About 35 miles today
We began the day thinking we would be riding about 60 miles. However we met with some excessive hot weather, a couple thousand foot climbs, and exhaustion. The first climb out of Cape Lookout was a doozie! It went from a small valley forest to treed sand dunes--2.7 miles later. We traveled through rolling dunes and rolling farmlands. At one point, my bike computer read 107 degrees, but then the road would swing into a shaded valley and we would freeze!
I discovered music to be a huge motivator and relief at the base of that first hill. I plugged into my music and blasted up it so fast the pack of Boy Scouts couldn't catch me.
The second thousand foot climb, was so much harder, it was so blooming hot! We stopped several times for water and to try to cool down. I'm not a big fan of pushing myself beyond limits. That is why we stopped in Lincoln City in 85 degree weather, for a bagel and a soda (and to recharge our phones). When we went outside and discovered a huge bank of fog had rolled in, and that the temp dropped 20 degrees and a huge head wind. When I spotted a sign for the Nordic Hotel with a spa and a sauna, I pulled Tia back and we set up camp there (here) for the night. We went to dine at maxwells-- yum. Good comfort food and pleasant service. What a treat!
My favorite things of today:
1. Foxgloves all along the roadsides
2. Long horn steer on the sand dunes
3. Summits--and the downhill
4. A room on the ocean
5. A kind supportive husband who thought spending $120 on a room was a good idea. I love him! He is my heart.
July 7, 2011
As I sit at the beach, here in Southern California, reading my journal and guidebook, the scenes from those days of my tour down the coast are remarkably clear.
That morning, I woke and studied my guidebook. No matter how many times I looked at it, those upcoming hills were inevitable. Breakfast was a great time to relax and plan for the day. Generally we ate 5-6 times a day. Once in the morning before we packed up, once at ten (if I waited until 10:30, I would melt down in a heap of sugarless frustration). We would stop for a noon meal, usually eat bread, cheese and fruit. An afternoon snack and dinner when we got to camp.
Jimmy came to say goodbye before he left. The day was clear and beautiful. The trees provided a nice cover as we set off up our first thousand foot climb of the day.
That was the day that I learned the meaning of the word 'cape.' A cape is a solitary high place along the coast, a perfect place for a lighthouse, but a strenuous place to cycle. The days ahead had many capes to pass over, but that first challenge was my initiation. At the bottom of the hill, a large group of kids was gathering with their leader. They were all wearing bright orange T-shirts and had the telltale gear of the cycle tourist strapped onto their bikes.
Tia and I played leap frog with this group for the first ten minutes, I pulled over and plugged into my music. Jesus Built my Hot-rod, an upbeat and moving song that got me pedaling hard. At the time, I had a dread of hills, they were there for getting over and causing suffering to cyclists. I never imagined that eventually I would come to love hills because they let me look around and enjoy the place I was at a little bit longer. Well, at least I did not dread them.
As we climbed, the flora changed from dense forest to vast dunes. Leeward and windward. Our road led through many small neighborhoods and towns. One house had a managerie of laser cut steel badges on it's fence. Each badge was in the shape of an Oregon lighthouse. We stopped there and devoured a Clif bar and jerky. That was the day I learned about 10 o'clock breakfast. Through the fence and trees, we could see glimpses of the great Pacific ocean and decided that house would be a fantastic place to settle down.
Just past Neskowin, the road divides and allows you an opportunity to avoid some of the heavier traffic of highway 101. The side road is a much longer way, so we to decided to skip that and stay with 101. That ended up being a mistake. The highway was loud and fast and hot, the only shade was far off the road. Parts of the shoulder were not safe for cyclists. Multiple times, we had to pull over to cool off.
As we pulled into the outskirts of Lincoln City, we were relieved to be able to get something cold to drink and cool down. There was a sweet little cafe bakery along the road with free wifi. We spent a good couple hours there next to the shaded window.
We were surprised to see the fog and cold, damp wind. We stood by our bikes, reassessing the map and the distance we still needed to travel to get to our next campground at Beverly State Beach.
Part of our travel kits were all about warm, comfortable clothing for the end of the trail. Things like fleeces and fleece pants, thick socks and wind breakers. Before we continued our journey, that day, we put of every warm a piece of clothing we had. Tia was still freezing. We also turned on our bicycle lights
She had determined to just plow through it and get there as fast as she could. But the fog was so thick, I watched my sister disappear into the fog. Trying to catchup to a determined Tia, was not easy. As I pushed into the wind, I spotted a sign. All I saw on that sign were the words sauna and inn. I pedaled harder and passed another sign for the Nordic Inn. I had to get us there. I was practically screaming her name before she heard me and stopped. We had passed the inn a mile before. She was as eager about the sauna as I was.
Our room was clean and comfortable. When we opened the drapes, we overlooked the beach. A pea soup fog shrouded, beautiful beach. We could not change into our swimwear fast enough (mostly because we were shivering so hard). We forced ourselves to get up to temp in the swimming pool before we hit the sauna.
When I lived in the arctic in Russia, the water had been off in my apartment for weeks and the radiator in my bedroom had dried up. One day Tatiana Ivanova told me we were going to rent a private bath with her family. Spring was around the corner and the snow pack was finally starting to melt, but during my three months there, I had not been warm. The private bath had a small swimming pool tiled in brown subway tile, a bank of showers and the hottest wooden sauna I'd ever experienced. It was so lovely and warm. For the first time in months I felt clean.
The sauna at the inn was on par with my Russian sauna. I had been able to shower daily, but the road grime was pervasive. We scrubbed and scrubbed until we were hot and pink. In our bathroom sink, we scrubbed our cycling shorts and jerseys. The water turned a hideous murky brown. Then hung them out to dry with the heat blasting in our room.
The hotel clerk gave us the heads up about Maxwell's. It was a really great small town joint with an older, loyal clientele. Our waitress had probably been working there for twenty years and knew how to treat wayfaring souls. She had our hot chocolate out to us in seconds. There were photos on the menu, and one showed a whole roasted chicken and fries. Could anything have been more perfect? We asked to split the order and when it came it was as if it were meant to be that way-complete with garnish. It was devoured, quickly.
One of the best things about touring by bike is how amazing everything tastes. You work so hard for it! And you earn it! There is no guilt.
We wandered through the little streets discussing how grateful we were to be out there and to have been able to stop and get warm. As we talked, we passed a house with a picket fence painstakingly striped in red, white, and blue. An eagle and unfurling flag were painted on the side of the house. "It takes all kinds, I guess."
I was anxious to talk to my Johne. Because recharging my phone took so much time, it was rarely ever fully recharged and I was always so aware of my battery life. My phone was a vital connection to my world. I used it as my camera, my computer, my city map, my phone. Texting eventually became a great way to share with my friends and family. My phone even helped me meet people, when I was out of charge and had to ask people in motor homes if they would mind sharing their power. But to have the luxury of being able to charge my phone all night, meant I could finally have a conversation longer than a few minutes with my sweet husband. I slept well that night.
Iris's Coast Coast Sound Track
Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines
Devil Knows You're Dead - Delta Spirit
End of the line -- Traveling Wilburys
The Road -- Frank Turner
Walkabout -- Atlas Sound
Allouette -- Tallest Trees
So Much Beauty in Dirt -- Modest Mouse
In comes the light -- Kate Maki
The Cave -- Mumford and Sons
Change of Time -- Josh Ritter
Sun Children -- Nickodemus
I Will Live On Islands -- Josh Rouse
the sound -- Human Highway
Swim untill You can't see Land -- Frightened Rabbit
1000 miles 1000 deaths -- Voager one
Wild flowers -- Tom Petty
With arms outstreached -- Rilo Kiley
Bonjuor -- Rachid Taha
Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaian -- Those Darlins
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