Pain and beauty

Today was simultaneously the most painful and most beautiful day of the ride. Pain emanated from my right knee every time I turned the crank arm over. Consequently, my cadence was really slow, about 20 rpm, and I often biked with just my left leg, its stereoisomer slung backwards on top of my bags like meat from a successful hunt on the Oregon Trail. By midday, the constant stretching of the tendon had eased the pain by constantly inducing it, much like a physical therapist. Now at night, I am grateful for the rest of our motley crew for supporting my gimpy gander down the coast. Samir hauled my trailer and they all took turns waiting for me after more arduous sections of the 101.

Beauty came in part from the pain; not out of masochism, but rather out of the increased awareness that accompanies slow movements. Biking slowly, you choose between being utterly bored or utterly focused. It is always more satisfying to stay focused, and today's scenery and wildlife ensnared my senses. The salty smell of the ocean, the warmth of the sun, and the sticky feeling of anemone tentacles...

We stopped first at some tidepools. There I saw over fifteen species of animals and dozens of plants, including some medicinally used by natives.




My new timeshare.





Sea anemones and purple urchins.


It was hard to walk around the pools, but they were so gorgeous. It has been a while since I have seen starfish and sea urchins in tidepools.








A bigger starfish. I loved watching it's tube feet.











The coast continues to get wilder as we head south. As I was biking downhill, I happened to turn my head and look through the pine trees at the ocean. Just then, a column of sea spray shot up into the air three hundred feet offshore, and a large gray body rolled out of the water. A gray whale! I saw four today, possibly all the same whale. This time of year, they migrate south to their summer home in Baja. I was delighted to see the whale, and it gave me the inspiration I needed to keep going the 35 miles we rode today. I also saw sea lions and a beautiful hawk soaring below me next to a coastal precipice.

We made camp in back of another Catholic church tonight after calling the priest for the ok. No showers tonight. It is too cold. Our standards for cleanliness have really dropped anyhow, and we are happy as long as nothing is visibly crawling in our food. Mmmm...

Night all! Be safe and have fun. It's all about the journey.

Location:Florence, Oregon

Icyhot feels amazing

Today was our easy day. We rode about thirty miles instead of our normal seventy. Nevertheless, I still managed to push my knee too hard at the end of the day. I am in my tent with icy hot and a wrapping around the quad tendon that inserts on the medial side of the knee. This has happened before, and I've been better with a few hours of rest. To be extra careful, we are staying here tomorrow. Zero miles!

In the morning we all split and did our own thing. I went to the lighthouse and visitor center at Yaquina Head. I could hear the surf from all the way atop the cliffs. Below, suffers braved the cold to catch some waves, and seabirds gathered in abundance.



The Yaquina lighthouse was built in 1872. I bought a pin at the visitor center to add to my pin bag. It says Oregon coast, 101.





My finger was in the way for this next shot.


After the lighthouse I had a salmon sandwich at a small cafe with Samir. Then we went to the library where I charged my phone and read On Beauty.


Then came the beach ride. This was so much fun. We probably rode a mile before having to exit to the 101.

My leg began hurting when we pulled off to see a glassblower work. I remembered how much fun glassblowing was at school, and it was exhilarating to see the artisan work, since I could follow his process.


We ended the day with double cheeseburgers made over a wood fire. I called home and talked to almost everyone. I miss talking to people, especially family, but I will soon be back to the world of gchat and constant text messaging. The lull in connectivity is rather relaxing actually. I am glad I am here. Night!

Lukas' Blog

http://journeyasdestinationlpb.blogspot.com


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Camilo now has a blogsite

Check it out! http://camipiri.blogspot.com.

June 26th: a week out

Today we rode about 60 miles to Beverley Beach. There were two massive climbs today.


A kite festival.





Waiting for Lukas to catch up.





The coast was beautiful, as usual.


My dérailleur got bashed hard a couple times before arriving in camp, and I couldn't shift very well. I was in a bad mood till I got out my tools and fixed it all. Now the bike works like a charm again. We are taking an easy day tomorrow. I could use the recovery time. Lol

June 25th to Cape Lookout State Park

We took a scenic and strenuous route from tillamook up a two mile hill that made my thighs beg for mercy. So worth it.





From here we could here a very loud jumble of bird calls from a thousand birds floating offshore.





We all took a short hike to a lighthouse and hoped that the bikes would be gone when we got back.


Of course, the bikes were just fine, so we had to ride on.





As we biked along the coast, I saw a dozen blue herons. They stood along the shore like muses on a Greek amphora.


At the hiker biker sites at Cape Lookout State Park, we each had to buy a site to stay at. I set up and went to the beach.





Lukas and I ran into the ocean and then went to the showers. I hit the hot shower button ten times. It was my first shower in three days.

June 25th to Tillamook

We began our 70 mile day browsing a fresh organic produce stand by the side of the road. The prices were all unbelievable! Turns out, the guy working the register was charging us about forty percent of the prices for berries.


We biked early to Cannon Beach. The scenery there was some of the best yet. The trees on the coast arch away from the sea, permanently bowed in submission to the coastal gales.


You can see the monolith at Cannon Beach here. I walked my bike along the beach and ate a whole carton of the sweetest strawberries.


Camilo was impressed by the scenery too, though he hates being cold on the beach.


I took off my shoes and waded into the water. The water was icy, and my feet slipped into numbness as I explored the shallows. The rocks were full of bright blue-green anemones and hermit crabs.


The monolith was like a great English castle, watching over the shore far below it's battlements. The craggy keep was populated by a hundred wheeling seabirds.


The town was very cute. I got a coffee at the sleepy monk espresso bar.


The rest of the coast was hilly and so worth the agony.


We met a couple godlike bikers on the path to Tillamook who remarked that our eighty mile days were "decent." since running into these guys, we have been holding ourselves to new standards :).






Tillamook is a small town known for its cheese and dairy. We could smell the cows from five miles away.


Cheese mongers!!! I wish my whole family was in this picture. We have a very special relationship with all things cheese.



At the factory, I saw the production of five gallon blocks of cheddar, sampled a lot of cheese, and ate a big ice cream.