Day #8 Winchester Bay to Bandon

First I have to say that I LOVE reading the comments people have been posting. It makes me so happy to know that people are supporting me so much, and in that way I don't feel alone although I am solo.

Yesterday I had a big hamburger for lunch and something about that protein enticed me to ride another 20 miles past where I was planning to camp last night. So I had a good head start on today, which was a good thing because there were lots of hills! Yeah, what's new? So now I'm in Bandon on the coast staying at a guest house (hostel) and looking forward to doing some laundry tonight after I eat some fish and chips for dinner. I was considering eating Mexican food, but I'm 200 feet from the coast, so that makes no sense. I remember one time I was with Ryan's family in Maine and we were eating at this clam hut. I ordered chicken strips and they were gross. Why was I surprised?

Other good news? Picture time!The sun sets in the West. Here is the first sunset that I saw over the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, OR. Fantastic.This is the Oregon coast, the route that I've been following for the past four days. It is so much more beautiful than even this picture can describe. Well, hellllllloooooo there stranger. Which way are you headed?The view from my tent. Camping out is the best way to see the world! The hiker/biker camp sites in Oregon are fantastic - away from the RVs and noisy people. That's fine for some people, but it's not what I'm looking for.Here is a picture of me after walking my bike across the massive bridge you see in the background. When I arrived on the other side I saw a couple standing outside their mini van and then signaled for me to come over to them. They told me that they had seen me on the road for the past two days and wanted to introduce themselves and find out what I was doing. So I told them and they were excited for me, and super friendly. The man wanted to take a picture of me with his wife so I did, and in turn he took a picture of me. So that's what I look like every day? I never knew!

Anyway, just two more days and I'll be crossing over into California where I will start to meet up with various friends. I can't wait! It will be good to see some familiar faces by then. I love being solo a lot more than I thought that I would, but I love seeing my friends even more.

Day #6 and Day #7

Day #6

Cape Look Out State Park to Newport, OR

After arriving in Cape Look Out the previous afternoon around 3 pm and having 6 and a half hours of daylight before bedtime I decided that I needed a challenge the next day. So I decided to ride 70 miles to South Beach State Park, just four miles South of Newport. And it was a bit of a challenge, but it was also totally great because I did it! I stopped in Newport for a quick bike tune up, and had them put the spare chain that I'd brought on my bike. And now I'm good as new.

I rolled into camp around dinner time, took a shower and met my neighbor, Keith. Keith is a middle aged guy from Salt Lake, UT, but his home right now is on the road bike touring around America. He carries an 80 pound BOB behind his bike equipped with EVERYTHING. I'm talking camp chairs, blocks of cheese, two stoves. The man is a maniac. But he loves touring, and there is no arguing with that.

After a dinner of fresh tuna salad sandwich from a store nearby (mmmm...) and grapefruit juice I rode my bike back to my campsite and then down to the beach to watch the waves for awhile. Unlike Cape Look Out, this beach was empty. Very peaceful. Very relaxing. So relaxing that I was back in my tent by 9 pm reading my book and asleep by 9:45.

Day #7

South Beach State Park to Florence (Jesse Honeyman State Park)

So here I am in Florence, OR at the local library where free internet rules! But unfortunately once again I'm unable to upload pictures. Such a bummer! I will try to figure out a way to get to a computer where they allow that. Maybe in a day or two? I have so many great pictures of the Oregon coast (which I've been following for the last three days), sea stacks (those great big rocks sticking out of the water), waves, sand, and some pictures of me too. Those are the good ones.

The ride today was shorter, just 55 miles. Wanna know what the shoulder of the highway is called in Oregon? The bike lane.

Keith (my new friend) and I passed eachother on the road a few times back and forth today. He was riding with two other guys he met at the campsite last night. It's funny because when I planned this trip I imagined that I'd meet all sorts of people around my age doing the same thing, but it turns out that this is kind of a middle aged guy thing to do. But hey, if it takes most people 40 years to figure out how great this is, I guess I'm way ahead of the game.

Now off to eat some BBQ and explore this town before heading down the road a few miles to my campsite.

Day #5 Seaside to Cape Look Out State Park

The ride has taken me up many hills lately, but the payoff is that I finally hit the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, and the route I'm taking has been following it ever since! I have taken many amazing pictures, but the computer I'm on at the moment doesn't give me the option to upload them, so be patient! They're coming soon.

Yesterday I realized that one of the coolest things about doing this ride is that every night I set a goal for the next day, and every day I accomplish that goal. Yes, it's hard sometimes. No doubt about that. But each day I am more and more happy to be out here doing this. I wish that every one I know could see the amazing things that I've seen. The flowers, the sand flats, the sun setting very slowly over the Pacific, people making castles on the beach, beaches with NO one around, and so many trees!

When I was a kid I loved playing in the woods and making forts. I wanted to live in a fort, and now I do! Every night I play and sleep in the woods in my very own tent fort. It's just the right size. And every morning I get up, pack everything into my yellow bag and set off for another day of exploration and adventure. It's nothing less than totally awesome.

Oregon is the place that was made for bikers. It's a bikers state. There are three foot wide shoulders on all of the roads, bike lanes everywhere, and signs to alert cars that bikers may (will) be on the road. Plus, all of the state parks have hiker/biker sites and they cost $4!!! That includes a hot shower with unlimited water. Life is good.

Stay tuned for pictures (maybe tonight?) including the Oregon coast, sunset, and the Tillamook cheese factory (I had to break down there and eat some ice cream - I know, I know, but still...it was really good).

Day #4 Westport, OR to Seaside, OR

I can't believe that this is just the 4th day of this ride! It feels like such a long time ago already that I left Boulder, CO.

Today I figured out how to ride hills. Finally! What works best for me is to ride in a low gear and go slow, but KEEP GOING! I know, it makes sense, but now my body gets it. Yay!

Each day I've been riding between 55 and 65 miles, but today I just did 47 and was off my bike by 1 pm. Whew! That included an hour lunch stop in Astoria, OR which is a very cool little misty mountain habor town. Food choice? Not so good. I HAVE to remember to NOT order chocolate milkshakes. They sound sooo good, but then I am always freezing cold after eating them. So goodbye milkshakes until I hit sunny California. There has been no rain yet (I'm so lucky!), and the weather is always a bit overcast with the sun coming out later in the day. Plus there is no wind. It's the perfect biking conditions.

After lunch in Astoria I continued over the Columbia river (again) south towards Seaside (the Oregon version of Lake of the Ozarks - awesome!) where I ended up at the Seaside hostel. And now I have the entire rest of the day to do laundry, walk around, take a nap, and find some healthy food for dinner. Ciao amigos. Hasta Netarts!

Day #3 Lewis and Clark State Park to Westport, OR

At the end of day #2 I was pretty beat. This was my first day riding up some consistent hills, and my body wasn't really sure what to do about it. The one thing that I realized is that it is much better to just push through and keep pedaling than to stop for a rest break. Because it's not like there is any other option than to keep going up. This was a very cool thing to figure out, and it really helped me pace and get into the right mindset. I know that I will totally take this back tomorrow, but I actually kind of like going up the hills. Mostly because I know that once I get to the top I get to go down! And in that spirit I made up a great new song (title 1 on Erin's Bike Adventure greatest hits). It's to the tune of "Downtown" and it's called "Downhill." I'm still figuring out all of the words, and I always forget them and make up new ones but it goes something like "downhill, that's where I want to be, downhill, that is the place for me, downhill, just over the next hill..." There is room for improvement...

Also I have been singing "You can get it if you really want, but you must try" by Jimmy Cliff. It's kind of annoying, but it's in my head.

Here is a picture of my amazing camp site at the Lewis and Clark state park a little bit North of Toledo. I was the only biker there. Lots of older folks that were pretty quiet. This site is in an old growth forest, the first one I've ever seen. This area is so wet and there is really thick green moss covering all of the trees. It's so beautiful and peaceful here. I was happy to have a shower and then eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich for dinner. Mmmm...

Day #3

I woke up early the next morning and packed/was on the road by 8 am. It's pretty easy to do that and get a good night's sleep when you go to bed at 9 pm every night. PB and H was for breakfast and then it was time to ride. I made pretty good time and didn't get lost the whole way to Coal Creek (lunch spot). I did stop to ask directions from this friendly older gentleman in a pickup truck and we talked for a few minutes after he asked me the question that I assume many drivers think when they pass me: "Why?" Yeah, I know - I wish I could answer that. The best answer that I have for why I'm doing what I'm doing is "because."

The population of Coal Creek is something close to 30 people and there is one store in town. Working at that store was a lady from Durango! She was so sweet, and fixed me the burrito I bought for lunch.

After lunch I continued down the road (made a wrong turn and road a total of 12 miles out of the way - crappy), got back on track and headed over to Cathlamet where I planned to stay the night. Back on the hills again. Hills, hills. I still hadn't quite figured them out and was wiped out by the time I got to town. But it was around 4 pm and I decided to take the ferry over to Westport, OR (just three days to OR!) to get a good start in the morning.

Here is a picture of the ferry crossing the Columbia river from Puget Island to Westport, OR.

And here is a picture of me with my rig (home on wheels) on the ferry.

The problem was that Westport has no camping and the hotel (which is gross) had no vacancy. But as luck would have it, I met a nice guy on the ferry who offered to let me set up my tent in this front yard. It was the perfect spot - completely level and I was so tired that I could sleep anywhere anyway. And like clockwork, I was out at 9 pm.

Day #2 BL, AL (Elma to Toledo)

My life has become a lot more simple (not that it was that complicated before) in that I really don't have to make many decisions. Only two decisions a day - they split my day in half. The BL decisions and the AL decisions. Before lunch/After lunch. The BL half of my day today has taken me from Elma to Centralia, maybe 30 miles? And the AL portion will be relaxed leaving me in Lewis and Clark state park (maybe 20 or 25 more miles). Right now I'm taking a short break and hanging out at the Centralia historic library. Riding into this town I was amazed that it smelled of donuts everywhere. Donuts, donuts! Where can I get some? I never found any, which was fine. Maybe it was just my imagination. Or my stomach's imagination.

BL I rode along remote country roads, didn't get lost, followed my map, figured out directions (see, I'm so proud of myself for this), was chased by a big dog (lots of bark, no bite), was cheered on by two locals as I passed, and haven't been rained on yet. Yay! I wish that there were people cheering me on in every town, but at least every one has been really friendly. I ate at a biker cafe for lunch (not my type of biker, the other one) and had a big chocolate shake. Mmmmm...except that I wasn't hungry for my sandwich after that so maybe that's a lesson. No more ice cream for awhile. I think I can live with that.

Maybe tonight I'll meet some fellow bikers. I haven't seen any on the road yet, but maybe it's too early in the season. To me it feels pretty perfect.

Day #1 Seattle to Elma, WA

This morning when I woke up one of the first things I thought to
myself was "why am I doing this?" Not in the way of "oh man this is
tough" (it is, but I didn't know that yet), but just WHY. And then
after pedaling the first 3 miles on my bike I realized that the WHY
doesn't matter at all - I have an answer. Because it feels like the
right thing to do.

So the day started with a ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton. Upon
landing in Bremerton I deviated a bit from my map (the "scenic" aka
got lost route), but it didn't slow me down and I got to ride along
the Hood Canal for 25 miles. After 10 miles up hill to Shelton it was
time for lunch! I found this cool cafe, pretty much the only one in
Shelton and ate. Then of course after leaving and riding 4 miles out
of town I realized that I had forgotten my water bottles on the table
and had to ride back. Argh!!!

The ride from Shelton to Elma was rougher than the ride from Bremerton
to Shelton. Probably because I was getting tired. And there were
lots of hills. But I made it! And now I'm here at the Gray's Harbor
hostel trying to find my camera (please don't be lost!!) and surving
on their dial up connection (so pictures wouldn't upload anyway).
Tomorrow is a new day. Man, I am beat! It's time for bed. I should
say though - it feels really good to have accomplished my goal today.
Tomorrow I'll be without internet so an update will have to come in a
few days. Yay!!!

Starting in Seattle!

After a flawless airplane ride (somewhat renewing my faith in planes NOT crashing) and a great two hour conversation with a nice lady from Boulder, I landed in Seattle to be greeted by my good friend Laura. She had scored a luggage cart in the parking lot. And it was a good thing! You saw my pile of stuff. I won't even go into how I managed to manuver all of those boxes from the RTD bus at DIA to the Frontier check-in. Just know that I succeeded.

Laura lives in this great house on the "beach" in West Seattle. And she works at Seattle Grace Hospital. Anyone know that reference?? Sure you do!

After a walk down the beach strip when ended up at Coyote Cantina Mexican restaurant which has the best tamale's I've had in Seattle.

This morning we got up fairly early and started our day long tour of Seattle. We went to Price Place Market, watched the guys at the fish stand throw fish into the crowd, took a picture of the first Starbucks ever (established in 1971), walked around looking at a bunch of stuff, paid $0.50 to have our fortunes taken at a vending genie, and smelled the great clean cool Seattle air.

I have a bunch of pictures, but for some reason this computer and free wireless connection are not cooperating. So I'll have to wait until later to upload them.

Tonight we're meeting up with Katie who moved here from St. Louis recently, to go for some good Thai food. Then tomorrow morning (very early - 5 am) I am getting up to take the bus to the Washington State Ferry that will take me from Seattle to Bremerton where my ride begins. I'm a bit anxious anticipating the start, and it's exciting to know that the whole trip is ahead of me at this point.

Wish me luck!!!

Ready

Things I will miss over the next two months

Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Cruising on Thursdays. Dressing up and having dance parties. This is one of the many things that makes Boulder such a fun place to live. Let's see if I can find some other cruiser rides as I cruise down the coast.

As far as I roam, I am pretty sure that there is no better Happy Thursday ride than the one we've got right here at home.

Travel Update

It turns out that while gas is $3.10 a gallon, it only costs $115 to fly one way from Denver to Seattle. And then add $50 for a bike. That's pretty awesome! So a change of plans - I am now flying to Seattle on May 22nd to meet up with Laura and hang out for a few days (maybe she can give me a tour of Seattle Grace Hospital - if there is such a thing) before starting my ride. Wahoo!! I can't wait!

In other news... I attached the BOB (trailer) to my bike for the first time last weekend and must report that it was a smooth ride. Much better than I'd expected. I think that not bringing food and cooking supplies really cuts down on the weight. My bag weighed in at 19 pounds - pretty close to what I was expecting (hoping). The only real difference with carrying the trailer (other than the slight additional weight - I know, just wait until I climb a serious hill - that will be later this week) is that you have to balance a little bit more. I'll attach a picture as soon a I have some one take one.

Until my departure date I have many things to do here in Boulder including mountain biking, riding with my BOB, riding on my cruiser around town, the Thursday cruiser ride, and going to Moab. That's pretty much my schedule. Not too shabby. Summer is here in Boulder!

Go Goonies!

Although I might be getting ahead of myself, here is a little bit of trip trivia. Once highway 101 end in Washington I will be taking a ferry over to Astoria, Oregon. Apparently Astoria is a pretty big deal. It's beautiful, scenic, etc. In every picture I see (yes, I've been researching each of these towns when I have the time) there is a low fog hovering over everything. Have you ever seen a movie in which all of the landscape seems to have a similar low fog? Maybe something with bad guys and pirates? A movie with buried treasure and secrets and rocky road ice cream and all of the things that are fantastic and make for a fantabulous movie? Are we thinking the same thing? Goonies! Yes, Astoria Oregon was the location where the movie Goonies was filmed. I might have to spend an extra day here hanging out with Willie and filling my socks with gold coins so I can afford to send you all post cards. I can't wait.