest hill of the trip. Though not as steep as the first, it was much longer and I started to feel nauseous and light headed. We had to stop every mile or so so I could collect my wits.
Cold and FoggyI felt a bit better once we got to the bottom and started cruising through the Redwood forest. The trees were incredible- towering and huge. We stopped for some pix and as Arik was setting up I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, basking in the serenity of the woods.
Evil Redwood
Mia
Arik
Monstah
ArikWe rolled into Elk Prairie State Park, which was indeed located right next to a prairie set aside for wild elk. We saw baby deer and for the first time dealt with a park where the bear threat was quite real. We had to put all of our food and anything that could give off a scent (shampoos, deodorant etc) in a bear locker and report any aggressive behavior to park rangers- it was intense! It was also the first park where we didn't get any cell reception, so our parents ended up a little worried.
We enjoyed a great shower and afterward met Bill, a 60-something tour veteran who was biking from Eugene, OR to San Luis Obispo, CA with his wife. They do a ton of tours together, which we thought was pretty sweet. Had some red beans and rice and shared a tasty cookie, then retired to the tent to read. This was pretty tough b/c a huge flock of blue jays decided our site was a cool place to hang out and squawk- it felt like we were caught in a Hitchcock scene.
8/31/09- Elk Prairie State Park to Eureka, CA- 52 miles, 5 hours, 33 mins on the bikes
We got movin' pretty early and saw a beautiful deer on the way out of the park:
A little down the road we happened upon a huge elk just chillin' in somebody's front yard, totally unperturbed by the cars flying by or the curious onlookers who stopped for a peek:
We took a scenic alternate route and experienced the turning point I talked about earlier. There were some stretches where the road became a mess of sand and gravel- I have no idea how people tour on skinny tires since we were slip-slidin' along on our hybrid ones.
We made it to McKinleyville ("Where Horses Have the Right of Way") and rode along a bike path that went parallel to the highway- it was nice to not have to worry about cars for a change. The path turned into a rural road that curved through farms, went over a bridge, and then into Arcata. We rode by Humboldt State University and maneuvered through skateboarders and bikers. We got a bit turned around and ended up having to decide whether to get on Hwy 101 (there was a sign that said "Pacific Coast Bike Route") or to try to follow our map (we'd made a wrong turn somewhere). After much debate, we opted for 101, which ended up being a bit scary because it was a true freeway, with cars going above freeway speeds. It was also frigid, but it had been all day.
As we rode along 101 I spied something sticking out of Arik's back tire, flapping as the wheel rotated. I thought it was a piece of cardboard and told him to stop so I could swat it off. Turns out it was a nail-type thing and he had a flat. We pulled off the highway close to some old railroad tracks in the cold and both had a mini-breakdown. Despite our best intentions, in the past week or so the trip had stopped being about the journey and all about the destination: we counted down the miles, dreaded the hills, and looked forward to just making it to the train at the end. We both said we wanted to go home but agreed to think about it as we finished our ride.
Checked into a good hotel in Eureka, called our parents for advice, and decided to go home. It sucked that we wouldn't be able to meet our pals in San Francisco but we couldn't imagine another month of this stuff. Once we made the decision we felt a huge weight lift off our shoulders. We joked and laughed and were full on happy for the first time in a while. We bought plane tickets, then celebrated with burritos and margaritas at a place called Rita's.
Updated: 9/1/09
Got up early, went to FedEx to ship some of our bulkier gear home, then rode to a bike shop called Sport and Cycle. Dan, the bike mechanic, was awesome. He boxed up our bikes for a fair price and even offered to drive us to the airport in the morning. We left a FedEx label with him and he'll have them pick up the bikes. The walk back was long but pleasant- all the big stuff we had to do was taken care of and we could just enjoy the day. We stopped by the Northcoast Co-op, a massive Whole Foods-size co-op, and got some tasty treats, then headed back to the hotel. Reserved an airport shuttle for the next morning (the hotel paid- woo hoo!), then chilled in the room.
We hit up Lost Coast Brewery for dinner, and enjoyed veggie burgers and their homemade brews (Great White for Arik, Raspberry Brown for me).
9/2/09
Thanks to four connections, we actually made it all the way down the coast, just not the way we'd originally intended. We flew from Eureka to San Francisco to San Diego to Denver and finally, 10 hours later, to Dallas. We had a beautiful view of San Francisco and got to see the Golden Gate Bridge as our plane did a loop around the city.
My parents graciously picked us up and Arik's mama stayed up to meet us at home. We also finally got to see our little bear cub Guido. We were worn out from a long day of traveling but pumped up about being home.
Some General Thoughts on Touring
Despite the premature end to the trip, I still firmly believe that seeing things by bicycle is awesome, and usually far superior to glimpsing the world from a speeding car. We did have to put up with a lot of crap you take for granted while driving (bad weather, bad roads, steep hills, feeling invisible etc) but we also saw things we never would have seen from a car. The bikes forced us to slow down and gave us incredible flexibility. We could pull over to look at a vista without having to wait for the "scenic outlook." We saw hawks and deer and elk and rabbits that would've been missed from the driver's seat. We felt the wind in our hair and the sun on our skin on the good days and the rain on our chests and the cold on our fingertips on the tough ones. For better and worse, we felt alive. And I would highly recommend touring as way to travel. Some tips we wish we'd known ahead of time though:
- Start with smaller tours. For 2 big reasons: 1. You can test out your gear and work out the kinks ahead of time. Our gear ended up working out perfectly but we lucked out. 2. You can get your daily mileage up. We averaged around 40 miles/day, which is why our tour ended up taking so long. Many riders average 60-90 miles/day, and can do so comfortably. We would've been a lot less homesick if we had a higher daily average.
- Have a fat wallet or be cool without showers. We initially planned to camp every night a week but one, which we'd spend in a hotel. The trouble was, we wanted a shower every night- can't sleep after sweating all day without one. That meant the county parks and primitive sites (which don't have water at all) were off the table. We also didn't want to stay in RV parks (not big fans of RVs at all). So our options were mostly limited to state parks, which weren't always available on the route. We ended up in hotels/motels much more often than we'd planned, and that made a big dent in our wallets.
- Most essential gear: helmet mirrors. We picked these up in Vancouver and do not think we could have made it without them. I found myself looking up to check the mirror even when I was walking around helmet-less in town- that's how much we loved and relied on those things. Here's the one we bought, but I'm sure any one that clips to a visor would work: 3rd Eye Helmet Mirror
- Essential, but not as essential as the mirrors
- Ortlieb panniers- these bad boys rock- they're waterproof and super tough
- Thermarest ProLite 4 Sleeping Pad- supa light + supa comfy= happy and well-rested tourers
- Jetboil camp stove- boils water in less than 2 minutes so no waiting around- performed flawlessly
A Few Final Thoughts
To those who donated, followed the blog, or sent us words of encouragement, our deepest thanks. I don't know how many times we'd come in drained by a tough day of riding and be instantly perked up when we heard your voices or read your words. To those we rode for, keep up the good fight. Thinking of you kept us riding longer than we would have and was sometimes the only reason we kept going.
Be well,
Arik and Mia
P.S. Arik's gonna pretty up some of the best pix and make a slideshow- check back if you wanna check it out
Friday, August 28, 2009
Lincoln City, OR to Crescent City, CA- Two States Down!
After surviving frigid fog, 4 punctured tubes, 7 Devils, wicked climbs, aching quads, and one oblivious camper, we've made it to California! We've experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows of the trip in the last 5 days but both agree the highs outweigh the lows. We're finishing up a much needed rest day here in Crescent City and after much running around, we finally have time to get ya updated:
8/23/09- Lincoln City, OR to Newport, OR- 32.4 miles, 3 hours, 13 min on the bikes
The night of the 22nd we hit up Aunt Mary's again, visited a cool bookstore (again no Born to Run but we did pick up some cool gifts), and got a tasty pizza on the way home. The morning after our rest day we chomped on some Amy's burritos whilst watching some more Australia's Next Top Model (don't judge mates!). Arik brought the bikes downstairs to check out and quickly realized one of the tires had gone completely flat. It was the same problem we've been having with the tubes all trip: our mini pump requires such vigorous pumping to get any air into the tires that the valve shakes around and ultimately shears at the bottom, leaving a tiny hole and an empty tube that can't be patched. While Arik tended to the tube, I rode off to the post office in hopes of mailing the gifts and some heavy stuff we weren't using back home. Alas I didn't remember until I was in the parking lot that there's no post on Sundays! I sheepishly rode back to Arik and we set off.
The sun was out and the glorious coast was on display. Waves crashed on rocks and the water was a beautiful shade of blue.
Dora, Koonta & Mia
Sweet coast
We rode out of Newport via a huge, pretty bridge. We had to walk the bikes b/c of traffic and it was a slow trek. A cold wind roared as we plodded along. Shortly afterward we got to South Beach State Park. It was the least outdoorsy of the state parks we've stayed in- it had a welcome center with coffee and popcorn and yurt meeting halls, but it was just really pleasant. We were the only hiker/bikers there and we went to sleep early- around 7:30.
South Beach State Park
8/24/09- Newport, OR to Florence, OR- 51.86 miles, 4 hours, 25 min on the bikes
Most of the 24th was incredible but it ended on a bit of a sour note. We started by going up and down a ton of hills. Rode past Seal Rock, OR but didn't spy any seals, then stopped in Waldport to run some errands. Finally got to ship our stuff at the post office, got a coke at a co-op, then picked up some essentials at a grocery store (fritos, oreos, and oatmeal- the stuff champions are made of). After Waldport it was straight up awesome coastline most of the way to Florence. Just really incredible.
Post-sea lion partay we apprehensively rolled up to a tunnel. Tunnels usually suck to ride through. Oregon is cool b/c there's a little button you can push before you ride into the tunnels that sets off lights alerting cars that bikers are riding through, but you still are faced with riding down a narrow two lane road without a shoulder while impatient drivers tailgate you or try to squeeze by. This time ended up being pleasant b/c a truck came up slowly behind us, turned on his hazards, and escorted us through- thank you kind sir!
A short while later we realized we'd traveled 650 miles- making us 1/3 of the way through our tour! We had no idea- I thought we'd done around 400 miles max. We were both pretty shocked and stopped to toast ourselves and our bikes with some oreos. No matter what happens from here on out, I am very proud of us.
In Florence, we stopped at one of our favorite gourmet dining establishments:
After Florence we rode through some tree-spotted dunes, then got into Honeyman State Park. It had easily the sweetest hiker/biker setup of all the Oregon state parks we'd stayed in- beautiful trees, semi-private sites- a lot more like the Washington sites but with free hot showers (Washington charges 50 cents for a 3 minute hot shower). There were only 2 other bikers at the site- both sharing one site, so it was pretty chill. We headed off for our showers, which were glorious- tons of hot water, and I even scored a left behind bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap- what luck...or so we thought. We merrily skipped back to our campsite, energized by our shower, happily unaware of the stress that awaited us back at the tent.
When we got there, a girl was tying her bike to a tree a foot away from our tent. We thought it was strange, but both Arik and I are non-confrontational to a fault so we just said hello. We chatted for a bit, and during the conversation she untied her bike from the tree and proceeded to tie it to our picnic bench. Hmm. Still, Arik and I didn't say anything. Then she unfurled her tent, and though there were 4 unused and nicely private sites around, she set up 2 feet from our tent...in our site. We were both confused and a little upset but STILL we said nothing. Content to let it slide, we got in the tent and fell asleep- happy to have turned in early so we'd be able to get a good start the next day.
Unfortunately we were woken up at several points by her conversations- she'd decided to make our bench the hang out spot for some of the other bikers who rolled in. I put in my earplugs, but was awakened around 10 by the crashing and banging of what sounded like 16 pots and pans. Even better, a bright light shone directly into our tent intermittently- the kind produced by a headlamp. I'd finally been pushed to the edge. After an internal debate during which I asked myself what my 2 flippest high school friends (Raffi and Michael) would do, I got dressed, steeled myself, and got out of the tent.
The girl was indeed packing up pots and pans that were strewn all over the table. She had a bright headlamp on and was oblivious to my presence. I explained that though we didn't mind if she used our table, the sun had been down for an hour and a half, we'd been trying to sleep for the past 2 hours, and she was making too much noise. All she said was "Oh." Just a surprised and totally clueless "Oh." I made a grand exit by stomping off to the restrooms, going over all the cool things I wished I'd said. I got to the restroom fueled by anger and frustration, but when I turned to head back I'd cooled off and fear set in. It was pitch dark and I had to find a dirt path that went through the woods and to our site. I had a flashlight and some mace but I was terrified. I got lost once and then ran all the way to the tent. A really infuriating evening after a really wonderful day.
A note here about the whole clueless girl (who I've named Elma, in honor of the city that so tormented us) thing : I know there was a context that I wasn't totally appreciating. The girl was a solo tourer. She may have been scared, she may have been starved for human company, she may have been trying to create an awkward situation just so she'd be able to talk to someone. She may even have grown up in a culture where personal space doesn't exist. Arik knew a woman in art school who sat way too close to him and who, after some awkwardness, explained that she'd lived in a community where everything belonged to everyone so she had trouble with personal boundaries. I get all that. The problem was just the lack of consideration- if she'd said hey can I use your bench or hey can I set up here I'm lonely, or anything like that, we at least could have talked it out and figured out a comfortable solution. The big lesson the whole thing taught both of us was that we really need to nip stuff like that in the bud. If right from the get-go we'd just said hey there, what's going on, we would've had a bit of awkwardness but nothing like what happened when we let everything escalate. argh.
8/25/09- Florence, OR to Bandon, OR- 70.2 miles, 6 hours, 31 mins on the bikes
Despite our encounter the night before, ol' Elma woke us up the next morning with more banging of pots and pans at our table. I wasn't in the mood for another confrontation, so I just put in my earplugs and stuck my fingers in my ears. Like goofy fraidy cats, we waited until she left to get moving, robbing us of the early start we'd hoped for. We had a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal, oreos, and fritos, then headed out. It was cloudy and wet but at least wasn't rainy. Somewhat hilariously, we saw ol' Elma a number of times throughout the day. She stopped each time to chat, making no reference at all to the night before.
We crossed another long, harrowing bridge, then stopped at Taco Bell again for some dinner. We chatted with a TBell employee on his smoke break while we ate outside on a bench. He was a young guy dealing with the heartache that usually comes with more advanced age: his dad had died a week before and his mom had suffered a stroke and was in a nursing home. He asked us lots of questions about our tour and said he'd always wanted to do one but didn't have anyone to go with. I hope he finds someone.
One of many big, windy bridges
Bridge up close
This next little nugget confirms that when it comes to Toy Story characters we are more Rex the dinosaur then Woody the hero. Earlier that morning, whilst Elma was banging about, Arik overheard her say she was planning to ride to the state park we'd intended to stay in that night. Intent on avoiding the awkwardness such close quarters would bring, we elected to ride on to the next state park- more than 70 miles away. Ambitious? Yes. Pathetic? Arguably. Still, we'd made our decision and soldiered on. It wasn't until we turned onto "Seven Devils Road" that we realized our decision meant we'd be climbing the 7 devils we'd been warned of earlier, and that we'd be doing it at the end of our ride- hooray! Fortunately for us, the 7 devils ended up being more like 7 little coconuts- kinda tough to crack but oh so tasty! They were tough, but totally manageable, and the views as we climbed and descended were stunning.
At the top of the last Devil, with Arik's sabre of course
We rolled into a packed hiker/biker camp at Bullard's Beach State Park and had to share a table with some other campers (yes we realize this is wonderfully ironic, but in fairness, we were invited to share and requested input re: where was best to set up :) ) The guys who offered the table were cool- 2 bros named Nels and Jacob who'd taken the train up from San Luis Obispo to Eugene, OR and now were riding back down. We are toying with the idea of taking the same train from San Diego back up to Seattle once we're done with the ride. It would be cheap, wouldn't take long, would let us check out Portland, and would let us see the coast from a totally new perspective. We shall see what the future holds though- we do miss our fams and our pup!
We cooked some ramen while the brothers ate and were soon joined by a cool guy named Tom and his female companion (can't remember her name- doh). He's a fun, goofy, bearded fellow doing graduate work in math at UC-Davis. He rode by when we were checking into the park and shouted out "Bula bula!" He brought over blueberries and a beer and we had fun chatting with everyone in the dark. The sunset took all the heat out of the day, leaving us shivering. Arik and I walked to the bathroom and looked up at the night sky, taken aback by the number of stars twinkling in the night. I spotted a satellite and remembered laying on the deck of a beachhouse we rented in Surfside Beach, TX when I was little, looking up at the stars with my dad and my sisters as he pointed out satellites and we all searched for shooting stars.
8/26/09- Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR- 57.35 miles, 5 hours, 39 mins on the bikes
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning- it was actually kinda hot in the tent. We bade farewell to our comrades and got a good start. Despite the pleasant beginning, the first half of the day was hellish. We started out riding through farmlands on a super windy road. It felt like we were slogging through quicksand. About an hour in, Arik's tire hissed and went flat. He'd ridden over a glass shard and gotten his first non-pump related flat. Hooray. No worries though- we pulled over to the side of the highway, got out our patch kit and the "How to fix a flat tire" printout I'd brought along, and Arik tackled the task. He got the tube all patched up and was in the midst of inflating it when he remembered the ring we're supposed to put around the valve to make it not shake around as much. He said "let's make sure I don't have to do this again," put on the ring, and continued pumping. Not 5 seconds later, we heard another hiss. Yup- the valve stem had sheared. We'd need a new tube.
Annoyed but determined, Arik went through it all again- taking out the tube, putting in a new one, and setting to the arduous task of pumping up the tube with our mini-pump. He had it all the way inflated (this takes about 15 minutes b/c the pump is so small) when- you guessed it- another hiss, another sheared valve, and another tube to waste. We'd been sitting on the side of the road for more than an hour, with cars roaring past at freeway speed blowing dust and dirt in our faces. And he had to do it all again. We were down to our last tube so he went super slow with the pump. He got it aired up ok and finally, after an hour and a half delay, we packed our bikes up and were about to head off. All of a sudden we heard a deep, gospel voice sing "Well I've seen some weary travelers in my day- oh yeah." We looked up and saw bearded Tom riding by. He pulled over to make sure we were ok and his companion said "may this be the last flat of your trip." Indeed! They brought a smile to our haggard faces and we headed off with slightly better spirits.
But the day wasn't done with us yet. Not 20 minutes later, cold, scary fog rolled in like death. There was hardly any visibility and it was freezing. Then, inexplicably, we saw half blue sky overhead and half fog. Soon the fog cleared and revealed the most glorious coastline either of us has ever seen. Tom rode by again, this time shouting something about hot tubs- he's a fun, crazy guy. We stopped every few feet to wonder at the view and take pix. At one point there was a rock rising out of the fog- the kind of thing you'd see in a movie but never in real life. None of it felt real.
Crappy Day Starts Lookin' Up
Blue skies and fog
Weary Mia
Sweetness
The fog monster
Arik the Conqueror
Arik couldn't quite beat the self-timer
I decided to trust in the day and took off my long sleeves and windbreaker, hoping the sun would stick around. It didn't oblige, content instead to hide out behind a new batch of scary fog. Arik took a cool picture of me riding through the cold mist:
The next stretch was just surreal. Everything was gray, foggy, and otherworldy. I'd finished reading The Alchemist two days prior, and the story places a huge emphasis on omens. I was therefore understandably unsettled when a pickup drove past us with a huge "Murphy's Law" sticker plastered on its windshield. This was particularly foreboding considering we had no tubes, we were riding through the fog, and we weren't certain the town we were intending to stay in had a hotel.
Fortunately we made it to Gold Beach and as we crossed one last fog covered bridge into town, a glorious neon "Motel 6" sign rose from the mist. We asked the guy at the front desk about nearby pizza and he gave us a brochure for Panther Den Pizza. We were expecting to just get our usual cheeseless pizza but were stoked to see they had fake cheese- what an unexpected surprise! We ordered one with artichokes, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, along with some tater tots and holy moley was it an incredible feast. The pizza was huge and was the best vegan pizza either of us has had. We picked up some cokes from the hotel vending machine, got our laundry done, and watched some tv shows on the laptop. With full belllies and memories of our heaven n hell day, we drifted off to sleep.
Ending the day on a nice freaky bridge
The view from the bridge- glad we weren't down there!
8/27/09- Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA- 57 miles, 5 hours, 40 mins on the bikes
We started the day off with the second highest hill we'd climb in Oregon. The front desk guy had freaked us out a bit about it, saying he'd never made it up and that a restaurant down the road actually gave out bowls of Wheaties just for bikers trying to tackle it. It was tough, but not as tough as we'd imagined, and after about an hour of climbing we were racing down the descent. Still, the climb and the preceding string of longish days started to take a toll. Our muscles were aching, my knees starting hurting, and we just generally felt really sluggish.
One of our last stretches on the Oregon Coast Bike Route
We perked up about 5 miles north of Brookings when we spotted an awesome coastline and a beach called Lone Ranch Beach. When we realized people were down walking the beach, we turned around, rode down to the parking lot, and joined them. I touched the Pacific for the first time and we were wowed by the view.
Lone Ranch Beach
Lone Ranch Beach
Arik and Mia at Lone Ranch Beach
Our route took us off Highway 101 and into some farmlands, which were beautiful but really hilly. Each stroke of my legs as I climbed the hills made my knees ache, and when we looked down to 101 and realized it was just 2 lanes with a nice wide shoulder, we deviated from the route and took 101. Soon, we crossed into California- sweetness! We can't believe we've made it through 2 states just using our old trusty legs. Pretty cool indeed.
We took 101 all the way into Crescent City. As we neared the town, redwood trees started to line the street. They were awesome, even though the first one Arik saw was actually a dead stump- doh! It was an impressive stump though! The miles passed so slowly because of our tired muscles- Crescent City couldn't come soon enough. We found a motel with internet, but their amenities are arranged a bit haphazardly: because we wanted a room with internet access, we couldn't have a fridge/microwave and would have to have 2 beds instead of one. We had also been looking forward to a nice hot bath but it only has a shower. So it goes.
We got settled in at the hotel, then went in search of some eats- we were starving. Crescent City is a strange town- a lot of the businesses we'd looked up on the internet had closed down and bums trundled down the sidewalks while skateboarding teens rolled through abandoned parking lots. Fortunately, China Hut was open and we got a ton of food from the delightful woman working there. It wasn't the tastiest but it did the job. We were still hungry though, so we walked to Burger King and got some fries and apple pies, which we munched on whilst watching...no sense hiding it- Australia's Next Top Model.
We had a nice chat with our pal Jeff, who's finalizing plans to come meet us in San Francisco and bike with us to San Luis Obispo. We are supa stoked about that and happy to see him and Kate.
8/28/09- Rest Day- hooray!
Today we had a much-needed but all too short rest day. We had some fruit loops in the hotel lobby, then took our bikes to get tuned up. The bike shop we'd scoped out had closed down, so we went to one a local guy directed us to. Back Country Bicycle ended up being a great find. Even though they're closed over the weekend, the guy there fit us in. He also had a great pump that turns into a mini-floor pump- should make Arik's life a lot easier. And we got tubes galore. We walked back after leaving our bikes and headed out to run more errands. First to the bookstore- still no Born to Run (I'm starting to think I saw it in a dream), but we picked up Lost World for Arik, which he started reading at the bed and breakfast in Cathlamet, and Things Fall Apart for me. We also got The Hobbit for both of us. They should tide us over until we finally find that shifty book.
Then had some great Thai food at Thai House. We went in with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised by the tastiness. We had fried tofu and a noodle dish, with mango sticky rice for dessert- nom nom nom! Then stopped by the grocery store to restock our pantry and finally got home for a break. We watched a show, then the guy from the bike shop called to say our bikes were ready. We put our dirty laundry in a pannier, picked up the bikes (they feel great!) and rode to the laundromat. Alas in our rush to pack the pannier we left out the books so we had to just chill and chat and wait. The time passed quickly though, and after a chat with a homeless man (Robert) who was refilling his water bottle at the laundry sink and stopped to check out our bikes, and another chat with an old fellow from Alaska who warned us of cougars in the California state parks (hooray!) we headed home for good at last. Ate some burritos we'd picked up earlier at a co-op, watched some shows, and soon we'll hit up Burger King one last time for a late night snack. We're eating like kings! :)
We'd planned to leave tomorrow, but after realizing we hadn't gotten much rest on our rest day, we've decided to make it one more day. It'll be nice to have a real do-nothing day before we march on into the Redwood forest.
Be well,
Arik and Mia
http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike
8/23/09- Lincoln City, OR to Newport, OR- 32.4 miles, 3 hours, 13 min on the bikes
The night of the 22nd we hit up Aunt Mary's again, visited a cool bookstore (again no Born to Run but we did pick up some cool gifts), and got a tasty pizza on the way home. The morning after our rest day we chomped on some Amy's burritos whilst watching some more Australia's Next Top Model (don't judge mates!). Arik brought the bikes downstairs to check out and quickly realized one of the tires had gone completely flat. It was the same problem we've been having with the tubes all trip: our mini pump requires such vigorous pumping to get any air into the tires that the valve shakes around and ultimately shears at the bottom, leaving a tiny hole and an empty tube that can't be patched. While Arik tended to the tube, I rode off to the post office in hopes of mailing the gifts and some heavy stuff we weren't using back home. Alas I didn't remember until I was in the parking lot that there's no post on Sundays! I sheepishly rode back to Arik and we set off.
The sun was out and the glorious coast was on display. Waves crashed on rocks and the water was a beautiful shade of blue.
Dora, Koonta & Mia
Sweet coast
We rolled into Newport around 4:30 just as it was starting to get chilly. We ate at a place called Savory Cafe in the Nye Beach part of Newport but weren't too impressed. I had a ginormous burrito which definitely filled me up but wasn't super tasty. Then again I'm comparing it to the stupendous Ate Layer Burrito at Spiral Diner, so I guess my burrito bar is pretty high. We stopped by a bike shop and picked up more tubes and replenished our Clif Shot Blok supply (try these- they rock!) then tried 2 bookstores which were unfortunately both closed.
We rode out of Newport via a huge, pretty bridge. We had to walk the bikes b/c of traffic and it was a slow trek. A cold wind roared as we plodded along. Shortly afterward we got to South Beach State Park. It was the least outdoorsy of the state parks we've stayed in- it had a welcome center with coffee and popcorn and yurt meeting halls, but it was just really pleasant. We were the only hiker/bikers there and we went to sleep early- around 7:30.
South Beach State Park8/24/09- Newport, OR to Florence, OR- 51.86 miles, 4 hours, 25 min on the bikes
Most of the 24th was incredible but it ended on a bit of a sour note. We started by going up and down a ton of hills. Rode past Seal Rock, OR but didn't spy any seals, then stopped in Waldport to run some errands. Finally got to ship our stuff at the post office, got a coke at a co-op, then picked up some essentials at a grocery store (fritos, oreos, and oatmeal- the stuff champions are made of). After Waldport it was straight up awesome coastline most of the way to Florence. Just really incredible.
We did huge climbs and descents that made our eyes tear and our hearts race. A little south of Yachats we heard a ton of barking, pulled over, and peered over a cliff where we spied a huge group of sea lions! They were stinky and loud and hilarious- just trundling along on the rocks and enjoying what looked like a rockin' party. Check them out:
Post-sea lion partay we apprehensively rolled up to a tunnel. Tunnels usually suck to ride through. Oregon is cool b/c there's a little button you can push before you ride into the tunnels that sets off lights alerting cars that bikers are riding through, but you still are faced with riding down a narrow two lane road without a shoulder while impatient drivers tailgate you or try to squeeze by. This time ended up being pleasant b/c a truck came up slowly behind us, turned on his hazards, and escorted us through- thank you kind sir!
A short while later we realized we'd traveled 650 miles- making us 1/3 of the way through our tour! We had no idea- I thought we'd done around 400 miles max. We were both pretty shocked and stopped to toast ourselves and our bikes with some oreos. No matter what happens from here on out, I am very proud of us.
In Florence, we stopped at one of our favorite gourmet dining establishments:
After Florence we rode through some tree-spotted dunes, then got into Honeyman State Park. It had easily the sweetest hiker/biker setup of all the Oregon state parks we'd stayed in- beautiful trees, semi-private sites- a lot more like the Washington sites but with free hot showers (Washington charges 50 cents for a 3 minute hot shower). There were only 2 other bikers at the site- both sharing one site, so it was pretty chill. We headed off for our showers, which were glorious- tons of hot water, and I even scored a left behind bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap- what luck...or so we thought. We merrily skipped back to our campsite, energized by our shower, happily unaware of the stress that awaited us back at the tent.
When we got there, a girl was tying her bike to a tree a foot away from our tent. We thought it was strange, but both Arik and I are non-confrontational to a fault so we just said hello. We chatted for a bit, and during the conversation she untied her bike from the tree and proceeded to tie it to our picnic bench. Hmm. Still, Arik and I didn't say anything. Then she unfurled her tent, and though there were 4 unused and nicely private sites around, she set up 2 feet from our tent...in our site. We were both confused and a little upset but STILL we said nothing. Content to let it slide, we got in the tent and fell asleep- happy to have turned in early so we'd be able to get a good start the next day.
Unfortunately we were woken up at several points by her conversations- she'd decided to make our bench the hang out spot for some of the other bikers who rolled in. I put in my earplugs, but was awakened around 10 by the crashing and banging of what sounded like 16 pots and pans. Even better, a bright light shone directly into our tent intermittently- the kind produced by a headlamp. I'd finally been pushed to the edge. After an internal debate during which I asked myself what my 2 flippest high school friends (Raffi and Michael) would do, I got dressed, steeled myself, and got out of the tent.
The girl was indeed packing up pots and pans that were strewn all over the table. She had a bright headlamp on and was oblivious to my presence. I explained that though we didn't mind if she used our table, the sun had been down for an hour and a half, we'd been trying to sleep for the past 2 hours, and she was making too much noise. All she said was "Oh." Just a surprised and totally clueless "Oh." I made a grand exit by stomping off to the restrooms, going over all the cool things I wished I'd said. I got to the restroom fueled by anger and frustration, but when I turned to head back I'd cooled off and fear set in. It was pitch dark and I had to find a dirt path that went through the woods and to our site. I had a flashlight and some mace but I was terrified. I got lost once and then ran all the way to the tent. A really infuriating evening after a really wonderful day.
A note here about the whole clueless girl (who I've named Elma, in honor of the city that so tormented us) thing : I know there was a context that I wasn't totally appreciating. The girl was a solo tourer. She may have been scared, she may have been starved for human company, she may have been trying to create an awkward situation just so she'd be able to talk to someone. She may even have grown up in a culture where personal space doesn't exist. Arik knew a woman in art school who sat way too close to him and who, after some awkwardness, explained that she'd lived in a community where everything belonged to everyone so she had trouble with personal boundaries. I get all that. The problem was just the lack of consideration- if she'd said hey can I use your bench or hey can I set up here I'm lonely, or anything like that, we at least could have talked it out and figured out a comfortable solution. The big lesson the whole thing taught both of us was that we really need to nip stuff like that in the bud. If right from the get-go we'd just said hey there, what's going on, we would've had a bit of awkwardness but nothing like what happened when we let everything escalate. argh.
8/25/09- Florence, OR to Bandon, OR- 70.2 miles, 6 hours, 31 mins on the bikes
Despite our encounter the night before, ol' Elma woke us up the next morning with more banging of pots and pans at our table. I wasn't in the mood for another confrontation, so I just put in my earplugs and stuck my fingers in my ears. Like goofy fraidy cats, we waited until she left to get moving, robbing us of the early start we'd hoped for. We had a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal, oreos, and fritos, then headed out. It was cloudy and wet but at least wasn't rainy. Somewhat hilariously, we saw ol' Elma a number of times throughout the day. She stopped each time to chat, making no reference at all to the night before.
We crossed another long, harrowing bridge, then stopped at Taco Bell again for some dinner. We chatted with a TBell employee on his smoke break while we ate outside on a bench. He was a young guy dealing with the heartache that usually comes with more advanced age: his dad had died a week before and his mom had suffered a stroke and was in a nursing home. He asked us lots of questions about our tour and said he'd always wanted to do one but didn't have anyone to go with. I hope he finds someone.
One of many big, windy bridges
Bridge up closeThis next little nugget confirms that when it comes to Toy Story characters we are more Rex the dinosaur then Woody the hero. Earlier that morning, whilst Elma was banging about, Arik overheard her say she was planning to ride to the state park we'd intended to stay in that night. Intent on avoiding the awkwardness such close quarters would bring, we elected to ride on to the next state park- more than 70 miles away. Ambitious? Yes. Pathetic? Arguably. Still, we'd made our decision and soldiered on. It wasn't until we turned onto "Seven Devils Road" that we realized our decision meant we'd be climbing the 7 devils we'd been warned of earlier, and that we'd be doing it at the end of our ride- hooray! Fortunately for us, the 7 devils ended up being more like 7 little coconuts- kinda tough to crack but oh so tasty! They were tough, but totally manageable, and the views as we climbed and descended were stunning.
At the top of the last Devil, with Arik's sabre of courseWe rolled into a packed hiker/biker camp at Bullard's Beach State Park and had to share a table with some other campers (yes we realize this is wonderfully ironic, but in fairness, we were invited to share and requested input re: where was best to set up :) ) The guys who offered the table were cool- 2 bros named Nels and Jacob who'd taken the train up from San Luis Obispo to Eugene, OR and now were riding back down. We are toying with the idea of taking the same train from San Diego back up to Seattle once we're done with the ride. It would be cheap, wouldn't take long, would let us check out Portland, and would let us see the coast from a totally new perspective. We shall see what the future holds though- we do miss our fams and our pup!
We cooked some ramen while the brothers ate and were soon joined by a cool guy named Tom and his female companion (can't remember her name- doh). He's a fun, goofy, bearded fellow doing graduate work in math at UC-Davis. He rode by when we were checking into the park and shouted out "Bula bula!" He brought over blueberries and a beer and we had fun chatting with everyone in the dark. The sunset took all the heat out of the day, leaving us shivering. Arik and I walked to the bathroom and looked up at the night sky, taken aback by the number of stars twinkling in the night. I spotted a satellite and remembered laying on the deck of a beachhouse we rented in Surfside Beach, TX when I was little, looking up at the stars with my dad and my sisters as he pointed out satellites and we all searched for shooting stars.
8/26/09- Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR- 57.35 miles, 5 hours, 39 mins on the bikes
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning- it was actually kinda hot in the tent. We bade farewell to our comrades and got a good start. Despite the pleasant beginning, the first half of the day was hellish. We started out riding through farmlands on a super windy road. It felt like we were slogging through quicksand. About an hour in, Arik's tire hissed and went flat. He'd ridden over a glass shard and gotten his first non-pump related flat. Hooray. No worries though- we pulled over to the side of the highway, got out our patch kit and the "How to fix a flat tire" printout I'd brought along, and Arik tackled the task. He got the tube all patched up and was in the midst of inflating it when he remembered the ring we're supposed to put around the valve to make it not shake around as much. He said "let's make sure I don't have to do this again," put on the ring, and continued pumping. Not 5 seconds later, we heard another hiss. Yup- the valve stem had sheared. We'd need a new tube.
Annoyed but determined, Arik went through it all again- taking out the tube, putting in a new one, and setting to the arduous task of pumping up the tube with our mini-pump. He had it all the way inflated (this takes about 15 minutes b/c the pump is so small) when- you guessed it- another hiss, another sheared valve, and another tube to waste. We'd been sitting on the side of the road for more than an hour, with cars roaring past at freeway speed blowing dust and dirt in our faces. And he had to do it all again. We were down to our last tube so he went super slow with the pump. He got it aired up ok and finally, after an hour and a half delay, we packed our bikes up and were about to head off. All of a sudden we heard a deep, gospel voice sing "Well I've seen some weary travelers in my day- oh yeah." We looked up and saw bearded Tom riding by. He pulled over to make sure we were ok and his companion said "may this be the last flat of your trip." Indeed! They brought a smile to our haggard faces and we headed off with slightly better spirits.
But the day wasn't done with us yet. Not 20 minutes later, cold, scary fog rolled in like death. There was hardly any visibility and it was freezing. Then, inexplicably, we saw half blue sky overhead and half fog. Soon the fog cleared and revealed the most glorious coastline either of us has ever seen. Tom rode by again, this time shouting something about hot tubs- he's a fun, crazy guy. We stopped every few feet to wonder at the view and take pix. At one point there was a rock rising out of the fog- the kind of thing you'd see in a movie but never in real life. None of it felt real.
Crappy Day Starts Lookin' Up
Blue skies and fog
Weary Mia
Sweetness
The fog monster
Arik the Conqueror
Arik couldn't quite beat the self-timerI decided to trust in the day and took off my long sleeves and windbreaker, hoping the sun would stick around. It didn't oblige, content instead to hide out behind a new batch of scary fog. Arik took a cool picture of me riding through the cold mist:
The next stretch was just surreal. Everything was gray, foggy, and otherworldy. I'd finished reading The Alchemist two days prior, and the story places a huge emphasis on omens. I was therefore understandably unsettled when a pickup drove past us with a huge "Murphy's Law" sticker plastered on its windshield. This was particularly foreboding considering we had no tubes, we were riding through the fog, and we weren't certain the town we were intending to stay in had a hotel.
Fortunately we made it to Gold Beach and as we crossed one last fog covered bridge into town, a glorious neon "Motel 6" sign rose from the mist. We asked the guy at the front desk about nearby pizza and he gave us a brochure for Panther Den Pizza. We were expecting to just get our usual cheeseless pizza but were stoked to see they had fake cheese- what an unexpected surprise! We ordered one with artichokes, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, along with some tater tots and holy moley was it an incredible feast. The pizza was huge and was the best vegan pizza either of us has had. We picked up some cokes from the hotel vending machine, got our laundry done, and watched some tv shows on the laptop. With full belllies and memories of our heaven n hell day, we drifted off to sleep.
Ending the day on a nice freaky bridge
The view from the bridge- glad we weren't down there!8/27/09- Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA- 57 miles, 5 hours, 40 mins on the bikes
We started the day off with the second highest hill we'd climb in Oregon. The front desk guy had freaked us out a bit about it, saying he'd never made it up and that a restaurant down the road actually gave out bowls of Wheaties just for bikers trying to tackle it. It was tough, but not as tough as we'd imagined, and after about an hour of climbing we were racing down the descent. Still, the climb and the preceding string of longish days started to take a toll. Our muscles were aching, my knees starting hurting, and we just generally felt really sluggish.
One of our last stretches on the Oregon Coast Bike RouteWe perked up about 5 miles north of Brookings when we spotted an awesome coastline and a beach called Lone Ranch Beach. When we realized people were down walking the beach, we turned around, rode down to the parking lot, and joined them. I touched the Pacific for the first time and we were wowed by the view.
Lone Ranch Beach
Lone Ranch Beach
Arik and Mia at Lone Ranch BeachOur route took us off Highway 101 and into some farmlands, which were beautiful but really hilly. Each stroke of my legs as I climbed the hills made my knees ache, and when we looked down to 101 and realized it was just 2 lanes with a nice wide shoulder, we deviated from the route and took 101. Soon, we crossed into California- sweetness! We can't believe we've made it through 2 states just using our old trusty legs. Pretty cool indeed.
We took 101 all the way into Crescent City. As we neared the town, redwood trees started to line the street. They were awesome, even though the first one Arik saw was actually a dead stump- doh! It was an impressive stump though! The miles passed so slowly because of our tired muscles- Crescent City couldn't come soon enough. We found a motel with internet, but their amenities are arranged a bit haphazardly: because we wanted a room with internet access, we couldn't have a fridge/microwave and would have to have 2 beds instead of one. We had also been looking forward to a nice hot bath but it only has a shower. So it goes.
We got settled in at the hotel, then went in search of some eats- we were starving. Crescent City is a strange town- a lot of the businesses we'd looked up on the internet had closed down and bums trundled down the sidewalks while skateboarding teens rolled through abandoned parking lots. Fortunately, China Hut was open and we got a ton of food from the delightful woman working there. It wasn't the tastiest but it did the job. We were still hungry though, so we walked to Burger King and got some fries and apple pies, which we munched on whilst watching...no sense hiding it- Australia's Next Top Model.
We had a nice chat with our pal Jeff, who's finalizing plans to come meet us in San Francisco and bike with us to San Luis Obispo. We are supa stoked about that and happy to see him and Kate.
8/28/09- Rest Day- hooray!
Today we had a much-needed but all too short rest day. We had some fruit loops in the hotel lobby, then took our bikes to get tuned up. The bike shop we'd scoped out had closed down, so we went to one a local guy directed us to. Back Country Bicycle ended up being a great find. Even though they're closed over the weekend, the guy there fit us in. He also had a great pump that turns into a mini-floor pump- should make Arik's life a lot easier. And we got tubes galore. We walked back after leaving our bikes and headed out to run more errands. First to the bookstore- still no Born to Run (I'm starting to think I saw it in a dream), but we picked up Lost World for Arik, which he started reading at the bed and breakfast in Cathlamet, and Things Fall Apart for me. We also got The Hobbit for both of us. They should tide us over until we finally find that shifty book.
Then had some great Thai food at Thai House. We went in with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised by the tastiness. We had fried tofu and a noodle dish, with mango sticky rice for dessert- nom nom nom! Then stopped by the grocery store to restock our pantry and finally got home for a break. We watched a show, then the guy from the bike shop called to say our bikes were ready. We put our dirty laundry in a pannier, picked up the bikes (they feel great!) and rode to the laundromat. Alas in our rush to pack the pannier we left out the books so we had to just chill and chat and wait. The time passed quickly though, and after a chat with a homeless man (Robert) who was refilling his water bottle at the laundry sink and stopped to check out our bikes, and another chat with an old fellow from Alaska who warned us of cougars in the California state parks (hooray!) we headed home for good at last. Ate some burritos we'd picked up earlier at a co-op, watched some shows, and soon we'll hit up Burger King one last time for a late night snack. We're eating like kings! :)
We'd planned to leave tomorrow, but after realizing we hadn't gotten much rest on our rest day, we've decided to make it one more day. It'll be nice to have a real do-nothing day before we march on into the Redwood forest.
Be well,
Arik and Mia
http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Astoria, OR to Lincoln City, OR
Hello friends! We're sitting in a hotel in Lincoln City enjoying our first off day since Seattle. The sun's out, we're well-rested, and we just ate some burritos we picked up at a funky natural grocery store here. The cashier was hilariously nutty: she hummed and talked to herself the whole time she was checking us out. The last few days, like the last 3 weeks, have been a mixed bag: some supa sweet and some supa crappy. We ended on a supa-sweet note though, so it's all good. Here's what we've been up to:
8/19/09- Astoria, OR to Nehalem, OR- 48 miles, 5 hours, 32 min on the bikes
Shortly after our post on the 18th, while our burritos (yup we're burrito fiends) were warming up in the microwave and a new episode of Australia's Next Top Model played on the laptop, the lights flickered and then turned off at the hotel. In fact, the lights went out in all of Astoria. Our burritos were still frozen, so we just busted out our trusty oreos and watched the show until the laptop ran out of juice. The electricity was back by morning so we got to have our beloved burritos before checking out.
We stopped by the bike shop in Astoria and got to air up our tires for free with their super fast hose. What takes Arik 10 minutes of tough pumping with our mini-pump took maybe 15 seconds with their hose. The guys there admired Arik's antenna and shared their own dog-fighting tips and sent us on our way.
We climbed out of Astoria on steep, residential roads, then rode through rural, sunny hills. As we rode into Seaside, OR the fog rolled in with us. The sun disappeared, replaced with cold air and gray skies. We stopped at a bookstore in an outlet mall to search for the elusive Born to Run (no luck again), then headed to Broadway, the main street through town.
A foggy peak
The ocean's supposedly behind me but who knows what's back there?
We'd definitely found the most happenin' spot in Seaside. Crowds of tourists carrying bags of saltwater taffy and licking ice cream cones stacked with 3 scoops of ice cream packed the sidewalks while 4 seater beach cruiser bikes rolled slowly and unsteadily down the street. We parked our bikes outside "The Buzz," a candy shop advertising chocolate-covered bacon, twinkies, and pop-tarts and pretty much every brand of candy I loved and dreamed of as a kid. Arik called his bro Aaron for some help finding a veggie restaurant and/or bookstore while I headed into The Buzz to scope out the offerings. A quick stop here in the storytelling to send a big thank you to Aaron and to our pal Jeff. Both guys have been ready and willing to look up shops, hotels, and directions for us when we're on the road, even when our first words when they pick up are, "can you get to a computer?"
So back to The Buzz- holy cow was this place awesome. I walked in and the smells of chocolate and caramel and fresh popcorn blasted me with childhood memories and stuck a smile on my face that didn't fade even when I went back out onto the blustery street. I couldn't eat 99% of the stuff in there (and good lord were the chocolate-covered oreos tempting!) but the experience of walking the aisles, dodging wide-eyed kids and often their equally wide-eyed parents made me feel like I'd presented my golden ticket at the door and had entered the venerable chocolate factory. We ended up snagging some dark chocolate truffles, which we scarfed down with alarming speed. I next went to the ice cream shop next door to peruse the soda offerings. Arik and I both love trying out new and unique sodas, and this place actually had their staff rate their favorites. We picked up 2 five star root beers and were not disappointed. Note: I realize it's a bit strange that on a trip packed with stunning coastlines, towering trees, and incredible mountains, I can spend two paragraphs extolling the wonders of a candy store that sells chocolate-covered bacon. Such is the nature of my sometimes awe-inspiring addiction (those who've seen me consume a giant box of Nerds in one sitting are witnesses).
Aaron found us a bookstore, so I went to check it out while Arik stayed with the bikes. A gate spanned the front door, but a friendly note assured prospective customers that it was just for the store cat, and that we should come on in. Though small and manned by an unassuming woman, Beach Books was a delight. Karen, the owner, said she knew they'd had Born to Run at one time but would have to check in the back b/c she thought they'd run out. This was the closest I'd come to finally catching that sly minx of a tome but alas I came up short again- they'd sold out. No worries, I'd still check out the place. I'm so glad I did! She had everything from classics to new releases, and just about every book was on my "Books to Read" list. And no crappy filler! Just good, solid books, many tagged with summaries written by Karen or her employees. Although I'd wanted to keep holding out for Born to Run (our pannier space is getting limited) I cracked and picked up The Alchemist. She said I picked a good one, and Arik, who's reading it first, agrees.
Aaron also found us a promising veggie restaurant in nearby Cannon Beach. The town was beautiful- the quintessential beach town. We rolled down the small main street and quickly spotted Sweet Basil's Cafe. We parked our bikes out back and grabbed a seat outside, a move we somewhat regretted as cold fog started to roll in off the sea. Despite the frigidness, the food was delicious! I had a Garden Sandwich and Arik had a Cucumber Sandwich, and we both thought we'd picked the best thing on the menu. Just two mounds of fresh, crisp, healthy tastiness. We hit up another bookstore in search of Born to Run but still no luck. All I can say is this sucker better be worth the wait!
After Cannon Beach, the ride started gettin' crappy. It was cold and foggy and we climbed high up in the hills. We rode through a really dicey tunnel, with hardly any shoulder and cars zooming by. The tunnel amplified all sound so the cars sounded like a pride of roaring lions. I had my rear light blinking but was constantly worried about being seen in the fog. We somehow missed the camping entrance to the state park we'd meant to stay in, and didn't realize it until we'd gone too far to turn back. We soldiered on, but it started drizzling and the fog closed in. We rode along dropoffs where we couldn't see anything beyond the road- it felt like a slip or wrong turn would send us flailing into oblivion. It just felt really scary and surreal and I got pretty shaken up. Arik was ok enough to snap a few pix but I wasn't pleased:
Foggy bridge
Eek!
Mad Mia
Shoulda followed this advice
8/20/09- Nehalem, OR to Cape Lookout, OR- 41.2 miles, 4 hours on the bikes
After the previous day, we were crossing our fingers for sun and easy riding. The sun didn't cooperate but we did have a nice, unremarkable ride. We rode down 101 pretty much the whole way. It was cold, but not rainy, so that was an improvement. We stopped in Rockaway Beach, OR and got our first good view of the Pacific Ocean. It was pretty but we both decided we aren't big fans of beaches that require jeans and a jacket. We ate two pb&j burritos on a bench overlooking the beach and had fun watching two little dogs chase each other through the sand. It reminded us of Guido and Lex. :-/ We're reminded of Guido often, especially when we ride by Italian restaurants!
First good look at the Pacific
We rode past a number of roadside espresso stands. We picked up an oreo frappuccino at one a while ago and I thought it was just a random oddity, but it turns out they're sprinkled all over our route. A welcome alternative to Starbucks for sure. We missed our turn to the state park but Arik didn't realize it and, b/c he was flying down a hill, (we always seem to get lost right after a descent- it sucks!) he couldn't hear my shouts. I had to ride up and down 3 big hills before I got close enough for him to hear me (we can't hear each other even when we're 5 feet apart when we're doing hills) and we had to turn around and do it all again. We rode 6 pretty miles to Cape Lookout State Park. The park worker lady who checked us in was nice and gave us some shower tips re: where to get the most hot water.
We got set up, checked out the beach, and got firewood. Despite the tips, the showers ended up being pretty stingy with the hot water, but at least we got clean. We had some ramen while Arik tried to get the fire going- a firestarter made it go a lot faster. We had some lentils, which ended up being kinda gross, so we had some chili too. Still unsatiated, I ploughed through a pb&j burrito for good measure. We had some serious appetites goin'. Arik had worn his clothes in the shower to try to wash them (we've had mixed results with our laundry attempts) and his plan was to dry them by the fire. It didn't work out too well and we ended up just strapping the clothes to the back of the bikes and praying for hot, dry weather. We were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves. Arik woke me up in the middle of the night asking me to turn on my light. "The lantern?" I asked groggily. "No- your bike light. I can't see." "Umm my bike light's on my bike," I replied. "Wait, we're not on our bikes? Oh geez..." Turns out he was dreaming that we were riding and when we went around a turn he suddenly couldn't see. His headlight didn't work so he wanted me to turn mine on. Poor guy has some scary state park dreams.
Blurry Arik and Mia by the fire
8/21/09- Cape Lookout, OR to Lincoln City, OR- 44.7 miles, 4 hours, 40 min on the bike
We woke up yesterday, enjoyed a fire whilst eating our oatmeal, then mounted our noble steeds in the crisp morning air. Smoke blew from their nostrils as they pawed the ground, anxious to get moving. The chances of getting Arik's clothes dried seemed pretty slim- the sun stubbornly refused to come out and the air was cold and damp. We got some great looks at the Oregon coast, but it was still a bit cold for our liking. Then, like magic, we moved inland and though the sky was unchanged, the breeze turned warm. We rode by sand dunes, where guys on four wheelers revved their engines and raced each other, and we felt like we'd entered a whole new world. We took off our sweaters and soaked up the warmth, content despite the cloudy skies.
Mia and the cloudy Oregon coast- our campsite was in the trees below
We rode through Sandlake on roads dusted (and sometimes coated) with slippery sand, then stopped at a parking lot in Pacific City to check our map. A slim old gent came puttering toward us with a wheezing, stumbling pug in tow. The pug, named Cho Cho, came over for a visit, and petting her soft plump neck reminded us of our own little portly pup. The man gave us directions and told us we had one more big hill to get over, then wished us luck as he and Cho Cho ambled off.
As we turned onto 101 a little south of tiny Oretown, OR, the sun came out in all her glory and the skies cleared. It was like someone snapped their fingers and decided the clouds needed to step aside. A big thank you to that someone! We stopped in a rural spot to put on sunscreen and eat some pb&j burritos while some cows looked on.
We rode on, warm and happy and energized, until we came to a spot where the route split off. To one side was the steeper, longer scenic route, while straight ahead was the more direct, but sometimes shoulder-less highway. After some debate we went with the scenic route. If we'd skipped out, we would have missed what ended up being the most beautiful, enjoyable stint of riding we've had all trip. The trees were insane- thick and tall and awesome in the true sense of the word. The road was narrow and virtually car-free, and though we climbed uphill for almost 6 miles of the route, the climb was so gradual we never felt winded. All that climbing made for a really sweet descent with hairpin turns, howling wind, and teary eyes. Arik made a video but it ended up being so shaky it was psychedelic. When I pulled up to him at the bottom all either of us could do was grin and shake our heads at the wonder of it all. The pix really don't do it justice at all, but here they are just so you can get a taste:
After the scenic ride we rode into Lincoln City and around Devil's Lake toward the state park. The lake was beautiful, and though we had to struggle through some tough climbs to get around it, we couldn't wait to check out the view from the park. Alas the park was...underwhelming. We were directed to what one of the workers called "a patch of grass" at the top of the park, but which ended up being more like someone's lawn. We were right next to a main street that came off the highway, across the street from houses, and the port o potty backed up to someone's fence. Aside from the noise and lack of privacy, our main concern was the security of our bikes. We'd planned to walk into town and of course would be showering and we just felt really uneasy about leaving our bikes there.
Devil's Lake
After some debate we decided the 8 dollar price tag just wasn't enough to make up for the lack of peace of mind, and that we'd opt for a hotel. We again called on Aaron but he couldn't find anything cheap. We still got our refund and just headed into Lincoln City. The first place we came to ended up being reasonable and had free wi-fi, so we got checked in. Thanks to happycow.net, we found a pretty stellar eatery which we checked out post-haste. Aunt Mary's Toaster Bistro was a one of a kind place. Part vegetarian restaurant, part sex shop, it was unlike anywhere we'd ever been. No one under 18 is allowed, and the walls are covered in red shaggy carpet. Aunt Mary herself welcomed us in, then told us the offerings off the top of her head. She walked back behind the counter, where she had a stove, and started cooking everything up. She told us there was a lot to see and we should look around, and we gladly obliged.
She had loads of funny stickers and knick knacks. Arik and I have decided we want to start putting stickers from places we visit on our panniers, and we picked a good place to start. Aunt Mary brought over a bowl of soup, which was incredible, and her old dog trundled over to our table and fixed us with a doleful gaze no doubt polished by years of begging practice. We finished off the soup and looked around some more while she cooked up the entrees. They too were awesome, especially the barbecued baked beans Arik had as a side. We had to go into the "Filthy" room to pay, which was where all the really scandalous stuff was housed. The offerings were extensive- she had an entire section labeled "plump"! We left with happy tummies and were glad to have found a really unique place.
Came back to the hotel and ate some vending machine snacks whilst watching the finale of Top Chef Masters.
8/22/09- Rest Day!
Our first rest day since Seattle has been awesome. We've walked around a bit but have generally done a whole heap of nothing.
Some random thoughts:
- Pardon our French, but we've christened Oregon "The Coy Bitch." Every biker we met on the way here told us the Oregon coast would be the highlight of our trip, yet up until yesterday our impression was that Oregon was cold and foggy and full of tree-hauling trucks that mysteriously smelled like a middle school girls' restroom. Not pleasant! Then we have a day like yesterday that just blows us away. It seems Oregon doesn't want to be a hussy and give it all up on the first date, so she's slowly and steadily warming up to us.
- We've determined 4 hours of riding is about as far as we can do and still be in a good mood. Once we cross that line we become, in Australia's Next Top Model-speak, big wingers (crybabies). Every hill feels tougher and every road feels bumpier after the 4 hour mark.
Hopefully we're done with hotels for a while. We love them but they're hard to justify when 8 bucks gets us a hiker/biker site at the state parks. In that vein, a ginormous thank you to my mum, who's paying for this little respite and has given us a most enjoyable break!
Be well,
Arik and Mia
http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike
8/19/09- Astoria, OR to Nehalem, OR- 48 miles, 5 hours, 32 min on the bikes
Shortly after our post on the 18th, while our burritos (yup we're burrito fiends) were warming up in the microwave and a new episode of Australia's Next Top Model played on the laptop, the lights flickered and then turned off at the hotel. In fact, the lights went out in all of Astoria. Our burritos were still frozen, so we just busted out our trusty oreos and watched the show until the laptop ran out of juice. The electricity was back by morning so we got to have our beloved burritos before checking out.
We stopped by the bike shop in Astoria and got to air up our tires for free with their super fast hose. What takes Arik 10 minutes of tough pumping with our mini-pump took maybe 15 seconds with their hose. The guys there admired Arik's antenna and shared their own dog-fighting tips and sent us on our way.
We climbed out of Astoria on steep, residential roads, then rode through rural, sunny hills. As we rode into Seaside, OR the fog rolled in with us. The sun disappeared, replaced with cold air and gray skies. We stopped at a bookstore in an outlet mall to search for the elusive Born to Run (no luck again), then headed to Broadway, the main street through town.
A foggy peak
The ocean's supposedly behind me but who knows what's back there?We'd definitely found the most happenin' spot in Seaside. Crowds of tourists carrying bags of saltwater taffy and licking ice cream cones stacked with 3 scoops of ice cream packed the sidewalks while 4 seater beach cruiser bikes rolled slowly and unsteadily down the street. We parked our bikes outside "The Buzz," a candy shop advertising chocolate-covered bacon, twinkies, and pop-tarts and pretty much every brand of candy I loved and dreamed of as a kid. Arik called his bro Aaron for some help finding a veggie restaurant and/or bookstore while I headed into The Buzz to scope out the offerings. A quick stop here in the storytelling to send a big thank you to Aaron and to our pal Jeff. Both guys have been ready and willing to look up shops, hotels, and directions for us when we're on the road, even when our first words when they pick up are, "can you get to a computer?"
So back to The Buzz- holy cow was this place awesome. I walked in and the smells of chocolate and caramel and fresh popcorn blasted me with childhood memories and stuck a smile on my face that didn't fade even when I went back out onto the blustery street. I couldn't eat 99% of the stuff in there (and good lord were the chocolate-covered oreos tempting!) but the experience of walking the aisles, dodging wide-eyed kids and often their equally wide-eyed parents made me feel like I'd presented my golden ticket at the door and had entered the venerable chocolate factory. We ended up snagging some dark chocolate truffles, which we scarfed down with alarming speed. I next went to the ice cream shop next door to peruse the soda offerings. Arik and I both love trying out new and unique sodas, and this place actually had their staff rate their favorites. We picked up 2 five star root beers and were not disappointed. Note: I realize it's a bit strange that on a trip packed with stunning coastlines, towering trees, and incredible mountains, I can spend two paragraphs extolling the wonders of a candy store that sells chocolate-covered bacon. Such is the nature of my sometimes awe-inspiring addiction (those who've seen me consume a giant box of Nerds in one sitting are witnesses).
Aaron found us a bookstore, so I went to check it out while Arik stayed with the bikes. A gate spanned the front door, but a friendly note assured prospective customers that it was just for the store cat, and that we should come on in. Though small and manned by an unassuming woman, Beach Books was a delight. Karen, the owner, said she knew they'd had Born to Run at one time but would have to check in the back b/c she thought they'd run out. This was the closest I'd come to finally catching that sly minx of a tome but alas I came up short again- they'd sold out. No worries, I'd still check out the place. I'm so glad I did! She had everything from classics to new releases, and just about every book was on my "Books to Read" list. And no crappy filler! Just good, solid books, many tagged with summaries written by Karen or her employees. Although I'd wanted to keep holding out for Born to Run (our pannier space is getting limited) I cracked and picked up The Alchemist. She said I picked a good one, and Arik, who's reading it first, agrees.
Aaron also found us a promising veggie restaurant in nearby Cannon Beach. The town was beautiful- the quintessential beach town. We rolled down the small main street and quickly spotted Sweet Basil's Cafe. We parked our bikes out back and grabbed a seat outside, a move we somewhat regretted as cold fog started to roll in off the sea. Despite the frigidness, the food was delicious! I had a Garden Sandwich and Arik had a Cucumber Sandwich, and we both thought we'd picked the best thing on the menu. Just two mounds of fresh, crisp, healthy tastiness. We hit up another bookstore in search of Born to Run but still no luck. All I can say is this sucker better be worth the wait!
After Cannon Beach, the ride started gettin' crappy. It was cold and foggy and we climbed high up in the hills. We rode through a really dicey tunnel, with hardly any shoulder and cars zooming by. The tunnel amplified all sound so the cars sounded like a pride of roaring lions. I had my rear light blinking but was constantly worried about being seen in the fog. We somehow missed the camping entrance to the state park we'd meant to stay in, and didn't realize it until we'd gone too far to turn back. We soldiered on, but it started drizzling and the fog closed in. We rode along dropoffs where we couldn't see anything beyond the road- it felt like a slip or wrong turn would send us flailing into oblivion. It just felt really scary and surreal and I got pretty shaken up. Arik was ok enough to snap a few pix but I wasn't pleased:
Foggy bridge
Eek!
Mad Mia
Shoulda followed this adviceWe carried on through the fog on narrow shoulders, the cold rain mixing with my hot tears. I was a big bawling baby by the time we got to Manzanita, and when we finally saw the sign for Nehalem State Park I almost had a complete breakdown. The sun was setting, we were cold and soaked, and the sign said we were 13 miles from the park. 13 miles would take over an hour, which would leave us riding in the dark and the fog- basically not an option at all. Ever rational and optimistic, Arik stopped into a gas station and determined that we were in fact only 1.3 miles away- not 13. The man said we'd "missed the little decimal," but after a second look it still looked like 13 to us. I was worried he was engaged in some kind of sick joke, but having no other option, we headed to the park. It felt like it took forever to get there, but we finally made it. The park worker asked us where we'd started the day. When we told her Astoria, she smiled a bit dismissively and said, "Oh that's not too bad. A guy came in earlier who rode 105 miles today!" Thanks lady. We called our worried parents, got set up, ate dinner quickly, and then walked to the showers in the dark. They were hot and free (one of the perks of Oregon state parks) and we conked out quickly- exhausted but finally warm and mostly dry.
8/20/09- Nehalem, OR to Cape Lookout, OR- 41.2 miles, 4 hours on the bikes
After the previous day, we were crossing our fingers for sun and easy riding. The sun didn't cooperate but we did have a nice, unremarkable ride. We rode down 101 pretty much the whole way. It was cold, but not rainy, so that was an improvement. We stopped in Rockaway Beach, OR and got our first good view of the Pacific Ocean. It was pretty but we both decided we aren't big fans of beaches that require jeans and a jacket. We ate two pb&j burritos on a bench overlooking the beach and had fun watching two little dogs chase each other through the sand. It reminded us of Guido and Lex. :-/ We're reminded of Guido often, especially when we ride by Italian restaurants!
First good look at the PacificWe got set up, checked out the beach, and got firewood. Despite the tips, the showers ended up being pretty stingy with the hot water, but at least we got clean. We had some ramen while Arik tried to get the fire going- a firestarter made it go a lot faster. We had some lentils, which ended up being kinda gross, so we had some chili too. Still unsatiated, I ploughed through a pb&j burrito for good measure. We had some serious appetites goin'. Arik had worn his clothes in the shower to try to wash them (we've had mixed results with our laundry attempts) and his plan was to dry them by the fire. It didn't work out too well and we ended up just strapping the clothes to the back of the bikes and praying for hot, dry weather. We were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves. Arik woke me up in the middle of the night asking me to turn on my light. "The lantern?" I asked groggily. "No- your bike light. I can't see." "Umm my bike light's on my bike," I replied. "Wait, we're not on our bikes? Oh geez..." Turns out he was dreaming that we were riding and when we went around a turn he suddenly couldn't see. His headlight didn't work so he wanted me to turn mine on. Poor guy has some scary state park dreams.
Blurry Arik and Mia by the fire8/21/09- Cape Lookout, OR to Lincoln City, OR- 44.7 miles, 4 hours, 40 min on the bike
We woke up yesterday, enjoyed a fire whilst eating our oatmeal, then mounted our noble steeds in the crisp morning air. Smoke blew from their nostrils as they pawed the ground, anxious to get moving. The chances of getting Arik's clothes dried seemed pretty slim- the sun stubbornly refused to come out and the air was cold and damp. We got some great looks at the Oregon coast, but it was still a bit cold for our liking. Then, like magic, we moved inland and though the sky was unchanged, the breeze turned warm. We rode by sand dunes, where guys on four wheelers revved their engines and raced each other, and we felt like we'd entered a whole new world. We took off our sweaters and soaked up the warmth, content despite the cloudy skies.
Mia and the cloudy Oregon coast- our campsite was in the trees below
We rode through Sandlake on roads dusted (and sometimes coated) with slippery sand, then stopped at a parking lot in Pacific City to check our map. A slim old gent came puttering toward us with a wheezing, stumbling pug in tow. The pug, named Cho Cho, came over for a visit, and petting her soft plump neck reminded us of our own little portly pup. The man gave us directions and told us we had one more big hill to get over, then wished us luck as he and Cho Cho ambled off.
As we turned onto 101 a little south of tiny Oretown, OR, the sun came out in all her glory and the skies cleared. It was like someone snapped their fingers and decided the clouds needed to step aside. A big thank you to that someone! We stopped in a rural spot to put on sunscreen and eat some pb&j burritos while some cows looked on.
We rode on, warm and happy and energized, until we came to a spot where the route split off. To one side was the steeper, longer scenic route, while straight ahead was the more direct, but sometimes shoulder-less highway. After some debate we went with the scenic route. If we'd skipped out, we would have missed what ended up being the most beautiful, enjoyable stint of riding we've had all trip. The trees were insane- thick and tall and awesome in the true sense of the word. The road was narrow and virtually car-free, and though we climbed uphill for almost 6 miles of the route, the climb was so gradual we never felt winded. All that climbing made for a really sweet descent with hairpin turns, howling wind, and teary eyes. Arik made a video but it ended up being so shaky it was psychedelic. When I pulled up to him at the bottom all either of us could do was grin and shake our heads at the wonder of it all. The pix really don't do it justice at all, but here they are just so you can get a taste:
After the scenic ride we rode into Lincoln City and around Devil's Lake toward the state park. The lake was beautiful, and though we had to struggle through some tough climbs to get around it, we couldn't wait to check out the view from the park. Alas the park was...underwhelming. We were directed to what one of the workers called "a patch of grass" at the top of the park, but which ended up being more like someone's lawn. We were right next to a main street that came off the highway, across the street from houses, and the port o potty backed up to someone's fence. Aside from the noise and lack of privacy, our main concern was the security of our bikes. We'd planned to walk into town and of course would be showering and we just felt really uneasy about leaving our bikes there.
Devil's LakeAfter some debate we decided the 8 dollar price tag just wasn't enough to make up for the lack of peace of mind, and that we'd opt for a hotel. We again called on Aaron but he couldn't find anything cheap. We still got our refund and just headed into Lincoln City. The first place we came to ended up being reasonable and had free wi-fi, so we got checked in. Thanks to happycow.net, we found a pretty stellar eatery which we checked out post-haste. Aunt Mary's Toaster Bistro was a one of a kind place. Part vegetarian restaurant, part sex shop, it was unlike anywhere we'd ever been. No one under 18 is allowed, and the walls are covered in red shaggy carpet. Aunt Mary herself welcomed us in, then told us the offerings off the top of her head. She walked back behind the counter, where she had a stove, and started cooking everything up. She told us there was a lot to see and we should look around, and we gladly obliged.
She had loads of funny stickers and knick knacks. Arik and I have decided we want to start putting stickers from places we visit on our panniers, and we picked a good place to start. Aunt Mary brought over a bowl of soup, which was incredible, and her old dog trundled over to our table and fixed us with a doleful gaze no doubt polished by years of begging practice. We finished off the soup and looked around some more while she cooked up the entrees. They too were awesome, especially the barbecued baked beans Arik had as a side. We had to go into the "Filthy" room to pay, which was where all the really scandalous stuff was housed. The offerings were extensive- she had an entire section labeled "plump"! We left with happy tummies and were glad to have found a really unique place.
Came back to the hotel and ate some vending machine snacks whilst watching the finale of Top Chef Masters.
8/22/09- Rest Day!
Our first rest day since Seattle has been awesome. We've walked around a bit but have generally done a whole heap of nothing.
Some random thoughts:
- Pardon our French, but we've christened Oregon "The Coy Bitch." Every biker we met on the way here told us the Oregon coast would be the highlight of our trip, yet up until yesterday our impression was that Oregon was cold and foggy and full of tree-hauling trucks that mysteriously smelled like a middle school girls' restroom. Not pleasant! Then we have a day like yesterday that just blows us away. It seems Oregon doesn't want to be a hussy and give it all up on the first date, so she's slowly and steadily warming up to us.
- We've determined 4 hours of riding is about as far as we can do and still be in a good mood. Once we cross that line we become, in Australia's Next Top Model-speak, big wingers (crybabies). Every hill feels tougher and every road feels bumpier after the 4 hour mark.
Hopefully we're done with hotels for a while. We love them but they're hard to justify when 8 bucks gets us a hiker/biker site at the state parks. In that vein, a ginormous thank you to my mum, who's paying for this little respite and has given us a most enjoyable break!
Be well,
Arik and Mia
http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike
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