I'm Home!

...whew...
Boy, this was one heck of a Wednesday-Thursday-Friday! We rode probably around 100 miles total, including 55 in one day, and a lot of THAT was uphill! Well, that's all that we did, thanks for reading!





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Okay, I guess I could've said more...

So, on Wednesday, I got up at 6-something, hardly got any sleep, probably 4 hrs. Dad drove me to the church (Cindy and I took all my stuff, sans my camel-pak, there the night before), and we were probably out of there around 7:00.

We drove down I-5 to Hwy. 101, to some highway that went across the peninsula, then back onto 101 until we got to Astoria, Oregon.

We stopped at Costco along the way, and I got a hot-dog for $1.50, which just happened to be the only money out of the $80 that I brought with me (crazy, huh?). We stopped again at an empty parking lot just outside of Astoria, empty except for the Whites (family from church). We got out our bikes, and read off "The Ten Commandments of Biking" (biking rules), had a prayer, and we were off for Tillamook (yes, home to Tillamook Cheese Factory), 24 miles away. Keep in mind that my furthest distance in one day is 26.8 miles.

When we FINALLY made it to the factory (picture below this paragraph), we went on a self-guided tour, saw the big operation room (where they make the cheese, not a hospital area), and went through a cheese-sampling line, featuring fresh cheese curds, medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, extra sharp cheddar, colby jack, and pepper jack, all of which were very good. And the last stop: ICE CREAM!




I had a cone of their "Sweet Centennial" flavor (this year is their 100th anniversary), then, feeling guilty about not getting a double scoop, got some Bubble Gum ice cream in a bowl, also good...

xDETOUR WARNINGx

I like SOME interesting flavors of ice cream, like the aforementioned Bubble Gum and Pistachio, but on the list was "White Licorice" ice cream, which turned out to be black licorice flavored. I HATE black licorice, and just to prove I could do it, I ate an entire licorice. It took probably 5 minutes to get through the whole thing. It was THAT bad (to me anyway).

xEND DETOURx

That was the end of our first day of riding, and we packed our bikes in the trailer and went to a campground about 5-10 miles south (we rode on 101 the whole time). We stayed at Camp Lookout State Park for the night, had hot dogs for dinner, and had a fireside on the beach around a campfire. Then we went to bed.

Next morning we had some assorted muffins for breakfast, and then we packed our stuff up, including tents, and were off. Packing was an absolute PAIN for me, and made the mornings pretty rough, but once we got to riding, it was OK.

Our second day of riding was nothing special. We rode from Lincoln City (I think) to South Beach, around 26 miles (my current bike-distance-in-a-day record), and we drove a short distance into the state park there, aptly named "South Beach State Park".

For dinner, we had venison stew (Brother Hathaway, one of the adults who came with us, is a hunter, and he shot the dear himself and made the meat), which I even enjoyed AFTER hearing what it really was (Cindy was grossed out when I told her about it). For dessert we had apple-blueberry cobbler, a la mode, and had another fireside. Beforehand, some of the guys went out to the beach to swim. The only time I've really been able to tolerate ocean water is when I went to Hawaii last spring, but other than that...

Needless to say, I only got up to just above my ankles, and everytime a wave came over them, my legs went completely numb. I decided I was done after that.

Third day (ironic, I know) was the biggest ride of all. We RODE OUR BIKES out of the park, and then kept heading south.

We rode to a small town called Yachats (which pompously called itself "Gem of the Oregon Coast", a title it probably doesn't deserve, but hey, what are ya gonna do?), and had lunch (sandwiches, just like the day before, which had ham and turkey and american cheese, and came with butter or mayo, the former of which I preferred most). Then we rode on...



and on...





and on...







and ON...




We had been running on a "go five miles and meet at a stopping point" plan, but since we left Yachats, we hadn't had any stops, and this had been for nearly half-an-hour. Not only that, but there was uphill after uphill, so much it just got exhausting.

When we FINALLY stopped, Brother Cameron Masters, who had been following us in his truck, and had brought some guys along (they didn't feel like riding through all the uphills, which I can't blame them too much for), said we had ridden 45 MILES.

This already broke my record of most-miles-in-a-day, but we still had a long way to go. Our next checkpoint was in Florence, 5 miles off. We made it, then we had to go even FURTHER.

(side note: Ben Betteridge, a guy in my young men's group, got a flat tire TWICE on the stretch between this stopping point and our destination. He got there 10 minutes after we did.)

According to Google Maps, which I've been using to calculate distances this entire time, it was 5 miles more from Florence to Honeyman State Park, where we stayed for our final night. In the end, it was 55 MILES of riding. That was over twice as much as my original record. And believe me, I had NO interest in riding my bike anymore by the time we reached our campground. The guys who rode with Brother Masters, however, did.

For dinner, we had spaghetti, and after that, I just got right into my sleeping bag to relax for a little bit. I saw a really tasty-looking chocolate cake and chocolate cupcakes in the back of one of the trucks, and I wanted to be awake for dessert.

Too bad.

I must have hit the wall HARD that night, because next thing I knew, I found myself inside the tent, with other guys around me sleeping, and it was early in the morning. Drat, so much for my plan. Apparently the guys ate the sweets, AND also had milkshakes. However, one of them said it was a good idea to go right to sleep after the huge ride yesterday, and a couple of other guys ended up missing it too for the same reason.

We got all set to go, and took off on our 6-hour trek back up to Tacoma, and if Ben didn't have his iPod handy (like I've said before, I live for music), I would've been just about bored out of my mind the whole trip. Oh, and we stopped for burgers on the way up.

We pulled into the church parking lot around 6:40, and everyone's parents were there waiting for us. I put my stuff in the trunk, and drove home with Dad.

I had gotten some fancy bike stuff before the ride (thanks, Cindy!) at REI and Big 5. I got a biking shirt and shorts, and some bike gloves. I lost the bike gloves, but if I managed to get through the aforementioned 55 miles without them, I don't think there's anything to worry about...

Oh, and I brought sunscreen too, but I didn't do such a great job with putting it on, as confirmed by the following pictures:

Picture number 3 shows the interesting burnline I got from wearing my bike shorts. A few of the guys called me "The Pill", because my leg was one color on one side, a different color on the other, and it apparently looked like a pill...

That was my excellent trek, and now I think I should take a shower...

Andrew Brinkerhoff, ULTRA-professional bike rider, OUT!!!!!!!