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)

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!!

day 17: jessie m. honeyman state park to sunset beach state park

at 4am, barely awake, we crawled outside to cover our bikes and bring in the clothes airing outside for the night. the drizzle turned into a consistent rain shower, and it only got stronger as the morning grew longer. oh dear. our first morning waking up to rain. we packed up and got everything together and were ready to go by 9am, our usual time, except it was raining pretty hard. 

we found shelter at the bathrooms and sat and waited and ate. 

(why does it not look like it's raining in this photo?!)

then we pedaled hard for 19 miles. (rain is an incredible motivator.) if you stop, it gets cold and the reality that you're biking in rain sets in. this is no bueno for the mind. 

we finally took a break to eat a burrito at a mexican express joint, which actually took a while. (they should consider renaming it to mexican forever.) but whatever, it was good and HUGE. i considered vowing to only eat half, but couldn't control myself and ate the entire thing, with a can of pepsi. YUM. bad move!!!...so i thought.  

samuel and i took off after our total one hour break and booked it for another 15 miles or so. but do you ever feel like "RAAAAARRRRRRR!!" and can't explain exactly why or don't feel like rationally thinking through what might be going on? well that was me a mile in after lunch, so i did what anyone should do when one is feeling this way: yell! loud and hard and long. that's what i did, and it. felt. good. later, samuel asked me if that was me yelling. we both smiled, i pleasantly said yes, and we moved right on, right on. 

anyway, we were both feeling really good and strong, so we kept riding until our final market (more like liquor store with junk food stop). but unfortunately, i had a sudden dip and the last 5 miles were just painful. every time we went downhill, i complained to samuel because it meant we'd have to climb it tomorrow. (this was a portion where we would have to out-and-back to get to/from the state park.) :-( the steeper the downhill, the louder my cry.

we finally made it to the state park 55 miles later, ate, showered, and biked over to watch the sunset with our new friend sheila. (sheila and i met earlier this morning. she's biking from portland to sf solo, and she's very pleasant to be around. plus, she's a fellow banana slugger and porter kid! whoa, what are the chances? except, i graduated in '04 and she in '12. that's 8 years difference. oh my.)

whatever, age shmage. the sunset was epic again. oregon, you are throwing out all the big guns to make me fall in love with you all over. it's to make up for those rude drivers huh? well it's working.

day 16: beverly beach state park to jessie m. honeyman state park

it was cold and i couldn't get out of my sleeping bag this morning. 

7am

7:15am

7:22am

7:45am

still not out. 

(samuel waiting patiently for me to exit.)

it was because i woke up at 6am, and desperately jumped on my bike and pedaled my way to the bathroom to take care of my urgent morning business. that rude awakening turned into a short ride to sunrise-ish at the beach and a view of an older gentleman dressed in all red sweatpants and sweater. my picture doesn't capture how perfect the scene was. 

he could've thought the same about my get up. 

at 6:50, i was back in my sleeping bag because i was shivering from the early morning chill. what is happening? just a few months ago, i was handling sub-freezing temperatures in montana, and now a mere 40-something degrees is rocking me. what the heck?

anyway, some days feel like the miles take forever. today was one of those days...until we saw a group of four cycle tourists. we said "hello" and "goodbye" and "see y'all" and "hello again" as we yo-yo'ed all day. the last time i saw them, we had just climbed a hefty ascent through our last tunnel. we could hear the sea lions which indicated we were halfway through oregon! wow! and there they were sitting, having a snack. we looked at the seals and then took off after a short 5 minute break. even though i had been going through my normal 4pm crash, the thought of "beating" them to camp was motivator enough hustle all the way to fred meyer to pick up dinner ingredients. (i was also motivated by hunger. my stomach was turning into knots on the way there.)

side note: have you ever been inside a fred meyer? (think of target meets safeway.) it should be against the law to send a hungry cyclist in, but one of us has to. i have this tactic from over buying in a grocery store. either i take a handheld basket or none at all. if i can't hold it, then i shouldn't be buying it. my little basket was pretty heavy by the end. 

after getting to camp and getting instantly devoured by mosquitos, we did our usual routine of setting up camp and showering, and then packed up dinner and walked up a giant sand dune to watch the sunset while fighting off more mosquitos! (by the way, we got to camp like 40 minutes faster than the group. heehee) from wanting to do zero miles at 7am, we were able to pound out 60 miles today. phew!! 

at 4am though...the rain began and that is a story for day 17.

day 15: cape lookout state beach to beverly beach state park

it's only been two weeks? feels longer. well then, i guess it's time for more stats!

miles cycled: 634

salami sticks consumed: 2.5

blocks of cheese consumed: 5.5

# of times we've camped: 11

# of times we've slept on a bed: 5

# of rest days: 2

favorite power drink: iced americano

number of conflicts: 1.5

what i like about oregon is that everything wants to grow. everything moves towards flourishing. imagine if we humans constantly strived for that kind of flourishing in our lives. what kind of world could we create? 

it was sunny and blue skies this morning. the beach was jurassic park-spectacular again, and i just stood there in awe, especially juxtaposed to last night's windy shenanigans. one thing we have learned from our time in the windy madison valley (in montana) is that the wind always brings in a change in weather. we thankfully, woke up to something dramatically different. 

good thing because climbing our largest ascent to date happened immediately after exiting the state park, but damn it felt good to conquer it. samuel and i have gotten a lot stronger, and we are able to see it in our performance and in our legs. it's kind of amazing!

the whole day was exquisite and challenging and we felt awesome at the end of the day. the old highways and byways that took us away from the main road were sensational. the peace that came with those moments were restorative for our souls. i remember at the old 101 hwy, i needed to walk after climbing for several miles, so we hopped off our bikes and walked for a mile or so. no cars, just us and the forest. and then we got an amazing 3-4 mile downhill. wowowowow! SO MUCH FUN! 

but then 4 o'clock rolled around, as it usually does. you know what happens at that time? i crash. something in me is done! i think i can go no more. but, if there's a coffee shop, an iced americano can almost instantly make me a new woman with legs of steel. mentally and physically, i get the gusto i need to finish 15-20 more miles...fast. i went from literally drowsy to racing through 21 miles to our camp bringing our end of day total to 64 miles. crazy huh? give me some caffeine and a goal and i am unstoppable. ha!

(at boiler bay)

anyway, we were greeted by a very friendly park ranger at beverly beach state park and ended the evening with dinner overlooking a tremendous sunset. we were completely at awe of what we experienced tonight. i'm full of joy and gratitude for the gift of this trip and all we have gotten to witness first hand.