Saturday, February 23, 2013

Inclement Weather


It's been an interesting week. In Astoria brother and I made the call to start our trip late and make it short. The weather foretold of much rain and wind. It isn't the rain I mind, but the wind. The wind is what could toss me in front of a steel-wheeled machine moving horribly fast, so safety first, right? After all, that's why I've got all the bright pink gear and flashing lights.

It is to keep the night sweats away! Salt on everything!
We stayed over in Cannon Beach, then the next day brother and I back tracked up to Seaside, OR so I could stay in the only hostel within biking distance. That was our last day of this trip together. A sad thing for sure. It's been so much fun hanging out with Ben. We get along really well and traveling together proved to be comical and entertaining. A blast is what some people may call our time together.

I've been waiting out wind and rain here in Seaside. I stayed in a quiet hostel (alone in a 6 person dorm room) on the first night. No complaints! It was a pretty good deal. My bags dried out, though everything is filthy. Covered in road muck, as is my bike. Feels like actual street cred. Ha! Last night and tonight I'm Couchsurfing. I've got a very generous host who has a large home and many beds!

It's been a challenge to wait and make plans, instead of just jumping on my bike and riding. Despite how much I disdain saying this, a little planning can go a long way. So, I've taken advantage of this inclement weather and have gotten stops and couches set up through Oregon. Should be in California by the end of the week!



Bright and early I'll get back on the road! Until tomorrow, I'll enjoy my mistress, the ocean. She sure is mighty this week.

Feels good. It feels real good.
Sea foam. I for one have never seen green sea foam, by the way.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Day 1 & 2: Let the Wild Rompus Begin!

Day 1: Anderson Island to Centralia. I mean Chehalis. No, actually Centralia.

Yesterday I woke up at my parents house on Anderson Island, WA. Tonight I am sitting in hotel in Astoria, OR. And I made it here by the power of my own legs... and the help of a few strangers.

Little brother and I began our trip with a few hills. Mostly flat after the first handful of miles. A few wrong turns in Lacey and a flat tire is how we things went the first half of yesterdays trip. Oops. As luck would have it my flat tire happened within walking distance from a rad little bike shop called "joy ride BIKES" and they had us on our way in no time.
We proceeded south and had a smooth ride into Chehalis. By then it was getting dark and we found out that our couchsurfing host actually lived in Centralia. So at the end of our first day, we had biked 5 miles south of where we needed to me. Of course it had all been down hill, so we turned around and headed back to Centralia. Phew. We arrived to our home for the night and were welcomed by a friendly couple who had a warm, cozy home with homemade bologanese sauce simmering on the stove. We drank water and enjoyed a warm and delicious home cooked meal. It was perfect. We were exhausted. It took no time to settle in for the night, as we felt so welcomed and comfortable. Thanks, Charli! During a conversation in the morning, both brother and I found ourselves to have been defrosting throughout the night- we both battled being really cold and sweating under comforters. Biking in the evening is turning out to be more cold than we realize when we're in it.

Day 2: Chehalis to Astoria, via Ryderwood.

Surprisingly day two proved to really kick our asses. And we thought day one was a testament to our will. Day started off well enough, but at about 20 miles in we took a wrong turn 7 miles in the wrong direction. Only to realize this because we arrived in Ryderwood. A town where there is literally only one road in. A we were at the very end of it. Exhausted and frustrated because we had a rather ambitious goal of getting to Astoria by the end of the day.
Enter Bill and Bella. A little dog named Bella came up to us as we sat, lamenting our decision to "just ride" instead of checking maps. Bella's owner Bill followed suit and asked us what we were doing in Ryderwood. We explained our situation, he asked if we were going to ride all the way back and I responded with a "Yeah, unless you know someone who wants to give us a ride back to our turn off." He answered with a genuine "I can drive you, I've got a minivan." And in no time we had our bikes in Bill's van and were headed back in the right direction, making up for lost time.
We learned from Bill that Ryderwood is a 55+ only community with about 450 residents. He is the pastor of the only church in town. This is where we cheated. And I'm very proud of that decision. We got dropped off in Longview. We shaved off 30 miles of our trip, but got back on schedule. Bill was really kind, he even bought us coffee before we parted ways. He saved the day, truly. Because we still had 50 miles to cover. And if you add in the wrong turns of the morning, we had already biked about 15 around in circles or into dead ends.
We proceeded on to find many hills. Some at a 6% grade for one, two, three miles. We were doing pretty good until it was dark. Sore, exhausted and sweaty, but good. But the dark (brings much colder temperatures) and with many hills at the end of the ride, we almost hit the wall. Almost. It was close. A gas station burrito, water, water, a whole bag of funyuns later and we were about 5% better. Finally we arrived in Astoria. Yes, that's right, we're in Astoria and I couldn't be more happy about that. When I stood under the hot shower in our hotel, I wiped my face off with a white cloth to watch it turn grey. Covered in truck soot and all kinds of road grime. That can't be good. Ha!

Lessons learned - don't set the goal so high. Yeah, yeah, I know. But seriously, tomorrow is leisure day. I'll be happy with 30 miles down the road tomorrow. Another lesson learned - don't look up when you're biking up a hill. Especially when they last for 3 miles. Hunker down, look at the road and do that as long you possibly can. Hills hurt.

A lot of good those directions did.

Tally ho!