I told myself to take it in strides. My focus was to get to Champoeg, about 26 miles away, all on flat ground. If I felt good there, I would continue to my friend's house in Tigard. If not, I would set up camp and play it by ear. I was Seattle-bound. The likes of Glacier and Yellowstone weren't even on my radar at this point. I have friends and family back home who were excited to follow my adventures and live vicariously through me. I can't let them down. But I would be letting myself down if I didn't even depart. Departing is the hard part. Once I get out on the road, I am golden. I can do this. I can ride and ride and ride...for 9 months I am stagnant and numb...with my plans as my companion to get me through to the next journey.
I couldn't doubt my ability or question the elements, nor could I allow fear accompany me. For God conquers all and He created me for so much more. And I will overcome.
As I undertake another adventurous venture, I will bring God with me and pray He will guide my path and lead my wheels down the road, down the streets, over the mountains, across the deserts, through the forests...join me in this venture. When I add courage and the unknown to this venture, to any venture...it becomes and ad-venture. You never know where you'll be swept off to.
Alas, let's begin.
June 21 (Salem to Tigard, 54.73 miles, 1,175 ft. elevation) Salem - Keizer - Champoeg - Newberg - Sherwood - Tualitin - Tigard.
"O LORD our LORD how majestic is Your Name in all the earth."
Let me praise your Name among the hills and the country roads. You are marvelous. I rode over 50 miles today and I feel good - a bit sunburnt and drained, but I made it to my friend Justin's house okay and in tact. My right Achilles and left knee started to flare up towards the end. I pray the pain goes away quickly.
I am very tired - didn't get much sleep last night. I went to bed after midnight and woke up at 3am, then again at 7am when I had to finally get up. This was all due to anticipation for the start of my trip. I have no time to get worked up or anxious as Dad put it. They met me shortly after 8am to see me off!
And off I went...
My goal was to make it to Champoeg and see how I feel then. A truck passed that gave me a pleasant whiff of mint! I made great timing: Champoeg at 11:00am - all flat basically with a few rolling hills, but nothing much. This morning it was pleasant to ride - cool almost - overcast and cloudy...just glad it didn't rain! But it was nice for riding. That's for certain. I ate my pizza and rested up a bit before heading to Newberg.
There was a lot of construction going into Newberg and a black truck ran me off the road! Also there was the hill outside of Newberg - but that was it and it wasn't that bad. It just got busier and more congested from there. I must be getting closer to Portland! I must say...Tualitin and Tigard and the surrounding areas sure have great parks and bike paths - just like Eugene/Springfield. Salem gets a bum wrap, and rightly so! where's our bike paths thru the city? Anyway, I made it - legs are sore, but I'm resting. I started to feel a headache coming on - on and off. It must be a lack of sleep and the long miles.
The beginning of a journey is strange. I don't have any stories to tell people except about where I hope to go - It's a little surreal. You go about your life with your bed and frig. and then bam!! - you're out on the road again and have to fend for yourself - but then you get used to it - eventually - the beginning is always the hardest - I don't know where I'll be swept off to ----
June 22 (Tigard to Longview, WA, 67.49 miles, 1,269 ft. elevation) Tigard - Portland - Scapoose - St. Helens - Rainer - Longview, WA. I woke up early. Justin slept through his alarm. I texted him later thanking him for my stay. I left about 9:00am. I had a lot of ground to cover. It took about 2 hours to just get thru Portland. Difficult and easy to navigate. There are lots of bike paths, etc. which can get confusing in their own right. Then there was the LONG stretch of highway 30 - been here before - 10 years ago. My Achilles was throbbing so I put my brace on which seemed to help some. I did bring it for a reason, right?
The Lewis and Clark bridge over the Columbia was a nightmare. There is always debris on the shoulder from talking with the locals. I even encountered a wooden door on the shoulder. So needless to say, I walked my bike to the other side. But I made it across and on to Longview where my hosts Jean and Dennis waited. They were fabulous. Great couple to know. Dennis rides his bike or trike/recumbent to work 5 miles/day. Jean made a great dinner and I had some good conversation with Dennis about bike trips and warmshowers, etc. From memory, he guided me north all the way, but I could not commit all that to memory. Ha!
The shower felt wonderful and so did the bed! I thank the LORD for great hosts like these. There are great people in the world like Dennis and Jean!
As I looked out the window, I saw the wind picked up and the clouds were moving in. It's not looking great for the morrow...
June 23 (Longview to Rochester, 57.40 miles, 1,257 ft. elevation) Longview - Castle Rock - Napavine - Chehalis - Centralia - Ground Mound - Rochester. I woke up with a pounding headache - poop! After a nice shower and a wonderful breakfast with coffee Jean made, I felt much better!
Dennis left early for work and I talked with Jean some over coffee and cereal and apple turnovers. She gave me some granola bars, a banana and chocolate for the road. Bless her. She gave me quick directions to turn onto 411 and after taking my picture, I was on my way.
The day started off cloudy with no rain. Thank you LORD. After about 20 miles, it became misty. Then it rained a bit harder. I stopped at a store in Napavine to get dry and drink a cappuccino. I saved hot drinks for days like this. It so happened that when I left there, I quickly entered a deluge. The rain pounded me like I was a glass it was trying to fill up. I was soaked to the bone. It wouldn't be one of my adventures without a day or two of hard rain, would it now? The rain came and came. There was no way around getting dry. No way to escape the drops.
My host in Centralia fell ill, so I found myself riding further north to Rochester. I got some good directions and made good time. In the miserable weather I was just riding to move - to travel down the road. I was numb - not physically mind you, but mentally numb - just moving fast and not even knowing it. It was a kind of auto pilot. It's no fun riding in the rain. My vision becomes impaired and I just get wet - everywhere. My computer stopped working for a bit today - but not for long. I managed to tweak it. Can't have that now!
Made it to John's house at last. I have to camp in his yard on account of his wife getting up early in the night. But that was okay because the sun came out a little. I dried my clothes, got warm and dry, ate a great pasta meal John cooked. He told me he loves to cook so he doesn't mind at all. It was delicious. I even tried some of his home made juice concoction. He's been everywhere it seems on his bike. He's a special needs teacher at a high school. One more year until retirement. His wife works nights with schizophrenic patients.
June 24 (Rochester to Tacoma, 50.67 miles, 766 ft. elevation) Rochester - Tenino - Rainer - Yelm - McKenna - Roy - Spanaway - Parkland - Tacoma. As I said, John loves to cook as was evident when he cooked up some spicy eggs with salsa and toast on the side with huckleberry jam and coffee! Yumm. I don't always get a hearty breakfast to set me straight on the path ahead, but am oh so thankful when I do! I sure could get used to this - but I know it won't last. I will have some rough patches and unbeknownst to me at the time, they would come sooner than I thought. He also made me that juice I mentioned earlier with green veggies, etc. And a bagel and cream cheese to go. They were a lovely couple to hose me. Thank you!
Today was pretty great - except for the fire ants. HA. There was a 20 mile bike path from Tenino all the way to Yelm. It was a very quiet long ride - which I enjoyed immensely. Now about those fire ants. I was tired and hungry and decided to enjoy my toasted bagel on the side of the road. So I leaned my bike against a guard rail and ate and relieved myself behind some trees. Then I had a bunch of itching on my lower legs. Looking down I noticed a bunch of ants crawling over my shoes and some must've bitten me. I quickly hopped on my bike and sped away! Paranoia set in for the rest of the day thinking that I was being attacked in the lower regions. Riding away I must've looked like a crazy man kicking my legs out and swatting at my feet.
I'm not even sure what to write. I'm just content to veg out here on the couch. It sprinkled a little, but nothing like yesterday! I eventually came into the craziness of Tacoma. Walter has a bunch of roommates and he's getting home later. His roommies are cool with me crashing on the couch. They are bikers themselves, mostly mountain though.
Walter came home late after delivering packages for FedEx. One roommate (Nick) is a mountain biker and was leaving early the next day for Bellingham for a day of biking. He gets up earlier for play than he does for work! ha. The other guy, Ben, owns the house (been there 8 years! wow) They were all very polite and kind to me. Walt said I was his second WS guest. He just joined a little bit ago and thought he'd give it a try after learning about it about a year ago. He loved the idea of having cyclists crash on his couch. Yah man. I told him a little of my experiences before bed. He had to leave early too. Wish I could've talked to him longer. He seemed like a great guy to hang out with. Thanks for the hospitality Walt! His first guest was a girl who brought him flowers. He made some spaghetti and offered me some which I gladly accepted. We watched some mountain bike videos with ick before we all hit the sack. Walt showed me his food shelf if I wanted to make myself some breakfast in the morning. It was a good night. I enjoy meeting people like Walt with a go get em attitude. Bring it on.
June 25 (Tacoma to Edmonds, 59.29 miles, 1,480 ft. elevation) Tacoma - Fife - Auburn - Kent - Orilla - Tukwila - Seattle - Edmonds. After I had some coffee Ben had made, I took off. Today was just urban cities - I took the Interurban Trail for much of my ride. It can get confusing at times. The Interurban connects to the Green River Trail which I took for a ways as well. Seattle has so much construction - there is always road work. It truly is the City of Cranes!
On part of the trail, I met Kim (63) who was also doing some touring. He was trying to navigate Seattle as well to get to a motel near the Pacific Science Center. We passed each other on and off - until after I passed Boeing (which was really cool with all the planes!), Kim called out to me by a Starbucks and asked if I drank coffee. I wheeled my bike over to him to hear him closer. It was unexpected, but he bought me coffee which hit the spot! I needed a pick me up! I needed the boost. We sat down and chatted for awhile as we finished our coffee. Kim's retired from construction work. He's done other stuff through the years, but that was his latest gig. He talked on and on about politics, Trump, the global economy, etc. Neat fella! I just listened and nodded. I enjoy meeting and learning from older folks who've been through life and see where their head's at. I later lost Kim when he detoured through Pike's Place Market which I found myself later on. I also passed Safeco and Century Link Fields, the Space Needle and Woodland Park Zoo. It's always fun traveling through cities, if you don't stay long that is...
Twenty minutes before Edmonds, the back of my right knee started to hurt. I was glad for a rest day tomorrow. I found my sister's place and Abby and Hannah, my two nieces were playing in the front yard, finding bugs or something! Crazy girls! When they saw me they yelped, "Uncle Penn!!" I wheeled my bike away and rested - whew, I was tired. I slept in Hannah's bed while she had fun sleeping in a box! ha! Dinner was chicken, corn on the cob and artichokes for an early birthday dinner for Abby who was turning ten! wow. Dirk went to bed and Alyssa and I stayed up, talked and watched Hotel Hell haha...complete with the Gordon Ramsey Hotel Hell theme song!
June 26 (Edmonds Rest Day, 00.00 miles, 0 ft. elevation) EDMONDS REST DAY. As I said, I needed this rest day. I slept in and got ready to go to church. Dirk was on his way to preach at a church in Olympia this morning. We went to Maple Park Church and I hung out with the girls with their friends while Alyssa attended a meeting.
After church we went to a new Mexican Place called Tortas Locas. Apparently they have Mexican sandwiches, whatever those are but we stuck with what we know: burritos, tamales and quesadillas for the girls. Yum...and of course my hot sauce!
We also played Settlers of Catan which apparently the girls now know how to play. And of course Abby won. Although for a minute it looked as though Hannah and I were going to. She pulled ahead the last minute. We walked to see the neighborhood kitties and played bocce in Sierra Park.
For dinner we had wonderful french toast - so yummy and I needed the fuel! When Dirk and the girls went to bed, Alyssa and I went outside and chatted in the cool evening air until we came in due to the cold. haha. It was great talking with her. I feel as tho she is one person I can just come and talk with about anything. We talked about church, Salem Alliance and their lack of men's ministry and churches in general. We talked about Trump and the pending election and about my predicament with children's ministry, etc We talked about Mom and Dad and about Dad's retirement and why he needs something to do other than garden ha! It was great to chat and let some of these things out - I was tired and needed sleep before a long day tomorrow - one more day north - good night!
My sister also has an aversion to bicycles as I learned. She obviously cares for me as a brother and cyclist, so she had questions about what to do when you come up to one in your car, etc...and they don't move over...I tried to explain stuff, but it was hard, this family is kind of set in their ways which makes it hard to sway them...
June 27 (Edmonds to Burlington, 70.00 miles, 1,340 ft. elevation) Edmonds - Everett - Lake Stevens - Arlington - Pilchuck - Big Lake - Mt. Vernon - Burlington. I left early after a hearty breakfast. It was hard to say goodbye to the girls. They are so adorable and I love being around them! When I left I hopped back onto the Centennial Trail. Much of today I rode along this bike path. I love areas with paths like this one! I stopped in Arlington at a visitor center off the path right on the trail. The lady there asked if I've ever been to Arlington. I had not. She explained about the Centennial Trail. Their hope, from what I gather, is to extend the trail all the way to Canada. Funding it is going to be the problem, but that is their hope. I wish Salem had the same ambitions.
When I finally arrived in Burlington, I was glad to be done with the hot day! Don and Pat DeJong greeted me right away. They are the nicest people and are very accommodating. They are cyclists themselves and started later in life in their 40s. They biked the TransAm and a bunch of other places in the U.S. but never overseas yet. Talking with them, it came up that I went to a Christian high school and found out that they are also believers...as was evident from their house. "Be the Church," was on their wall. They mentioned that you don't find many "believing" cyclists out there. It's very nice when you do though. But it's rare. It was refreshing to spend time with believers!
Don went to the bus station to pick up Dan, a backpacker hiking the Pacific Crest Trail! It's the first time they hosted a hiker, but Dan knew about warmshowers and was also quite the cyclist himself. He had cycled everywhere, even abroad in Canada and Europe, etc. He already hiked the Appalachian Trail too. He's kind of like a nomad of sorts. He doesn't have a job at the moment. He's from Maryland I think...or somewhere on the East coast. He goes home every once in awhile and visits his sister and nieces and nephews who adore him. He's 34 and figures he'll travel and whatnot until age 40 - if he's not married at 40, that's like the cutoff for him. He probably won't be after that. Good thought. I enjoyed listening to him. I kind of feel the same way. We're close in age. Dan is a very nice and polite man. He was fun getting to know as we talked with our hosts over dinner.
Dinner was great - bread, veggies, salad, meat, and cookies with ice cream for dessert! Yum. I even ate too much! Don and Pat talked about being Gleaners. They are part of an organization that gets food that will get "thrown out" so they haven't "shopped" for food for years. They save tons of money, etc...and love it. They eat healthy and also have a garden with good veggies and raspberries!
The DeJongs really know how to do hospitality right! I would totally stay with them again! It was splendid to relax with them and talk with Dan before I head over the North Cascades tomorrow. Don was going to drive Dan to Rainy Pass in the AM. My Achilles still ached but after resting I think I should be better on the morrow...I really didn't want to hitch a ride...I have to cycle! But first, rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment