Riding at last - the first day

Astoria to Nehalem Bay State Park: 43 miles.

Self portrait at Astoria, Oregon

When a young cyclist asked how far I was going, I replied simply, “California”. And at that exact moment, with that one declaration, this bike trip transformed from vaporous, intangible wishes and desires to something real and living; like tissue and bone and breath.

He was replacing his tire and tube at the bike shop in Seaside, Oregon after running over a screw and walking into town. I was ready to clip into my pedals after a chain repair. The realization that I was biking to California created one of those “Holy Shit” Moments, like, “I’m doing what?”. Gilbert Gottfried (the parrot in the Disney movie, “Aladdin”), was shouting in my ear, “What was I thinking!” California was only 390 miles away (depending on which measure you use) minus the 20 I’d just pedaled to Seaside (or limped to Seaside is more accurate, given the chain separation that happened as I left Astoria). Lesson: if you carry a chain tool, which I did, carry a chain link to do the repair too. Doh!

But the committing word “California” had been uttered to this stranger; the proverbial stake driven in the sand, and I was on the road after days of doubt and questioning of sanity gnawing at me across Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon (Oh, yeah, Marsha will attest: I was pretty difficult to live with for a few days there). We'd parked the car in Astoria so she biked to Seaside and shuttled back to the car by bus while I rode on. The first one to the Airstream at Nehalem Bay would start dinner! (it was I, surprisingly).

Jim atop Arch Cape.
Three Capes Route and tomorrow's ride is behind.

Later that day after passing through Cannon Beach I stopped to photograph (in addition to the gorgeous beaches and famous sea stacks) an interesting house under construction on the climb up to Arch Cape, about 1,000 feet from sea level (which was, of course, "right down there!"). I was told that it is in its third year of construction and is essentially a very hand-crafted house. Uses all natural materials (“no sheetrock anywhere”) and custom hand-crafted millwork throughout, with much natural stone and brick. The roof above the steel beams is overgrown with mosses because it has had three years to weather in, not because it’s an old roof and this is a remodel. You can look straight through the glass walls from the road to the ocean.

Other highlights of Day One:

• We needed to go easy the first day; not burn the legs out; back off on the pace; drink and eat often (before you are thirsty or hungry). We did, and that really helped get through the days of longer miles.
• Stop and take photos and read historical markers. I did that – until the rains came. Learned how Cannon Beach got its name (from a cannon washed ashore near Tillamook from the wrecked military frigate “Shark”). And how the Lewis and Clark expedition bought some very welcome whale blubber from friendly Indians at Tillamook during their winter stay on the coast.
• Pedaled through the first of two tunnels on the coast route that have special flashing lights to warn drivers there are cyclists in the tunnel. This was at Arch Cape, right past Cannon Beach.
• Learned that 1,000 feet of climbing is still 1,000 feet of climbing whether it’s at sea level or above Denver’s 5,280 feet. Yes, having ridden at altitude made a difference I think, and the breathing was easier than, say, at 7,000 feet outside Bergen Park, near Evergreen. But a hill is a hill is a hill.

A different challenge

What can I say? My left leg is different. You'll see it in the photos - this rather stern, bald-pated look is of me before a ride up in Boulder County, Colorado, in July. I have had a condition known as lymphedema basically since birth, but as with most cases of Primary Lymphedema, it didn't show up until after puberty. Mine came on late, when I was 18. Nobody knew what was causing my ankle and calf to swell during senior year on the wrestling team. Within a few months the whole leg was swollen and getting nasty infections and nobody knew why. I wore ill-fitting compression garments for decades because that's all anybody could advise me, even at the famous Boston medical centers. It wasn't until I was in my mid-Thirties that I finally learned that I had lymphedema. Today I know that millions of people get this ailment as a Teenage, as I did, or as an after-affect of surgery that has included the removal of or damage to even a few lymph nodes. Breast cancer survivors often have significant lymphedema in their arm following a mastectomy. These post-surgery or post-injury patients have what is known as "Secondary Lymphedema". Lymphedema never goes away; there is no surgery and no magic pill. You just have to manage it carefully to keep the swelling from getting out of control.

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.