{An update written on Sunday}
On backpacking trips, I’ve gone to bed with a pretty good
idea of what the day will hold… and typically, it never works out that way.
Everyday is an adventure, and generally, a pretty unpredictable one due to
weather, wildlife, or other unforeseen circumstances.
Similar to my backpacking trips, on this trip, I’ve noticed
that every day indeed ends dramatically different than what I had predicted it
would be the night before. Today was absolutely no exception and was one of the
most fortuitous and wonderful days of my life. Really!
But before I get to today, let me back up to yesterday {which already feels like last week!}.
With my alarm set ambitiously to 5am {and repeatedly hitting
snooze till 6}, I set out from my hotel in Medford bound and determined to beat
the weekend traffic at Crater Lake.
 |
| Heading to Crater Lake: not a shabby drive |
{Sidenote—there really
seems to be NO weekend traffic anywhere in Oregon, so far as I can tell}
 |
| The perfect day to see glorious scenery! |
 |
| Absolutely breathtaking. |
I drove around the lake a bit, but made a secret {now,
publicly stated on the Internet} vow that my first time fully around the lake
would be on bicycle. I drove a few miles, visited a few pullouts, and chatted
with a few PCT hikers. I then decided it was time to continue my own adventure.
I left Crater Lake bound for Roseburg and then Coos Bay to return the rental.
The drive back followed the Umpqua River, and gosh… it was beautiful! It’s
really a challenge to find an unremarkable view in Oregon.
I made it back to Coos Bay around 12:30pm and ran a
few errands, as the car wasn’t due back till 3. All of my “errands” included packing
my panniers, eating, and obsessing over the map. My tentative plan was to go to
Sunset State Beach- 10 miles away. But, even if I didn’t leave till 2, that was
such a short distance. Next site was Bullards Beach- 20 miles away. And at
around 40 miles was Point Blanco just outside of Sixes, OR {sorry- totally
insignificant and cryptic reference point. Just know it was 40 miles south}. Bingo!
By the time I re-packed my bags, got groceries for the night and next morning,
and pored over the map, it was about 1:40pm, and I was bound for Blanco.
This route called for a fair amount of climbing up something
called Seven Devil’s Road- a 13-ish mile adventure without shoulders but also
minimal traffic. I’ve come to fear anything Oregonians have attached the phrase
“devil” to, as it usually means something intense and rather uncomfortable is about
to be experienced. But, as it goes in bike touring, one must press on in order
to get from Point A to Point B. That bike isn’t going to ride itself!
So, off I ventured up that devil of a road. Now, if you’ve
been following along, you’ll recall that my bike has sustained some serious and
mysterious alignment issues, and said issues manifested on this long climb,
unfortunately for me. Long story short, my bike would NOT stay in the lowest
gear and it continued to slip anytime I put it in said gear. This meant I
needed to put my bike into the next lowest gear {ie: magnitudes more difficult} for an over 700-ft climb for 10 of the next 13 miles. Never have I been so
grateful to possess the largest calves of any female in existence. I had to get
out of the saddle and PUSH! It was intense to say the least, but I did it.
I was so proud of myself when I saw the Highway 101 sign {indicating the end of the Devil’s Road} and let out all sorts of happy and
surprising noises. “Way to go, Russell!” I caught myself shouting. I never
refer to myself in the third person {is that technically the third person if
I’m addressing myself? Or is that the elusive second person? Calla- help!}, nor
by my last name. Must’ve been the endorphins!
 |
| Girl power moments! |
Anyway, I quickly stopped my congratulations party of one,
realizing that in less than 100 miles, I would have some California hills that
were nearly twice this climb. How on earth was I going to do that without my
lowest gear reliably working? Hmmm. I was quickly brought down from my cloud.
As I pondered this unfortunate reality during the next few
miles, I happened across a bike shop in Bandon. I, of course, popped in at
4:55, as the woman running the shop was trying to close by 5pm and was that
customer bike owners fear and loathe. I said I had a quick question {lie} about
my bike and was hoping she could take a look.
Annoyed, the woman agreed anyway, perhaps feeling sorry for
the solo-riding lady who had stumbled into her shop. I told her what was going
on, and she was immediately intrigued by my problem. She even went so far as to
say that despite how irritated she was with herself for agreeing to help me,
she had to help… but only so she could find the problem. “Once I know there’s a
problem, I obsess over it until I can find a solution,” she told me. I wasn’t
quite sure how to respond, as her desire to help me personally seemed
subordinate to her figuring out the problem {awkward}, so I did the Midwestern
fall-back {something I do in social situations in which I have no idea how to
navigate} and gave her an outpouring of kindness and gratitude thanking her
endlessly for looking at my bike. I’m not sure it was helpful, but it was
better than being snooty, right?
An hour later, disc brakes dissected for the second time on
my journey, she was distraught that she couldn’t find the problem. Disc brakes
were rubbing, lowest gear was skipping, and the disc itself, she said, appeared
to be not sitting flush in the brakes. Ho-hum. She advised me to see the bike
shop in Brookings, OR. Yelp.com, however, advised me away from the shop, citing
it as expensive and with hostile personnel. Yikes! What’s a girl to do? Press
on! Brookings was to be faced the next day, anyway. I needed to focus on
getting to camp.
At this point, it was after 6pm and I still had a
decent amount of miles to go—approximately 30. The bike shop lady pleaded me to
stay in a hotel in Bandon, but I stubbornly wanted to press on. Outside of
Bandon, the hills were rolling and the ride was pretty nice. After awhile,
however, the day’s miles began to wear me down a bit. I had been crouching and
not eating while at the bike shop, and biking just after resting is generally
somewhat taxing on my chronically-aching quads. The hills weren’t bad, but they
were definitely there… unlike my easiest gear L I pressed on singing songs in my head and imagined
what Steve and Ryan were doing in Peru, which made me smile. I got a message
from my mom that was super motivating, and I kept my head up, assuring myself I
was getting closer. As I crested another hill, I saw a sign for a KOA
advertising free WiFi and a hot tub. “That sounds nice,” I mused and kept on.
Then… I stopped. Did that say… HOT TUB!? I immediately looked at my map on my
phone and a great discovery: if I were to continue to my planned campsite at Cape
Blanco, I would have to bike 6 miles off the 101 to the site… and then another
6 more in the morning, just to get back on the main drag. If I stayed HERE, I
would be just 4 miles from the nearest town and actually ahead for the morning.
I rolled in, paid a really cheap fee, set up camp, and had the most glorious
hot tub session imaginable. It felt incredibly on my aching legs. Bliss.
 |
| My little campsite at the KOA |
I went to bed thinking I’d head to Brookings, the last town
in Oregon. The next day, I’d be in California, and I could finally have my bike
looked at by someone in Crescent City. I set out and had a rather greasy breakfast in the next
town, making sure I packed the calories for a big day. It was to be a fairly
easy terrain, but the winds elevated the challenge factor.
This part of Oregon {now the southern Oregon coast} possesses almost indescribable beauty. Each turn would reveal the most
beautiful scene of the coast…until the next turn. The rocky coastline was
impressive, and I wished I had time to tide pool!
 |
| The most beautiful view! |
 |
| ...or is this the most beautiful view? |
 |
| Happy girl :) |
I made it about 35 miles to
the next nearest town- Gold Beach. I wanted to eat at a less greasy place so
took my time to find a nice café at the end of town. I sat next to a couple,
Janice and Jim, who were also teachers. We talked easily for over an hour. In
the midst of great conversation, I told them about my bike woes and tentative
plan to make it to Brookings tonight and Crescent City in the morning to visit
a bike shop.
They wished me luck and left. But then… they came back and
asked if I would consider a ride to Brookings. I thought about it and
instantly, crazy map lady inside of me said, “NO!!!!” but rational me said,
“Hmm.. this isn’t a bad idea. I can make it to Crescent City early morning to
get to the bike shop.” I ultimately accepted. We talked the whole way and they
secretly brought me all the way to Crescent City without me even noticing! I
was admittedly a little sad that I would not be biking into California, but
counted my blessings that I was able to meet such kind people. We decided to
head to Starbucks and use their WiFi to find a bike shop in Crescent City. The
only bike shop opened Monday morning {this is Sunday}, and it was unclear if
they were really a bike shop.
 |
| The greatest people ever! |
Speaking of teaching, let me take advantage of this
teachable moment and review the twists of fate that led to today’s events to
emphasize its poignancy:
*Intrigued by the hot tub, I change campsites, allowing me
an earlier start to the day
*I easily make it to Gold Beach by lunchtime and decide to
rest and eat, where I meet Janice and Jim
*Despite my reservations on getting a ride, I take it, and
run into a bike mechanic at Starbucks who fixes my bike with ease and allows me
to carry on with my ride!
Incredible! I will never, ever forget these people, nor this
twist of fate. It may seem insignificant, but it was unreal to me how it all
worked out.
Just after we all said our goodbyes in the Home Depot
parking lot, Steve called from Peru! It was such a treat to hear his voice and
know he was safe. He and Ryan have been busy filming and practicing their
Spanish while getting acclimated prior to their big push. I’m so proud of him
and am so excited about his big adventure! He worked so hard prior to leaving
for Peru and had such little time to prepare and is still having an incredible
time, from what I can tell. Hearing his voice and encouragement inspired me to
push onwards.
 |
| The only Peru-related picture from Steve |
So, with all gears functioning properly, I decided to try my
hand at this behemoth. It was definitely the hardest climb so far, but it
wasn’t that bad. Plus, at this point, I was officially in the Redwoods! The
scenery was amazing, although I couldn’t really take time to hug or touch these
magnificent trees, as I was near cardiac arrest and relying on momentum and
faith to keep me going. After summiting the 3rd peak, there was 3.5
miles of technical downhill with signs for “Rough Roads” and lots of gravel
patches scattered on the already narrow shoulder. I’d take uphill over downhill
any day. Sounds weird, but the most that can happen going uphill is a slow and
likely controlled topple to the side. Downhill is a different story: road rash,
somersault-over-the-handlebar tumbles, sliding, you name it. Scary stuff.
 |
| Unreal how big these trees are! |
 |
| These trees! |
Luckily, I have nothing too exciting to report in the way of
traffic on the up or downhill portions of this ride. A semi did honk at me {terrifying}, wanting me to move and give him more space, but… I really had
nowhere to go, except for in a forest down a steep cliff, so I made him wait,
which, frankly, was just fine for all parties involved.
Following the Redwoods, there was a beautiful beach with more
stunning rocky coastline, this time blanketed in a fog. I stopped at a pullout
to marvel and snap some photos of my bike with the dramatic backdrop. A nice
man offered to take a photo of me with my bike. As he did, another man
approached both of us, asking if we’d like to buy his CD. Really?! I thought I
had an easy excuse {clearly no CD player on board}, but he was rather
insistent. “You’ll eventually get to a CD player! It’s really light, anyways.”
Weird. I politely declined for a second time.
 |
| California beaches all look the same (jokes) |
A couple of miles south of the beach, I found a nice family
campsite with WiFi and other nice amenities {read: showers!}. I’m here for the
night and will aim to make it to Arcata tomorrow, although, who knows where the
day will actually take me. I’ve got another significant climb just after
leaving camp and a few medium climbs after leaving the Redwoods. Tomorrow, I’ll
be staying with a couple that Ben Turman has gotten me in contact with! I’m
excited to be in a home. Thanks to the 50 miles I was able to gain today with
Jim and Janice, as well as my shifting issue thanks to Dani and Dan, I’m rather
ahead of schedule! I do have a considerable amount of work to do, so it could
be a blessing to be done almost a week earlier than anticipated. But… let’s not
count those chickens before they hatch! Who knows what tomorrow will bring- for
better or worse.
 |
| Welcome to Klamath! |
No comments:
Post a Comment