After watching the All Black victory in the kiwi-aussie bar in Seattle, I didn't begin my trip south in the best of conditions. On that Saturday, pitcher after pitcher followed the Badger football game as we mourned the loss and 'prepared' for a house/dance party we'd been invited to. At 12:30am, after more drinks at the party and dancing in the crowded basement, I dipped out and rode over to the bar for the start of the rugby world cup final between France and New Zealand. The bar had reached its capacity, so I found a spot in the crowd outside with a decent view of the game through the word 'Aussie' on the window. The game was relatively uneventful, but painful to watch with the All Blacks barely scraping by to claim the world title 8-7. Getting back to Kaytlyn's with a pint of chocolate ice cream and lying down on the couch at 3:30am would prove to be a poor decision as I woke up a few hours later to find myself still on the couch, hungover, with the pint of now melted ice cream still in my hand which I immediately dumped all over myself. Against all odds, however, I was on the 1:30pm ferry that day, leaving Seattle on my way across the Puget Sound and with nothing in my way to get to San Diego!!! I managed to pedal 50 miles that afternoon before the sun set at 6pm.
The rain that I expected of the Pacific Northwest held off for me and gave me sunny skies. I had a goal set to ride long and hard and get down the coast to where warm weather awaited me. Three 100 mile days was my target; I've done many 'century' rides on the trip, but something has always come up and I've never been able to do two in a row. The Pacific coast proved to be no exception... The high mileage days are difficult, especially now that the sun sets around 6pm every night. It comes down to time spent on the bicycle - the more little rests that I take, the more bakeries and ice cream shops I stop at, the more miles I lose for the day. But I wanted to see as much of the coast as I could while the weather remained good, so I pushed my legs onward. The next day I made it 110 miles to Long Beach, WA, where I finally arrived at a coast with real ocean waves crashing into the sand and I pitched my tent near the water. It was a beautiful night, one of the first nights it wasn't cloudy and the stars were finally visible. Nothing compared to the stars of Montana, but one can't complain about nights spent under the stars on a beach...
The next day found me pedaling across the Colombia River on a 5 mile long bridge into Oregon. I spent some time in a little coffee shop I found in Astoria, the Three Cups Coffee House which roasts its own coffee on premise as the Columbia River Coffee Roaster. After a lengthy stay in the shop enjoying the atmosphere, warm drinks and baked goods, I was in the saddle again with a second century in mind. Alas, as it was getting dark with only 4 miles to complete my century and I was outside of Tillamook (where I stopped for my second ice cream of the day at the famous creamery there). There, a truck pulled up to me offering help and recommending a house to knock on for water. I was soon welcomed into the house and before I knew it was in a hot shower and my exhausted body was falling asleep in one of the comfiest beds of my trip!
On my way to attempted century number three, the beauty of the coast and my worn out body started to slow me down. As I approached 80 miles for the day it was sunset and I found myself biking down a side road out to the coast. The only business with its lights on was "The Flying Dutchman Winery" - a small winery that advertised wine tasting and had its door open. Just around the block from the winery was a small green spot, with a public restroom, and no "no camping" signs, so I figured I had my campsite pretty well figured out. After some conversation inside and being in the right place at the right time, I walked out with a bottle of Pinot Noir to top off my 1.5pint bottle of strong, craft beer I purchased earlier in the day. What evening can go bad when you have a whole bottle of good wine to finish yourself? So I sat in the pretty little green spot and cooked up some shrimp I had from the store with veggies and spices and wine!
More fine weather awaited me the next day and by the end of the day, despite a slower morning, I had 85 miles behind me. I was in Reedsport, OR, with nowhere to stay so decided to give the churches a try. I had heard that if you're ever in need of a spot to crash, a church lawn is a good one to pick. As I biked by the Methodist church, I saw people going inside so decided to see what they thought. I was quickly ushered inside and shown to the kitchen where I could cook my dinner. It was singing worship night and I was invited to join in. I found myself in a position I never expected to be; singing 'Jesus' songs with elderly folks in a church. I don't think of myself as a 'follower' of Jesus and hence, not a christian, so some of the lyrics were hard to sing out... but then again, I reasoned, I sing along to vulgar and trashy songs that offend me when I think about them, but with a little filter the songs become alright. I was welcomed into my first church of the trip and had a great spot for my tent outside on the lawn, and was questioned by the church goers, 'where do you sleep when you don't sleep at churches???'
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