Day 13: Newport to Florence

Thursday, June 12 - one of the best days ever... not just of the trip, but of my life. It was super!

- I stopped to take a photograph of the most beautiful view ever. That is, until roughly 40 feet down the road, where that was the most beautiful view ever.

- I had a great talk with Jackie, one of the riders, about how I'm different on the road (chill) than in camp (stressed). I had a few breakthroughs about who I've been and things are so much easier now. Thanks Jackie from New York.

- Rode with Anna and Kamilla for part of the day. We stopped for lunch at Perpetua Bay for a hotdog and soda. I felt so free afterwards I left and launched down the big hill without my hydrapack. The wonderful thing about that is it wasn’t too hard to go back up it to get the bag.

- We hit sanddunes in Florence. The first ones were seen behind the Fred Meyer. More importantly, inside Fred Meyer were stocked speakers… speakers to which one can attach an ipod. (we're not allowed to wear headphones) Tunes…so Kamilla and I rode the 30 blocks with a heaven-sent tail wind to the bike shop to buy and attach a handlebar bag, and then back the 30 blocks into an evil headwind. Thank God for Kamilla, who knew what tools to use. She's super.

- We stayed at the United Baptist Church with its carpeted gym floor. The pastor’s daughter is in culinary school. She bought and prepared 12 lbs of tofu as part of a vegan / vegetarian / chicken Asian feast. At that dinner I learned that in the summertime the wind comes from the North. That was a good dinner. In the morning we had vegan breakfast wraps, gingerbread pancakes, eggs and other goodies. We keep meeting the most amazing people.

- Ben and I hid in a separate part of the church to avoid the snorers.

Day 12: Cape Lookout to Newport

Wednesday, June 11

Rubican’s Crossing. What a difference a day makes. The day started out misty, though not cloudy. The Oregon mists dissipated revealing a strange brightness and colour. It was the sun, you see. We hadn’t in a while. There were three long hills, but they were manageable. The only downer on the day was that my left knee started rubbing a bit. This was a direct result of the fact that not two days earlier I had boasted about my pain-free body. By the time we hit lunch at the 43 mile mark, it was swollen and hurt to peddle with. I gorged on a couple of wraps and chocolate, put my bike on the back of the van and spent the last 20 miles in it. We were looking for a small bike shop where the nice staff were apparently going to show us to a patch of a grass they knew where we could pitch our tents. What we found was a brand-new, large and bright bike shop run by a lovely couple and surrounded by its many regulars. The Newport bike shop – owned by Elliot and Daniella and their son - has a lounge with a TV and wireless internet, to say nothing of the awesome inventory. Kamilla got her bike fixed and everyone who wanted it had a chance to get a coffee. The bike club then led us through the touristy streets of Newport – which we completely took over - to our campsite: a small marina outside of town. Dinner, pasta paid for and prepared by the bike club, was waiting for us. The best part of it was that we had an informal presentation about microcredit and at least half a dozen riders spontaneously contributed. Our hosts didn’t really know who we were or what we’re riding for, only that we are a bunch of young cyclists looking for a place to stay. They learned about microcredit, and we learned about blind generosity. That was a good meal. Oh, and it didn’t rain.

Dinner was provided by the bike club from Newport Bikes, but our camping was donated by a friend of theirs. The owner of the marina, Dion, had been telling Daniella how he wants to give back to society, to do something to help. She got the email from Global Agents for Change the next day and called him up. He offered us free camping on his land, unlimited use of the computer in his store, the use of his showers, and best of all, the use of his inventory. When the stars came out a bunch of us – all over 21, of course – went down to the dock to listen to the water and try several of Oregon’s microbrews. I really like the Porter. Dion came down and talked to us about the Orcas and Seals that live in the bay, while Isaac – under 21 so a tactful distance away – played his clarinet on the dock while the water rushed below it. After some good beer, conversation and music, I quietly escaped back to the tent and crawled into bed. Natalie joined me a short time thereafter and we (almost) finished Crash. The computer died again just before the end, but she got the gist of it. I slept very that night.

Day 11: Day off in Cape Lookout

Tuesday, June 10

More rain and cold. I missed half of it, though, as I slept until almost noon, for a record-breaking session of 14 hours of sleep. The first group to borrow the van for a laundry trip into town had assembled and was preparing to go. They didn’t return for five hours, during which time we got kicked out of the meeting hall. Suddenly my egalitarian sentiments waned and the $66 for a deluxe cabin with a power outlet for my computer looked tempting. Natalie and I lay curled up in our sleeping bags in the damp tent waiting for the others to return with the van and a promise of a trip into town for us as well. We huddled around my computer to watch Crash, until the battery died, which on my ancient machine took about 25 minutes. The van eventually did return, however, and we loaded up group two – though some had to stay behind – thanks Bronwyn – to head into the tiny town of Tillamook. While most had laundry to do, I was still relatively dry from my escape to the Holiday Inn. I went straight to Safeway for some hot (and terrible) Chinese food and a coffee, then over to the public library to poach the wi-fi. I had about 45 minutes to reply to emails and try to write. I emailed John asking if he’d still love me if I came home. Then it was back in the van (loaded with chocolate) to head back to camp.

When John emailed me back a couple of days later, he had this advice that he got from his father: “Life can be so much fun if you let it.”

Day 10: Nahelem Bay to Cape Lookout State Park

Monday June 9

65.5 miles

John left and took the sunshine. We woke up to the rain, and left in two groups to a breakfast paid for by Father Paul. As the first group sat down, the heavens opened and the rain became a downpour. I donned my new booties and helmet cover and slogged it out to Tillamook, where we hid from the deluge for a couple of hours in the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Most ate immoral amounts of ice cream; I ate an offensively large sorbet sundae. There was also cheese. A lot of cheese. People had grilled cheese sandwiches and clam chowder. IT was pretty much a dairy free for all, which was great for the people who aren’t lactarded or vegan…. Which is a fair bunch of the group. You can also go up to the second floor of the factory and look through glass windows onto the factory floor to watch the Oompalumpas cut and wrap the cheese. We chatted with the kind lady with the feathered bangs at the Chamber of Commerce. She had computers with internet that we traded off until closing like a 4 x 100 relay. I stopped at the bike shop in town to buy a front light and then popped across the road to get a bottle of Islay scotch for $23. The price of booze alone might be enough to get me to move to the States. After getting over the fact that we were camping in the rain again and had to spend our day off in a rainy campsite, we got on our bikes to head to bed. Whiskey Creek road was unexpectedly picturesque with lovely homes and rolling hills, save for the occasional road-side clearcut. After getting the van and trailer wedged in a tight parking lot and nearly getting blown into the ocean at our beach-front campsite, Karen and Jackie were wonderful and negotiated the use of the meeting hall for the night. It provided a dry place to park our bikes and store our bags, if not to sleep. It also boasted a stove and a dangerously powerful heater. I ran over to the campsite to lay out my bag and the heavens opened again. I swore at God, then turned back to lay the bag in front of said heater to dry. Again.

Day 9: Seaside to Nahelem Bay

Sunday June 8

24 miles, though I rode it in John's van, affectionately called Gerty (short for Gertrude). We had the best coffee ever at Cannon Beach, where we checked out local birds and sea life. It was the first sunny day since we left Vancouver and a perfect (and short) day to skip the ride.

We camped at Nahelem Bay that night. The tragedy of saying goodbye to our men was somewhat alieviated by the fact that we met the greatest Iranian couple. Nassim and Jaffar left Iran for the first time in their lives to bike around the world planting trees and talking about peace. They gave us a presentation about Iran on a sheet strung up between trees in the campground. More about them later, as we've seen them on and off ever since and they're riding with us now until San Fran. Yummy Iranian food and great conversation. I like them. A lot.

Day 8: Bay Centre, WA to Seaside, OR

Saturday, June 7

64.5 miles (103 km)

We left Washington and entered Oregon, a border we hoped would separate us from our first state and the rain. It did not. It rained on and off all day, but was mostly cloudy, which was a nice break from the downpour. The crossing into state #2 was pretty impressive. After a brief snack break on the WA side, we crossed a 0.9 mile long (just under 1 and a half km) bridge to Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is a pretty great little town for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's where The Goonies was filmed. It's a colourful coastal town with three bike shops and the best cafe ever. As we'd ridden 40 miles to town, the Blue Sorcerer bakery gave us 40% off our lunch. We gorged. They observe the 100 mile rule (every ingredient from within 100 miles, and are biker-friendly). The food also tasted divine.

We sort of took over the place though, and the local fifty-something guy at the table beside me looked a bit overwhelmed. I thought he might be a fisherman, and I suspected he was annoyed with the large and loud group in the green jerseys. Natalie started chatting with this man, Dave Crane from Coos Bay. He asked about microcredit and GAFC. As he left he handed her $20. Natalie mentioned where he was from, a place where we hadn't set up accommodation yet. Emma ran after Dave Crane and his friend, Garth. Garth offered us a place to stay in nearby Coquille at his friend Becky’s place. People are unexpectedly accommodating and curious and generally super.

We left lunch to find a great bike shop that lent us their air blower to clean off our bikes. I also got a pair of riding glasses, as my Ray Bans were getting thrashed with all the rain and grit from passing semis. The sun came out and we biked along a paved bike route and then smaller road suggested by the locals almost all the way into Seaside. I had someone waiting for me there. I biked quickly.

Our small community centre in Seaside turned out to be a large youth centre, complete with flat-screen TV, yoga mats, a pool, hot tub and plenty of room to spread out. I skipped the pool in favor of a shower and waited impatiently for John and Natalie's boyfriend, Mark, to show up. Natalie was more nervous than a five-year old before Christmas, standing at the window staring down the road, biting her nails.

It turns out the guys got stuck at Peace Arch so drove to another crossing and were about three hours behind schedule. I'd given them the community centre address, so decided to hang out in the empty lot between the that and the youth centre in case they rocked up to an empty building. The empty lot, it turns out, was not empty. A group of Girl Scouts were making Smoores. After explaining the van I was looking for, I hung out with them for about half an hour, talking about school and boys and camping. At one point, a particularly enthusiastic girl was telling me an animated story about something-or-other when another of the girls said, "is that them?" Without letting little girl #1 finish her sentence, I turned around and ran away from her, ipod shuffle trailing in the dirt as I launched across the road and into the opening door of John's van. It was a very good think John was driving and not Mark. Awkward.

Mark did the ride last year, so he chatted with some of this year's riders while John changed my brake pads on the sidewalk before the four of us took off. Seaside was the perfect place to meet up... on the Pacific, it's a nice little tourist town. We walked along the beach and ate seafood and caught up. It was nice.

I'm pretty sure we weren't missed as the other riders took full advantage of the pool and hot tub.

Day 7: McLeary to Bay Centre and it’s still pissing.

About 60 miles (100 km).

We finally saw the coast today, though in gray glimpses. It started off wet and windy, but cleared up for the end of the day. We didn't know how long the ride was as our directions had distances as specific as "far" and "shorter." Most stretches lent towards the former. There were also hills. The end of the day was tiring, but scenic along a windy flat road into a headwind. The road itself is edged with huge piles of seashells from the fishing industry in the town. We stayed in the tiny United Methodist Church, literally sleeping on the pews. The church advertised a presentation of ours, which I missed entirely as I was so far behind the lead.

It was great to arrive, though, as we had a hose to wash the mud off our bikes and cell phone reception. I called John (the boyfriend). It was a Friday. He asked if I might be interested in a Saturday night dinner date.... other riders are still making fun of me for my reaction. I could have slept in a puddle that night with a big smile on my face. :) He promised to collect any other Vancouver-area boyfriends and some raingear and drive down to meet us in Seaside, Oregon. Woo hoo! We had a long and rather painful group conversation about consensus and whether we should have to come to consensus about group decisions and which ones should require consensus and whether we had consensus about the consensus conversation. I'm not sure what we agreed on. My suspicion that benevolent dictatorships are the only efficient forms of government strengthened. We were all super tired, but I had that stupid grin on my face to get me through it.

I woke up the next morning - still smiling - to a breakfast prepared by the lovely women of the church, which included local Elk sausage and three kinds of breakfast casserole, one meat, one vegetarian and one vegan. We were duly impressed. The best part of Bay Center, though, has to be the two-and-a-half year old boys ripping around on their battery powered ATVs. Hilarious. People rock.