I am doing the tour with the same company (America By Bicycle) that Marie and I used for our trip across the United States during the summer of 2007.
Today we completed our sixth day of riding (over 400 miles total). We crossed the Oregon/California border this morning. Tomorrow is our first rest day. Marie did the same tour in September of 2008. She enjoyed it so much that she insisted that I do it this year. I walked the dog last year, it’s Marie’s turn this year. The dog is happy!
Day 1 – Astoria, OR to Tillamook, OR (66 miles) – I didn’t post an update the first day because it would have just bummed everybody out. We left the hotel in Astoria an hour and a half later than scheduled due to a torrential downpour. Even after we finally left we got soaked and then ran into very heavy headwinds (20 to 35 mph) with hilly terrain. That doesn’t make for pleasant bike riding. It was just about one of the least enjoyable rides of my life. It was the longest 66 miles I can remember. After crossing the entire continent in 2007 with no rain I was afraid my luck had run out and the weather gods were sending me the bill.
Day 2 – Tillamook, OR to Lincoln City, OR (65 miles) – When we were getting to leave the hotel it was pouring just like yesterday. I was beginning to dread my decision to even do this trip. However, after breakfast it mostly cleared up and we had a pretty good day of cycling. The scenery is gorgeous, the hills are challenging but not daunting and there are sights to see along the way. Maybe this isn’t so bad after all?
Day 3 – Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR (80 miles) – The weather gods seem to have more important business than ruining my trip. I guess they are busy in Istanbul. A lot of our journey follows highway 101 along the coast. When it is feasible we travel on less trafficked or more scenic side roads. The scenery is very dramatic and fortunately we have not had too much fog which is something that has plagued the tour in previous years. When you start a tour like this you know that you are not really conditioned enough physically. You have to tough it out and get your conditioning back. Sometimes you feel like you are surviving on ibuprofen, energy drinks, high carb snacks, Power Bars, a few bananas, and as much as you can eat at breakfast and dinner.
Day 4 – Florence, OR to Bandon, OR (82 miles) – We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 7:30 am. I woke up at 4:00 am, went back to sleep and woke up again at 7:00 am. Crisis time! I threw everything together, got the bike ready and had to leave without breakfast. It put me out of sync for the whole day. While the scenery was spectacular, I never felt good. The weather cooperated but the hills were punishing (to me) and I just never felt right. It was a combination of getting off to a bad start and still trying to get my body into the condition required for what I am asking it to do.
Day 5 – Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR (66 miles) – A better day but not a great day for me. Mentally I felt good but at times my legs felt dead. This is all a conditioning thing that you have to ride through but its not easy at the time. Fortunately, it was a shorter day.
Day 6 – Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA 9 (65 miles) – There was suppose to be some dramatic scenery to take in early in the ride but unfortunately the fog was so heavy that visibility was very limited. There were some early tough climbs so it was a matter of slogging it out. Physically it was an up and down day for me. Sometimes I felt tired and sometimes I felt fine. It would come and go. Again, I think it my body is getting used to the rigors. I actually see these symptoms as a good thing. I have a Garmin GPS device with a heart rate monitor that tracks speed, distance, time, cadence, altitude and hear rate. At the end of the day I download the information from the device into my laptop. Over just 6 days I have been able to see how my average speed has increased, my average heart rate has decreased, my average cadence has increased and my maximum heart rate (even with tougher climbs) is lower. Maybe I am getting into better condition! Now if I can just reach that point where my body is using fat for fuel I can start to drop some unnecessary pounds.
Tomorrow is our first rest day. I need it. Sunday will be a tough ride. I am attaching a few pictures I took along the way. If you want more pictures and further details you can access the web site that our tour leader maintains. It is: Ride the West Coast – 2009