Day 6 was looking to be the final day of the Oregon ride. A little back of the napkin calculations over dinner the night before had MJ and I determining we were behind on our projected SF arrival target, so Day 6 looked like a good day to make up some miles with a flat 30 miles after Brookings.

Some of the hillier parts of the ride stood in the way before that – Seven Devils (apropos name) from Day 5 notwithstanding. I had a really strong start as the Goblin munched up some decent hills, putting us ahead of the game as we descended into Gold Beach. One of our favorite podcasts offers the phrase “best day ever!” as a rallying cry, and it totally fit.

Snap!*

Two spokes on the rear wheel went all kaplooey (hypertechnical biking term). Spokes are important… when perfectly tensioned they keep your wheel, well… wheel shaped. Miss a few and eventually your wheel will wobble like a kid who sat on the Tilt o’ Whirl one ride too many. A quick google, a quick call, and I knew we were 30 miles and a series of climbs away from a bike shop in Brookings. Oregon would have us for one more day after all.

Turns out the Goblin’s rear wheel had seen its best days… A new wheel (thanks Eric) and we’re ready to rock some California ridin.

Playlist today featured obscure 90s songs including that one by Primitive Radio Gods with the really long title. No, you do know that one. Trust me.

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*Not to be confused with 90s exclamatory favorite, “oh snap!” but I guess it would have worked if I had said that following the spoke incident.
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