Why and wherefore

I suppose we blog because we believe we have a story to tell. Hopefully one that others would find interesting and short of lobotomizing without anesthesia. Or because we blog to keep others up to date on some special activity. Which leads us to my blog. I'm cycling the Oregon coast in September, 2011 with my wife, Marsha, and our Airstream trailer. Yup, from top (Astoria) to bottom (Cali). 390 miles in 7 days of pedaling over and past dunes, shore and sea lions. It takes us through basically the largest continuous stretch of public beach in the country. Thanks to the Oregon governor in 1917, I think, who declared that the highway 101 right-of-way extended to the water. Now, I grew up cycling the backroads of some famous little coastal towns north of Boston where the beach has been privately owned since the days of the Pilgrims. And where residents of "Manchester by the Sea" are still restricting public access to an ocean you'd think should be free as the sky.

And is this "on my bucket list"? Well, I've stated that once or twice but please don't think I'm some Jack Nicholson with a negative forecast. My dad is 92 and so it seems I have at least another 30 years in me. You know, if the creek or tide don't rise too fast and all that.

Bucket list or not, biking the Oregon coast is something I’ve wanted to do since Elizabeth graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 2005. Marsha and I nested in a cottage in Netarts overlooking the bay south of Tillamook (remember those great radio commercials for Tillamook cheese and capturing for the queen! in the early 90's? That Tillamook) for a week. And we biked parts of that Three Capes Loop of the Oregon Coast bike route over what, it turns out, is the highest point on the entire coast ride - all of about 1,000 feet above sea level. Which, of course, you can actually see instead of in Colorado where "sea level" is just a reference point on a topo map. It was incredible fun despite one day of chilly, wet riding. Hey, it’s the coast, what could we expect? And it’s quite different from cycling in our home state of Colorado where rain is considered a special event instead of another degree of normal.

As for blogging this event, two special people in my life – my daughter Elizabeth and my college friend, Lynn Welbourn have both blogged before me. Elizabeth shared her adventure of three months in Thailand and India in 2011 at thevirtuesoflivingdangerously. Lynn told us of her bike ride last summer from the Pacific across the Rockies and Montana to Fargo in her blog Lynn's Blog. So it can be done, regardless of your age. I may as well dive in and see what you think.