Long Story Short

We are going to be averaging about 60 miles a day on our trip across America, but we are starting off slowly. The first day, we rode as far as Clatskinie, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, and today we rode to St. Helens, a mere 35 miles.

That being said, we took a local's advice, and took a long way around, leaving the back door of Clatskinie, then winding around a gorgeous few miles of Oregon forest, past Beaver Falls Trail -- where Ryan and Jonathan did the half-mile hike to the falls -- then found our way to Highway 30, and a steep and fast hill into Ranier. Thanks to that hill, we averaged 15 miles per hour for the day's ride, in spite of over 1100 feet of climbing.

We had three firsts today. For about 15 minutes, we had our first (and hopefully last?) ride in the rain. Needed to wipe the bikes down after we reached St. Helens as a result, but other than that, no problems riding. Walking, though ... next time I go on a long ride, remind me before hand what poison oak looks like. 'Nuff said. It was either that, or a bee sting on my leg. A bit of anti-itch cream, and soon, I'll be fine. We had our first campground showers, as well. Wonderful! And a fourth first, if you will. Camping. We'll be camping across the country, so we've got to get used to it. I have a nice little REI one-man tent, which is too small to get both me and my gear inside at the same time, but it will have to do. It makes a great drying rack, and hopefully will get me well rested for tomorrow's 80+ miles to Carson, Washington. There, we will again be hosted by the American Legion.

A short ride, so a short post today. You can also pick up some of the flavor of our ride by following Bryce's video journal on Bike Trip America.

TaDa ... We're on the road!

No more teachers, no more school ... On the road again ... Yep, that's me, standing on the beach in Fort Stevens, west of Astoria, Oregon. We had a ceremonial sendoff from the park, with our American Legion and Boy Scout sponsors, our support vehicle, our wonderful support driver Pat Wollner, her mascot dog Annie, and four riders. Three of the riders are 16, and one is not. While two of the boys will celebrate their 17th birthdays on the road, I'll be celebrating the 53rd anniversary of my 17th birthday. Don't even do the math. Anyway, here's our crew and a couple of our sponsors standing by the American Legion truck that escorted us through Astoria.

And just so that you know that we really started all the way at the Pacific Ocean, here's a picture taken by our half-time Hawaii friend Sue, who came to see us start off.

That's Jonathan on the left, next to Ryan, then Bryce (who organized the trip), and yours truly, the friendly neighborhood blogger. I'm not wearing a wet suit...that's my bicycling outfit for the cold coastal Oregon weather.

We rode from Fort Stevens to Astoria, had lunch at the Legion hall, then rolled out of town accompanied by the escort truck shown above, our support vehicle shown in a recent blog, the vehicles of a couple of parents, and reporter / photographer crew who will try to drop in on us periodically to see how we're progressing. The legion is trying to set up a big welcome when we get to NYC, and have mentioned possibly getting us onto GMA, Fox News, etc. They are excited, mostly because 100% of the funds we raise on the trip go to help wounded veterans. We ended the day's ride in Clatskinie ... first two days are warm-ups for the longer days that are coming. Today, 48 miles, tomorrow 35, and the day after that, 84 miles with 3000+ feet of  climbing along the Columbia River Gorge, to Carson, Washington.

We are truly on the way. And if the Legion continues to feed us the way they did in Clatskinie (I promised I wouldn't say anything, but I'm not saying, just telling) we'll end up putting on 15-20 pounds by the time we reach NYC. Lasagna, salad, salad, salad, warm freshly baked buns, butter, Lasagna, salad, and salad. That should get us through 35 miles without too much problem.

And again, thank you to Sue Saville Lucas for the wonderful pictures featured in today's blog.

Counting Down - One Day Left

Tomorrow's the day! Everything is packed, and everyone is (hopefully) relaxing. We meet at the Astoria Legion Hall later this afternoon for pictures and last-minute briefings, then tomorrow morning, we congregate at Peter Iredale beach in Fort Stevens, dip our tires in the Pacific, and start rolling eastward.

Yesterday, I did a final 35 mile training ride from Gearhart, Oregon down the coast to Arch Cape ... 1800 feet of climbing, and 1800 feet of descending along the way. It was a great ride. And today, I've been packing my panniers for maximum efficiency, in other words, taking out anything I can do without.

One of the highlights of my days in Gearhart have been the morning and evening walks with Annie, our black lab mascot. In the mornings, we go along the beach and throw tennis balls. This morning, there was a special omen on the beach walk. The tide was way out, leaving almost a quarter of a mile of hard-packed but still wet sand. As we got closer to the edge of the ocean, there were sand dollars galore!

A pocketful of change to spend on the road

Not a pocketful of change, but miles of sand dollars, enough to create a good-sized bank account. That is a lot of good luck to bank for our bike trip! And there's Annie in the bottom left corner, tennis ball all slobbered up and ready to go!

Tomorrow morning, the fretting will be over. The ride starts for real. My next blog post will be from on-the road ... hopefully a post every day, but there are no guarantees once we hit the road. That is when serendipity takes over. Que sera, sera.

Counting Down - Three Days to Go

We got the van (Chevy Suburban) loaded during our packing party yesterday afternoon, with duffel bags in place where they can be easily gotten out at the end of the day, and tents in a waterproof bag under a bungee net on the roof, since tents won't be required on many nights. Once everyone was gone, we decided that the truck with all the gear should go into the garage. There are still a few things to go into the roof rack, but as it is there is only one inch of clearance, so the roof gets packed after the truck is out of the garage!

Then, near disaster! Pat drove the truck and stopped just shy of the garage door, then turned off the engine and handed me the keys so I could unlock the door. I was going to stand outside and ensure that there was clearance on top. The door was open, and Pat turned the key to start the truck. Tck tck tck. We could hear the solenoid, but the engine wouldn't turn over. After several tries, the starter finally kicked in, and we successfully moved the truck into the garage. One last try, just to make sure that the truck would start in the morning, so we could take it to the garage for a battery check. Tck tck tck. Tck tck tck. Tck tck tck.

One nice thing about the Gearhart / Seaside area, the garage makes house calls. At 9:00 am, they pulled up, and the mechanic immediately confirmed that it was the starter that was failing, not the battery. He pulled out his little silver hammer (we had to look it up, but it really is the name of a Beatles song), crawled under the truck, and pounded on the starter motor while his wife turned the key. Eventually the truck started, and they drove off towards the garage in Seaside. Two hours later, the truck was parked back in front of the house with a new starter, and a gratis top-up of all the fluids, plus a check of the electrical system. That wind blowing out of Gearhart today is being created by a big sigh of relief. The truck is ready. The bikes are ready. No more tck tck. Instead, you might hear "Check. Check."

Another serendipitous find came from an article on my FaceBook feed. The article was about great bike rides where the wind is usually at your back. And in the article, they mentioned Wind Mapper (http://windmapper.com), a site that shows the current and forecast wind speed and direction, along with detailed weather forecasts for the road ahead. Wind Mapper will certainly become a regular part of our evening preview of the next day's ride. Not only can we have a good idea of when the wind might pick up or change direction during the day, but we will be able to see approximately when we can start anticipating the possibility of rain and lightening, if at all, and when the temperatures will reach an unbearable level. A great tool for plotting our road strategy for the next day ... something we will be doing nearly every evening for the next 59 days.

What would a long bike ride be, if there weren't a little bit of adventure along the way? And out of our first small adventure, we now have the assurance that our support vehicle is ready to go. Now, come Thursday morning, I just hope that all of us are as ready to get started as the Suburban is.

Counting Down - Four Days to Go

The excitement is palpable. The dining room table where I'm staying until the ride starts is now stacked with cookies, water bottles, snacks ... there's a large route map on the wall, and a donation jar is out, anticipating the generosity of those who come to our open house "packing" party today. In addition to the riders and their parents, there will be folks from the neighborhood wandering by to wish us well, and to meet the riders (they want to see who all is foolhardy enough to venture out on a 3521 mile bicycle journey).

All the riders will bring their duffel bags to be stowed in the support wagon, and last minute needs will be noted. The plan is to have everything packed in such a way that there is good visibility out the back window for Pat, who will driving along with us as we ride. And in a pinch, there has to be room for up to four cyclists, four bicycles, plus all the gear and the dog. "A pinch" means bad weather, an unavoidable road hazard (such as a washed out bridge), or exhausted riders who need an extra day to recover while we keep to our already-arranged tight schedule.

Yesterday, I spent some time going over the mechanics of the boys' bicycles, and checking off the gear they will be carrying with them, either on their bikes (spare tubes, patch kits, rain coats, etc.) or in the car (a floor pump, a spare tire, chain oil, spare bike parts, etc.). I think everyone is realizing that we'll be on our own as far as bike mechanics are concerned, and as Pat keeps reminding everyone, it is not one epic ride, but 59 one-day bike rides, and we have to be ready for each day's ride, come heat or cold, come smooth roads or rough roads.

At Bikes and Beyond yesterday, I ran into a handful of riders who were going to dip their tires in the Pacific today, and will be leaving Astoria tomorrow on a fully-supported bike ride...motels and all...headed towards Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Maybe we'll see them on the road sometime in the next few weeks.

We are looking forward to a big send-off. Hopefully some of the riders who couldn't sign on for the entire Bike Trip America will be able to join us. And I heard from Hawaii friends Sue and Bob, part year Portland residents. They have a B&B in Astoria the night before we leave, and they plan on being at the beach waving a Hawaii flag as we begin our first of 59 one-day rides. At lunch in Astoria, I'm hoping that my cousin Ken can join us for another send-off.

Four days to go!

Counting Down - Six Days to Go

We are getting close to the day we dip our bike tires in the Pacific Ocean in Fort Stevens State Park, west of Astoria. The theme, as we get ready, seems to be list making, and checking off, and making a new list to keep track of where everything got put during the previous list. Organizing a long bike ride is like creating an enormous Mandelbrot tapestry. Thank heavens our support driver, Pat, had a career as an Operating Room nurse, where organization was paramount! Forceps, please.

The lists include (in no particular order, and some lists may be nested in others):

• Food (and menus)
• Lodging 
• On-the-road contacts
• First Aid 
• Routes and maps
• Bicycles 
• Bicycle clothing (cold and hot weather) 
• Spare parts to carry on the road every day 
• Spare parts to leave in the support vehicle 
• Camping gear 
• Personal clothing for when we are off the road 
• Hydration strategies 
• Dog stuff for our black lab mascot Annie 
• Lotions and potions and ointments 
• Diaries (Bryce gave each member of the team a diary ... thank you, Bryce!) 
• Books, balls, music, and other personal entertainment accessories 
• Computer stuff 
• Emergency contact information 
• Fund-raising materials (tee shirts, banners, business cards)
• Spreadsheets and ledgers
• Car maintenance manuals 
• Bike maintenance manuals 
• Ways to charge everyone's bike computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. 
• Communication devices (Ham Radio, walkie talkies, NOA radio) 
• Things we forgot to pack 
• Things we can do without, and can leave at home or ship home, or ship ahead
• Things to do today 
• Things to do tomorrow (including mechanical checks of all the bikes) 
• Things to do Sunday, when we have a support vehicle packing party and "Meet the Crew" fundraiser
• List of where we packed everything on each of the previous lists
• A non-list of all the serendipity and adventure that will inevitably be part of our 59-day journey 

And then, we think of a better way to pack, and we repack. The countdown has begun. On June 18th, at 10:00 am, we begin to discover how we should have packed, what we should have brought along, what to do different next time (if only). Six more days. Not many more chances for training rides. The proof will be in the pudding. (Now, where did we pack the pudding?)

Goonie Birds and Bicyclists

I never saw the movie "The Goonies," but apparently it is a cult classic, filmed in Astoria, and released in theaters 30 years ago tomorrow, which is Goonie Day hereabouts. I'll get back to that in a minute, even though it is almost completely off the topic of this blog ... but not entirely.

On a completely different topic, however, let's talk about the Goonie bird (GB). The GB is an albatross that lives in the middle of the Pacific, as do I. The albatross is famous for its ability to stay aloft for weeks at a time, ranging across vast expanses of ocean. In that way, I'm hoping to be like an albatross, able to cross great expanses of territory effortlessly. Technically the GB is a specific breed of albatross, but the one I'm familiar with is the Laysan albatross that nests on the northwest tip of the island of Oahu in a bird sanctuary called Kaena Point, among other places. As long as you stay in designated areas, you can watch the birds in their nesting and mating habitat. While watching from a safe distance, I once showed a friend my interpretive dance that imitated the male GB during mating season ... something like a very exaggerated "walk like an Egyptian." I must have done it right, because one of the GBs took a liking to me and returned the favor of a dance, and started following us. I think that is about the time we decided to exit stage right.

Anyway, no GBs today, but I got to ride with the rest of the Bike Trip America crew today for our first official ride as a team.

Here's the boys, Bryce, Jonathan, and Ryan on one of the trails through Fort Stevens State Park.

We left Astoria at around 9:00 am and headed across the bridge to Warrenton. On the way, we saw dozens of blue herons, who I presume are migrating through here. Some were floating, some standing in the mud flats, and some in flight. Spectacular to see so many in one place! We then followed bike trails, and meandered past a pre-planned photo shoot from one of the local newspapers, then on into Fort Stevens State Park, from which we will be departing on June 18, less than two weeks from now. We scouted beaches where we could dip our tires in Pacific Ocean before embarking on our albatrossian jouney.

One of our sponsors, the Astoria Co-op Grocery, wanted a photo of the entire crew with Co-op tee shirts on. So here we all are, including the boys, our support driver Pat, our mascot Annie, and of course me.

The patch on my forehead is actually a small mirror attached to my glasses ... I wasn't attacked by an albatross or anything dramatic like that. And the beach is the one where we will dip our tires in the Pacific 12 days from now. The beach is the beach where you can find the wreck of the Peter Iredale, which foundered in a storm in October of 1906.

So, how does all that relate to the movie "The Goonies"? Well, according to the on-line synopsis (I haven't seen the movie), kids are trying to save their house from foreclosure by searching for a sunken pirate treasure. Do you think we could help them? They could look in the buried hull of the Peter Iredale, maybe. If you have any hints, we'll be back at the shipwreck site on June 18 at 10:00 am to launch our coast-to-coast journey. Perhaps we could search for buried treasure before we set off. And yes, I really did say "albatrossian" journey earlier.