Thoughts on Why, Rain, and Roads

Dear family and friends,

Before I even opened my eyes this morning I could hear the wind and rain against the tiny building that comprises my motel. I felt like I had made a good decision to take a rest day today and wait out the storm of wind and rain that came on last night, and hopefully passes during the day today. 

A couple of you readers have asked why I do these bike tours. Yesterday, as I was pushing the pedals with my untrained legs and feeling the discomfort of lack of training I gave this some thought. 

Here’s some thoughts about that:

I sat at the bar at the local tavern last night for dinner. The woman next to me mentioned that she was the driver of the sag wagon for her husband and his buddy, who were on the road from Portland to here (Pacific City). It was dark and windy and raining sideways at six thirty PM. I had already showered, rested and changed into non-biking clothes. Those two were riding in the dark rainy night, in traffic. Oh, she did mention that they were forty-ish years old. She left quickly when she got the text that they were near and took her hot tater-tots with her for a treat for the riders. 

After she left I chatted with a couple of other people from Pacific City, workers in that tavern, but off duty, hanging around waiting for the band to start playing. It’s a tiny town (pop ~1600) and I enjoyed the vibe. 

Yes, I was feeling glad it wasn’t me out there in the dark and rain. The logistics planning for these tours is something I get a great deal of pleasure doing. Yesterday was a good example of a puzzle to solve.

The factors in the puzzle were:

1. Checkout time at my departure hotel was 11 AM
2. Check-in time at arrival motel was 4 PM
3. I sent an email asking for early check in because it was offseason and I was traveling by bicycle and received a one word answer: “No”
4. South winds (headwinds) were forecasted for the day at 7-11 MPH increasing to 15-26 MPH by 3 PM
5. A major rainstorm was forecast to hit by 3 PM, bringing over an inch and a half of rain during the next 24 hours.
6. I had approximately only a three hour ride ahead of me. “A three hour tour” (one could sing it, Gilligan)

What would you do? I didn’t want to get to my destination too early and sit in the rain. I thought I could sit inside a bar or restaurant and wait if it was raining and I was early, but the bike would be outside in it.

So, I departed at 11 (checkout time). The road was mostly rolling and not too hilly, so even though pedaling four days in a row on my untrained legs, those legs started to remember what this was all about and did their job. 

I spotted an aero museum on the way and stopped for a visit. No-one else was there so I could leave my loaded bike at the check in counter while I visited. That took up three quarters of an hour.

I reminisced about our family flight across the Pacific Ocean when I saw a TWA plane from that era. Now that I’ve navigated across the same ocean using a sextant, I can appreciate my naivety of knowing the navigator would find New Zealand or Fiji and Tahiti out in the middle of that ocean, with the tools of the time. If I were in that same technology plane today, I would know enough to be frightened!

When I started back on the bike, the wind was slightly stronger, in my face of course, but not terrible.

Each half hour of riding brought lower temperatures. A couple of hours in and it dropped to the low 50’s (F), but since I was generating body heat, the wool shirt and bike shorts I wore still kept me comfortable.

I could see the rain ahead, clouds suddenly dropping to road level, like fog, but dripping with moisture. It wasn’t wet enough to put on rain gear, just damp and misty so far.

My destination, Pacific City, was still four miles away when the wind picked up. Any bicycle tourer would tell you that a headwind is the most frustrating part of touring. Pedal like crazy and get nowhere. I started to imagine being dry and in my room. 

Two biggish hills to get into town around three PM and  a big sign for a Brewpub to lure me in for a hot lunch. Once I ordered my food, I checked my phone and the weather message was “rain expected in 23 minutes”, which made me hope that the service was fast. It was, and I was fed and out of there in less than a half hour to arrive at the hotel in a darkening sky to be allowed to check in a half hour early (contrary to their message!). 

The first heavy drops fell as I put the key in the door to my room. 

Today’s puzzle solved with good results. I got a lot of pleasure out of the planning and logistics.  And a bit of good luck never hurts.

I hope the guys riding in the dark made it in safely. 

More ideas of “Why?” in future blogs.

Now that I have done a few big tours I compare each one to others. This tour so far has me on busy roads with logging trucks roaring by steadily. I read that the Winnebegos driven by amateurs are the real danger of summer riding and thankfully there haven’t been many of them. 

I don’t get hours of riding without paying attention to the road surface and traffic so far. It seems that is where I can just get into my head and think for a few hours, my form of mediation. Not much of that yet. 

The shoulders of the roads go from wide to non-existent. Even when they are wide the majority of the shoulder is covered with Himalayan blackberry bushes, loaded with thorns, then a mix a broken glass, pinecones, and slippery moss. Right outside the white line is the clear part, but a narrow path to steer, which takes concentration to stay out of traffic.

This is supposed to be the most popular bike tour in the country. So far I only saw one other bike tourer, who was heading north and sitting at a turnout with a deflating tire. He asked if I would sell him a 700mm tube and I replied in the negative, as I gave it to him. Now I’ll have to find a bike store to replace it (I do have one more spare), but that’s the way of the tourers.

So, being a “popular except in the late fall and winter” route, I would think that the infrastructure would be better, as in more room to ride, so I am so far disappointed in the riding environment. 

This does keep my “going in the offseason” trend going. Fewer crowds, better weather (I cannot take too much heat) and theoretically lower prices (not reality yet). I was hoping less traffic, but so far steady traffic all day.

Don’t get me wrong, I often am along the high coast with miles of views of the sea stacks and sounds of the roaring ocean hitting the shore. The mist rises above the high shores and coats my skin and fills my nostrils with the salt smell. Worth it so far.

Sending love,

Charley