OTIS AND THE BIKE RIDE

I Really Don't Know What To Say Or How To Say It

Thursday, July 26, 2007 - Day 35

Distance traveled - miles

If I had written this entry about 2 hours ago, it would have been completely different. Amazing how much can change in such a short period of time. I'm not really sure where to begin, but I guess the morning is a good place to start.

I woke up around 7 or 7:30. I was tired, but I wanted to get an early start to the day, so I got up. Actually, I laid in my hammock for a little bit, contemplating going back to sleep, but there was an obnoxious bird that wouldn't shut up, and I knew that any more sleep that I got was not going to be too sweet. So I arose and instantly started getting to it. I went to the bathroom, came back, started cooking breakfast (oatmeal) and striking my hammock. I worked pretty quickly, at least by my standards. I was thankful to see that my bike was still there as well as all my electronics, after being so creeped out and somewhat genuinely scared of the fellow bike campers. I ate my breakfast and packed up in very good time. After stretching and brushing my teeth, I was ready to roll out of camp around 9:15, a record for myself, I might add. Well, that good time didn't last too long. Probably 5 minutes out of camp I heard a spoke break. I hoped dearly that I was wrong in my first assumption, but I knew what it was. Even upon my first inspection, I didn't find the broken one, and I was hopeful, but it didn't take long to find the son of a bitch. So I rode down the route another mile or so until I got to an ample spot to pull over and fix the thing. I was right next to a lighthouse. It was nice and somewhat scenic. There were people around, coming and going, trying to spot some whales. The only man who was nice to me was a man from Atlanta, and that was really only because he wanted a quarter for his two dimes and a nickel to use the viewing scopes. I didn't have a quarter.

So I fixed the spoke. It's not hard to replace them anymore, it just takes time. I have to flip the bike over, remove the rear wheel, remove the tire and tube, replace the spoke, true the wheel, replace the tire and tube, then put the wheel back on, minding the chain tension and the alignment of the wheel and the rear triangle. It just takes a little time to do it all right. So with that done, I headed north again. Stopped at the little shop just down the road a bit because I was hungry, hadn't had much breakfast, and knew I needed to eat before I set off any further. I got some donuts. I also needed to call my dad to coordinate him flying out to Portland to meet up with me. I want some time in the city to myself to take care of some stuff and to explore, but he was talking about coming out just a day or two after I get there, so I wanted to make sure everything was straight and we were on the same page. That ended up being a bit of a conversation, talking about bikes and what not. So here I am, rolling out of this store, not more than 3 or 4 miles from where I started that morning, and it's already 12:30. Fucking, eh. I guess it's a good thing I started at 9, otherwise it would have been around 2 or 3 when I was rolling out of the same place.

I traveled on, knowing my destination. I knew I was going to stop in a town called Florence, which was 30 miles up the road, to get on the internet, and then continue on another 14 miles or so to the campground. After sorely not meeting my goal yesterday, I was determined to do whatever it takes to make the 50 or so miles to my destination today. Of course I was fighting a headwind the entire day. That's nothing new, at least since I got into Oregon. It was tough, but not as bad as parts of yesterday. I have loosely planned out the next few days until I get into Portland. I needed to do that so that I have a good idea what day I will likely get in and where I'll be going to the next few days. I stopped at a Safeway and got some groceries that will hopefully last me the next few days. I now am officially out of money. I have about $10 to my name, plus about $100 on my credit card. I'm hoping that will get me to Portland and I can find some work there. I'm going to try not to pay for any campsites for the next few days. I was able to get away with it last night. Anyway, I have my credit card if it comes down to it.

I got into Florence around 3:30, stopped in the visitor's center to pick up a bike map of the entire state. I only had one of the coastal route, but I needed to see what lies between the coast and Portland, see if there is any kind of good bike route. Picked it up then headed to the library to get online. I got online and was able to check email and post a few things to the journal, which has been really tough to do lately. Ended up spending more time there than I wanted, but they closed at 6, so I had to leave then. Ate a snack of corn tortillas with honey, which is pretty good, but not as good as I hoped. It needs something else. By this time the winds had really picked up. Unlike California, where the winds are worst in mid afternoon and die down usually by mid evening, the winds seem to really pick up around 5 and continue on until almost dark sometimes. So I'm heading out into the worst winds of the day, and they are nasty. I was so tired and over it. I just wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, where I could just stop and call it a day. I knew I still had at least 13 miles to the campground. Before I left the town I decided that I needed to have a beer tonight. I'm out of money, but I need this. So I stopped at a little convenience store at the outskirts of town and bought a 24oz Becks and a bag of chips with my credit card. Fuck it. I need a beer tonight. Ate most of the chips and headed back into the wind.

It was brutal. I wanted so badly to go fast, but there was nothing I could do. I started getting really frustrated. I wanted nothing else but to throw my bike on the ground and just start running the other direction, letting the wind push me along until I couldn't run anymore. Then someone would come and pick me up and carry me to a safe warm place where I could rest. Unfortunately I didn't have that option, so I pressed on. As the woman at the visitor's center warned me, I came up to some hills at the coastal range. These were some climbs. Motherfuckers! I'm not really sure how I did it, but I did. I pushed and toughed it out as hard as I could. I was so angry and tired, battling an incline and headwind simultaneously, on top of already being exhausted. I literally had to give it all I had to keep moving forward. Then came the first decline. It was really nice and fast at first, but then the winds came back and really slowed me down. I was so pissed. As I went up the next climb, I had to crank it up even more. I started yelling, and I kind of wrote a little poem. I'll fill it in here as best I can.

Fuck you, headwind, fuck you. You're not going to stop me. Fuck you, hill. I'm gonna keep on going. Fuck you, headwind. Fuck you, hill. Fuck you, broken spoke, fuck you, flat tires, fuck you creepy people, fuck you not nice people, fuck you wind! This is my journey, my trip, my life. I'm not going to let you bring me down, keep me back, hold me off. I'm going to keep moving, keep fighting, keep pushing. Fuck you, wind! Fuck you!!

It went something like that. Basically I was just yelling 'Fuck you' a lot. It was a good release, and somehow I was able to make it up the hills and into camp. It felt so good to get into camp and to find out that I am the only biker here. I have the whole little section all to myself. I don't have to worry about unfriendly people, loud and obnoxious people, or creepy people. I can write and do my thing bymyself. I set up my hammock then decided to cross the highway over to the beach because I knew there was going to be a nice sunset. Wow, it was gorgeous. For sure the best sunset I've seen on this trip so far. Granted, I actually haven't seen a whole lot of them, but of the ones I have seen, this one took the cake easily. And the little path to get to the beach was awesome as well. I think I'm going to stay an extra day here. It is really nice, I need the day off, and I want to explore around here. Plus, I can catch up on my writing. My mood is so completely changed from just hours ago. Now all I'm worried about is wild animals. As I have been writing this, I have been eating my dinner of pasta and pesto. A raccooon wandered up to my table. He got to within about 4 feet, then I heard him and shined the flashlight on him. That sent him running, but I know he'll be back once I goto sleep. Also, there are supposedly bears around here, and it is so quiet here, there isn't much to scare them off except a few lights, and I'm here all by myself, and it's oh so quiet. I need to pack up my food and get to the blissful shutaway that is my hammock.

I'm so glad I was able to write tonight. I really needed that. The last few days have been really rough. I need a day off to take a shower and rest completely. I think that raccoon is back and it's getting foggy.

Good night.

Music selections for today:
Gonzales - Solo Piano