Category: cycle touring

August 9, 2012

Day 7: These hills have hills

We rose with the sun… Then said screw it and slept in a few minutes more. Boiling water the night before allowed for a thermos of hot coffee in the tents… An amazing luxury.

MJ and I got out a full hour earlier than normal, knowing we had a nice easy ride to the border and on to Crescent City, followed by two monster 1000 ‘ + hills standing in the way of our campsite in Humboldt County. Day 7 also featured the longest ride of the trip so far: over 70 miles. Basically, a decent challenge.

After a big forage at the Safeway, we hit the first hill that was the gateway to Redwoods State and National Park. The Goblin groaned a lot as it turned out the hill had 3 peaks. It also featured a crazy pavement project that made one of the upper downhills a little more treacherous than fun. The final downhill felt like flying over the coast as the blue waters of the Pacific lapped at the coastal rocks in the distance.

Some tourist trap in Klamath served as the intermission for hill number 2. Two miles of steep granny gear later and we were rewarded with an epic 5 mile downhill ride through a forest of redwoods that seemed to get progressively larger around every bend.

Day 8 looks to bring me to the same campground where last fall’s Climate Ride began. A fitting way to connect the experiences… And maybe begin exorcising some of the (few) demons of that trip. Look out Leggett…

MJ tip of the day
Use an old, unused phone number for all grocery discount cards… You’ll remember it easily and the marketing people will never be able to contact or find you! Genius! And… mysterious….

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Don’t forget you can track this madness on a real live map at and also on Twitter.

August 7, 2012

Day 6: Best day ever, except when it wasn’t

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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Don’t forget you can track this madness on a real live map at and also on Twitter.

August 7, 2012

Days 3-5: Dampness, winds and the people you meet

The last three days of the ride have included spectacular vistas, oddly boring stretches, rainy overnights, cool days… and those damn headwinds.

One touring rider we ran into coming from the south is enjoying the hell out of his unexpected luck. Me? I get to pedal down hills so I can avoid being ground to a stop. Someone once called headwinds “invisible hills” and I think this trip has more than proven that.

The weekend included a portion of the southern Oregon coast near some beautiful dunes. Unfortunately the route largely keeps you away from seeing them, but within earshot of the din of ATVs and other dune buggies. It was also Dunes Weekend so traffic was thick with trailers full of sand craft. For the most part the trucks have been respectful of our space, but the traffic noise can get a bit much over time.

Road conditions vary so much it’s almost like an odd obstacle course. Some counties have paved nice smooth asphalt all the way through the edges, while some (cough cough Lane cough County) prefer vintage (degrading) chip seal, making the bike lane impassable at times.

Physically, things are going fine… At this point in my CA ride I was having Achilles problems, but I’m not feeling anything like that. Day 5 and now day 6 feature some steeper climbs than is typical for the Oregon coast, but coffee, calories, low gears, music and patience seem to be the cure for those.

Cell signals are hit or miss. I’m drafting this without one in hopes I can post from one of the upcoming towns. California has longer “dead zones” which feel oddly isolating despite being with MJ and a few others.

The people you meet on the road are often the most interesting part of a ride. Because you tend to ride the same distances, you’ll see many of the same people at the next camp. We’ve spent two nights with a guy who built a surf board rack out of bamboo and a Bob trailer… He’s surfing the coast as he finds good waves. Amazing. The unfortunate thing is these groups don’t last forever, and you often don’t know if someone will go further or take a longer lunch and not get as far as you. Such is life on the bike tour.

Make the most of your day – I’ve got some hills to climb and a moist tent to pack…

August 4, 2012

Day 2: Headwinds, climbs and magnets

Heat advisories on the Oregon coast are declared when temps hit 82. For real. I love this place!

Day 2’s ride featured a sometimes windy 55 miles of stunning coastline and a lunch stop at the famous Pig n Poke in Lincoln City. Powered by omelette and pancakes, I hit the big hills pretty well. This will be good training for Leggett next week.

MJ passed along interesting information on the odd band called Insane Clown Posse… Apparently they are science deniers (yep) and believe (a) all things not easily explained are miracles and (b) science is an enormous conspiracy to deny this fact. One of their songs features the line, “… Magnets! How do THEY work!? Miracles!” Ditto for rainbows and a few other easily explainable phenomenon. Awesome.

My thermarest got a friend in Newport: it was leaking someplace so I got another one at a used gear store for a song. For some reason I can’t part with the one I brought so I’ll probably haul around both. Guess I’m loyal.

August 3, 2012

Mysterious James

If you’re here, you wanted to know what or who Mysterious James aka MJ is. Here’s the deal:

– MJ is an enigma wrapped in a riddle dropped in a box of Cracker Jack
– MJ is a massive user of Twitter and other social media
– MJ does not have an account on any of these
– MJ is a ghost, but not dead.
– MJ has been newly transformed by bike touring, and now says hello to people, but only if he deems them odd enough to talk to.
– MJ is lanky and about the size of a small giraffe.
– MJ rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker, the Cadillac of touring bikes. It’s also the Scientology of touring bikes because there’s a bit of a cult amongst their owners. Kidding Scientology. Sort of.
– MJ and I have similar jobs, but not really
– MJ shall always be mysterious
– This is the best picture I’ll ever get of MJ:

August 3, 2012

Day 1: MJ, the goblin triumphant, and things that do not suck

After a fitful night’s sleep at my brother’s place, I got up early and got the bike and all of the gear packed and loaded on the newly pimped out Goblin. Everything seemed so organized, but I knew that would last about a day. There’s something about bike touring (ok, my bike touring) that takes neatly folded and rolled items into a chaotic mess after the first night on the road.

This is what your nutty English teacher called “foreshadowing.”

I rode from NE Portland to the Greyhound station, where the Wave bus would pick me up. Best kept secret (if municipal transit is, in fact, ever a secret) is the $15 ride you can get from Portland to the coast. The bike rack got the bike locked in and the ride was pretty, but not terribly eventful.

We rolled into Tillamook right on schedule and MJ was there, rocking the tan of a guy who’s been living on a bike and in a tent for 6 weeks. We spent a few hours in Tillamook repacking and grabbing some supplies (plus spending some time on a work project that decided to pop up at a bad time, but needed fixin). Then, off we went.

The roughly 30 mile ride to Pacific City was largely flat, with a few moderate climbs. The Goblin rose to the occasion. Goblin eats hills for breakfast… Although it was more like a late lunch… Hm, yeah I’ll work on that.

On one of the last couple of climbs we got our first view of Haystack Rock, an iconic formation off the coast. A couple of hills later, and we were waiting in line for our campsite. The place is full of wild bunnies, and apparently some well-fed feral cats. You do the math. An interminable amount of time later (“how’d you pay for that again?” – “what’s your first name again?” – nice guy, but seems to have a short term memory issue) and we were sipping the fine beers of the Pelican Brewery. I believe my tweet as we ate dinner and gazed out over the Pacific and Haystack was: This. Does. Not. Suck.

And it doesn’t.

Except my gear is a mess after setting up camp. See? Foreshadowing!

August 1, 2012

Day 0: international diplomacy and the art of bike maintenance

Today began with the unwelcome wake up alarm following a mere 2.5 hours of sleep… I had a big project due that kept me up and at ’em til the wee hours, and if you’ve ever spent time processing audio and coding websites, you know you can’t just shut down right after completing.

The flight out to Portland was eventful only because I changed up plans at the last second. A group of ten Chinese students were introduced to the American concept of “overbooking” and didn’t have seats on the only plane that could get them to San Francisco in time to connect with a flight home to Shanghai. I knew I had a little time to play with and at the end of the day, I was the 10th person to allow them to all go as a group (it was all or none) and I got the added benefit of a nice travel voucher for the two our delay it cost me. So, win win.

Once in Portland, my brother got me at the airport and I got to work on the Green Goblin. A new set of tires, a new (way too complicated) rack, and we’re good to go. I’ll be sure to snap a pic of the fully loaded green goblin mañana – it looks pretty good and rides great. Big thanks to Community Cycling Center for rehabbing the goblin… It’s a cool little vintage touring bike that I’ll get great use out of here on the west coast.

Mysterious James (MJ, I think for short as we get going on this) joins me in Tillamook tomorrow… I grab a bus from Portland in the morning, and we’ll bike about 30ish miles to Pacific City and the amazing Pelican Pub.

I hear they have beer.

July 31, 2012

Packed and ready

The contents of my now packed panniers and bags were strewn across the bed. The gear made it in, but barely. United Airlines shall not get an additional dime out of me!* Carrying a minimal amount of gear for two weeks of one’s life is an interesting exercise in, well… minimalism. Makes you wonder whether we need more stuff than we can carry on a bike?

More to come from PDX tomorrow… the goblin gets some new tires, a rack and a solid ride from yours truly so I can make some adjustments prior to the big Tour de Pacific!

Reminder, if you care… check out the tour map page starting Thursday or my Twitter feed to keep up with the nonsense.

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*Yes, this is some form of cry for help masked in anti-airline baggage fee bravado. I honestly can’t figure out why I’m so steadfast on this position…

July 28, 2012

Tour de Tuneup

With the big Tour de Pacific starting next week and a serious dearth of multi day trips under my belt this season, I decided to shake the rust off with a little C&O tune up tour. A few highlights so far:

– the Metro and bus combo from Dupont Circle to Poolesville, MD puts you about a semi hilly 5 mile ride from Whites Ferry (mile marker 35.5). It’s a fun way to shave off some early miles and get deeper into the trail. Love it, but alas only a weekday option.
– PS thanks Metro for charging my card 10 bucks and not applying it to my SmartCard. You suck.big thanks to the good samaratin who had change on the bus.
– trail conditions were a but choppy, but considering the storm damage the trees took its a testament to NPS for clearing it to passable status. You are the opposite of Metro, NPS!
– summer heat and humidity in the DC region is inhumane. It was 90 when the sun set. I think I was comfortable at 3am.
– biking is fun. Cycle touring is a great escape… I get great ideas while in the bike, particularly business and problem solving solutions.
– I’ve met some interesting people: a group in Harpers Ferry who had biked from CA (they were finishing in DC… Amazing!)… And just now another muddy rider who started in Cumberland. I like touring alone or with Mysterious James, but it’s cool to run into random people with random stories.

Probably camping one more night between Whites Ferry and DC. I have the crazy stair detour near Great Falls to contend with (wait, NPS… I take it back… That kind of sucks) but if I can get to it early Sunday there will be fewer camera wielding bus tourists to contend with.

Alright… Back to my rueben. I’m powerless against a rueben. If it’s on the menu I must order it…

July 21, 2012

Stormriders!

I’m hosting a “summer camp” retreat at my cabin this week (led by the irrepressible Kimberly) – while the weather has been less than ideal, we managed to sneak in a short tour of the Western Maryland Rail Trail by bike.

Statistics:

Number of flats I’ve had on that trail over the course of about 400 previous miles: zero.
Number of flats we had collectively in 11 miles yesterday? 2.
Amount of rain forecast during our 2 hour period according to radar: zero.
Percentage of time we were rained on: 80% of the ride.

Moral of the story: always bring your full repair gear, learn to change all sorts of tires, and remember it’s supposed to be fun. Luckily we had all of that. I present to you, the stormriders of summer camp 2012…