Day 3 - 10 miles S of South Bend, WA to Cannon Beach, OR
Mileage - 54.8 Total elapsed mileage - 180.0 Saddle Time - about 3:50 Average Speed - about 15 mph
(cycloputer on Bike 2 does not show elapsed time or average speed - it does show 100ths of miles, though, which are encouraging to watch as they click off - every three pedal strokes each, on average)
Left from yesterday's end point at 11:15 AM and rendezvous'ed with Bob just short of the Columbia River bridge to Astoria at 1:30. Rendezvous point was Dismal Niche, a cove where Lewis and Clark took refuge from a violent and lengthy Columbia River-mouth storm in November 1804, on final approach to their wintering-over place. Drove over the bridge to Astoria where we (at least I) enjoyed a carb-rich lunch in an Italian restaurant on the main street of the old town, followed by a visit to the Columbia River Museum, an excellent venue for local-maritime-history buffs. Remounted at 3:45 and headed west, then south, on 101, favored by a NW wind, arriving at Cannon Beach at 5:45 after a moderate climb over the shoulder of the first of the many headlands than lie between me and northern California, more than 300 miles to the south.
Indeed, according to the countour legend on the Adventure Cycling map series for the Oregon leg of this ride, which looks something like a seisomograph printout for a Richter 8.9, between here and the California state line are more ascents and descents than I can count, including three of around 800 feet, one of 600 feet, seven of around 400 feet and about a dozen lower ones. If today's was typical, however, shoulders are wide and smooth and grades are manageable. And every ascent is guaranteed to be followed by a speedy and cooling descent!
Eating anough to keep my energy up, but not exaggeratring, and drinking a littrle wine with dinner. Don't know if I'll lose any weight on this ride, but I'll certainly not gain any. Ran the numbers once: if you take all the miles I've ridden in the last 17 years, convert them to minutes at an average of four minutes to the mile, multiply by about 13 calories burned per minute at 15 mph, that divide than number by 3,500, which is about the number of calories in a pound of body weight gained or lost, if I had consumed what I consumed but had not ridden at all, I would weight more than 800 pounds!
Bike #2:
Make and model: ca. 1992 Giant Innova hybrid.
Weight - about 27 pounds.
Gear - same as bike #1
Gearing and other equipment - 21-speed, triple elliptical chainring. One-piece Scott aero handlebars, giving me many hand-position options.
Tires: 700x35 Bontragers, at 75psi. Much softer ride than on Specialized Roubaix, and more resistant to punctures from shoulder debris..
One problem, though: when I picked my bikes up from Barry after a pre-ride check and service, I thought I heard him say the Giant "needed a new chain and cassette." Apparently, what he said was "needs," because it slips in almost all gear selections, if only while I'm starting from a dead stop. The first bike shop I come to, I'm going to see if they will do the job while we wait.
All for today. Hasta manana and about 70 miles down the road.
Bob
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 2
Shelton, WA to 10 miles south of South Bend, WA.
74.2 miles Total elapsed miles 125.5 5:22 hrs saddle time Average speed 13.8 mph
July 4, 1961: Spent most of day at Kenneth's. Went into Bremerton late afternoon and spent night at G-Ma's (Paternal, that is).
July 5, 1961: Went to Shelton with Jack (uncle, husband of my father's kid sister Vivian) at noon. Raining all morning. Spent pleasant afternoon with Cruickshank family.
July 6, 1961: Shelton to Ilwaco, Wn. First real day of the trip. Vivian packed me a lunch and I was off at 8:45, Made good time most of day. Had two hours of hard rain. Only feet got wet. Lunch in Raymond. Camped on beach at Ilwaco after searching for 90 minutes for "Fort Canby State Park." Supper was 15 cents' worth of grapes. Mosquitos ruined the night. Light sprinkles. Will buy breakfast this morn. Rode 115 miles.
A long, rather hard day. As in 1961, we drove to Shelton. Vivian (Jack passed away in 2003) was expecting us and we spent about a hour reminiscing, comparing photos, drinkng coffee and enjoying Poulsbo pastry. Vivian is well, as was the one daugher, Jackie, who joined us for a while. I believe I last saw Vivian in the late 1990s, and Jackie and I agreed we last met when I traveled to Poulsbo with my daughter Devon sometime in the 1980s.
Mounted up on the Specialized at 12:15 and pointed the front wheel south. Weather nice - low-mid 80s, little humidity, sunny. Roads mixed - two-lane with shoulder of varying width, often of very coarse asphalt. One several-mile stretch of freeway, which wasn't really bad - the shoulder is about 15 feet wide, clean and separated from the roadway by a rumble strip. And those semis roaring by at 70mph bring a great draft with them.
Rendezvous'ed with Bob for the first time in Elma a little before 2:00, watered up, replenished my power bar supply and took two Endurolytes.
Ride got more interesting as the temperature (and the elevation) rose. Either my memory has weakened over the last 50 years, the road has been re-routed or the mountains have grown, but I spent more time grinding slowly uphill than I recall doing in 1961.
Rendezvous'ed the second time at 5:00 in Raymond, wolfed down two DQ chili/cheese dogs and decided to add 15 miles to the day's run. First half was into a stiff afternoon sea breeze, second half again hilly, but it put me 15 miles ahead of my planned itinerary.
As there was no decent lodging in Raymond or South Bend, we motored down to Long Beach and checked into the Rodeway Inn. Long Beach is Washington's only Pacific beach resort town, but the OB in summer it ain't. We certainly did not need to email ahead for reservations, and finding a restaurant that stayed open past 8:00 PM was a problem.
AM Wednesday, June 22: Had a rough night. Slept poorly in spite of fatigue, suffered one massive thigh cramp. Today should be easier than yesterday. Flat or close to it all the way to Seaside, Oregon. Prevailing winds are west clocking to NW as the day advances. We'll drive back north to yesterday's end point and plan to rendezvous at the north end of the magnificently arched bridge spanning the Columbia to Astoria, Oregon. I do not plan to ride over it, even if it is permitted and possible to do so.
2011 bike #1:
Make and model: 2010 Specialized Roubaix road bike.
Weight: Bike - about 18 pounds
Gear - about one pound in seat bag, one pound in handlebar bag
Gearing: nine-speed Sram Red cassette and shifter, double chain ring with very small inside ring, providing wide range
Seat: after-market Selle San Marco Infiniti, men's
Until this evening, likely from Cannon Beach, Oregon.
--Bob
74.2 miles Total elapsed miles 125.5 5:22 hrs saddle time Average speed 13.8 mph
July 4, 1961: Spent most of day at Kenneth's. Went into Bremerton late afternoon and spent night at G-Ma's (Paternal, that is).
July 5, 1961: Went to Shelton with Jack (uncle, husband of my father's kid sister Vivian) at noon. Raining all morning. Spent pleasant afternoon with Cruickshank family.
July 6, 1961: Shelton to Ilwaco, Wn. First real day of the trip. Vivian packed me a lunch and I was off at 8:45, Made good time most of day. Had two hours of hard rain. Only feet got wet. Lunch in Raymond. Camped on beach at Ilwaco after searching for 90 minutes for "Fort Canby State Park." Supper was 15 cents' worth of grapes. Mosquitos ruined the night. Light sprinkles. Will buy breakfast this morn. Rode 115 miles.
A long, rather hard day. As in 1961, we drove to Shelton. Vivian (Jack passed away in 2003) was expecting us and we spent about a hour reminiscing, comparing photos, drinkng coffee and enjoying Poulsbo pastry. Vivian is well, as was the one daugher, Jackie, who joined us for a while. I believe I last saw Vivian in the late 1990s, and Jackie and I agreed we last met when I traveled to Poulsbo with my daughter Devon sometime in the 1980s.
Mounted up on the Specialized at 12:15 and pointed the front wheel south. Weather nice - low-mid 80s, little humidity, sunny. Roads mixed - two-lane with shoulder of varying width, often of very coarse asphalt. One several-mile stretch of freeway, which wasn't really bad - the shoulder is about 15 feet wide, clean and separated from the roadway by a rumble strip. And those semis roaring by at 70mph bring a great draft with them.
Rendezvous'ed with Bob for the first time in Elma a little before 2:00, watered up, replenished my power bar supply and took two Endurolytes.
Ride got more interesting as the temperature (and the elevation) rose. Either my memory has weakened over the last 50 years, the road has been re-routed or the mountains have grown, but I spent more time grinding slowly uphill than I recall doing in 1961.
Rendezvous'ed the second time at 5:00 in Raymond, wolfed down two DQ chili/cheese dogs and decided to add 15 miles to the day's run. First half was into a stiff afternoon sea breeze, second half again hilly, but it put me 15 miles ahead of my planned itinerary.
As there was no decent lodging in Raymond or South Bend, we motored down to Long Beach and checked into the Rodeway Inn. Long Beach is Washington's only Pacific beach resort town, but the OB in summer it ain't. We certainly did not need to email ahead for reservations, and finding a restaurant that stayed open past 8:00 PM was a problem.
AM Wednesday, June 22: Had a rough night. Slept poorly in spite of fatigue, suffered one massive thigh cramp. Today should be easier than yesterday. Flat or close to it all the way to Seaside, Oregon. Prevailing winds are west clocking to NW as the day advances. We'll drive back north to yesterday's end point and plan to rendezvous at the north end of the magnificently arched bridge spanning the Columbia to Astoria, Oregon. I do not plan to ride over it, even if it is permitted and possible to do so.
2011 bike #1:
Make and model: 2010 Specialized Roubaix road bike.
Weight: Bike - about 18 pounds
Gear - about one pound in seat bag, one pound in handlebar bag
Gearing: nine-speed Sram Red cassette and shifter, double chain ring with very small inside ring, providing wide range
Seat: after-market Selle San Marco Infiniti, men's
Until this evening, likely from Cannon Beach, Oregon.
--Bob
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 1
July 3, 1961 - Left Chips's at 3:00. Caught ferries just right. Had heck of a time finding Kenneth's. Finally got in at 10:00.
Chips was my best friend in Oak Harbor from 5th through 7th grade. I found him in 2006, still managing the oldest grocery store in town, and had a pleasant visit. We exchanged Christmas cards through 2010 and I wrote him in early June saying I was coming back to OH and would like to have him see me off again (he refuses to own a computer). He did not answer my letter and I got a "no longer in service" message when I called on the 19th. When we got to OH this morning we found that the town had been Walmarted and Walgreened since my last visit and that Chips's old store was now a Dollar General. An era had ended.
Kenneth was my uncle, my father's kid brother. At about a quarter to ten I finally got up the nerve to knock on a rural door, and the pleasant occupant not only knew Uncle Kenneth - he was their mail carrier - but drove me and my rig there.
June 20, 2011 - Oak Harbor to Poulsbo. 51.3 miles on Specialized Roubaix. Dipped my front wheel in Oak Harbor at 10:40 AM and began the ride. Got to the ferry landing at 12:00. Bob caught up a quarter hour later and we got in line for the 1:30 sailing to Port Towsend. (There's only one ferry now, consolidating the previous routes). We had a pleasant crossing to a pleasant, historic and classic boat-oriented town (my kinda place!) but tarried not at all before heading south. Bob and I rendezvous'ed again a little before 4:00 at the west end of the Hood Canal bridge and linked up for the last time in Poulsbo at about 5:00. Found suitable and comfortable lodging and Bob relaxed and phoned home while I paid a call on first cousin Brian Austin (Kenneth's son - Kenneth died in the early 2000s) and his wife Gerrie. Brian is recovering from draconian but - so far - successful treatment for T-cell lymphoma and Gerrie is coping as best she can with partial hemiplegia from an operation gone bad some years ago. We had a good one-hour visit catching up on our respective situations and those of our families, then I returned to the hotel to make my evening call (East coast time evening, that is) to Lynda and fetch Bob for dinner at an informal but good seafood place on the waterfront.
Poulsbo has grown from a muddy backwater oyster-canning port of 3,000 souls to a bustling car- and boat-tourist destination of 9,000 in the last 50 years. Taking advantage of its Norwegian heritage and atmosphere and its day-cruising proximity to Bremerton and Seattle, it has made itself into a great place to visit and a great place to live. Just ask Brian and Gerrie!
My 1961 bike:
Make and model: Schwinn Continental, ten speed
Weight: ca. 36 pounds, stripped.
Gear: on rear rack, about eight pounds
on my back, in a woven hickory Ojibwa-style pack basket: about 25 pounds
Seat: leather, Brooks-type, ridden wet and thus molded into a rear end-fitting ridge
New price: $100
Condition: Not good. Wrecked the previous winter and indifferently repaired (more on this later)
Chips was my best friend in Oak Harbor from 5th through 7th grade. I found him in 2006, still managing the oldest grocery store in town, and had a pleasant visit. We exchanged Christmas cards through 2010 and I wrote him in early June saying I was coming back to OH and would like to have him see me off again (he refuses to own a computer). He did not answer my letter and I got a "no longer in service" message when I called on the 19th. When we got to OH this morning we found that the town had been Walmarted and Walgreened since my last visit and that Chips's old store was now a Dollar General. An era had ended.
Kenneth was my uncle, my father's kid brother. At about a quarter to ten I finally got up the nerve to knock on a rural door, and the pleasant occupant not only knew Uncle Kenneth - he was their mail carrier - but drove me and my rig there.
June 20, 2011 - Oak Harbor to Poulsbo. 51.3 miles on Specialized Roubaix. Dipped my front wheel in Oak Harbor at 10:40 AM and began the ride. Got to the ferry landing at 12:00. Bob caught up a quarter hour later and we got in line for the 1:30 sailing to Port Towsend. (There's only one ferry now, consolidating the previous routes). We had a pleasant crossing to a pleasant, historic and classic boat-oriented town (my kinda place!) but tarried not at all before heading south. Bob and I rendezvous'ed again a little before 4:00 at the west end of the Hood Canal bridge and linked up for the last time in Poulsbo at about 5:00. Found suitable and comfortable lodging and Bob relaxed and phoned home while I paid a call on first cousin Brian Austin (Kenneth's son - Kenneth died in the early 2000s) and his wife Gerrie. Brian is recovering from draconian but - so far - successful treatment for T-cell lymphoma and Gerrie is coping as best she can with partial hemiplegia from an operation gone bad some years ago. We had a good one-hour visit catching up on our respective situations and those of our families, then I returned to the hotel to make my evening call (East coast time evening, that is) to Lynda and fetch Bob for dinner at an informal but good seafood place on the waterfront.
Poulsbo has grown from a muddy backwater oyster-canning port of 3,000 souls to a bustling car- and boat-tourist destination of 9,000 in the last 50 years. Taking advantage of its Norwegian heritage and atmosphere and its day-cruising proximity to Bremerton and Seattle, it has made itself into a great place to visit and a great place to live. Just ask Brian and Gerrie!
My 1961 bike:
Make and model: Schwinn Continental, ten speed
Weight: ca. 36 pounds, stripped.
Gear: on rear rack, about eight pounds
on my back, in a woven hickory Ojibwa-style pack basket: about 25 pounds
Seat: leather, Brooks-type, ridden wet and thus molded into a rear end-fitting ridge
New price: $100
Condition: Not good. Wrecked the previous winter and indifferently repaired (more on this later)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Arrival in Washington
June 19, 2011 - Arrived in Washington after an epic motor journey from Williamsburg via Nashville and took a room in Everett, about 90 minutes' drive from tomorrow's start point.
As our route took us within visitng distance of the family burial ground in Elmira, Missouri, NE of Kansas City, on Friday, we stopped and I laid flowers on my parents' and, appropriately, maternal grandparents' graves in the well-kept, very small-town, cemetery. We finished that day in Sioux City, Iowa, at 10:00 PM after two long detours occasioned by the closure of I-29 by Missouri River floodwaters (the most water since 1917 and sufficient to cover Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri with six inches of water).
The rest of the trip was long and scenic but uneventful.
Old friend and support-driver-to-be Bob Vanderspek and I caught up on old times, solved several of America's political and economic problems and listened to two books on CD while appreciating the impressively enginered I-90 from Rapid City, SD, to Seattle, WA.
Capping the adventure was a brief visit Saturday afternoon to the Little Bighorn battlefield, between Garryowen and Crow Agency, in SE Montana.
Looking forward to dinner in the cafe across the street, a good, long, night's sleep (been getting up at 0530), and getting back in the saddle before noon tomorrow. Watch this space for the next 19-20 days!
As our route took us within visitng distance of the family burial ground in Elmira, Missouri, NE of Kansas City, on Friday, we stopped and I laid flowers on my parents' and, appropriately, maternal grandparents' graves in the well-kept, very small-town, cemetery. We finished that day in Sioux City, Iowa, at 10:00 PM after two long detours occasioned by the closure of I-29 by Missouri River floodwaters (the most water since 1917 and sufficient to cover Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri with six inches of water).
The rest of the trip was long and scenic but uneventful.
Old friend and support-driver-to-be Bob Vanderspek and I caught up on old times, solved several of America's political and economic problems and listened to two books on CD while appreciating the impressively enginered I-90 from Rapid City, SD, to Seattle, WA.
Capping the adventure was a brief visit Saturday afternoon to the Little Bighorn battlefield, between Garryowen and Crow Agency, in SE Montana.
Looking forward to dinner in the cafe across the street, a good, long, night's sleep (been getting up at 0530), and getting back in the saddle before noon tomorrow. Watch this space for the next 19-20 days!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Comments on photos
Forwarding photos from 1961, of the author, and a cartoon sketch from the same era. The photo of me and Schwinn Continental, with bike facing to my left, was taken in front of our Long Beach home. Judging from my relatively low body mass index, I suspect it was taken at ride's end. The other photo may have been taken at the house of one of my uncles in Washington in the first days of the ride. The cartoon is apocryphal. I might have drawn it myself, but I'm not sure. It could have been done by a friend with slightly better drawing skills than I have. It clearly refers to one of the several solo trips I made to the Mojave Desert in the winter between my buying the bike and the summer of '61. If the caption is illegible, it reads, "The Phantom Cyclist, or two months on the wheel."
Monday, June 13, 2011
First entry, 1961
I had lived in Oak Harbor from 1954-57, moved to Hawaii, living there from 1957-late 1958, when we moved to Long Beach, CA. I bought my ten-speed Schwinn Continental in the summer of 1960 and had probably ridden it close to 1,000 miles by the following summer, when I told my parents I wanted to take advantage of transport back to Oak Harbor and ride home. They readily agreed (believe it or not - I'm sometimes not sure I do) and I got a ride north from Long Beach to Lee Vining, California with my father's sister, Mildred, and her husband Chuck, who had spent a few days visting us in Long Beach, and were heading home to Sparks, Nevada. From Lee Vining, I would cross Yosemite via Tioga Pas and link up with my maternal grandparents, camping in Yosemite Valley with their trailer, and ride with them north to Oak Harbor. By some miracle, after 50 years and more moves than I can recall, my manuscript journal of the trip, except for several pages between the following entry and my departure from Oak Harbor, written in blue ballpoint of 4x6-inch sheets of complimentary Union Pacific Railroad stationery, survives:
Saturday (last one in June, 1961): Desert very hot. Had lunch in Lone Pine. Mildred, Chuck offered to take me to Lee Vining. "Not out of out way." Started up pass, found that it was better carying pack on back... I am now camped in a... meadow at the base of the real upgrade, six miles from Lee Vining. I waded through a quarter mile of knee-deep grass and I set up camp on the bank of a small river. It is a rod across and waist deep with a sandy and gravelly bottom. It is not rapid here and I am hidden from the road by bushes. I'm not in the park yet; I'm in Inyo National Forest. It is quite warm and light now at 8:30. Trout are breaking and I have lighted a smudge to drive away occasional gnats and mosquitoes. Tomorrow I will get over the pass one way or another and blissfuly consume my extra day. A trout fisherman just came up. A man can share his solitude. What more could there be in life?"
I in fact made it over 11,000-plus-foot Tioga Pass, accepting a ride in a pick-up the last half of the way, and arrived in Tuolumne Meadows by late afternoon. I locked my bike to a post, lashed my sleeping bag to the top of that pack, and hiked a couple of miles down the Tuolumne River and made camp. Before long a small group of 20-something hikers came along, stopped to chat and invited me to go with them to their rented cabin a little way up a branch stream. Did so, got fed and was given a bunk for the night. The next day I finished my ride across the park, reaching Yosemite Valley in the afternoon and locating my grandparents' camp. The following day, or possibly the next, we continued on our way to Washington, my bike in the trailer and me in the back seat of the Chevy.
Next post: June 20, 2011
July 3, 1961
Saturday (last one in June, 1961): Desert very hot. Had lunch in Lone Pine. Mildred, Chuck offered to take me to Lee Vining. "Not out of out way." Started up pass, found that it was better carying pack on back... I am now camped in a... meadow at the base of the real upgrade, six miles from Lee Vining. I waded through a quarter mile of knee-deep grass and I set up camp on the bank of a small river. It is a rod across and waist deep with a sandy and gravelly bottom. It is not rapid here and I am hidden from the road by bushes. I'm not in the park yet; I'm in Inyo National Forest. It is quite warm and light now at 8:30. Trout are breaking and I have lighted a smudge to drive away occasional gnats and mosquitoes. Tomorrow I will get over the pass one way or another and blissfuly consume my extra day. A trout fisherman just came up. A man can share his solitude. What more could there be in life?"
I in fact made it over 11,000-plus-foot Tioga Pass, accepting a ride in a pick-up the last half of the way, and arrived in Tuolumne Meadows by late afternoon. I locked my bike to a post, lashed my sleeping bag to the top of that pack, and hiked a couple of miles down the Tuolumne River and made camp. Before long a small group of 20-something hikers came along, stopped to chat and invited me to go with them to their rented cabin a little way up a branch stream. Did so, got fed and was given a bunk for the night. The next day I finished my ride across the park, reaching Yosemite Valley in the afternoon and locating my grandparents' camp. The following day, or possibly the next, we continued on our way to Washington, my bike in the trailer and me in the back seat of the Chevy.
Next post: June 20, 2011
July 3, 1961
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