The Arrival

Thousands of screaming fans with banners and posters lined the streets of Encinitas as the cyclists climbed the last rise into the center of town. Jen raised her arms in triumph as if she had just won a stage in the Tour de France......

Well, ok, there were at least two friends with posters, a couple of random girls cheering and mom and dad with cameras....but it felt like the Tour de France. After a long ride it was great to see Jen and Chris so close to the end. They were rejoined by Amy (and her dad) and decided to spend one more night camping even though they were only about 3 miles from home. Next stop, the Mexican border.

on the last leg of a journey they started a long time ago

The Last Supper

Back when we started the trip, we had visions of posting every day, about various themes and occurences and such. In my head, one of our early posts was going to be titled "The First Supper" and would give an account of our 1/2 off Italian dinner the night before we started 'really' riding.

Well, posts didn't happen like we thought they would, but the trip continued in spite of that (for some of us, anyway- ha ha). Yesterday my dad and I met up with Jen and Chris for one more day of riding and night of camping. It was a great, exhausting ride followed by a hero's welcome from Jen's family, friends, and supporters.

The trip came to a close, in many ways, just as it began. All three of us were there, Chris lost his wallet, and something else happened that seemed significant at the time but I can't remember now. How's that for storytelling.

Congratulations Jen and Chris!!

Riding Pics

Scariest Moments

10. First logging truck
9. Vertical climb into the fog
8. Motorhomes
7. Convenience store clerk in Bodega Bay
6. Railroad tracks at an angle to the road
5. GU
4. First cliff without a shoulder or guardrail
3. Seventh Cliff Bar in one day
2. Nearly being blown off the road on the way to Big Sur
1. Being chased by a vicious three-legged dog.

Disclaimer: The scariest moment of all was when Jen announced this trip to her dad (the author of this post). After spending a week riding with her I am feeling much, much better. It is wonderful.

The final stretch

We had our earliest start ever today - 6:40 am - and reached our destination here in Lompac -with a flat tire - by 3:30. I just read a magazine. It was glorious.

Last night in Moro Bay - 70 miles north of here - we stayed at a "hostel" that was actually the one extra bedroom in an old woman's house. Her old books, maps and clothes filled the room and she told us to take whatever we wanted from the kitchen. She's a retired fourth-grade teacher, and after she checked us in, she left to go play in her band; she's a clarinetist. She told us to leave the front door open when we went out for dinner. It was probably our best non-camping lodging of the trip. And it only cost $35 for the two of us.

We only have five days of riding left! For a while it didn't look like we were going to make it to San Diego and had resolved to stop at Huntington Beach instead. But we now think that if we push really hard, skip the industrial section of LA, and ride on Saturday (the day we both have flights out of San Diego), we'll make it to the border. It's going to be a suspense-filled finish! Stay tuned...

Mom and Dad are an awesome riding team. Mom decorated her SAG wagon, did our laundry, made us lunch every day, scouted out our camps, filmed us and cheered for us. Dad rode with us all 6 days (over 400 miles) and forewent his racing pace to entertain us with his wit and enthusiasm.

Eat. Sleep. Ride.

Last Monday, on the very top of the infamous Legget Hill, we hit 1,000 miles.

Words To Ride By

As we are pedaling up the big hills and across the many miles we have found a good motto go's a long way here are some of are favorite's.

If they can't see you, they can't hit you.
How do we bike?- Hard Core!
Riding on the edge and eating on the edge.
For The Children
No Pain
Riders for a motor-home- free America.
Cool or whatever

By The Numbers

20 days of riding
3 rest days
6 days of riding left
1 rest day left
1,320 miles done
400 miles left (depending on where we end)
43 mph top speed hit by Jen
44 mph top speed hit by Chris
13.3 mph average riding speed without panniers
11 mph averarge riding speed with panniers
70 average miles in a day
97 miles ridden on longest day
46 miles ridden on shortest day
5 nights slept in hotel
3 nights slept with friends
15 nights slept in a tent
3 nights slept on a church lawn
70 Cliff bars eaten so far
10 varieties of Cliff bars sampled
6.5 pounds of food consumed each day
650 uphills
425 downhills
15 friendly and helpful bike shop owners
1 grumpy bike shop owner (Fort Bragg, CA)
3 number of times Jen has fallen over on her bike from a standstill
1 flat while riding
4 times Jen and Chris have bumped helmets
2 times Jen has bumped into Chris while riding
1 time Jen almost plowed down a highway litter control man
500 pictures taken

I'm hot cause I'm fly, You ain't cause you're not

Yesterday: San Francisco to Santa Cruz (lunch at Half Moon Bay)
Today: Santa Cruz to Big Sur
Right Now: Lunch break 27 miles North of Big Sur in Carmel

As we rode into Santa Cruz last night and were passed by not one, but two hipsters on one-geared bicycle, we suddenly realized that we weren't cool enough for that city. Here's why:
- we have more than one gear on our bikes
- we have worn spandex every day for the past 4 weeks
- we wear fluorescent orange reflective bibs and triangles
- we get passed not only by hipsters but also by baby-boomers
- we have permanent grease stains on our legs

But we're having a grand'ole time and soaking up the glorious California sun!

The Glorious Golden Gate

Perfectly blue skies and stunning views of San Francisco provided a perfect welcome to the Golden Gate and a return to the bay area. It could not have been more perfect...except that we inadvertently rode on the pedestrian side instead of the cycling side of the bridge. There cannot be a more beautiful urban bicycle ride than through Marin county and San Francisco. Great bike routes and gorgeous scenery. That probably helps explain the amazing number of "commuter cyclists" that seemed to be coming over the bridge into Marin County in the evening. Nice commute.

Of course, getting to the Golden Gate from Mendicino (our last post) was a little trickier. Here is the typical rythym of the 170 miles we covered in the two days to get here:

• Up
• Down
• Up
• Down
• Way up
• Way down
• Up again
• Up, down, up, down, up, down, up (always seems to end on "up")
• Ridiculous "up" on vertical cliff that drops into a foggy oblivion in the ocean
• Screaming, swerving downhill out of the fog leading to another....
• UP

Other highlights of the journey:

• Attack of the cows. What are they doing on the bluffs above the ocean? They surrounded us and didn't seem to know what to do about cyclists
• Rolling into camp on bikes in the fog
• Susan chose the one night to camp with us...and it rained, of course
• Speaking of Susan, it has been amazing to have a "support van" full of cliff bars, fruit snacks and real, freshly made sandwiches
• Cute towns with libraries and bakeries
• First view of Northern Cal surfers (water temp: 49 degrees)
• We found "Sport Beans"!

A look at the diverse scenery:

• Craggy ocean bluffs,
• farmland,
• foggy fishing town,
• cliffs,
• thick forest,
• barren rocks,
• dry fields,
• low lying river valley,
• long ocean inlet with crab fisherman,
• suburbia
• the glorious Golden Gate.

DISCLAIMER:

This post was written by Jim and I apologize, in advance, for any misrepresentation or lack of writing skill (especially compared to Jen). I would also like to go on record that Jen and Chris have are officially part of the cutting edge baby boomer "boom" in cycling

This is Dad, writing for Jen

Monday began with some beautiful touring of the redwoods with impending threat of the "Leggett Hill" always in the back of our minds. On several occaisions we thought we had actually begun the ascent only to discover that it was only a "warm-up" hill. We finally began climbing a twisting road through the forest that was a long steady climb but not as horrible as advertised. Jen was like a machine chugging up the hill.

At the top we took our pictures next to a parked logging truck as a symbol of one of the most disconcerting aspects of the trip. Coincidentally, the top of the climb also marked the 1000 mile mark of the journey from Vancouver.

The big surprise of the day was the amazing descent to the coast from the top of the Leggett hill. It went on for miles and was a series of banked turns throught the forest. We all screamed out of pure joy as we swooped down the mountain.

The coast was covered in fog as we arrived and we met Susan (mom) for lunch at a beautiful campsite overlooking the ocean. From there the journey was a series of ups and downs along the rugged coast until we arrived at our final destination of Mendicino and a pretty campground off a picturesque, kelp filled bay. Total mileage for the day was 84...and we were tired.

The day was topped of with some bluegrass music at the Mendicino music festival.

As a newcomer to this adventure, it is hard to believe that we are going to wake up in the morning and do it again!

Greetings from Garberville, California, 200 miles north of San Francisco, where we spent our Sunday chillin' in an air-conditionned hotel room and gearing up for tomorrow's climb up the infamous Leggett Hill, our biggest ascent of the entire trip. To quote from our guide book: "Cyclists talk about Leggett Hill up and down the coast, increasing its proportions as they go. Contrary to popular rumor, abandoned touring bags do not line the road, nor are there graves of cyclists who did not make it." My mom and dad arrived early this morning so mom will be carrying our bags and we will be without any extra weight, but 1,800 feet is still intimidating.

I just added a bunch of pictures from the last week, so feel free to scan them on the preceding three pages. (Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page.) Thank everyone for your support and enthusiasm for us. It means a lot!

The consumer satisfaction level with my new Swiss army knife is HUGE!

Those are the roots of a giant tree.

I may not be hard core yet but I'm learning to fake it.

Saturday we had an absolutely glorious 30-mile ride down Avenue of the Giants through the majestic Redwoods. As Pirsig says in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, "On a cycle, you're in the scene, not just watching it."

Aah, the glories of Northern Caly. Just a few miles later, we had our first offer to buy marajuana. Coincidence?

This scenic road turned into a steep gravel climb.

Our Velveeta cheese, tuna and spinach dinner. Yummy? Chris ate the cold leftovers for breakfast.

Someone with a sick sense of humor had spray-painted this on the shoulder of the road at the top of a huge, long hill. There have been other messages for bikers at random spots along the road all down the coast.

California, here we come. Right back where we starting from...

Another stunning view.

This is the spot where I woke up in the middle of the night in a puddle of water. Not from rain. Not from the ground. From my very own water source. I bring my camelback into my tent every night because in addition to carrying my water, it carries my camera and wallet. Somehow, that night, the tube got lodged between my body and my sleeping pad at just the right angle to cause all the water to gradually flow out. (This is truly a mechanical miracle because when I'm riding, I actually have to bite down on the nozzle in order to drink.) My thermarest was soaked, my sleeping back was soaked, my pajamas were soaked. In a sleepy stupor, I tried to ring out my sleeping bag and push the puddle to one end of the tent. That was sufficient to allow me to curl up into the top fourth of my sleeping bag and sleep for a couple more hours.

I love this man - a retired judge from LA - and his used bookstore in Bandon, Oregon. I had been looking for "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" ever since the JFK airport but it had eluded us up and down the coast. When we popped our heads into this little shop, the owner enthusiastically told us that he had a copy, and he scanned and scanned the shelves with us, but to no avail. We left, but not before he had taken down my cell number and offered to send it to me on my route if he found it. No more than ten minutes later, my cell phone rang and so we pulled a U-turn. But knowing that some hills lay between us and his store, he closed shop, jumped in his car and met us half way. Even with the extra delivery service, the book only cost $3.

All of our stunning views are starting to blend together. But here's another stunning view. Somewhere. In Oregon.

The Oregon fog enveloped us as we took a detour off the 101 and meandered up and down the 16 miles of the eerie Seven Devils Road.

Seriously intense. Even walking was scary.

Eat. Sleep. Ride.

This awesome Florence couple we met at church were super supportive and excited for us. They fed us fresh berry cobbler, gave us navigational advice, let us upload pictures onto their computer, hooked us up with other bikers, gave us a ton of energy food and even pumped up our tires! Chris is an avid rider and once did the entire Oregon Coast in 3 days. Hard core.

We met the Lundy's at church last Sunday in Florence, Oregon, and they invited us over to their beautiful home for Sunday dinner. They fed us, let us use their internet, and shared with us some of their exquisite hand-made jewelry - they were so generous. You can see the famous Oregon sand dunes from their house. People have been so supportive all along the way!

A tribute to Oregon in adjectives

unadulterated, rural, authentic, run-down, quaint, rugged, windy, seasonal, uncrowded, traditional, friendly, ageing, not Disney-fied, dramatic

A dramatic entry into California

Greetings from Eureka! We just passed through the super-cool hippy town of Arcata where we bought fresh organic strawberries from a dude on a farming commune and ate lunch at a local bakery. I had fresh guacamole on a whole wheat bagel - I love CA! (We learned that by law Arcata can only have 6 corporate chains in its boundaries. Cool.)

In order to get here, however, we had to climb our biggest mountain of the trip yet: 1,200 feet up through the Redwoods. These are some of the songs that we sang in our heads, under our breathe or in sporadic loud outbursts that helped us make it up the hill: Yellow Submarine, Eye of the Tiger, We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody, Flashdance, The Little Red Wagon Song (from Boy Scout Camp), and Fifty Nifty United States. We ate lunch at the side of the road on the top and felt victorious. However, about an hour later, my body started to shut down. We stopped in front of an enormous statue of Paul Bunyan (he's not Californian, is he?) and I took a nap on a bench. I sat there rather comotose for a while longer until Chris bought some fudge. Rocky Road flavor and Peanut Butter flavor. After that, we rode on for 35 more miles.

My mom and dad are going to meet us on Saturday night and they will ride with us for a week: mom in the car with all our stuff (aahhh) and dad on his rode bike. We'll be so light...

FAQ's

How's your derriere?
Jen: Great saddle + padded pants = no problems
Where are you right now?
We're at the public library in Benton, Oregon, population 3,000. California is a tw0-day ride away.
What do you miss the most?
Jen: Reading and talking to my roommie every night before going to bed.
What do you eat?
Our panniers are generally stocked with: whole wheat bagels, Annie's peanut butter, honey, wheat thins, string cheese, apples, peaches, cherries, dried apricots, oatmeal, cookies and lots and lots of Cliff bars.
For dinner we have had heated up in our single pot: mac and cheese (Annie's - Jen's fav!), burritos, rice/chicken/veggies/ and some frozen bag dinners.
All this is supplemented by occasional eating out.
Are you loosing weight?
Jen: It's hard to tell but I think I'm probably overcompensating because I'm hungry all the time. I ate my first ever foot-long sandwich from Subway and one morning had a dozen pancakes.
Is it weird with just the two of you?
Jen: We cool. Chris is pretty freakin' awesome. I wonder what people think when they see us put up two tents or when we asked for one motel room with two beds.
How far do you go every day?
We've been averaging between 55-65 miles, although we did have an 80-mile day on Saturday. We're definitely feeling stronger and faster than when we started. It's a constant balancing act between just zooming along to reach our San Diego goal, and taking the time to take pictures, get on the internet, see the scenic route, etc.
Have you met many other bikers?
One dude passed us who had come 4,000 miles from Quebec and was on his way to San Diego. We met two girls who were taking three weeks to mosey along the Oregon Coast, and lots of couples who are also just doing Oregon.
Where do you sleep?
A combination of state camp grounds and RV parks.
How often do you shower?
For the cost of a few quarters, we have had a hot shower almost every night.
How do you do laundry?
A combination of laundry mats, friend's houses (thank you, Jaci and Jill) and washing by hand. We attach the wet clothes to our panniers and dry them with the wind and dirt of the road.
What's the scariest part?
Jen: Flying down a hill and have a gust of wind push you out of the shoulder just as you hear a ginormous engine behind you.

In case you were wondering, the USA/Canadian border does not have a bike lane. We got in line with some other cars but were informed that it doesn't work that way. We had to go into the building so that our passage to America could be approved. The men helping us were named Stagle, Tatham, and Baron. I couldn't make up more awesome names than that, and I tried. After thoroughly questioning us as to whether we (specifically: Chris) had ever been convicted of a felony, they gave us our passports back. Amused at our circumstance of two girls and a guy riding from Canada to Mexico, Tatham said to Chris as we left, "We're all rootin' for ya, Mister Beeman."

After the border, the road to Washington was perilous yet unavoidable; a one-lane stetch where 18-wheelers were frequently entering and where road construction completely blocked any hint of shoulder. Jen rallied for us to commandeer the road, and the three of us put on reflective/safety gear and pedaled side-by-side until the narrow passageway became a reasonable lane.

So what happened is that on our first day of riding, my tire got caught in some awkwardly angled railroad tracks and I fell into traffic. To feel your helmet bounce on the pavement when there are cars behind you is really freaky. Other than some bruises and my arm scrape, though, I was totally fine. I got off onto the side of the road and called Jen and Chris but we were still in Canada and phones weren't working well (and we had yet to perfect our "make sure we're all together" skills). Thankfully some nice drivers told them what happened and where I was. When they came back I had Jen take a picture of my arm when it was still really bloody--not until it was properly documented did I get out my first aid kit (priorities!) Sadly, my camera can be complicated to work, and the pic didn't get saved. Here's one though of the awesome job Jen and Chris did of bandaging my wound.

Eww...here's a close up picture of my gross arm taken later that night. It was totally swolen, but it has been healing really well. Hooray for that.

I think this was Birch Bay but I could be confused. All the Bays were Birch Bay to me, and all the towns were either Springfield or Shelbyville. This place had raccoons that walked up to you, took your string cheese, and pushed you over. Fortunately, none of them were armed (at least none of the ones I saw).

Jen's sad feet after riding all day in the rain. They were more purple than my camera phone managed to capture. Some insist that neoprene socks would have helped, but when it rains that much, we aren't sure it would have mattered.

Our campsite at Port Townsend (I think...Jen, please correct me if I have that wrong). The morning was beautiful, but this was the coldest, wettest night I had on the trip. Thankfully Greg wouldn't even stop to eat until he had built a roaring fire. That was nice.

Greg poses with his Cabela tent. He loves Cabela. www.cabela.com. Seriously this guy is completely hardcore, so Cabela must be awfully hardcore too.

See Jen. See Jen fix a flat. Ride, Jen. Ride.

Jen and Chris "cartograph" on the ferry as we head back to Bremerton. I really like this pic.

Jen cuts our way through the bushes so that we can make our U-turn and get back on the 'scenic' route.

Another pic of Chris's foot. Unrelated to the pic where he doesn't have a shoe. Sadly, this is related to a fall.

Are you jealous yet?

Even the simple things like uncliping can be complicated when you roll with us! (One of the screws from the cleat came out and the shoe wasn't coming out no matter how much we begged)

My dear friends Jill and Mike Jensen totally hooked us up in Seattle. We took over their old empty apartment for 2 nights (they're in transition to a new place), and they took us to the grocery store at midnight, fed us a huge and amazing dinner, and helped us navigate the next leg of our journey. Thanks, guys!

Chris' friend Amy C., our rescuer, drove all the way down from Seattle to Shelton to take our Amy M. to a far better place.

Our last picture together before our little family was torn apart. We worked through this traumatic transition with some blizzards from Dairy Queen.

Kicking it for the night on the lawn of the church in Shelton. No showers, but soft, flat grass.

Jill, one of the many generous strangers we have met along the way , offered to put our bikes in the back of her truck after we stopped to ask her for directions to the LDS church. We left our bikes there for the night when our friends took us to their house in Vancouver.

One of our cheerleaders, Emma, who met us with her family at the foot of the Astoria Bridge and whisked us away to their home in Vancouver, Washington.