My Life

Yesterday, we rode a short 20 miles from Seaside to Astoria to officially bring our route to a close. We got into town, rode up to the Astoria Column, the landmark which marks the end of the ACA's TransAmerica route and which commemorates Lewis & Clark's journey,, since Astoria was where they ended also.
Then we went to the bike shop and did what we needed to do to have them pack and ship our bikes; after mulling around town for a bit we took the greyhound to Portland where we found our hostel destination full and all the other hostels full, too. First time without a bike in months and unfortunately we found ourselves making laps on foot around a city neither of us knew. It was fun/funny in its own way. It came down to having to get a hotel, unless we wanted to camp with the hobos. We had pizza delivered to our hotel room and had our celebratory pizza party a little late, at about 11:30pm.
Today we checked out some of the goods Portland has to offer, including Powell's book store, Voodoo Doughnuts, the International Rose Test Gardens and Japanese Garden, and some random cool shops. Then I casually had to say bye to my only friend of the last two and a half months on a crowded light rail car as I exited and he stayed on to go further to the airport. A speedy, one armed, side hug was the perfect way to say farewell in the most anticlimactic fashion to the most unanticlimactic journey of my life. Thomas was an awesome partner for this trip and the amount of laughter caused by his ridiculous/great sense of humor was overwhelming; thanks Bhomas. He's now gone and I have one more day in the city, to close out my adventures with a bang before I fly home.
I can't believe I don't have to ride anymore/don't have my bike with me/ just did what I did. It still hasn't sunk in, but all I know is that a lot of great things happened, within me and around me. I'm sure it will take me a while to see all the fruits from my travels, slash to witness how much it's changed me.
I love riding my bike (never doing it again)

West Coast Chillin

So yesterday we awoke in Tillamook and rode 50 gorgeous miles on the Oregon coast to Seaside.
Our planned place to stay fell through, aka "Elaine Heckerd" wasn't home, so all of our excitement to go to her house was bombed when no one answered the door. Luckily warm showers pulled through and we got a sweet hook up with Mr Neil Branson. He lives four blocks from the beach so we got a good beach walk in, final destination: ice cream. We wanted to stay in seaside for Sunday, too, for a rest day before our final WHOPPING 20 miler into Astoria. Neil said we were more than welcome. So here we are.
We actually got breakfast with Neil and some friends in Astoria this morn, then I went to church at the aptly named parish of Our Lady of Victory. Nowwww we're about to head off for a mini road trip to Washington state in Neil's car. Sweet deal--another state crossed off my list!
The pacific is beautiful and cold and i'm excited to go in it sooooon.

I Don't Know If You Heard, but..

We're kind of a big deal. We um, rode our bikes across the country and uh, yeah, made it to the Pacific Ocean today. I mean, I'm not trying to rub it in, but what did you do today? Oh, you didn't use your leg power to travel yourself to a whole other coast thousands of miles away from where you started? Guess my day wins then!
But seriously, it was so cool to get our first glimpses and interactions with the beach on the west coast today. I loved every minute of it, and the reality of how badly I've missed the beach this summer all came crashing to the forefront of my mind.
The ride was good. About 70 miles to Tillamook, with some good climbs and some good downhills; half the time I'm pretty sure we were inside a cloud. We had a moment of weakness, where we almost called it quits since we'd hit the coast and played with the idea of bumming a ride to our next stop in Seaside, but Team Turtle pulled through, as we always do. And on we rode.
We're getting cooler by the day. And we have a new motto: Safety Second. Helmets are being swapped out for hats (I mean, what? That's dangerous!) Gum balls are being eaten off the ground (Uh wait a second, who's that disgusting?) and the sunscreen is saving its pennies for someday (But you get burnt even worse in the clouds!!!!!!)

Also, Tomcat's phone got stolen, so he is without. Using mine and such.

Tomorrow we get a shorter day. Yay. Tonight is our last night camping out for the whole trip :(

Endless Amounts of Satisfaction

So, two days ago we rode 60 some miles from Ochoco lake county park to the summit of Mt Mckenzie, at 5,364 ft (or something). We camped at a primitive site and were nearly inhaled by droves of mosquitoes.
Yesterday morning was cold and as we started our day taking in the views at the summit, we saw the dense fog awaiting us for our descent. It was fuh-reezing-- the first downhill of the trip that I was praying to end. We paused in the middle of it to watch a pro bike race climb up what we just flew down; they were climbing about as fast as I descend...not really, but close. Probably like 15mph. Up a 22 mile climb gaining 5,000 ft of elevation. Champs.
We got to our campsite in Coburg after 83 miles of riding at a pretty late hour, due to our casual, take-our-time-and-stop-a lot fashion, but we still had sunlight and that's what matters. We ate a whole jar of queso in celebration of our first "finishing" high five, given by Aaron, an eastbounder we met a few miles from our campsite.
Today we rode 82 (86? 84?) miles to Grand Ronde and saw our first signs directing us to the Oregon Coast. WE ARE SO CLOSE TO THE PACIFIC AND BEING DONE. BitterSWEET.
Oregon has been awesome, especially the last three days: some of the best-houses and gardens of the trip, Virginia-like vegetation/scenery, good food, Thomas' acquisition of an awesome hat which cracks me up to no end as I ride behind him, me eating almost two full sleeves of Oreos and realizing that's like 4million calories and then realizing that I don't care, and so much more.
I love Oregon. Only two more real days of riding.............. Get stoked.

This Coffee Tastes Like Beef Jerky

Yesterday we rode a short 44 miles from Prairie City to Dayville. Went to church in John day, and took a long lunch break and still got to the Presbyterian church we were staying at early in the day. The church was awesome: showers, laundry, pancake mix and bacon and ice cream--what else could you need?
Today we went around 80 miles to our campsite in Ochoco county state park. We had two good climbs and some good rain fall upon us. It was nice and cool today, at some points cold which was a little less than pleasant.
We think we hit the 4000 mile mark today....insanityyyyyy.
Goodnight, neverland

Silly Soggy Saturday

Today was a day. Rain/rain clouds kept us cool for most of it, but the sun greeted us as we made our last climb and then descended into Prairie City. The cool weather was a nice change from the past days. Oregon is great so far, and even in the rain I saw a bunch of cyclists out--looks like we're reaching friendly territory.
We left our host from last night fed with cereal and fresh raspberries and began our 69 mile day. No stops for 53 miles, meaning we dined under a pine tree to keep us out of the rain.
Prairie city seems nice, and the restaurant served us delicious fare. But.
Budgeting has begun. Now that the trip is almost over and funds are almost out. It's harder than expected after two months of luxurious unlimited ice cream eating and the like. Wish me luck.

The beginning of the end

Yesterday we did 75 miles from new meadows to the Oregon state line. It was a hooooottt day, but that's howThomas and I like it. We like to start just late enough so that the sun has risen and is creating temperatures which to most are uncomfortable. This baking of the skin and our helmeted brains is what we live for. Mmm yes, we try REALLY hard to make sure we don't miss any of those peak UV rays; gotta keep our tan lines crisp and our pores sweatin'. What's the fun in touring if you don't sweat out 4 pounds of water each day--at LEAST. We ride until just before it's gonna start cooling down, ya know, to harness every last bit of maximum heatage. Love love loveeee it. Especially when we ride through Hell's Canyon. Aptly named.
Anyways, today we started early, just to try out what these newbs we've talked to have referred to as "beating the heat" (why you would want to beat something so nice I don't know; abuse is never fun). We started at 6 am since we had about 82 miles to ride to Baker City, Oregon. But Fate was our friend and on this Friday the 13th, she made sure we would still get some time in the scorching times of the day by giving me my second flat of the trip. Long story short I "fixed" it on my own only to have it give way mere miles later, so an hour and a half later I was giving my old tire to a fellow tourer in need and finally back on the road to tackle the 70 miles we had left.
It was a long day but a good day. I jammed to some rascal flatts and Keith urban in the last 40 miles and that made em fly by. We're now at an awesome warm showers host--thanks so much kathi!

EarWiggin' Out

I awoke to a beautiful river in my face this morning. We then rode a beautiful 60 miles to the beautiful town of New Meadows, in the beautiful heart of the beautiful state of Idaho.
Idaho, the River State, where the residents are also known as spuds and the rafting guides are also known as studs (call me). Idaho, the state known for its potatoes and coconut cream pie. Fun fact: it's actually against Idaho law to construct a road more than 20 feet away from a river, and this has made for great scenic riding. Also, all non-chain stores MUST close at 5pm mountain time, but this gets tricky because even the residents can't always tell which time zone they'll be in on any given day. The Verizon CEO has an ex-wife and a family of ex-in-laws with whom he still holds a grudge against living in Idaho so he has not allowed for the construction of many service towers here, therefore it is half-miracle that I have more than one bar tonight in New Meadows.
We're camping in the nice city park tonight, and I will take all precautions so as not to have droves of earwigs nesting in my handlebar bag tomorrow morning.
Less than a thousand miles left; soon you won't have to burden yourself with the chore of reading these blog posts

On that Ida-flow

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. Long story short: pitiful 3G/wifi service and the one blog I managed to type up was lost in cyberspace and I was too mad to retry.
Friday: short 45-er from Hamilton to Missoula. We arrived in Missoula at Adventure cycling's headquarters just in time for the party they threw for us. It was actually the grand opening of the new wing of their building, but still, our timing rocks. We met John on our tour of the wing and awesomely he offered us to stay at his place, and as we hadn't planned where we would be staying, that was perfect and we accepted. His wife, Sandy, made us the best salad of my life for dinner and we even got pie for dessert. Sandy said,"for most people, pie is a special occasion, but we really have pie every night." that rocks.
We awoke on Saturday for a rest day in Missoula and John and Sandy were gracious enough to allow us to stay for a second day and night. I rode the fastest carousel in the USA, went to mass, ate three servings of ice cream, met up with Miles at the ACA headquarters as he had just arrived in town, at two more awesome meals cooked by Sandy, took a nap, saw a sweet movie (reveal the path) about bicycle touring, and hung out with some of thomas' friends at a bar where I also started an impromptu dance party to "play that funky music white boy"---all in all, it was definitely the best rest day yet.
Sunday: breakfast with our awesome hosts and then a late start on our way to Powell and over Lolo pass. It was not a bad climb until the heat decided to bake my liver and all other internal organs in the last 4 miles. At the top we crossed into Idaho and into Pacific time!!!!!! The waiter at the campsite's lodge was named Jethro and it was then that I knew I would love Idaho
Monday: awoke and ate a big breakfast at the lodge to hold us for 67 miles on the road without services; we joined two tourers going east named Ben and Saul. After 20-some miles we took an AWESOME, long, river-swimming/camp mattress rafting, lunch break at White Pine. This was one of the most beautiful rides of the trip, cruising beside the Lochsa river all day. We finished at Syringa, a total of 73 miles.
TODAY: another beautiful day, went around 62 miles, with a nice climb split in half by a lunch break in Grangeville. From the top of white bird summit down to our resting spot for the night, I cruised going over 50 mph at points (says a driver that passed me and talked to Thomas in town.) But on average I think I was between 40 and 45. It was sweet.
And now you're all caught up.

Like Christmas year round

Montana. Where the smell of evergreens follows me through my ride and reminds me of my favorite holiday constantly. And it's about as cold in July here as it is in december in Virginia. Crazy.
Today was an awesome day of riding. Except Thomas fell. I had a feeling in my bones that something might go awry today, and I stated it in the first stretch before Thomas split to get dirt road-y, while i maintained the normal route. I will have no talk of me jinxing him, my psychic sensibilities may be a curse at times, but it is a burden I must bear. But suriously, I'm psychic..
Anyways we rode 70 some miles again, forgive me for never remembering/inquiring about the exact mileage.
And we're staying at Terry Tignor's house, who hosts cyclists Fo free and is listed on the ACA maps, and she and her husband are from VB! Small world.

And to the small world, I now say a small goodnight.

Hell is...

Riding your bicycle uphill, with thirty mile an hour winds, gusts up to 40, on the lowest gear you have and still barely spinning.
Or at least it could be.
Yesterday was a hellacious trial for sure. We got a late start out of Dillon thinking, what the heck, it won't matter, the wind nor the heat have been that bad. We checked out the Patagonia outlet and took our time with breakfast. Well. We were in for a big surprise as we set off and were immediately berated by headwinds that about drove us crazy. We went about 6 miles in the first hour and took an hour freak out break before deciding we had to go on. "winners never quit, and quitters never win."
We took on that pass like there was no tomorrow, and as I slowly went mad, I almost believed there would be no more tomorrow for me. I took a break at the top of the hill to regain consciousness, but as I began my descent, still only making it to my middle ring and pedaling vigorously, I was done. Luckily, Bannack state park was waiting at the bottom of the hill as an option for camping rather than going 26 more miles and another mountain pass to Jackson.
We were blessed with Bannack and our campsite right next to the most wonderful campground hosts, Paul and Jamie who graciously brought us stuffed peppers and potatoes for dinner, gave us ice cream for dessert and even cooked us breakfast the next morning. It was all delicious and too kind. We also got to check out the sweet 1860's mining town of Bannack which was in excellent preservation and had some super cool history.

Today was muuuuuch better, but we still opted for a short day, in observance of the birth of this beautiful country we live in. We went 44 miles to Wisdom, Montana and had a nice stop in Jackson to eat and dip in the hot springs.
I still really love Montana, and the scenery is beautiful, and when I'm 70 and can't live at the beach anymore because my skin is threatening to fall off due to overexposure to the sun, I shall move here and hide amongst the dense pine forests.

If I Had Words

Starting with a late start (as per usual) and a nice climb out of Ennis, our 7_ mile day was quite grand. We made it round trip today, Virginia to Virginia. Our downhill into and our lunch stop in Virginia City were both delicious, and the rest of the day flew by.
I jammed to a bunch of songs on my iPod beginning with "I" and watched Montana's gorgeousness roll by.
We're in Dillon for the night.
Annnnnnd Montana is still rockin my world.
I woulda bought some postcards today, because we saw some good ones, but I figured that would just ruin the record I've been making of sending zero so far. Don't want to ruin a perfect game.

Rock Me, Montana

Like a Wagon WheelRVcampgroundthatcharged40dollarsforgravelforatent,
Rock me Montana, any way you feel-especiallyifthatmeansmeetingSamwhoofferedushisgaragetosleepandshowersandlaundry,
Heyyy Montana rock me.
Rock me, Montana like the wind and the rain (we had both today from all angles)
Rock me Montana like a north bound cycling tour
Heyyyy Montana rock me.

Take what you can from that montage above.
Basically we exited the beautiful Yellowstone yesterday, had many troubles with finding a reasonable place to stay, then scored big with a free stay at Sam's apartment (thanks, Sam!), then got a late start today after I churched it up, and we did a good 70 something mile day to Ennis. It started raining like the last two miles; not too shabby. Annnnnd Montana is all awesome, like, put only the good from Colorado and Wyoming and then add more awesomeness and land and that's Montana.

Pray for warmth as I sleep tonight!