Ride Day 84

Today I went from Garibaldi to near Westport Oregon 76 miles and around 2500' of climbing. I cheated a bit and took a ride at the beginning of the day to get out of cold heavy rains. The scenery was the usual beautiful coastal views and trees. I came to Astoria with the big 4 mile long bridge I would have gone over if I had continued going north but I decided to turn East here at Astoria and take the Columbia River east along the Lewis and Clark trail. Astoria looked like a nice little town to spend some time in but I just breezed right through it only taking a couple pics all day. There were a lot of good looking restaurants, cafes and shops in downtown Astoria and all the people I met were very friendly and helpful. I enjoyed my short visit and would like to come back here someday. The ride out to my campsite at Gnat Creek Hatchery was uneventful rolling hills to about 700' so it was not too hard of a ride. The shoulder was generally good except where it was most important, on the inside blind curves. Why the hell to road builders clip off the shoulder all the time on inside curves? They need some education about this point. I don't think it is intentional just lack of knowledge about the dangers to bikes on blind corners like this. The weather was light rain most of the day. I found out that my tent is not a good one to put up in the rain because rain soaks the inside before you can put on the fly. I wiped it as dry as I could after getting it up but it was still a very damp night for me. I still slept enough and hit the road early in the morning pretty much soaked.

Ride Day 85 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Ride Day 85 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

this is the second part of yesterday's ride, the first part is combined with day 84

Untitled by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Untitled by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Ride Day 83

Today I rode from Neskowin to Garibaldi 56 miles and 2500' of climbing in beautiful cool dry partly sunny conditions. Quite the change from yesterday's misery of cold and wet fog. There was an 800' and a 500' climb. My legs did not do so well today for some reason, maybe my poor breakfast choice which was a candy bar and a cookie with coffee. I need to make myself eat some good carbs and protein in the mornings but it is not always easy out in the boonies to get the right food and I can't carry everything on my bike. I survived with just some burning in the legs on the grades and a bit short winded. I had to stop once on the 800' climb to "pee" but really it was just to take a break and catch my breath while my heart caught up. I really love seeing the ospreys, eagles, herons, sea lions, snakes, seals, birds of every sort and all the beautiful scenery along the way. There were quite a few bald eagles today. I have not been able to get a pic of any eagles yet cause they are just too high and far away for my little pocket camera. I did meet a girl today that was fun to talk to. She was doing about a 60 mile day ride with no gear and came up behind me to talk about her ride down the coast from Seattle to Sf a couple years ago. We talked about riding for a while and why we both love it. She was very enthusiastic and I enjoyed talking to her. Maybe we will meet up on the road again somewhere someday. I also talked to my friend Terry and was going to meet with him this afternoon but he is delayed with problems with his boat so he won't be here until tomorrow now. I will take the day off and eat eat eat then meet up with him when he gets here. We knew each other down in Costa Rica for a long time. My campground tonight is a county campground and is almost empty. Maybe the weather forecast has something to do with that. There is a lot of rain in the forecast so I hope they are wrong as usual. Rain, especially the cold driving rain like yesterday costs me too much money in hotels and laundry as well as increases my already huge appetite. Tonight for dinner I had, pint of ice cream, lots of broccoli, 3 bratwurst with buns, soup, bread, an apple, orange and banana, and then had a candy bar and cookie after. I will eat again before I go to bed cause I ate all that at 4pm. I am burning 4000-7000 calories a day and it is almost impossible to eat that many so my weight is going down too fast on me. I might have to ride less days a week or less miles a day or find a way to just eat more. Whatever I end up doing I hope I don't get too skinny. more later

Untitled by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Untitled by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Ride Day 82

Today I rode from Beverly Beach State Park to Neskowin, Oregon, 42 miles and about 3000' of climbing. My Garmin was 5 or 6 miles short because I forgot to start the timer this morning but such is life. The ride was not exactly pleasant. It was foggy and a light mist was in the air after a night of rain. There were puddles on the road and every time a big truck or a fast car went by I got a spray bath. I was sweating like a pig from all the elevation gain right off the bat so the water did not bother me. There was not much to see because fog blanketed all the views and things so I took very few pics. Here and there the fog would lighten up and I could see a little bit but I still left the camera in my pocket for the most part. I was questioning my sanity and motives as I rode along today. Last night I did not get sleep because of the cold and rain causing my pain to flare up pretty high. I took some anti-inflammatories for the pain but it still did not allow me to sleep. So I started the day off without a lot of energy. I did fill up on food last night. I ate 1.2 pounds of hamburger with four buns and a half bottle of bbq sauce along with about three cups of broccoli followed by a giant danish that I bought in Yachats at the cafe I stopped at. Then I ate a big breakfast sandwich this morning with a huge milk choc turtle. None of it helped my energy level. I was wavering in my determination and my legs were weak on the big grades. I used the negative thoughts and failing body as my challenge and driving force and made myself take all the big grades without stopping or resting at all just to push myself and my limits. That drive I get from not accepting my body's wrath helps keep me going during the ride and long after in everything I do in life. On the longest grade of almost 800' I just spun my way all the way up and when I went over the crest I felt good about myself. That was until the freezing cold downpour started coming down with lightning. I was sweating heavily from the big grade and my clothes were soaked from rain and sweat so when the cold air and cold rain hit me I cooled down too quickly and started to shiver and was in danger of hypothermia so I saw a hotel and pulled in to get a room where I could warm up and dry my stuff out a bit. The owner wanted $62 for the room but I said I only could afford $40 so she gave it to me for that which was nice of her. I have my wet things scattered all over the room trying to get them dry. It is probably all for naught because there is 30-50% chances of rain everyday for the next week. I expect to get wet. I am hoping I sleep here in the hotel tonight so that tomorrow I can climb over a couple more big grades. I have three left on the way to Astoria which is less than a hundred miles away now. When I went though Depoe Bay the fisherman said that the fishing for pacific halibut was better than usual for this time of year and that yesterday one about a hundred pounds was brought in. The salmon fishing they said has been slow but large fish according to them. The ocean has been rough for the most part but for the last few days they have been getting out but not going far from the safety of the harbor. More later...

Ride Day 82 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

Ride Day 82 by jimfrogs at Garmin Connect - Details

this is actually 5 or 6 miles short cause I forgot to start my timer.