Friday, May 30, 2014

day 18: sunset beach state park to humbug mountain state park

it wasn't a fairytale...more like a movie scene straight out of pirates of the caribbean, renamed pirates of the oregon coast. the sun setting, orca whales swimming by and a couple of sea lions playing around near the shore. i couldn't believe what i was participating in tonight!
it was such a treat, especially after a strong riding day of 57 miles and a lot of climbing and rolling hills. we are getting so much stronger and, i am actually preferring climbs. surprising, huh? they are really satisfying to get up and then whizz down.
but even though we had a strong day, my body has started to feel some aches. i started feeling my right leg tighten up (glutes, hamstrings, & itb were all pulling), so my knee was starting to hurt. then my right shoulder started up. i took aleve to help with any inflammation and started stretching, but i'll have to see what they have to say tomorrow. 

oh! a number of exciting things happened today:
1) we actually got packed up and left our campsite 15 minutes earlier than usual.
(this guy was on my bag this morning. after this photo, i flicked it off with a stick. boing!!)
2) we got to camp early!
3) we serendipitously met up with sheila six miles outside of camp, so we all rode in together. it was our first time being a posse! 
4) then we turned a corner and all gasped at the same time when we saw the ocean, just south of port orford. WOW!!!!
5) we had an awesome potluck dinner and FINALLY finished up our heavy bag of dehydrated black bean soup. we've been lugging that thing around trying to eat it down. never again.
6) while finishing up dinner, michael and meredith rolled into the hiker/biker site! wow!!! it was completely shocking because we thought we wouldn't see them again, but it was such a pleasant surprise. they rode 83 miles today to catch up to the book's itinerary. wow....that is some major beast mode. 
6) the showers here have been, by far, THE BEST facilities of the oregon state parks we've been to. i used the wheelchair accessible one and had TWO showerheads. whaaaat? that's better than most hotels (even if i had to wear crocs in the shower).
(oregon state park showers have been awesome. i love this sign; it accurately reflects the joy and dancing a warm shower can bring.)
7) we FINALLY had our first taste of the tailwind we were promised in our guide book. it only took 18 days.

tomorrow, samuel and i are thinking we'll ride hard to get to crescent city so we can take another day off. we are eager (and by "eager," i mean "desperate") to do laundry, and chill out. and it'll be a major milestone to enter california. wow. only 1000+ miles to go. crazy!!

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