Gettin' ready to head east.
I rode from Eugene over to Florence yesterday, and dipped the rear wheel of my bike in the Pacific Ocean. Now comes the long haul across country to dip the front wheel in the Atlantic.
The ride to Florence is not all that hard ... there are several small climbs of 500 to 600 feet, with one extremely exhilarating 7% down hill run. This down hill run is particularly enjoyable as a good part of the 7% is going through a tunnel (that does not have a bike lane). I was flying!
After the 60 miles +/- to Florence, I rode an additional 5 or 6 miles to find a beach ... then carried the bike about a quarter of a mile across the sand to get to the water. I asked a family, that was sitting close to the breaking waves, if one of them would take my picture. It is odd the varied reactions you get when talking about riding across the country. Reactions vary from "you're crazy", to "I have always wanted to do that", to "smiles and encouragement". This family was in the "smiles" category ... they were quite excited to be taking part in my adventure, and that made me feel good.
The return ride to Eugene was not so good. Having taken a little more than a week off from touring definitely had an impact on my fitness level. Legs hurt and my energy level late in the ride was greatly diminished.
What goes down, must go up ... the tunnel that was so much fun yesterday was no joy today. That 7% grade was really quite difficult, due primarily to my weakened physical state. I was pedaling like a madman trying to get through that tunnel before traffic came from behind. Towards the end of the tunnel I could hear what sounded like a semi-truck approaching from behind, and there were cars coming towards me from the front ... this did not leave too much room for a bike (or, therefore, me). The "front approaching" cars went past me, but the approaching-from-the-rear freight-train was getting closer, and I was imagining the worst. As I got to the mouth of the tunnel, the 747 turned out to be a small Toyota, which passed me with room to spare ... at this point I managed to get my fingers loosened from my death grip on the handlebars and took several very deep breaths. Scared me like I have never been scared on a bike before.
Anyway, the bike has been dipped in the Pacific ... time to head east. I will be leaving Eugene in a few days and head to Portland. I am planning on catching a flight from Portland to Phoenix to take care of a few administrative tasks (that I failed to do prior to leaving AZ), then return to Portland to continue the ride.
Actually, I just need some of that AZ heat to warm-up this body.
I rode from Eugene over to Florence yesterday, and dipped the rear wheel of my bike in the Pacific Ocean. Now comes the long haul across country to dip the front wheel in the Atlantic.
The ride to Florence is not all that hard ... there are several small climbs of 500 to 600 feet, with one extremely exhilarating 7% down hill run. This down hill run is particularly enjoyable as a good part of the 7% is going through a tunnel (that does not have a bike lane). I was flying!
After the 60 miles +/- to Florence, I rode an additional 5 or 6 miles to find a beach ... then carried the bike about a quarter of a mile across the sand to get to the water. I asked a family, that was sitting close to the breaking waves, if one of them would take my picture. It is odd the varied reactions you get when talking about riding across the country. Reactions vary from "you're crazy", to "I have always wanted to do that", to "smiles and encouragement". This family was in the "smiles" category ... they were quite excited to be taking part in my adventure, and that made me feel good.
The return ride to Eugene was not so good. Having taken a little more than a week off from touring definitely had an impact on my fitness level. Legs hurt and my energy level late in the ride was greatly diminished.
What goes down, must go up ... the tunnel that was so much fun yesterday was no joy today. That 7% grade was really quite difficult, due primarily to my weakened physical state. I was pedaling like a madman trying to get through that tunnel before traffic came from behind. Towards the end of the tunnel I could hear what sounded like a semi-truck approaching from behind, and there were cars coming towards me from the front ... this did not leave too much room for a bike (or, therefore, me). The "front approaching" cars went past me, but the approaching-from-the-rear freight-train was getting closer, and I was imagining the worst. As I got to the mouth of the tunnel, the 747 turned out to be a small Toyota, which passed me with room to spare ... at this point I managed to get my fingers loosened from my death grip on the handlebars and took several very deep breaths. Scared me like I have never been scared on a bike before.
Anyway, the bike has been dipped in the Pacific ... time to head east. I will be leaving Eugene in a few days and head to Portland. I am planning on catching a flight from Portland to Phoenix to take care of a few administrative tasks (that I failed to do prior to leaving AZ), then return to Portland to continue the ride.
Actually, I just need some of that AZ heat to warm-up this body.
Congrats Padre...
ReplyDeleteTruly amazing journey going on here. Stay out of the way, those old Toyota trucks can still hurt quite a bit.
Enjoy the heat for a couple days...and congrats on your accomplishments so far.
We just learned of this amazing and ambitious journey. Good for you. We watched the Tour with Wendell today and talked about you. All good. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteBob & Charlotte
Keep up the blogging...I see a book in your future. Love the description of coming through the tunnel with the "semi" at your back.
ReplyDeleteLet me know when you're flying into Phoenix. Talk soon,
Marcie
Hey Randy~
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS! What an amazing accomplishment my friend!
I will miss your blog! Could you just make up stories and keep the blog going? Haha~
Happy Homecoming!
NO'B