Journal
To the Coast
At 88 miles, day 1 was our longest day. We hit the road bright and early at around 7:45am.
The ride to the coast was sunny and hot. It was crucial to stay hydrated lest we suffer from cramps!
We rode past a bunch of farmlands.
For lunch, we stopped at Safeway in McMinnville. We chowed down on some sandwiches and stocked up on some mustard packets (for cramps) and water. What? Really? Some people say it's becuase of the minerals, others say it's because the taste distracts you from your misfiring nerves. All I know, is that it worked for me.
Afternoon
The Fall
The second half of our ride required us to cross over multiple railroad tracks. It was ok... the first few times. I took on one pair of tracks at just the wrong angle and my tire got caught in the track causing my bike (and myself) to slam and skid a good ten feet on the asphalt. Unexperienced and unprepared, I threw down my hands to try to slow the skidding and ended up ripping up my palms on the road.
Luckily, I did not skid into the road. Double luck, a few cars had seen the spill and stopped to see if I was ok. One lady even stopped, pulled over and helped me get cleaned up. Another gave me a fresh first aid kit. I did have one, but the extra supplies were helpful. Triple luck, I was wearing my helmet.
So yeah, wear a helmet and bring a first aid kit.
The rest of the day was an uphill battle. Literally and figuratively. The day grew hotter and hotter and the climbing had just begun. On the bright side, as we made our way through farmlands, fruit stands began to pop up on the side of the road.
We stopped at this one to grab a quick snack. Fruit never tasted so good and never burned off so fast. I was hungry 5 minutes later. Haha.
We finished our first day, yes all 88 miles later, before dark! Here we are at our first campsite Devil's Lake Campground.
Oregon has the best campgrounds! Hot showers and charging stations. We stayed at hiker biker campsites for 3/6 nights.
We ordered some takeout for dinner - Tie Dye Pizza. I didn't take a picture of it because it was gone in 30 seconds.
We met first Dave at this campsite. He was biking from down the coast as well. Moving from Seattle to SF doing about 30 miles a day. Gooooood luck Dave, hope you made it!
He did have a triforce on his camping gear, which I appreciated. Woke up in the morning and on to day 2.