Big Ride - Day 3
Monday, September 20, 2004
Greetings from Canon Beach, Oregon! Today is a completely leisurely day. We only have to ride about 38 miles which means we get to stop at every bakery and coffee shop.
The apple fritter in town was fantastic - big chunks of apple...mmmm!
Tonight we end up in Nehalem Bay, OR, just south of Manzinita. I think it’s right on the beach. I definitely plan on doing some lounging when we get there. We still have three beers from yesterday. I bet they’ll taste even better on the beach 
Big Ride - Day 2
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Today dawned bright and beautiful - a very pleasant change from yesterday. My knee was bugging me from the long ride the day before and I wasn’t sure how it would do. Only the miles would tell.
The fog and mist rose off the farmlands as we rode through mostly car-less country roads in the morning. Fantastic! By Kelso/Longview we were feeling good and ready for the real climbing. The bridge into Oregon wasn’t pleasant, but it was a great milestone!
The terrain out to Astoria was rolling. And let me say...there were some BIG rollers (several miles up and down). We stopped for a brief bite of lunch at Subway in Clatskanie. My knee felt alright, so I decided to keep going.
Shortly after lunch we had a huge climb and that just about did me in. Amazingly, Nick raised my seat about 4-5 mm and that made all the difference.
A PB&J sandwich and cookie from Safeway in Astoria gave me the juice to make the final miles to Fort Stevens SP.
I never actually thought I could ride over 100 miles two days in a row, but I did and felt great. Nick and I bought beers at the KOA store to celebrate.
Tomorrow we get a bit of a break. Til then!
Big Ride - Day 1
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Well, I can’t say the first day was enjoyable. After a brief ceremony at Liberty Park in Renton - where we found out that collectively we raised $130,000 for the Lung Association - we were off. By 8:30 it was raining hard, so we stopped to put on our rain jackets, rain pants and shoe covers.
If I could have seen anything through the rain and rooster tails off of everyone’s back wheels, I’d write about the route. We did see a cow with “ginormous” horns during one of our dry spells. The kids across the street from the pasture said its name was Chief.
At mile 80 I was mentally tapped. From there until Lewis & Clark SP I counted every 10th of a mile.
Fortunately, the ride director arranged for us to stay at a lodge that night. We mostly got dried off and were able to hang our clothes out to dry. Everything but my arm warmers were ready to go by the morning.
101.4 miles down...many more to go!
Country Roads
Friday, September 17, 2004
Bike-friendly barn | Olympus Stylus 300
The marketing team at Cascade Designs took a couple days off to go camping together - bond a little over a few fireside drinks. A bunch of brought bikes and went for a ride on beautiful country roads just outside of Wenatchee.
Country road | Olympus Stylus 300
The ride wasn’t long, but the weather was perfect and roads were just right. It was a perfect final ride before departing tomorrow on the Big Ride.
“All I seek, the heaven above and the road below me.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
Life’s Journey
Thursday, September 16, 2004
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '...holy shit...what a ride!'"
- Mavis Leyrer of Seattle, age 83