day 19: humbug mountain state park (oregon) to crescent city (california)

my new threshold for cycling is 70 miles. after that, EVERYTHING starts feeling uncomfortable. (that statement sounds like passive bragging, doesn't it?) today, we rode 78 miles so those last eight miles hurt a little. and by "little," i really mean a lot! samuel was in pain too, namely his butt. so we played a little game to help pass the last five miles. first, for every mile we passed, samuel would ring his bell. and second, we would have to share our answer to a question i'd make up. all this was while battling headwind. (i HATE head wind. the only acceptable wind on a bike ride is the kind that comes that feels like God's very own hand is on my back, pushing me forward, NOT the kind that's holding my forehead back like a giant invisible bully! ok. end rant.)

the first question was "what's one thing you're grateful for today?" lol, i couldn't remember anything that happened except where we woke up and that very moment (which is often the case, hence this daily blog). samuel jogged my memory and "oh yeah!" it all started coming back. today, i felt grateful for something i can't seem to remember anymore. awesome. oh wait, it was CROSSING THE OREGON BORDER INTO CALIFORNIA! oh my god! i almost cried as we slowly rolled to the sign. i could feel a ball of tears growing in my chest (is that how the idiom goes? can't remember anything right now), but i saved my energy to get us through another 19 miles to our finish.

it's kind of crazy to think that we will have spent half our trip in british columbia, washington, AND oregon in the time it'll take to complete all of california. geez.

(pics from our day)

(natural bridges lookout, mile marker 345.9 in oregon on the 101. it's spectacular! we decided to set up our tent on the small pedestrian bridge and live there. after we get to mexico, of course.)

before we crossed over to california, we stopped to eat in brookings at a pizza joint. holy cow it was good. so good that the only picture i got was of samuel's lips after we destroyed some buffalo wings.

samuel pointed out that the last dozen miles or so of oregon looked different from what we had been seeing along the coast. :( then we entered california and it just wasn't the same. it feels different here; the vibe is distinctly different from oregon. strange huh? since the border is merely a sign and some invisible line, yet the spirit of a place can be so much more clear.

well we were coasting down hwy 101, but our guide book suggested taking "ocean view dr" which is a small road with no shoulder but less cars. we took it since these roads are usually better. well, until we wanted to DIE. there were small, persistent rolling hills where we could see hwy 101 flat as those thin (1/2 the calories) bagels not worth eating. this kind of short steep rolling hills are worse (in my tired opinion) than climbing for 3 miles straight. we got off the road as soon as we could and sighed in relief for the company of fast cars. two redemptive things about this side road: 

1) we saw a herd of elk running really fast towards us! they stopped really close and rerouted! it was so beautiful to watch their movement. wow.

2) samuel said, "how are we going to get across the hwy?" i responded, "really fast." 

we made it to st. paul's episcopal church (our warmshowers.org host) and met katie, who runs this ministry. she showed us the commercial kitchen, showers, and all that, and then we just collapsed and vegged out on our devices until hunger called. 

then basically, the same thing happened that happens every night: shower, eat, sleep. 

tomorrow we rest all day and those tales are riveting, as you know. so i'll try to get that report up before we embark on our first official "D" (difficult) day. (gulp)