Sunny day

It was a beautiful, sunny day. I biked 42 miles today and stopped in Crescent City CA. I stopped just short of the set of steep mountain ranges. I am staying in a campground right at the base of the Crescent mountains. Tomorrow, I will attack them with fresh legs. Because the visibility was so good today, I really enjoyed biking along the coast. At one point, I saw hundreds of seals and sea lions sunning on the rocks. I also saw thousand of birds nesting on huge rocks just off the coast. I also saw 5 golden eagles today. That was awesome. Tomorrow I also enter the giant redwood tree areas of Northern California. For the next several days I will get to bike amongst the giants. I am really looking forward to the fabulous redwood forests. I have only seen them in books, and it will be a real treat for me to see them up close and personal. As I said earlier, "God's creations speak to me". To ponder their intelligences and to know that they work into God's plan of justice is just incredible to me. The forecast is for more good weather the next 5 days. Hope that holds true. That's it for now. Jerry

headwinds

Encountered some stiff headwinds today. Not only do they slow you down, but the fatigue factor is significant. That, along with several challenging hills, made for a hard day. Biked 62 miles to Brookings, the Southernmost city in Oregon. I will cross the California border fairly early tomorrow morning. And then, more hills. The Northern California hills are the highest and steepest on the West Coast. I am a little intimidated as I read about them. They say there are bicycle saddlebags on the side of the steepest roads. I think that is folklore, but it underscores the challenge ahead of me. After fighting the headwinds and hills today, I asked myself for the first time, "What the heck am I doing out here?" Kim is going to meet me around San Francisco a little over a week from now. We are then going up the Oregon Coast together by car, head over to Portland and then drop down into Boise to see our daughter Tawnie and her family before heading home. So, it looks like I am going to cut my tour a little short so that Kim and I can spend some time together out here. She has always wanted to see the Oregon Coast. No rain the last three days. It's been great and I have finally witnessed the beauty of this wonderful place. Well, wish me luck on the big hills tomorrow. Jerry

Had a pretty good spill

Have not had Internet connection the past two days. Have been in the coastal mountainess areas areas. I will bring you up-to- date: On Monday morning I was into my ride about an hor when it started to rain. I was on a rough , narrow shoulder going about 12 mph when the shoulder shifted to a different level. My front wheel caught the rise and with the slippery conditions, I went down hard on my left side into the traffic lane. I skidded several feet, hurried off the roadway and tried to collect myself. A motorist who witnesses the affair stopped and asked if I was Okay. I said I thought I was. I was just so grateful that it was early in the morning with little traffic on the roads. I got back on my bike, and after the adrenalin wore off, I noticed some pain down my left side. I pulled over and discovered that I had scraped up my left elbow, left knee, and left hip pretty good. I wrapped holes in my rain jacket and rain pants, and in my riding glove. I am sure without this layer of clothing, things could have been much worse. I am humbled about how vulnerable we all are each day. I thank the Lord every day for each breath of life that He sustains. Things have been fine since, except for some left shoulder pain, which is not severe, just nagging. I finally got a little sun on Tuesday, and more sun today. I have seen some incredible scenery, along with may sea lions. I have walked on the beach every night contemplating things of eternity, and missing family and friends. On Monday I biked 67 miles, on Tuesday I biked 79 miles, and today I left early and have biked 66 miles. The towns I have passed through are: Pacific City, Neskowin, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, Waldport, Yachats, Glenada,Gardiner, Reedsport, Winchester Bay, Nort Bend, Coos Bay, Charlston, Bandon, and I presently in Port Orford. Tomorrow I will pass through Gold Beach and end in Brookings, the Southern most Oregon City. On Friday I will cross the California Border and continue my route down the Coast. Loving the sights and sounds and the smells. The campgrounds I have been staying in have been very nice, most havi g hot showers. I biked along with several otter bikers the last couple of days. One from Denver, two from Austria, one from Texas, one from Ohio, and one from Florida, all really nice people. Still haven't run into any old duffers like myself. It's good to be back in touch. Hope you are all well and happy. God bless. Jerry

Hills and more Rain

It rained most of the night, but when I woke up it had stopped. I was able to fix my breakfast and load up my gear while the sun was coming up. Did I say "Sun"! It lasted for 1hour and then it was gone. And then it started to rain and it did not let up all day. I got totally soaked. My skin is all wrinkled. I don't think it will ever be smooth again. I had 3 long hills today. Very steep. They definitely challenged my capacity and endurance. One of the hills would rival our own Apine Loop. I biked 48 miles today, but I was on the bike for almost 7 hours, because of the snail pace going up the mountain passes. Speaking of snails, they are everywhere here, and little frogs too. They get up on the roadway and get splattered. I am speaking of hundreds of slugs and frogs - one of the results of such a wet climate I guess. I am in Lincoln City OR. I passed some great scenery today and managed to get a few pictures. The fog was not as heavy today. There were a lot of suffers out even though it was raining hard. Tomorrow is Sunday and I will be taking a day of much needed rest. Jerry

Sitting at the Ocean

Writing tonight from the Pacific Ocean, listening to the methodical rolls of the waves as they break on the beach - the smell of salt water, sand and sea weed. I am at cape lookout state park near Tellamook, Oregon. Tellemook is known for it's cheese. I visited the cheese factory today and toured the facility and operation. It was really interesting, but best of all I got to sample about 6 kinds of cheese. Oh so good. Washington and Oregon also depend on a strong logging industry to support their economy. Huge logging trucks frequent the roads. These drivers are the most courteous to bikers. The smell of fresh cut wood at the lumber yards is yummy. The arroma of saw dust is delicious to the smell. Biked around 48 miles today. The day started out wet again. I was soaked by noon. It then broke for a while. I was able to get my tent up when it wasn' raining. It is raining again now. I am sitting under a canopy. Looks like I will be fixing dinner in the rain. It is still quite foggy. The forecast is for more of the same through the weekend. I am just going to have to tolerate being damp for awhile. The temperature is about 58 right now. It gets down to about 50-52 at night. I have an idea! I think I will bring my cooking gear to this canopy area. It is about 100 yards from my sleeping area. Okay, I think I will go and do that. Until next time, Jerry

OREGON

Crossed over into Oregon this morning on the Astoria Bridge. The bridge is 4 1/2 miles across the mighty Columbia River. The Columbia River is very turbulent where it meets the Ocean. It looks calm enough but there are unseen powerful undercurrents. Over the years, there has been many a ship wreck as they have tried to go through this area. Lewis and Clark learned about the mighty river and the ocean confluence. As I started out it was raining. Biked over 60 miles today and it never let up once. I was completely soaked through again. The fog set in by 11:00 a.m., and when I had to climb over a thousand feet over some mountain passes, there was very little visibility at the top. Furthermore, I had to fight a strong headwind. I actually had to get off my bikeand push it for over a mile because the head wind was pushing me out in traffic. At one point I noticed that I was pushing the bike over a very high cliff area, probably over a thousand foot drop. It was very good that I was off the bike at that point. Here I thought that the traffic wS my biggest risk, but just several feet on the other side were the cliffs. That was my adventure for the day. I am missing some awesome scenery because of the rain and fog, but I know there is much to see yet as I move down the coast. Saw other bikers today - all young riders in their twenties. Several days ago I did meet a woman from Germany who was probably around 50 or so. Signing off for now. jerry

Made it to Cape Disappointment

It started raining at 10:00 this morning and it has not let up since then. I went to the campground at Cape disappointment State Park and the whole biker section was one big pool of water. I was forced to get a motel tonight. I have good rain gear, but when you get pounded by a hard rain for hours, it eventually breaches the best of rain gear. So I am presently drying out in my room. I did go to the Lewis and Clark Museum and it was fantastic. Very well done with great displays and authentic artifacts. Their expedition fascinates me. It was fun to see where they finally reached the Pacific Ocean. I went up to the lighthouse on top of the hill and the visibility was very poor. The wind was howling and the rain was pounding, but I could still make out the ouTline of this beautiful and rugged area. Biked about 50 miles today. I am seven miles from the Oregon border. I will cross over into Oregon tomorrow morning. I will enter Astoria and then bike some 50 a 60 miles down the coast. It is supposed to be another heavy rain day, but I hope it is not As heavy as today. Loving my adventure, even with the rain and wind. When I am out there, it is like I am one with nature. God's creations speak to my spirit and I feel the Love of God and his creations.