Last full day in Oregon...

Day 11: Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR (miles: 60 calories: 1789 )

After having some delicious treats at a local bakery in Bandon we headed out to ride 60 miles today.  A nice break from the longer 70 mile days we have been doing.  We stopped for lunch in Port Orford and had a great ocean view.  Then we arrived in Gold Beach early enough to relax a little before dinner (we had a DQ blizzard appetizer to hold us over).

 Eating lunch in Port Orford

After dinner we explored the beach and caught a beautiful sunset.

California Dreaming...

Day 9: Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR (miles: 78 calories: 2262)

The winds is super strong!!  Luckily, it's on our backs!!

We had a nice wind on our backs for most of the day today.  We followed the coast for most of the ride and had gorgeous ocean views throughout the day. We camped at South Jetty RV Resort in Florence, OR and they had a hot tub! It was an excellent way to end the day!
-Amy

Oregon is SO liberal!  They even have designated areas for cars to love robots!

Day 10: Florence, OR to Bandon, OR (miles: 71 calories: 2073)

Video Blog (Day 10).  Had lunch by the Oregon Dunes today. It felt like we were in another country!  

 Sand everywhere (and in everything!).

Ronnie and Jerry entering the dunes!

Amy

Today we're riding from Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR.  Tomorrow we'll be in California!!  Even though we'll have ridden through two states (OR and WA), we still haven't reached the half-way point!!

Talk soon!

We are taking a day off from riding today and have spent some time in the Lincoln City, Oregon public library.  I have not been intimidated by the ride, for the most part, some of the hills have been very large, but I have shied away from the blog.  It is complicated on the road.  Other than the apprehension of dealing with new technologies, getting on the computer in campgrounds and after a day of riding, is not a priority for me.  But having the day off, I had Luke show me how to create a post.

This is Jerry if you haven't guessed already.

What to focus on: the ride has been challenging, head winds for the first 5-6 days.  For a biker, headwind is worse than hills.  There have been a lot of hills, but you work hard for half an hour or a couple hours and it is over until the next one, with headwind, it is there all day, very discouraging.  Yesterday we had a day-long tailwind, the bikers joy.  Instead of going 11-12 miles an hour, you find yourself doing 14-16 mph -smiling the whole way.

It has been wonderful for me to have the time with Luke and Ronnie and spending some time getting to know Amy, Luke's girlfriend.  She is tougher than a bag of hammers.  She outdoes me on all the hills.  My mass helps  on the downhills and I usually catch up.

Luke's years of hiking and rock climbing has given him quite a skill in the culinary side.  He cooks for us all, occasionally turning the spoon and spatula over to one of us.  As you can imagine, eating is no problem.  It seems like we eat all day long.  Keeping the food and water intake at a good level is somewhat of a struggle.  Without sufficient calories you bonk and feel miserable, without enough water I feel tired with every pedal stroke.  If you have followed the blog you have seen that Amy posts the number of calories she burns each day.  Her bike odometer gives her a number of calories burned at the end of the day, as it does average speed, maximum speed, total miles for the day and total miles for the trip.

Next time I will try to talk about the route and the topography.

Getting into the groove.... almost.

Day 5: Elma, WA to near Toledo, WA (Miles: 55 Calories: 1405 )

Video Blog (Day 5)!

I was wearing the cranky pants, and man it was rough!  The best part of that day was when we went down a hill that had a 16% grade (downhill!!!!) and I went 41mph!
The entire route was inland and we passed lots of farms.  At one point we rode through a tunnel of cows that mooed at us as we passed, it was a little scary.
By the end of that day we were hot and exhausted!  We took cold showers and gorged on chips and salsa and mac and cheese.
-Amy

The wild Lucas protecting his chips and salsa

Day 6: Near Toledo, WA to Cathlamet, WA (Miles: 56 Calories: 1506 )

 Still riding inland today.  Our bikes are shifting flawlessly thanks to this amazing chain cleaning device Ronnie and Jerry gave me for my birthday!  We stopped at Castle Rock Bakery for lunch and had delicious sandwiches before conquering some hills the second half of the day.  We camped at a Marina right on the water, a nice change from the wooded state parks.

Day 7: Cathlamet, WA to Nehalem, OR (Miles: 71 Calories: 2069 )
We made it to Oregon!!!  One state down, two to go!
Hills, hills, hills!  We biked several large hills today, but the gorgeous views of the coastline made it worth it!
We've run into several people doing various bike tours and it's been fun to swap stories.
We camped at Nehalen State Park near the beach.

Day 8: Nehalem, OR to Lincoln City, OR (Miles: 73 Calories: 2036 )
Last night a raccoon got into Lucas' pannier.  He managed to pull out Lucas' shirt and was about to go for the food when Lucas threw his headlamp at him and scared the little guy away.
I also heard some noises later and when I went to go to the bathroom I saw a mountain lion!  Okay, maybe it was a coyote....or a deer...but there was definitely an animal out there!

That afternoon we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for lunch. We got some delicious cheese samples and....ICE CREAM!!!!

Appetizer ice cream

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rest Day 2:  Lincoln City, OR

After five days on, Amy and I were feeling pretty worked... I think Jerry could have kept going!!  So, we're just relaxing a little.

Until next time, KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!

Rest Day in Seattle and Riding to Elma!

Hello!
Rest Day: Seattle, WA
We took the ferry from Bremerton, WA to Seattle, WA during our rest day on Friday.  We were crossing our fingers hoping the clouds would break so we could see Rainer behind the city.
Unfortunately, the clouds were socked in during the ride into the city.  But, that didn't detract from the gorgeous views of the city!

Jerry and the Space Needle

We had a great day in Seattle doing a little sight seeing.  We went over to the Flagship REI store.  (That place this is HUGE!  It has a mountain biking trail around the building to test bicycles, in DOWNTOWN SEATTLE!!).  We also visited Pikes Place fish market and saw some fish being tossed around.  Jerry wanted to get a new pedal/shoe setup, so while he and Ronnie went to go shopping for one, Amy and I went to the Seattle Art Museum.  They have a huge really cool museum, with a variety of exhibits.
Jerry was successful getting a new pedal/shoe setup, so after the museum we grabbed some burritos and caught the 7:50pm ferry back to Bremerton.  Fortunately, the clouds had broken...

Amy, Ronnie and Jerry with Mt. Rainer in the Background

Unfortunately, when we got back to our campsite, it was a total shit show... Poor communication by the staff at Kitsap Memorial State Park had put our campsite in a site that was apparently reserved.  Apparently, some of the staff moved all our stuff that was around the site to another campsite.  They also dragged Amy and my tent to that site.  Jerry and Ronnie's tent had a lot more stuff in it making it super heavy, but that didn't stop them from trying to move it.  In the process the ripped the bottom of the tent (seen below).  We were up till about midnight talking with the park ranger about this disaster.  It was SUPER frustrating!  

The bottom of Ronnie and Jerry's Tent

Day 4: Kitsap Memorial State Park, WA to Elma, WA (Miles: 80 Calories: 2358)

View from Kitsap Memorial State Park, WA

Amy-
"We are currently in Elma, WA just finishing up a nice continental breakfast at Microtel.
Yesterday we biked 80 miles!  This was not the original plan... but when we arrived to Shelton after biking 60 miles there was literally no place to camp and all the hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts were full!  I seriously contemplated calling a cat boarding kennel called "Just for Cats" to see if there was a chance we could stay there!  The closest option was another 20 miles away so Lucas, Jerry, and I got back on our bikes and rode.
When we arrived Ronnie had already brought up all our stuff and had chips, salsa, and guacamole ready and waiting- delicious!"

Lucas-
"Amy neglected to mention, it was her birthday yesterday.  The big 25!  We had an awesome chicken fajita dinner with chips, salsa and guacamole as an appetizer.  And let me tell you, after that extra 20 miles, it was SO good!

Amy's Birthday!!

Today we're hoping to make it to Toledo, WA.

Alright, time to ride!"
Talk soon!

Day four...and still no ice cream!

We are taking a rest day today and going to Seattle.  Lucas had promised me ice cream every day and we have still not had a single scoop!  I think today we should change that. It is a beautiful sunny day and we are sitting outside a coffee shop in Bremerton waiting to catch our ferry to Seattle.

Last night Lucas and I experimented with shutter speed and took some cool shots of the campsite.

 

Beautiful sunset on the beach at our campsite!

Talk soon!

Amy

First is worst, second is the best, third is the one....

Hey all,
We're in the middle of day three and stopped by a cafe in Port Townsend, WA to post an update of our progress.
Day 1! - Vancouver, BC to Birch Bay, WA (Miles: 56  Calories: 1261)

What it originally looked like!

And so it begins!  This is at a beach in Stanley Park in Vancouver BC.  We poured sea water onto each of our bikes as a symbol of the beginning.  We'll do the same when we get to San Diego!

Jerry and Lucas in front of the Olympic Cauldron in downtown Vancouver.

The illusive out-of-focus Orca Whale.

Day 2 - Birch Bay, WA to Deception Pass, WA (Miles: 62 Calories: 1450)

Video Blog (Day 2)!

Day3 - Deception Pass, WA to Kitsap Memorial State Park, WA (Miles: 56 Calories: 1466 )
Lucas-
"Man when I woke up, I was super sore, I didn't sleep well, and it was down-pouring out side of the tent.  I wasn't psyched.... But, after easing into it, with big cup of tea and oatmeal we were on the road.  I was definitely not as sore as I thought once I warmed up!  We biked along the coast of Whidbey Island.  It looked surprisingly like Mount Desert Island in Maine.  The only big difference was the fighter planes flying above!  Deception Pass State Park was right next to a Naval Air Base.  Fighter jets were constantly flying in the air doing all kinds of maneuvers, including flying two by two.

Mom-
"Showers are a big whoop! Fifty cents got you three minutes. Jerry thought he could speed through and left with lots of soap remaining on his body. Odd, but there are very few Maine plates here. Common comment, "Why would you do this?" "

Amy-
"I think this morning we all were wondering why we were doing this!  Once we warmed up and started biking again it became clear.  You get to see so much while biking!  Going along the coast is gorgeous!  Even though it is a gray day it is still nice to see the ocean and all the small towns.  Lucas and I even saw a bald eagle! Well, I think we are about to head out!"

Video Blog (Day 3)!

Alright, we're headed back on the road!  We'll be stopping in Seattle for a rest day tomorrow, we'll update you on more from there!
Take care!

It BEGINS!!

Hello All and welcome to our blog of biking the pacific coast!!
In the next 4-5 weeks my father (Jerry), my girl friend (Amy), and I will be biking from Vancouver, BC to San Diego, CA (to the border of mexico...).  That's 1800 miles and we hope to do it in a relaxing 40 days!

Amy and I have been on a road trip for the past 18 days, driving from White River Junction, VT  to Vancouver, BC.  We packed up the car on the last day of my internship and headed west.  (Amy and I biking in Glacier National Park).

Jerry and Ronnie landed in Vancouver last night at 11:58pm.  Amy and I picked them up and headed back to the hotel.  This morning we're packing and getting ready for the adventure to come!

We'll keep you posted with pictures, events and all the fun of the trip!

WOOOOO!!!!

-Lucas