Oregon Coast

Delayed post....

87 to Waldport Saturday 7/24
99 to Sunset Bay Sunday 7/25

Apparently I'm having a hard time slowing IT down. I tried, I really
did. 2 farmers markets, a lighthouse detour, several photo opps, and
lots of conversation with other cyclists. AT this point, its hard to
not go AT the pace I've been going AT since May 9th when I said
goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean. I'm camped in a state park hiker/biker
site where all of the other rides, about a dozen, are following some
pacific coast route book that only has them going 50-60 miles/day. If
I double their mileage, I'll see a whole new group tomorrow night!
Hopefully I won't have to go that far.

The guy who made my smoothie was giving me a serious warning about the
hill I was about to climb. He said they have a hospital on the other
side of IT for those unlucky cyclists that don't make IT. I assured
him that I'd be fine and I had probably seen a little worse. When he
asked where I was coming from, I replied "the Atlantic Coast." foot in
mouth.... His perception regarding my ability instantly changed. It's
a good feeling and quite a contrast to what we experienced in the
East. People used to ask where we were going and just reply with a
"good luck" in a tone that AT least felt sarcastic.... I don't know if
IT actually was or not. Perception is everything.

Break... Next day...

Sitting in a coffee shop in a fishing town. IT is COLD out here! While
east coasters are complaining about the heat, I am waking up and
seeing my breathe. It's only warmin up to the low 60's and staying
misty most of the day. Even though it's in the 60's, IT feels like the
40's when you are AT cruising speed.

The 3 Canadian boys AT camp didn't make IT but a mile out of camp when
one of their spokes broke. Apparently they were waiting for me and
hoping I could shed some light on their bleak situation. He had no
idea what the problem was; he thought he had a bent rim. I told him to
disengage his brakes and roll down to the store so we could get some
coffee while we worked on IT. IT became apparent very quickly that
these kids didn't know the first thing about bikes. Unfortunately the
broken spoke was on the driveside. This meant that the cassette had to
be taken off to replace IT. Fortunately for them I had a cassette
tool. The only thing I was missing was a crescent wrench which we
borrowed from the store and a chain whip. In a pinch, you'll make IT
work. I had a spare chain that served as a chainwhip. IT was work for
him to hold the chain taunt while I turned the cassette tool but we
finally got IT. He was overjoyed when we had him fixed up and ready to
ride within 30 minutes. What a joy, felt nice being able to help
another cyclist. Lucky for them they are on a well traveled road. Had
they been in Nebraska they would have been twiddling their thumbs.

Looks like the sun is finally making it's afternoon showing. Time to
crank out 50 more miles or so.

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