RIDE INTERRUPTED/ To Be Continued in 2016

When we were 2.7 miles from our hotel in North Bend, OR for the day, we stopped to photograph the bridge we were going to cross. We rode on and when we crested the hill, a truck weaved and the back of the boat trailer being pulled, clipped me. The driver stopped to tell Alice and Mary that I was down and he called 911.

My left clavicle bone that in broken into 4 pieces. I have bruised ribs, lots of road rash, and I am typing one fingered on my iPhone because the thumb on my right hand is sprained.

Alice and Mary took excellent care of me at the scene, along with a politician of local note who was on the scene immediately. Parameducs and the Coos Bay hospital staff were all excellent. Mark drove 950 miles RT yesterday to pick us all up. Mary and Alice helped with the drive home because the long distance drive/ride was difficult on his 1 month post-op knee replacement surgery.

I encouraged Alice and Mary to continue the adventure  but they decided to stop, with the idea we will all continue the journey in 2016. We really were having a great time. We travel well together. We are all hugely disappointed.

We have been traveling on a budget and Mary and Alice think I did this to get out of staying "in the worst motel ever." They thought the hospital was 5 star accommodations next to theirs. I don't think so! The next time that I stay in a dive, I will remember that it is far better than a sterile, new hospital room with 24 hour care ;)

I'm sorry to have ended our journey on this low note. We have set our minds on continuing it when we all feel ready. Until then, please drive and Bike safely.

1/4 Of The Way

1/4th of the way! We marked the spot right here where we saw dozens of sea lions frolicking and heard them barking. Thanks to two nice professional photographers shooting here, we got to see the sea lions and a giant jellyfish up close through a giant telescope. They helped with this celebratory photo, representing the event. Any third grader will undoubtedly notice, however, that the slash between the 1 and the 4 is at the wrong angle. Crazy like us! The cook at the golf course grill where we enjoyed soup yesterday, asked if we were "riding for a cause or just crazy?" Since we aren't riding for a cause, I guess we are just crazy :/

I had a message from Earl's wife, Tammy, this morning. She said she was glad that we had fun with Earl, but please send him home. Thanks for all of your support Earl. We really enjoyed your company. We are just wondering how you managed to drive the route each day and still ride as many miles as we did. Part of that was these stellar views. We just had to keep stopping. Today's ride was spectacular!

Tonight we are in Florence, OR and our host, Danny, is a friend of Mary's.  Mary's husband, Steve, used to play golf with Danny in Seattle, but Danny moved to Florence 4 years ago. He prepared an amazing meal with Indian and Asian influences. The Albacore filet was caught right here in the ocean this morning. This was followed by a fruit crisp for dessert with apples and berries straight from his yard, topped with local Tillamook ice cream. It was all served in these cute lacquered Bento boxes. 

WEEK 2

STELLAR OREGON COAST VIEWS!

LOTS OF HILLS!

GOURMET DINNER SERVED BY, EARL, OUR DOMESTIQUE!
(Prepared with the use of the mobile kitchen and cooler in the back of his car and the hotel microwave. Very creative.)

FEELING CLEVER THAT WE ESCAPED THE RAIN :)
(We dawdled over breakfast and it ended.. )

CLEANED OUR BIKES FOR TOMORROW

LOOKING FORWARD TO DRY DAYS FOR AWHILE

SEARCHING FOR A TAILWIND

Friend and Food

Look who we found on the side of the road in Seaside! Actually, my friend Earl from Portland dropped in to ride with us. Not only that, he brought wine and food and cooked a gourmet dinner and breakfast for us in Rockaway Beach.

Today we decided that we had committed to BIKING every inch but we certainly didn't care if we carried 50 extra pounds every inch. We gladly placed some of our gear in Earl's car. He joined us for the ride to Tillamook where he turned around to bike back and get his car. He bounced forward to Pacific City, our destination for today, and then rode back to meet us again. This way he spent half his miles riding his style, FAST. The other half he Dilly-Dollied along with us and I'm sure he wonders how we are ever going to reach Mexico if we keep stopping to take pictures, smell the roses, eat, fiddle with things and change tires...

Yes, I had the dubious honor of getting the first flat of the trip. Not only was it flat, but the tire itself had a big slash in it. Of course my foldable tire was lounging peacefully in Earl's car. Alice saved the day by giving me her new foldable tire to use. It was Alice's excellent suggestion that we each bring an extra tire on the trip. Thank you Alice!

Oregon has some tunnels on the route. There is a system where the cyclist pushes a button to activate a signal to drivers that cyclists are in the tunnel. This was the first tunnel and I admit to being a bit nervous. I dislike tunnels because I generally can't see well in them. This was extremely well lit and the cars that passed were careful and courteous. Good system Oregon. I gave it one thumb up. It would have been two this up for a separated bike lane.

After only six hours in Pacific City, we have already eaten in three separate restaurants. Right after showers, we went to a brew pub where we had bowls of clam chowder and local beers. This was followed by a trip to the laundromat and while we waited for the laundry, we had hot tea and cookies. This became a planning session for tomorrow. We settled on a destination and booked a room. We took about an hour rest before we walked down the street to a recommended bar for ling cod caught right out in the bay today and pork ribs that had simmered on site all day. The food was wonderful!

It's time to head to bed so we can get up for our first breakfast!

Travel Safely

Today's ride was 56 miles to Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast. We hit some rain the last two hours so arrived a bit bedraggled. There is lots more to tell but I'm saving it for tomorrow.

All of our loving family and friends  have expressed concern for our safety and we don't take that lightly. We wear bright clothes, use lights and ride as carefully as we can. The reality is that most accidents happen close to home. Unfortunately, my brother just had a car accident on his way to work and is in the hospital. My thoughts are with him and I hope he recovers quickly. Sending love and best wishes to you, Leo.

Everyone please drive and cycle safely. We appreciate your concerns and wish safe travels to all of you as well.

OREGON!!!

One state down, two to go! We crossed the 4 mile bridge to Astoria, Oregon today. Happily, the traffic was light, drivers polite and the cross winds were pretty tame.

We toured Astoria on foot. This cross cut of a fir tree was over 600 years old. The trash cans are decorated like cans of tuna and salmon. There were a lot of intriguing homes and well preserved old buildings to admire.

We ended the day with dinner at a local brew pub. Nice and quiet with great food. 

Pampered Peddlers in South Bend

Our morning began with espresso, bagels, cream cheese and conversation with the young barista's Mom who came to watch her daughter work. We didn't roll out of Elma until 10 am. when we headed directly into our first strong headwind. Fortunately, I was feeling more comfortable today with the unwieldy load on my bike since it was a day for drafting. On the first three days, I had just wanted to be "in my bubble." I was uncomfortable with the way my beast of a bike was handling and I didn't want anyone near if I did something unexpected. Today, though, was a day for team effort as we took turns leading, the charge into the wind.

Next stop was at my friend Sue"s "Just  Beachy" store of eclectic vintage collectibles in Raymond, WA. In the foreground of the shop is one of the many metal sculptures which line the highway in the Raymond/South Beach areas. We continued on to South Beach to her amazing Victorian home which sits on a bluff overlooking the Willapa River. A 13% grade hill of several blocks stood between us and her home but we managed to haul ourselves up. 

Of course we stopped for wine to bring to dinner. There was no room in the panniers so I found an alternative location to carry the bottle. 

Sue really knows how to make cyclists feel at home. We arrived to appetizers of fresh fruits, cheeses, crackers and cider. After showers we moved on to Pasta Primavera and salad. Dessert was Klondike Bars with fresh raspberries and Irish Cream. It was a wonderful evening of food and friendship!

 

Local Knowledge is Best

With all of our various guidebooks and maps, we thought the only way to get from Hoodsport to Elma was straight down noisy, hilly Hwy 101. That was until our host Leo at the Creekside Inn asked if we'd like to try a flat, scenic, slightly longer route. It was well worth the extra miles. What a lovely ride! Here, Mary and Alice are capturing one of the sights.

One of these could be your Christmas tree this year:

In our attempt to replenish calories burned, we ate pie a la mode at two different restaurants today. Neither came close to the taste and presentation at The Halfway House Cafe yesterday. We may need to keep looking for one that's better all the way down the coast :)

Tonight we are in a Youth Hostel in Elma, WA. This is the first time I have stayed in a hostel. It is clean and the proprietor and other guests are friendly. The owner drove us to the Rusty Tractor Restaurant for dinner and we walked the mile back. He operates an 18 hole frisbee golf course and lets guests play for free. It was a nice offer but we figured we'd had our exercise for the day. There are three other cyclists here. A married couple on a tandem Are just completing their cross country trip. They are moving from Baltimore to Seattle for her to attend graduate school at the UW. Another man from New Mexico is heading to San Diego as well. He is mostly camping and carrying a lot of gear on his 30 lb. bike. Bike and gear weigh over 100 lbs. He started in Vancouver BC with the partner he had found online (because his wife doesn't like him traveling alone.) The other man only lasted 1 1/2 days before he quit because it was too hilly. It was fun talking to the other cyclists and sharing route info. We are looking forward to staying in more hostels and eating more pie.

Overpacked and Ready to Roll

We rose at 6 am for our 7 am start and  we finally rolled out at 8:11 am. After weeks of packing and repacking our panniers, the decisions were made and we weighed in. Mary's bike and gear were just 50 lbs. Alice was quite close at 51 lbs. which represented a determined light weight approach because Alice has a steel frame which outweighs Mary's lighter weight bike.  Overloaded Leilani was the winner (?) of the battle of the bikes, tipping the scales at 65 lbs. to haul up and down the hills. What can I say? Big people require a big bike, big shoes and big clothes!

We biked 68 miles to Hoodsport on Hood Canal, enjoying blue skies, favorable temperatures in the 70s, stellar views, polite drivers and mostly good shoulders. We did not enjoy the more traficked sections of Hwy 101 which were noisy and even though the drivers were careful, it was sometimes a tight squeeze on the narrow, windy road. Because of this, we will probably go 20 extra miles tomorrow to enjoy a quieter route.

Imagine our surprise when Mark showed up, taking photos as we cruised down a hill 55 miles into our ride. Because the Hood Canal Bridge was closed for 5 hours, he was forced to detour onto our route. He found us on his Find My Friend app that I installed on his phone. At first we thought he was the paparazzi, but when we recognized him, we turned around to say Hi.

We enjoyed a power lunch of a small cup of soup with a giant hot pie, a la mode chaser in Brinnon at the Halfway House Cafe. Halfway to what we aren't sure, but we are definitely not halfway to Mexico. 

My good friend Greg who lives in Hoosport was kind enough to take us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Union. We enjoyed his company, the drive and the fact that we could dine outside on the deck with no wind in September. Thanks Greg!

Ceremonial Start

Border 2 Border 2015. Canada to Mexico. We started at the border crossing in Port Angeles this morning. Here at the Blackball Ferry Dock, you can see us with our best fans. Mark and Leilani. Jerry and Alice. Steve and Mary. Flying behind us are the Black Ball, American and Canadian Flags. Taking the photo is Alice and Jerry's son Greg who is visiting from Sweden and came to see us off as well.

After the ceremonial start and photo session, we three ladies biked back to my house in Sequim...23 miles. It was a glorious start to our trip and we enjoyed flying along, feeling fast and light with a slight tailwind and no panniers.

We have planned this trip for almost 2 years. During that time, both Alice and Mary retired from their jobs. I am still working as a flight attendant but am taking vacation days. Plans are very flexible but we intend to arrive at the Mexican border in 5-6 weeks.

We are high school friends. Mercer Island High School, class of 1969. We have cycled together for a couple of decades while working and raising our families. The time has come for our epic journey!