Hello Jealous,
Correct, we made it to Cali and we are REALLY diggin' it. Ok, ok, ok...so it wasn't until after I got to sleep in a bed and have a real meal that I started to appreciate the golden state for all it's splendor, but yeah....it's pretty great. We woke up from our second day at Harris Beach in Brookings, Oregon and with a bit of dispair bid farewell to beautiful, lovely, warm, friendly, hospitable Oregon and made our way to the California border. BUT FIRST...we did some sea side stretch/yoga/push ups with our new pals Vincent and Joey.
Bout to stretch
Me and Lani were needing direction and discipline with our pre-cycling stretch routine and BOOM there they were to give us a hand.
Bowing to the seas
I'm not saying these cats knew there Sun A's from there elbows, but it was fun and the ocean was the perfect backdrop for the stretching and it felt right to give the Oregon coast a proper farewell. It will be missed...
BUT FUCK IT WE'RE IN CALIFORNIA NOW!! WOOOOO HOOO. We spent the better part of an hour taking pics and being stupid (taking breaks to pee within line of sight from the road, classy)
Oh Oregon you will be missed and I will be back, but not before the rainy season is over, that I can assure you.
It took awhile but we eventually did find people actually living in California, a place called Fort Dick where the people are a bit odd, but they were giving away kittens and boy did that turn the tables. ALMOST...ALMOOOOOOOOOST, but despite Tamara's cries for me to adopt that kitty, Lani's level headed (see: hatred) of animals steered me in the right direction and we pressed on. Something we realized early is that where Oregon is organized and thoughtful regarding bikers, California is...well they could care less. The campsites and routes for bikers are not clearly marked so we passed the state park unknowingly and ended up back tracking 3 miles and staying in a county park...NOT AS NICE. No showers and questionable restroom facilities, but we didn't have to pay so that was cool. We also got a taste of the redwoods...just babies...but COOL!
Me and Tamara quickly set out exploring while Lani put up the tent and, ya know made sure we had food and whatnot. Whatever...we were excited. HA! Tamara found a tree stump that we all hung out in and had coffee. It was cool.
We also found a hollowed out redwood that was like a little magical fort, Tamara wanted to sleep there but I reminded her that many, MANY animals probably had that same thought way before her.
Here we are in the stump, just the gals kicking in with the Dutch guys, that's right, we were on the same track as Jelle and Pim so we camped next to them and hung out, exchanged conflicting cultural norms with each other, and made a fire. It was REAL cold.
It was like the Amazon...I swear.
After many takes...we finally got this pic of all of us in the stump. The girl at the top was this really sweet, bubbly lass from Germany named Mimi who was hitchhiking down the coast and hiking along the way. She was SOOOOO nice. Hope her travels are safe here on out. After a not satisfying or nutritional breakfast of a few oatmeal packets and string cheese we were off to tackle Crescent City and the GIANT, OMINOUS, DAUNTING hill we had been hearing about since Brookings. One guy actually dubbed it the "hill of broken dreams" at first I laughed, but now I kind of get it.
This is us after doing many 1/10 of this monster...but we were heading into the redwood forest and that coast line behind us. I felt so obligated to take in the scenery around me, but at the same time I sort of wanted to barf all over it and fall off my bike and die, but we pressed on.....for roughly 7 more miles of incline...on this shitty 2 lane highway WITH NO BIKE LANE. RV's are now on the shit list. WHY DO YOU NEED A HOUSE ON VACATION??? Why do you need to drive that house 60 miles an hour up a mountain that careens through giant trees and then shout at tiny bikers who only ask that you DON'T HIT THEM!??! America at this point made no sense to me. Even our peaceful, joy spreading Canadian friend was getting angry...shit was getting really real.
Hello I'm a bike lane
We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel or in our case the truck on the triangle. It was a bit bitter sweet...I mean you climb those hills with the expectation the downhill is going to be wicked awesome, but with no bike lane...well, let's just say I was saying my prayers the whole way down...THE WHOLE WAY DOWN. I could have easily gotten up to 45mph but only allowed myself a modest 34mph because like I said people who drive RV's through the redwoods are dicks.
COME SEE HOW GOOD I LOOK!
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After that epic climb we got down to the other side to a town called Klamath and ran to the nearest eatery a one FOREST CAFE, next to the TREES MOTEL across the way from the TREES OF MYSTERY MUSEUM and ate until we couldn't move and then passed out in the parking lot for about an hour. I went to the bathroom inside and when I came back out I saw that we looked rather homeless, at best transient and decided we should press on. We also ran into a pack of other cycle tourists and thinking the gals were behind me I set off with the pack, it included a couple from Boston and 2 Brits and the Canadian Ben we met in Brookings, along with Jeremy from France.
The posse...it was so cool to ride with that many people, really empowering, but soon I realized that Lani and Tamara weren't with me. Assuming they wouldn't be far behind that the campsite would be soon (wrong) I just kept on....until it got hilly again and I took a breather. So the people I was riding with trudged on and I was left to wait for my pals who weren't coming in any real hurry. UNTIL...I noticed a pickup with a oddly shaped metal pole sticking out the back. Before you know it I see Lani's trailer and their bikes flying by me at highway speeds with Tamara waving at me from the bed. They didn't stop until about a 1/4 mile down. I later found out Tamara had to bang on the cab to get them to stop since the guys driving didn't know me and Lani wasn't paying attention...THANKS LAWN!
Kickin' it in DA TRUCK BED, it sounds fun at first, but then you're flying down the highway in fall time in NoCal and you realize IT'S A BIT CHILLY...and then it gets really old.
We made the best of it though by cracking jokes and telling ourselves how great the hot showers at the state park would be. Mmmmm...hot showers.
It was at times quite windy...see picture.
So we got to the camp side a one RED PRAIRIE state park...but we realized it was WAY off the 101 and we'd spend half the day biking back to 101 just to get outta there so we decided to go to the next campsite called Patrick's Point. Got dropped off there, even though it looked to be closed and made camp. Eager as I was I ran to the shower to get warm and clean. Well, the California state parks are PAY showers, FUCK so we pooled our quarters and off I went again. Hmm...the parks closed, but SURELY the hot water boiler is still on FALSE. I took a sort of half shower in FREEEEEZING water and walked back to the tent super pissed I wasted a dollar on that bullshit. I called the park number to get the skinny and realized that only a portion of the park was open, so we saddled up with our shower gear and towels and made for the pay showers over there...in goes another dollar and SWEET SWEET SHOWERS we did have. We all woke up sore and hungry and not really into the "cycling 30 miles" thing so we walked down some paths to the cliffs and stretch near the coast. It was really REALLY windy, but super beautiful. I forgot my camera, so there aren't pics of that, sorry. Then we set off for Trinidad, which the park is actually in, but we needed to head to the central part because our host for the evening lives in Trinidad PROPER. Carol from Couchsurfing.org offered to put us up for the night, but she wouldn't be home til 10pm so we had to entertain ourselves until then. We got some food and then loitered around the coffee shop until we got bored, then just went back to Carol's house and waited for her on her front stoop. It was roughly 6pm. You can't honestly believe we had the patience to just sit there, do you? No....Tamara had the good idea to go back the coffee shop and leech there WiFi from outside, sit in our sleeping bags and watch netflix movies on my computer...and that's just what we did. The connection was slow and the movie wasn't that great, but it killed the time nicely and when we returned Carol was home and invited us in. After some pleasantries and learning the ropes we all say down for a nice chat with Carol, who is an amazing woman who teaches special ed at Eureka High School, who raised a globe trotting son who's in school at NYU. We all were really tired, me, Lani and Tamara from our whole day of sloth-like activities and Carol from a full day of teaching and SALSA CLASS!! Ay-chi!! Lani and Tamara gave me a bed to myself since I've not been sleeping well (and still haven't :o(
After a lazy start and some procrastinating (Carol keeps such a nice home complete with scones and french press coffee :::SIGH:::::) We headed down the road to Arcata, only about 16 miles...nothing crazy we're still lazy and tired from that hill plus there are COOL TOWNS HERE!! My friend back in Minneapolis, JESSICA, gave me the name of her friend Liz (who I actually briefly met this winter) who lives in Arcata and offered to put us up for the night, so that's where were at. I should have more pics of Arcata tomorrow. It was such a shock to see such a bustling, young, college town along our route since in Oregon that wasn't really the case. People are just so friendly and chatty here and we'll probably hang out for a bit and really soak up the atmosphere. We all really dig it.
The thrift stores in Arcata are BADASS
This is Penny one of the dogs that Liz is looking after while house sitting. She is my new best friend and we'll never be apart. Truth. There are 3 dogs, 11 chickens and 1 duck...only a 10 minute bike ride out of Arcata...I love this place. I might never leave. PLUS I already know 1 resident and she's fucking RAD!
Can you feel the love?
That's up to date as it gets. Now I'm going to sit and watch a movie and maybe fall asleep. Missing Minneapolis, but really loving my time out here. Thinking of friends and family often, you are all on my mind.
Greetings internetians,
We here we are in another B town along the coast, Brookings, Oregon, the last city before CALIFORNIA!!! The night before we stayed in Cape BLANCO and as you know we stayed in BANDON. So...the southern coast line has a thing for the B names I guess.
Anyhoo...we stayed in Bandon for several glorious, star filled nights while the weather was great and then shoved off 2 days ago to continue the journey. On the map it looked like an easy jaunt to the next camp ground, Cape Blanco. As the crow flies it's probably 15, maybe 20 miles, BUT we've come to discover that maps lie...maps like real hard. The 101 cuts inland for no apparent reason, rather than just following the coast. So...I got to the turn off point to Blanco thinking "Finally, I can relax, I'm home". NOPE...I biked a solid 25 miles up and down and up and down the hilly countryside, through eerily small towns that didn't seem too hospitable to biker folk, only to have to ride another 6 miles back towards the coast and TRUST when I say that those last 6 miles were the worst. DID I MENTION THE HEAD WIND THE WHOLE WAY!?!? At least 25 or 9000 miles per hour...at least. So, as luck would have it almost immediately when I turn off the 101 the clouds roll in, the fog creeps up and a slight sprinkle starts to cover me trebling, weak and now FREEZING body. I mean...there was a creepy sheep farm with sheep silently chopping on grass, staring blankly at me as if to say "Welcome to hell, it's colder than you expected, hey?". It was hard and I maybe had to push my bike up one of the hills, but dammit I made it. I don't think I got any really good pictures of the camp ground itself, but it was really weird. I showed up alone thinking there might be some other hiker/bikers to convene with, but NOPE all alone, even the RV crowd was thin and not super friendly. The weather was bitter and cold and wet and the WIND...shit...that was spooky in those huge trees. I quickly took a shower to warm up, set my clothes on the and set to collecting some fire wood from the various pits around us and dry twigs (I refuse to pay for wood). Along the way I bumped into a biker who immediately looked confused the second I opened my mouth and it was quickly revealed that English was not his forte. Alfonze from Germany was quickly my saving grace and not being alone. But wait, where was Lani?
Well, Lani decided to get her day started off a bit slower than me and didn't leave until roughly 2 or 3 hours after I did...meaning she was close to 15 miles behind me and starting to have a sneaking suspicion that Blanco was indeed further than originally thought. I was getting worried that she would just give up come dark and pitch our tent on the side of the road, leaving me to sleep on the cold, wet, hard ground with my bag and my tarp. NOT FUN. But I was mentally preparing for such an event or cozying up to my new German friend, who was, by the way, 68 years old, riding a huffy, IN SANDALS. He had already ridden 55 miles that day and was fresh as fucking spring time.
Sure enough just after I cook up some spaghetti I see a white pick up truck roar up the hill with an unmistakable neon handlebar bag poking out of the bed. Yep, Lani hitched a ride!! Woohoo. Turns out this lady Alice saw Lani looking at her map at the end of her drive way and offered to drive Lani up the campground before dark. Bright eyed and bushy tailed Lani strolled into camp and I quickly took it upon myself to set up the tent, my home, my shelter, my safety...oh so nice.
After the tent was set up and the fire was roaring, thanks to Alonze's diligence at gathering wood, we were graced with yet another biker friend. Her name was Tamara and she was wearing golden, shimmering fairy wings. We were about to be BESTIES! She's traveling alone down the coast, heading for Mexico and we've been hot on her tail since Newport. She stayed with the couch surfer, Amie, the night before we got there and then was at Alpha Farms for a few days only to leave just before we arrived. I thought we'd never meet her, but as luck would have it she veered off course to stay in Eugene for a bit, then stayed in Coos Bay to nurse an eye infection, while we were in Bandon. So finally, in the most inhospitable campground to date, we finally met. I know I was probably more excited than was necessary, but good news was in short supply that night.
Tamara decided that tonight was the night she would attempt to use her stove that was loaned to her by a friend, the whisperlite international. As far as camp stoves go the one me and Lani got, though large and awkwardly shaped, is just about idiot proof. The other stoves, like Tamara's, that are white gas and require pumping and preheating and all sorts of crazy shit, while compact, could lead to a fireball engulfing your whole face. I'd seen other people use these stoves and it looked complicated, now I'm certain that every person who purchases a stove like this should be say down and required to take a class with some sort of an exam at the end to ensure all parties involved know how to operate said stove. The problem that Tamara ran into was turning the gas on too much and then lighting it while the gas was pouring out, making quick work of covering the table in gassy flames and freaking everyone the fuck out. In panic situations I tend to just giggle like an idiot, while trying to be helpful and this situation was NO exception. I clearly all the stuff off the table all the while laughing like a goddamn idiot. Tamara was holding it down in the simply freaking out department, all she could say was "WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO? THIS SHIT IS ONE FIRE!" At this point Lani and Alfonze were on the scene and Alfonze ran to grab some water, for some reason I hadn't grabbed any, confusing my fear of water and flaming cooking oil vs. water and gas. The cooking oil is bad when dowsed with water, the gas is ok to use water on. I was trying to figure out where the fuck I could baking soda when all of a sudden Tamara grabbed the bottled and attempted to unscrew it resulting in the entire stove to expel a GIANT fire ball directly into Tamara's face. All I can say is thank god her hair was up, because the little bits that were singed and black, she was pretty excited about the prospect of any facial hair (short of her eyebrows) being singed off but besides that she was completely horrified and cursing the stove. She got over it pretty quick with a hot shower and some practice poi spinning (think the fire dancers that spin balls of fire on chains at festival, but hers were just light up balls).
Off to sleep we went in the creepy little camp and we awoke to Alfonze bidding us farwell as he rode off on his huffy to the next campsite some 60 miles away, that dude is HANDLIN' his business on that Huffy. The rest of us were feeling a bit weary and sluggish, but wanted to get the fuck out of Blanco, so we divised a plan to call the lady Lani got a ride up the hill with the day before, because she said she'd give us a ride if we wanted one. Sure enough, 30 minutes later Alice chugged up the hill with freshly backed chocolate cake and bungee cords for our bikes. Tamara got on on the action too and we were off, but not before Alice opened the food bank in town for us AND took us through the grocery store for more supplies (like a can opener, honey and coffee) With about 100 more pounds of shit to carry Alice hauled us another 50 miles down the road, just past Gold Beach and let us off to bike another 25 miles to Brookings (we had to ride some, I mean...that would just be cheating) It was a pretty tough stretch, with the added weight of food, the weather being quite crappy and what not, but we made it and the sun even came out in the last 5 miles to grace us with its wonderful rays. The ride was pretty special too because the coast was just AMAZING looking and the added bonus of a new pal to ride with.
We rolled into the camp and bumped into our past camp pals, the dutch boys, Joe from Thailand and 2 Alaskans, all of which we met in Bandon. Soon Alfonze would roll into the camp and soon after that Joey and Vincert, the Portlanders we also met in Bandon would join the fun. It just HAPPENED that we had enough food to feed an army so we set about cooking and inviting all the camp people to join us. The new guy to the crew, Eric, was a nature photographer on his way south. He ended up ordering a pizza, but shared it and therefore he was entrusted into the clan. Alfonze made quick work of the fire and we were all jovial and getting rowdy around the fire. Tamara started spinning her fake poi and even I took a turn at it (I'm awesome apparently, despite smashing myself in the face several times) The giant rootbeer buzz I had started to wear off kind of early and I made for my tent before the party was over, but everyone pretty much dispersed after that. I was pretty sure people would be hung over and/or feeling ill, especially Alfonze who drank tequila for the first time last night and REALLY REALLY liked it, but like any seasoned Oktoberfester, he was on his bike headed for Cali by 9am. That dude is the most legit biker with the most janky set up I've ever seen.
This morning the crows woke us up, as usual and after an awesome egg sandwich thanks to Vincent we headed off to town. My front panniers are all messed up and the brackets that hold them on are the issue. After a trip to a dickhead bike shop, I went to Ace hardware to get something new to hold them on. They are pretty permanent now, but they are ON and that's the key. Only cost me $2 and some face to tire action, Brent would be proud. Mama did it all by herself. And thus we are up to date and off to more adventures. We'll be in Brookings all day and headed out to Crescent City, CA tomorrow...where we've heard really bad shit about the hills, but whatever...I'll survive...or at least we'll find out.
Just. Keep. Pedaling.
All the pictures are at the bottom and out of order, but enjoy.
Let's talk about the baby duck on the right...just for a second.
Sunny trees in Bandon
Creepy sheep heading up the Blanco
Fog rolled in just in time for me to get freaked out
Overlooking the hill I just climbed
really freaked out but wanting a good picture
Alice is in the plaid...FOOD BANK!
FOOOOOOOD and Judy is on the right
New pals
Road to Brookings
Getting dropped off by Alice
Pals
Tamara rocks the Ukelele
HI BRIDGE
Pot luck...Look like a weido
Breezy
Port of Bandon
Tamara...all bridged up
Check me out...I'm unsafe
We all are!
SUN AND YAY!
WOOT!
Here comes the SUN!
So fun...
Cooks keepin' it real. Dinner is always a production!
