Smokin'!

Today I arrived in Lowell ID as planned, but something was amiss.

The ride today was awesome, 50 miles and pretty much downhill the entire way.  The start of the descent was on steep alpine style switchbacks before following the Clearwater River.  The Clearwater River does exactly what it says on the tin.

Clearwater!

While cycling along the Clearwater River, I stopped to take several photos.  I noticed that visibility was getting worse.  This 'mist' wasn't thick enough to affect cycling, but did take the edge off a few of my photos.

Since arriving in Lowell, I have learnt that this 'mist' is in fact smoke from some big wildfires that are raging......  Problem!

There are mountains in the background, believe it or not!

The fires are raging a long way from here, and pose no threat to me.  They do pose a threat to my plans.  As it stands the road I am due to cycle tomorrow is open, but all campsites are shut for 70 miles and there are reports of the smoke being so thick in places it hurts to breath!

The plan is simple, I will cycle on as planned and see how I get on with the smoke.  But if it gets thick, I'll be hitching a ride in a pick-up again.  I have met up with a few fellow cyclists too, so will at least have a second opinion to help stop me soldiering on when I shouldn't.

The worst bit?  I did my washing yesterday, now it will all smell of BBQ!

Forget Bears, it's the Butterflies that are out to get me!

When planning this trip, one of the most frequent comments I got was about keeping safe from Bears. To prepare myself for the big America Bears, I did some weight training and I am pretty sure I could win a wrestling match if it came to it (joke).

No real relevance, it just made me laugh

In practise, I have not seen a bear.  I have not seen a Cougar or a Rattlesnake or anything else dangerous.  If things stay that way, I will get to Miami a happy man!

I have had the pleasure of seeing a Bald Eagle, Vultures, Deer and Foxes from afar.  The smaller animals are harder to spot.

Not my picture, but it looked like this

As a cyclist you move a lot slower than a car and roadside animals react differently.  I have seen many animals i.e. Herons, Frogs, Chipmunks that will happily sit at the roadside.  They are so familiar with cars that they don't budge an inch as they drive past; but along comes a cyclist and they're off.  This makes them particularly easy to spot.  Sadly this is true of dogs too, but I have had no dog attacks since Neah Bay!

The one nuisance animal is a surprise to me; the Butterfly.  Like other animals mentioned, they seem sit on the roadside sunning themselves on the white lines.  When I come along they take flight.  The problem is the butterflies tend to fly straight into me.  Many an American Butterfly has been left with a sore head after me ploughing into it at 20mph.  

But they hurt me too!

Put a fork in me, I’m toast!

Today I have endured the toughest day so far on the bike.  Today’s ride involved three mountain passes back to back, but the reason it was such hard work was my broken night of sleep last night.

I ended up in the Oxbow Restaurant and Saloon last night, eating a USA sized portion of prime ribs to replace the calories I burnt. 

Normally when I tell people of the journey I attempting, the reaction is ‘you’re doing what!?!?’, but last night the reaction was more ‘meh, we had the goat guy in here last week’.  So I was naturally interested to hear about the goat guy.  It turns out, some nutter is walking from Seattle to New York …….with a Goat!  Find out more here http://www.needle2square.com/

A couple of beers (literally a couple!) were consumed and I had a great night learning all about The Great Lebowski; but I got back to my campsite and sleep eluded me.

The lack of sleep combined with the tough route, meant that I was in a whole world of pain today.  At the end of the day, as planned, I reached Baker City (the ride was fantastic though, despite the pain).  Exhausted as I was, I went straight to a motel; not something I plan to do often, but you need to treat yourself at times and I knew a night in a tent just wouldn’t do tonight!

Tomorrow I should reach the border with Idaho; that milestone is not just my third state, but also my first ever cycle through a time zone (my previous big rides have always been south-north). 

That concludes my visit to Oregon, but what a place Oregon has been.  The scenery has gone from coastal, to forest, to desert, to prairie, to gorge.  The people have been fantastic; everyone is interested in the journey and people have been so generous, either buying me beer, gifting me a penknife or giving me meals. 

So on to Idaho!  I honestly can’t wait.

Mood swings, but no roundabouts

As the trip progresses I am noticing a daily swing in my mood.  Cycle touring is a rollercoaster of emotional peaks and troughs, but strangely on this trip I seem to be having a daily cycle!

I am always in a good mood at breakfast, I normally have a coffee and something to eat before packing up and hitting the road.  My mood remains good* until about 1-2pm when I try and stop for lunch (where facilities allow).  

For reasons I can't explain, my mood seems to drop in the afternoon and I cycle along feeling like a bit of a fragile emotional wreck.  However, this mood seems to pass after about an hour!  My mood in the evening tends to be great, especially once the tent is put up, a shower is had and food is on the go.

I have cycled enough to know that you have low points and if you keep going they pass, I have just never noticed it as a daily cycle (excuse pun).

*Subject to weather / road conditions!

Camp Yale

So last night, I was tired and weary after a day in the saddle (my usual state around 5-6pm!) and I set about finding a campsite in McKenzie Bridge, OR.  McKenzie Bridge was the last place to stay before taking on McKenzie Pass.

The view from McKenzie Pass

The were loads of campsites in the area, but I pressed onto McKenzie Bridge passing by many of them.  The first campsite I stopped in (Paradise) looked nice enough, but was $20 with no showers...... to call a campsite Paradise, this is surely a pre-requisite.

Anyway, I pushed onto the next site safe in the knowledge I still had a few options.  The next 'campsite' I tried was Camp Yale.  When entering Camp Yale it soon became apparent that is was an RV park with no tent in sight; undeterred I asked a few of the ladies around the site.

So after asking about  camping, I was offered a patch of grass next to an RV.  Before I knew it, I was sat with 22 people with a plate of food on my lap and a glass of wine in my hand!  It turns out the people in the RV park were all friends; they took me in and looked after me for the night.  I had a great time getting to know everyone, although I'd be in trouble if I was tested on their names.  In the morning I was made breakfast and given lunch for the day (which was very welcome at the top of McKenzie Pass)!  It was a fantastic experience, and a special thank you to Kay and Carl who invited me into their RV for breakfast, I am a bit of fan of RVs so it was fantastic to dine inside one.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture; but for my UK readers: it was about the same size as my flat!

The folks at Camp Yale (and me)

I will be popping into RV parks and looking lost a bit more often as this trip continues!

East to Miami!!

Having cycled from Vancouver to Florence along the Pacific coastline it is now time to turn left and head inland.

The Pacific Coast was not what I expected.  When planning this trip, I made a point of not finding out too much about the scenary that awaited me.  I have to be honest, I expected the Pacific Coast to be a bit like baywatch..........which it wasn't!

Lake Quinalt

The coast offered a mixture of beautiful inland and coastal scenary, but in many places you end up counting down the miles as there is so little to look at, although the numerous logging trucks ensure you are never too deep in your thoughts.

I met some great people while travelling down the coast, but I must say a big thank you to my new mate Clifford.  We ended up cycling together for four days, having met on my first day on the Pacific Coast.  I was having difficulty with my stove and Clifford turned up with his alcohol stoves and saved the day, making tea morning and night (and cooking food). Cheers Clifford, your company was appreciated.

Clifford, no big red dog

Mark, Lyn and Luke

One other unexpected thing; the coast was cold.  A daily mist decends, bringing temperatures down to a UK type climate.  I have cycled in a jacket every morning since arriving.  I am now 60 miles inland and the temperatures have rocketed  (34 Deg C today!).  Bring on the cycling tan!

Sunset over the Pacific

Vital Statistics

Incase anyone is wondering what I have been up to, here are my stats from the journey so far!

Activity Name	Start	Time	Distance	Elevation Gain	Avg Speed(Avg Pace)	Max Speed(Best Pace)	Calories	Hyperlink
Day 8 - Beverley Beach to Florence (Pt 2)	Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:43	04:44:59	54.7	722	11.5	30.7	2,753	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944453
Day 8 - Beverley Beach to Florence (Pt 1)	Sun, 19 Aug 2012 8:59	32:21:00	5.47	95	10.1	21.1	272	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944470
Day 7 - Tillamook to Beverley Beach	Sat, 18 Aug 2012 9:46	06:29:54	63.5	1,036	9.8	40	3,142	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944494
Day 6 - Astoria to Tillamook (Pt 2)	Fri, 17 Aug 2012 9:31	07:12:26	67.75	830	9.4	32.9	3,204	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944527
Day 6 - Astoria to Tillamook (Pt 1)	Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:34	28:35:00	6.09	26	12.8	22.5	267	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944533
Day 5 - Bruceport County Park to Astoria	Thu, 16 Aug 2012 8:54	03:17:20	38.69	333	11.8	31.2	1,726	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944547
Day 4 - Westport to Bruceport County Park	Wed, 15 Aug 2012 9:05	04:01:21	41.92	168	10.4	21.7	1,678	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944562
Day 3 - Quinalt Lake to Westport	Tue, 14 Aug 2012 8:33	05:53:52	60.3	444	10.2	25.9	2,631	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944574
Day 2 - Forks to Quinalt Lake	Mon, 13 Aug 2012 8:36	07:10:59	67.34	807	9.4	31.7	2,973	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944596
Day 1 - Sekia to Forks	Sun, 12 Aug 2012 8:29	07:01:23	77.19	1,098	11	34.5	3,914	http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212944617
Port Angeles to Sekia	Sat, 11 Aug 2012 9:59	04:22:33	46.62	809	10.7	42.5	2,336
Victoria to Port Angeles	Fri, 10 Aug 2012 8:33	55:00:00	7.2	208	7.9	25.4	325
Vancouver to Victoria	Wed, 8 Aug 2012 10:44	05:12:41	52.33	353	10	23.6	2,178
Vancouver	Tue, 7 Aug 2012 14:17	53:57:00	9.78	158	10.9	22.8	502
Prologue - Day 5	Sun, 5 Aug 2012 9:54	04:29:56	44.38	431	9.9	34.3	1,901
Prologue - Day 4	Sat, 4 Aug 2012 9:43	06:17:06	54.16	446	8.6	34.5	2,210
Prologue - Day 3	Fri, 3 Aug 2012 8:17	06:58:44	74.88	657	10.7	34.3	3,337
Prologue - Day 2	Thu, 2 Aug 2012 8:39	07:16:49	69.69	1,972	9.6	43.8	4,126
Prologue - Day 1	Wed, 1 Aug 2012 9:12	07:14:38	66.69	1,549	9.2	34.2	3,621