I don’t know if I am asking you or myself.

https://ridewithgps.com/collections/4110892

I should of known I was not playing to my strengths deciding to take on the gargantuan organizational task of making all the plans that are required to take a cross country bicycle tour but to make it even more apparent, I am trying to learn how to blog about it less than 2 weeks before I leave. Truly delusional.

No more carefree cruising on a nimble machine, now it will be more like driving a Mac truck while you are the engine. Folks call what I am planning on doing a “self supported” bike tour, meaning you bring what you need with you on the bike. What you need is subjective.

I believe this picture was when my family lived in Wilmington, North Carolina but I remember a time riding that tricycle in the neighborhood we lived in in Delaware before we moved. There were some neighborhood kids that decided we should have a bike parade. I got to put red. white and blue streamers on that tricycle and ride it in the parade. It obviously made a big impression on me.

I am done with getting ready for this tour! But I am not done getting ready for this tour! T minus four days!

I believe I have lost the high ground for the male gender when I asked my wife if it was obscene to take 3 pair of shoes on a bike tour.

I went on to outline all the contingencies that may occur and how each pair would be vital. But yeah, just like Anakin, I lost the high ground.

And then I realized I had 6 tote bags with stuff in them in the front hall, sorry guys.

Today was the last ride I will get to take with my wife Beth for a while. And while she is coming out to see me two times on my trip and pick me up at the end it will be the longest we have been apart in the last 30 years.

Specifically in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport when a two hour layover turned into five hours of layover with 9 gate changes. I met a bunch of nice folks heading to Portland while playing musical gates.

There were the 3 young guys from Saudi Arabia (1st time to the US) coming to study English in Portland.

There was the lady coming home to Portland from TX after visiting her son and grandchildren while simultaneously arranging a move for her mother to assisted living and looking at homes in TX for a move back. Women work so hard for their families, make sure you thank them. She had traveled extensively and is considering knee replacement surgery so she can keep up with her grand babies and keep traveling.

The young family from Oregon who were vacationing in TX and considering a move there for a lower cost of living.

The charming older couple from Portland, the man was semi retired and building a replica Chris Craft out of mahogany and the woman was a retired nurse.

An elderly woman by herself that had been to 5 gates and needed to go to yet another (I helped get her on an airport transport shuttle and they told me to get on too!)

And then there was the murder mystery author who was heading to France.

I wouldn’t have gotten to have all those lovely conversations if the plane wasn’t delayed.

And the couple who I sat next to on the flight into Portland were cute as a button. They are going to fulfill a dream trip they started to dream about during the start of Covid. They are going to Ireland to walk the dingle way! Hiking between bed and breakfasts and calling on the pubs for a pint and some music in the evening. (I wasn’t spying on them watching Rick Steves episodes on Ireland)

My son and his boyfriend picked me up at the airport and I put my bike back together in the basement late into the night and rode my bike through a bit of Portland in the morning on my way to the beautiful Train station.

The cell signal in the coastal mountains of Oregon was very spotty. Here is what you missed. I made it to Seaside about 11:00, took some pictures, picked up fuel for my stove and got some lunch. Started heading out about 1:00. Climbing into the coastal mountains with a loaded touring bike was a challenge for a flatlander.

Stealth camp on State Forest land.

Not sure of the first days mileage but it was some where around 27 miles. I camped off a gravel road in an Oregon State Forest. I wasn’t sure if it was a legal place to camp so I tried to camp out of sight. Only one car came up the road that night and zipped right past me tucked in the woods.

I slept well in the tent. I felt a bit like a newbie packing up camp but managed to get on the road by 7:30. The riding today wasn’t too bad. There was no shoulder but the roads were pretty lightly trafficked but there was a ton of elevation.

So there is this thing called Warm Showers. It is a Website that connects people taking bike tours with kind folks that would be willing to host them. And through this website, I got in contact with the most wonderful folks that hosted me. They live lightly on their land in Vernonia, Oregon. When they read the “back to the land/ alternative lifestyle” kind of books that I have read for a number of years, they adopted what they read. They really have a beautiful relationship to the land and have inspired me to endeavor to live more intentionally. Thanks Liz and Austin!

My Warm Showers hosts Liz and Austin rode out of Vernonia with me on the Vernonia Banks rail trail. A couple of people who they met the other day joined us. That were scouting out the Vernonia Banks trail for an upcoming Native American youth bicycle trip.

The Vernonia Banks trail was a real treat.

I made it to Portland. I stayed at my son’s place again.

I can’t quite call it a Zero day (zero miles) but the miles I did weren’t on a fully loaded bike.

First, I got up pretty early to ride downtown from Portland’s Southeast neighborhoods so I could participate in “Breakfast on the Bridges”. Portland has 12 bridges across the Willamette River that you can walk or ride a bike across. On four of those bridges a group called “Shift” serves up free coffee and breakfast from 7:00-9:00am on the last Friday of each month. So I rode down to the Tilikum Crossing bridge which has no cars! It has walking and riding lanes each direction and a light rail line going down the middle. There were donuts, cinnamon rolls, fruit, cookies and coffee. It was nice to talk to a Shift volunteer and some other folks.

My son had an appointment with a guidance counselor at Portland State so I had a little time to play with so just after eating a donut down on the bridge, I headed to a bakery of course.

Not just any bakery, I went to Tabor Bread. I had visited them back when my son was attending Reed College. In fact they were kind enough to let me come in to see some of their early morning production. They had a massive wood fired oven and a flour mill that I was interested. They even let me work a bit. I took some pictures of the baker working the oven and shared them as a thank you. Since then they have moved to a new location and no longer bake in a wood fired oven but they have not lost the magic.

My son and I had a great rest of the day. We went to the Oregon Zoo, my son got us in for free because he works for Metro who also manages the zoo. We had a great lunch at Obon Shokudo (a Japanese restaurant), did some shopping and went out for pizza at Baby Doll Pizza. Both restaurants were top level.