The Rest of Days 3-6

Hello! Posting this from Sausalito, CA, a city just north of San Francisco. Thanks to my warmshowers.org host Winny for the wonderful place to stay -- Ken and I are soooooo grateful!!! More on warmshowers and such when I get to that... there is still so much to cover. As Ken and I will be taking a break day today I'm going to try and get all caught up.

Disclaimer -- my maps are still in one of my panniers... and it's so far away... but you don't really need city names anyways, right? So, I think I last left off on day three.

At this point I had met many other cyclists. Most were in cities -- surprisingly enough, few were along the route I was taking. I believe Chris was the only person I met in WA using the ACA maps. This surprised me, as they came highly recommended. As I would later learn, however, it is just as common to make one's own route. Tourist centers, located at most every major entrance to any state, offer a plethora of maps, and with maps, one can plan quite the route. So most of the people I met, I found, were using these high-tech mappy things to come up with their own routes. I guess I still have a lot to learn about touring -- but for now, just learning about places to stay and what to eat was enough for me. On a future tour I will probably choose to use this mystery "map" thing. Not this time.

Okay, let's talk about something I can photograph -- like going to Oregon! Here is my bike on the boat to Oregon:

"I do not like to swim," said the bike to Kyle.

So on day four I made it to Oregon, despite some headwinds along the Columbia River and a grocery store with a sale on beef jerky. Okay, I don't know why that would slow me down, but I thought it was important to mention -- beef jerky is great for touring! So of course, I had to stop and get some. Had I not stopped I probably would have made the 2:00 ferry... I had to wait until 3:00. Alas, I was forced to call my mother while waiting!

Okay, I enjoyed talking to someone I love. Thanks mom!

Also, earlier that morning I had stopped at a general store (erm, the only store in Coal Creek, WA) for some food. The cashier (Gary I believe) was kind enough to offer me a chicken. Yes... a chicken. Apparently a friend had dropped off some baked chicken for him for lunch that day, and he wasn't sure of his ability to finish it all. So he offered me some. Free food? Yes please! Unbeknownst to me, this was to become a trend... an awesome trend.

Oh, and as I'm trying to make tradition... here's my "Hello from Tacoma" photo. The city the ferry stopped at had about 30 people, so the sign was small and hard to find, but I wanted my photo, darnit!

The first of many "hellos," I hope.

I then proceeded to climb up a hill for about 7 miles. It was a busy hill with little margin -- probably the most dangerous hill I'd biked on yet. But I made it, and stopped at a restaurant for some more "The heck is this guy doing?" looks (the food was good, too). At first I wanted to wait until making camp, but then I saw this:

Oh, so you're a Logger too?

I had to stop (for those of you who don't know, I graduated from the University of Puget Sound, whose mascot is Grizz the Logger. Yes, it's a bear with an axe... and our football team is just as much of an *ahem.* I mean, what?)

I still didn't get to see the Pacific Ocean, despite being taunted by the Columbia River, but I did get a great view of Washington. You can't quite see it through the reeds, but upon unzipping my tent in the morning I did have a pretty good view.

Let's play two lies and no truths. Ready? Okay:

(1) I can find this place on a map; (2) it was completely legal to camp here.

The next morning was a breeze. I made it to Astoria, OR, and stopped at a Safeway -- by the way, I'm beginning to know why they call them that. See, they are familiar, both in what they stock, and their prices. So when you see one you go, "Oh, I'm safe!" It doesn't necessarily cater to the "discover cool new local independent places" but during your fifth day on tour, sometimes you just want to know exactly what you're getting yourself into. A safe way to day six. Haha... see what I did there? *ahem* Sorry 'bout it.

Anyways, Astoria was beautiful. I managed to get lost in Warrenton, which is just across the bay from Astoria. After asking for directions and having a few people say, "Wow, you have a long ways to go!" I finally made it to Lewis and Clark Road (I did not tell them that yes, in fact, Minneapolis was a long way to go). I met a great family whose names were -- wait for it -- Sarah, Brian, Jeff, and Juliette. Yes! I think I remembered all of them.

You were awesome! No -- you were awesome!

For those of you who don't know, I'm typically pretty bad with names. I guess when you meet people who are part of a life-changing experience (at least I like to think that's what this is) you tend to remember their names.

Sarah generously offered me a place to stay that night. Apparently she and Brian had done some touring in their day, and remember the desperate desire to shower, have a warm bed, and no ambient nature noises (like squirrels dropping nuts from trees -- see my last post). They were right. Anyways, they headed back tottheir car, and I headed to the Pacific Ocean.

Ah... nice and FREEZING COLD.

I didn't want to get carried away with that whole "swimming" thing, but I at least took the time to walk out and stick my feet in. Without a huge "WELCOME TO OREGON" sign, it felt like my first real accomplishment. I stuck around for a bit and then continued on my way. I ended up in Cannon Beach about 2 PM -- much too early to stay at Sarah's for the night. I called and said "Thanks, but no thanks" and picked up and moved on.

But not before I stopped at... THE CHOCOLATE CAFE.

Caution -- people running towards door. Don't get knocked over!

Chocolate by country. Oh, and don't forget about the vault.

This place was AMAZING. They had the usual glass case of chocolate goodies, but on one wall, they had chocolate by country. Feeling like some chocolate from India today? Africa perhaps? Yes... they had it all. It was hard to stay under budget on this day, needless to say. Oh, and did I mention they had an atmosphere-controlled chocolate vault? That's right -- too good to stay out in the shop. Some of our chocolates are best enjoyed at 70.68 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyways, I paid $2.50 for the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had in my entire life, spent about 20 minutes eating it, and then headed on my way. But I will definitely be returning someday. And possibly bringing friends. Or my mom. And $250.

The route then had me spending some time on the 101. The coast was beautiful and there was, of course, plenty of climbing. Right when I thought it wasn't going to be worth it, the trees parted and there were many miles of coast ahead.

Elevation: 700. View: Spectacular.

I wasn't really into climbing yet, so this was a nice little something to whet my appetite. As I would later learn, climbing can be quite fun and rewarding... but more on that later.

My bike can't take pictures of me, but... well, it's a one-way relationship.

After a lot more coastline I began worrying about finding a place to sleep. Up until this point I had always had a place before 6:30, and while a few decent-looking spots cropped up, this part of the coast was ultimately quite occupied. At about 7:30 I passed a cool looking place called "Kelly's Crab Resort" or something like that, and pulled in. It ended up being quite a good choice -- Kelly gave me $5 off for being on a bike. As I was looking for a place to set up my tent, I was accidentally shunned by a family saving a spot for some of their other family. I resorted to a small, lonely lot in the corner and got to work setting up my tent.

After just a few minutes the mother and father of this family came over and explained that there had been a misunderstanding, and that they were saving their spot for the rest of their family, and of course I was welcome. As a peace offering they presented some food, and invited me to sit at their fire with them. I ended up spending the rest of the night and the next morning with them. I guess it goes to show (as we are all well aware, but sometimes forget) that first impressions aren't everything. They were the Ford/Ramseys, and I'm grateful to have met them! I forgot to take their photo, but you guys really made that night special. Thanks!

Smores, guitar playing, and story-telling later, I headed to bed. In the morning I was asked out on the docks for an important duty: Crab fishing!

You have to pull fast; otherwise, the crabs will simply climb out.

I was allowed the privilege of pulling up one of the crab rings, but only after being instructed as to how they worked, and why we were fishing here (hint: it's because we had no idea what we were doing), and the rules about catching crab (they have to be male and of a certain size to allow reproduction to continue).

Either I didn't pull fast enough or I'm really bad at this.

I didn't catch anything... but I still felt pretty good about it. I was a crab fishermen! Already, this trip had taught me something new.

Do I really need a caption for this?

After saying goodbye to the Ford/Ramseys, I went on my way. Many small things happened, including, but not limited to:

- Biking through fog (which would become more of an issue the farther south I went)

- Seeing people clamming (eg, fishing for clams... not suddenly being very quiet)

- Climbing my steepest and longest hill yet -- 800 vertical feet. Nothing compared to the Rockies, but it was still a lot of work

- Having mystery car noises turn into dune buggies (I was in a city called Sandlake, after all)

Nothing terribly monumental, but I did have quite the full day. And then... many things built up and I had to take some time off. Nobody had mentioned to me that biking was as stressful on the mind as it was on the body. I thought hard about quitting and almost did. I wasn't sure how I'd get to the nearest airport or how my bike would get home, but I was thinking about it. I had been very alone for the past many days and didn't feel like I was making tons of progress. I know that I was, but it didn't really feel like it. I had maybe 300 miles or less on the odometer, and people kept saying, "Oh, so you're just getting started!" I didn't feel like I was just getting started -- or at least, I didn't want to. I knew that I had 4000+ miles to go. Anyways, I took a two hour walk on the beach and, not fully satisfied, continued on my way.

It's like a code of some kind. Er... I'm sure there's a snarky remark about this somewhere.

I did find a great place to spend the night. It was only about 200 yards from the highway, and had a great view of the ocean. I guess someone out there didn't want me to quit just yet.

Caution: You might decide not to leave.

The next day (#6) I had some steep climbing to do, but I was ready for it. I decided I at least had to make it to Arcata, where my cycling partner was, and that whatever it took, at least I could say that I biked to California. It was quite a long hill, but I did pass mile 101 on Highway 101, and that felt pretty monumental (er... it totally should have been... right?). I stopped for breakfast at a hole in the wall called the Nelscott Cafe, which I would highly recommend to anyone traveling through Lincoln City, OR. It's a house-turned-cafe so you sit under the stairs, or in the dining room, or in the living room, or wherever they could fit tables. The food is phenomenal. I was walking down the row of houses-turned-shops when someone in the line of people outside turned to me, saw that I had no idea what I was doing, and said,

"You look hungry. Wait for a seat at this restaurant. You won't regret it."

I didn't.

More like the "Nel-icious Cafe."

The waitresses all looked at me -- just one guy, a little sweaty, with red highlights -- as if wondering, "Is he single and ready to mingle, or just getting a head start on his hermit-creeper phase?" It was pretty funny. Anyways.

I also saw sea lions that day.

So many sea lions.

And then it started to rain. About the same time I realized not all of my stuff was waterproofed; namely, my sleeping bag, my clothes, and my tent. I stopped at a hostel and asked for a trash bag to line my stuff sack with, so at least I would be warm, even if my tent was wet and I had to be naked. It poured for a few hours ("poured" being relative to the PNW, anyways -- maybe it half-poured for all you midwesterners reading this), as if the weatherman was challenging me to continue. I had already decided to make it to CA. I did stop once for food and again to change clothes, but I kept on biking. I almost stopped at a motel for the night, but even with a "friendly cyclist discount" the room was still $50. I moved on. I also saw two touring bikes locked to the railing of that motel, but more on that later... (dundundun).

After looking for a place to stay until about 7, I finally came across a state park and decided it would be worth the price. What I didn't know was that Oregon really knows how to do the whole "state park" thing. Case and point:

Stay here practically for free? I think so.

So I paid $6 that night. The camp host, Doug, instructed me that I should take a shower because they were free. Did I mention "heck yes?"

I took a long, long, long shower.

Which seems like a good place to wrap things up. It's almost mignight here in Sausalito, and I'm in somebody else's house... I probably should have gone to bed a long time ago. Tomorrow I will try and post about the Bosnians... that's when things really start to get good (they aren't already, I promise).

So, goodnight from Sausalito!

Days 1-6: On Biking, Biking Alone, and Biking Through Oregon

A bit of background on this trip before I begin, for those of you new to the scene...

About a year ago I decided this trip would a great idea. I would bike from Tacoma, WA, where I went to school at the University of Puget Sound, to Minneapolis, MN, where I'm from. If I did it over the summer, I could just fly back to school. Needless to say, the trip didn't happen last summer... it's happening right now! There have been numerous changes for numerous reasons. For starters, the more I talked about the trip, the more people told me Montana and the Dakotas were boring, and that I should change my route. I schemed about going across the Rockies to Yellowstone, then down the Great Divide (a route just east of the Rockies), then across to MO and up to MN. Finally I settled on a route down to San Francisco, CA, across to St. Louis, MO, then up to Minneapolis, MN. I posted on Adventure Cycling Association's website and found Ken, who lives in Arcata, CA and had a month to prove to his coworkers he could bike across the country -- more on that later.

Anyways, last fall I slowly started collecting bike parts. I've already talked a lot about that in previous posts, but the jist is that between fall 2011 and August 2012 I slowly acquired enough parts to build a bike and equipment to camp across the country and money to do it (...sort of... I've budgeted $20 a day at most and would like to spend $10-15).

On August 20th, 2012 -- as planned -- I departed Tacoma for the great unknown. The few days before had been many things if not a great goodbye. I gave my accordion away to a wonderful new pupil named Jennifer, and she ended up staying for the get-together we were having. The get-together sort of became a party, the seven of us staying up until 2 eating, playing cards, smoking pipes, making music, and in general having a good time. I spent Sunday night with Matt. We had a pizza, watched Star Trek, mused about the goings-on of life, and reflected on the past four years of our friendship and what was yet to come. I fell asleep packing, finished at about 9:30 the next morning, and took off.

 I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...

Thanks for a great four years, bud.

I managed 52 miles on the first day, which is what I want to average. So that's bad -- let me explain. After biking for a while, your body needs a bit of a break. We have a highly technical term for these: "Rest Days." So if you want to average 50 miles a day, but take a break 1 out of every 7 days, then you have to bike more than 50 miles for those 6 days you don't take a break. For instance, if you bike 60 miles for 6 days, that's 360 miles. If you then take a day off, you've biked 360 miles in 7 days, which gives you an average of 51 miles a day. Got it?

All in all the first day wasn't too exciting. This was probably a good thing, as I was already excited enough just to be leaving for something I'd wanted to do for so long. I was surprised at how nice I was treated when I stopped to ask for water (I'm sure it had nothing to do with my good looks) -- this trend would become a theme throughout the rest of the trip. I'd heard bicyclists were "perceived as nonthreatening," but I'm not sure I expected people to be super nice, either. Perhaps it's a PNW (Pacific Northwest) thing to be a bit detached. In any case, people were nice. I'd gone on 50-mile rides before and this one felt pretty standard, except that it was a bit harder to keep my balance, and people would look at me. They wouldn't look at me funny -- just as if they were saying, "huh. That guy is on a bike. And his stuff is on the bike, too. There goes a guy and his stuff."

I found a great place to sleep in a forest reserve. The sign specifically said, "Area available for non-motorized recreational use." Rice and beans for dinner (the last time I'd make rice, as I found it takes quite a bit of water), and off to bed. Oh also, I spent about 2 hours trying to scare away a bear, only to find it was two squirrels dropping nuts from the tops of trees and storing them for the winter. I guess when you're alone, small animals making loud noises really gets to you. Don't tell anyone.

You don't get something like this by paying for it.

The next few days are mostly a blur and I'm sure I'll forget to mention many things. I remember lots of hills, lots of nervousness about finding places to sleep, and -- despite meeting many cyclists and locals -- feeling quite alone. The first cyclist I met was named Chris. Chris was from Australia, and had biked from coast to coast before. He was back to bike across the Sierra Nevadas, but had to reroute due to some forest fires. Instead, he was going down the coast. He called himself "half of a credit card tourist --" he didn't carry a tent, so was sleeping at motels and hotels, but did carry his own food. I thought that was an interesting combination. On tour, the more expensive part can be the lodging. Even eating at restaurants all the time, one won't spend more than $50/day. In any case, he wasn't weighed down as much as I was (I was later to learn I was weighed down too much), so after about an hour of his company he took off. Here's a picture of his butt:

Bye, Chris!

I also met Alex and Trina from the San Juan Islands who were biking from Vancouver, BC to San Francisco, CA. I had arrived in a small-ish city around lunch time. While looking for a grocery store, I encountered a Subway. I'm not usually one for commercial establishments, but I saw two touring bikes outside, so decided this must be a good place to get food while on tour. They mostly kept to themselves, but it was nice to know I wasn't alone. As it ends up, this whole -meeting other people- thing was a trend that was to keep up.

I also stopped at a fire station in Nowhere, WA for water and a fruit stand on two unnamed highways for lunch. Quite the adventure. Both had people who were a bit curious and when I said I was from Tacoma they both went, "Oh, so you're just getting started!" Yea guys, I've already biked 75 miles and I'm "just getting started." In my head I knew they were right, but I still wanted to feel accomplished. This was also a trend to continue. I can say I went on a biking adventure, but there is still so much that is yet to happen (and I'm typing this on day 14, by the way).

After biking by many cows and worrying that everything in the farmville I was in was private property, I rolled onto an overpass with a view of an empty-looking field. The bridge was about half a mile long, and at the end I found a path onto the side opposite the field. It didn't look very well traveled -- the perfect place to spend the night, perhaps. Upon arriving at the end I found a wall (no, but really) of blackberry bushes. That night's activity, then: Picking blackberries. I picked about a gallon, had half for dinner, did some reading, and headed to bed.

 Those are all blackberry bushes.

Score!

So that night was my first real story. I woke up at 10:30 to the sound of a truck approaching. Traffic had died down on the highway above so I could sleep soundly, but this truck was coming. It was on the dirt path I had taken and I could see its headlights lighting up the area outside my tent. Of course, I was alone and tired, so my mind went places. Cop? Drug dealer? Axe murderer? I prepared myself: "Okay Kyle. This is how you go. You die under a bridge. You witness a drug deal and then you die under a bridge in the middle of farmville in the middle of Washington."

He passed me and stopped the truck about 50 feet further down the trail, where it ended. I heard him get out and shut off his engine. In retrospect, he was probably using the restroom, or perhaps I took his spot. After a minute or so (longest minute of my life) I heard the driver's door shut and then engine start. Then I saw two headlights. Then I got really scared. I mean, how easy would it be for him to run me over and say it was an accident?

Obviously, as I am typing this, that's not what happened. He drove on, pausing briefly outside my tent (probably decided if he wanted to cap me or not -- or, you know, wondering what I was doing there). I was alive!!!

- - -

Day 3 and 4 I don't remember much of. There was the usual fright about finding a place to sleep, but in the end I didn't have any trouble.

This we can call "Hilly Farmville, WA."

Alright -- actually, I have to get going. I will update this with the rest of days 3-6 and city names (more specific than "farmville") on my next break day, which will hopefully be within the week. I will either be in or past San Fran -- woOt!

Brief September Update

Hello all! I am alive and well and posting this from Fort Bragg, CA. This will be a brief post as today is not a break day; mostly, my partner (Ken) and I are hanging out in Starbucks waiting for our friends from Bosnia (hopefully they are behind us and not in front of us -- we're actually not sure...)

As Jenna correctly stated in her last post (thanks!), I was hoping to post an update on Friday. I arrived safe and sound in Arcata, CA where Ken was waiting for me. I had a few hours to kill before he got off work, so convinced my Bosnian friends to hang out at an internet cafe called "Couple Cups" with me (cool place -- coffee and massages. More later.). I pulled out my computer, and lo and behold, it was soaking wet. I had been keeping spare water in both my panniers, and one had a slight leak... that somehow got water all over the computer but not over anything else. I decided it would be best not to turn it on until it was dry, so instead I just hung out with Bosnia 1 and Bosnia 2, and left the computer to dry overnight in Ken's apartment.

So anyways, obviously the computer works (as I am posting from it now)... the backspace key gets angry from time to time... but I didn't lost my investment (I bought this netbook just for the trip). So, there's an update on why there haven't been any updates. I have time to write just a bit more, but we are planning on carrying on. I think I'm going to do the next few posts retrospectively, as there's a lot I haven't touched on -- for instance, who are these mysterious Bosnians? Why aren't they with us now? Did they apparate to Bosnia? Is Ken's girlfriend named Barbie? Am I still keeping extra water in my panniers (hint: no)?

So prepare for:
Days 1-6: On Biking, Biking Alone, and Biking through Oregon
Days 7-12: Breakdowns, Bosnians, and Broken Computers
Days 13-14: KB, The Century, and Hilly with Trees

Here's a photo to whet your appetite. I promise there will be more updates soon, but we've only done 40 miles today *gasp* and Ken thinks that's just not enough.

P.S.
In my absence I find...
"Police Probing Theft of Millions of Pounds of Maple Syrup from Strategic Reserve"
(this update from Ken, who is sitting next to me, catching up on the news on his Droid)

Update!!

Sister Jenna here, posting in Kyle's absence.  As he does not have frequent internet access, I will post quick updates when I get them.  

Today, 8/30, Kyle is biking with 3 others through the redwood forest!  He has met a woman from WI (?) and men from Bosnia who are, at the moment, biking the same route as him.  He also met up with Bob for dinner tonight as he is on a motorcycle journey out that way - Bob tells us that Kyle looks great and seems to be having a great time with his new compadres!  

Last night, 8/29, we got a text for Kyle saying that he was sleeping on a beach in northern CA!

We should (fingers crossed) have a real Kyle update tomorrow!

Tent Sealant, Zen Stoves, and More

This week is my busy week, doing things that... well, things I haven't done yet. These things are all very important, however. For instance, how am I supposed to eat without a stove? I could eat cereal all the time... and I'm sure it's possible to survive only on dry food... but that's not really what I want to do. I like pasta, rice, beans, oatmeal, soup, and other things that require heat. So I spent a few hours this week making a zen stove out of a pop can.

The one pictured isn't mine, but it gets the idea across. These little gems are really neat. They work well, are cheap and fairly easy to build, and are practically indestructible. To use, all you have to do is pour alcohol into the middle, then light and wait. After a bit, the alcohol in the outer chamber gets hot enough to evaporate, escapes out the holes in the sides, and lights. Then you put your pot on and cook away!

I also practice-pitched my tent yesterday, and sealed the seams on the rain fly. I didn't feel like there was enough sealant, but managed to cover almost all of the seams. I had to leave a little bit of seam on the sides unsealed, but hopefully that won't be too much of a problem. If it is, I'm sure I can pick up some sealant during the trip, and use a non-rainy night to seal the fly.

I also ordered some stickers for my bicycle. His name is Jefferson, so one sticker says "Hello, my name is Jefferson." Then there are a few that say "This bike belongs to Kyle ###-####." I figure it's less likely to get stolen if it has my name and number all over it. I have a u-lock so I'm not too worried about someone walking away with it, but the more theft prevention measures, the better. Being heavy and covered in stuff could be a prevention measure or an incentive... we'll see. I read a cool article the other day about how to build an alarm for your bicycle. Essentially you tie one end of a string to your spoke and the other end to an alarm chassis on your frame. If someone tries to leave with your bike, the string will start the alarm and they'll be riding around on a very noisy bike. It's a cool idea, but I don't have the time to experiment with it right now.

Just a few other things to do and then on Monday I leave! I've been planning this for a while and it's finally coming to fruition... awesome.

I have a bike!

His name is Jefferson.

He sleeps in my room.

Time for a practice trip!

Sanding Is Hard

For those of you wondering how all my time has been spent lately... this is how:

You can't really tell from the photo, but the only thing visible is bare steel. I've spent the past 7 hours of my free time sanding the thing down so I can re-paint it. First, because I don't want any rust on the frame when I take off. It probably wouldn't be devastating -- rarely do frames just fall apart -- but better safe than sorry. This frame is about 14 years old. It hasn't been used much, but there were some small patches of rust. 

Second, because I want a bike that looks awesome. The rule is that the more you like something, the more you'll use it. That goes for looks, comfort, ease of use, etc. So I'm starting with a sweet looking frame. Well, I'm starting with a frame sanded bare, and I'm going to make it sweet looking. Ready? Here we go.

Also, regarding my comment in the last post about the wheels being great and everything else being crap... that's partly true, and partly not. The wheels do matter the most, along with the tires, and you have to have things that aren't going to break down after mile 1,000. Many bikes out there don't go that far in their lifetime. Most can take it, but you have to be careful not to use the cheapest parts ever. I've gotten away with snagging parts here and there from the shop and on sale, which (in my opinion) is the best way to do things. Anyways, I just have to paint the frame, and then I can slap her together.