Day 6: Pacific City to Newport

When I left off yesterday, I mentioned the high probability of rain.  In fact, it did start start raining overnight, I'm not sure what time but I woke up briefly at 4 am and it was raining.  Mary says she thinks it started at 3.  In any case, despite my hoping otherwise, it was still raining when the alarm rang.  Fortunately, it sounded worse from inside the tent than it really was.  I put the tent away in the light rain.  It was wet, but not as bad as if it were really coming down.

We have had nearly a week's worth of beautiful rides, quiet roads, and good-for-cycling-weather, if not outright sunny.  However, today was none of that.  Today was a long slog through rain and wind with some very strong gusts.  We also spent a great deal of time on highway 101, which is busy, noisy, and just not much fun, especially when you can't see much of anything.

The rain increased from light while putting the tent away to really coming down not many miles outside of camp.  We were also fighting strong side and headwinds.  It really takes the zing out of my day when I have to peddle going downhill and still feel like I am not making any progress.

After we turned on to Slab Creek Road and left 101, it was much more pleasant riding.  Slab Creek is a very quiet country road that turns into a forested area.  The first half of it is a gentle to moderate climb, the second half is a fun descent.  However, in this weather it was necessary to be quite cautious instead of flying down the hill.

After passing the small town of Otis, we rejoined 101 for a nerve jangling ride into Lincoln City.  Even on the best weather days, I find getting through Lincoln City to be intense.  I'm not sure why this town is so tricky but part of the problem is a disappearing shoulder/bike lane.  Sometimes you have enough space and sometimes there no space at all; nerve wracking for the cyclist and frustrating for the drivers.

Rest stop #1 was in the middle of Lincoln City at another Columbia Bank branch.  Those folks must have wondered what they had gotten into when they saw the state of us as we traipsed through their bank to the conference room in the back.  We were dripping and dirty with running noses.  I was thankful for the instant hot chocolate and the use of the restroom.

Wringing out my soaked socks.

From there we carried on another 20 miles, the majority of it on 101.  By then, the rain had mostly stopped, but there was still plenty of spray coming from the vehicles as well as my own wheels.  The wind, which had been quiet for a while, picked up considerably.  It was difficult to make progress in some areas.

 

I felt a real sense of relief to move off 101 and on to a side road into Otter Rock.  There are some great views to be had but I have seen it before under better conditions.  I felt like I just had to put my head down and keep pushing along.  Did I mention that this was our other notable climb?  

Just past the Otter Crest resort, we took a little road past the Devil's Punchbowl State Park to Mo's Restaurant, an Oregon institution.  This one is owned by two riders who joined us for the first 3 days, Celeste and Dylan.  They hosted us for chowder, one of their specialties.  There could hardly have been a better day for warm soup in the afternoon.

From Mo's, it was just over 10 miles to Rogue headquarters in Newport, but they were a long 10.  The wind was brutal for a number of miles.  Fortunately, it calmed down after a time, but it was terribly tiring at the end of six days.

The planned campground was very exposed to the wind and soaked as well as muddy, so the organizers strongly recommended that no one stay there.  There were a couple of hotels very near and also organizer Daniella opened her house to those who didn't want to go to a hotel.  

Mary and I decided to get a hotel room and did not regret it.  The long hot shower and fluffy towels were fantastic!  Although, we did miss out on the slumber party at Daniella's after dinner at Rogue.

Rogue hosted us for dinner and a celebration at their brewery.  Our final honoree, Owen, joined us.  He is 10 now, diagnosed with arthritis when in the first grade.  His dad spoke to us about Owen's experience.  It is much the same story as the other young honorees.  One recent and positive development is that Owen will now be able to get his infusion treatments locally in Corvallis rather than having to go monthly to Portland for them!

Keslynn and her family joined us for dinner as well.  We celebrated her and her twin sister's birthday, which is today.  Today is also my mother's and uncle's birthday.  They, too, are twins, one with arthritis, one not.  During a quiet moment I was able to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday.  Also, all the riders and crew signed a card for her.

Not just this mile, but the whole ride was for my mom and all those with arthritis.

 Tomorrow we have a group breakfast and then go our separate ways home.

After a day of rain, it is sunny and nice in Newport.  At Moe's Restaurant for breakfast.  Celeste and her husband own this place and Moe's West.  They hosted us for and were riders on the tour.

Celeste setting out a lovely breakfast platter.  Yum.

Breakfast close up.

Day 5: Cannon Beach to Pacific City

Around the campfire last night, a few people mentioned that there was a small chance of rain this morning.  Fortunately, there was no rain, but it was foggy and cloudy with a moderate and cool wind.

In the previous years of this ride, we have, for the vast majority of miles, just ridden down highway 101.  On this year's route we haven't been on it at all until today.  While there were some portions on the highway, there was also a lot of time on side roads, too.

Our first rest stop was at a branch of Columbia Bank in Manzanita.  It was one of the nicest looking banks I have seen.  There is a lovely water feature and garden in front.  Inside, the tellers and other workers are in a warm friendly environment (not heavy duty bullet proof plastic like my bank).  The manager greeted me personally when I arrived.

Front of bank with landscaped pond.

Do you recognize those bike icons?  The bank has been getting donations for us.

In addition to hosting a rest stop, they have also been fundraising for us, using the same bike icons as outside my cubicle at work.  

We continued through dairy farms on a fairly quiet road as I came to the intersection with the highway that would take us into the town of Tillamook, I saw this roadside sign.

Dave is one of the riders and he has arthritis.  You'll read more about Dave later.

We rode through Tillamook.  Last year this was an end point and we camped just across the road from the Tillamook cheese factory.  Since I visited last year, I didn't stop this time.

Tillamook Bay.

After riding through Tillamook we were out in the country again.  We had some big rolling hills all the way into Netarts.  Our second rest stop was there.  

After a quick lunch at a restaurant next to our rest stop, I got back on the road towards Pacific City.  We followed the same route the last two years through Cape Lookout State Park.  It starts flat along a bay and then gradually has bigger and bigger rolling hills until it turns into a full climb for about 2.5 miles.

I'm not sure if you will be able to tell from this photo, but the east side of the road has been clear cut.  Fortunately, the west side is still beautiful.  I assume the east side is not part of the state park.

The climb is challenging, especially on a full stomach.  We were greeted at the top by some of the crew.  Unfortunately, Mr. Incredible wasn't with us this year.  (See day 2 from last year for a picture.)

From that point, the is a swooping down hill for quite a good distance.  There are only gentle rollers after that until about 2 miles from town.  Then there are a couple a good climbs to get into Pacific City.  

There I am with Darin the mechanic (and much more) and Daniella from Bike Newport at the top of the Cape Lookout climb.

The sun finally came out during the last several miles, but went in and out of the clouds for the rest of the afternoon.

A haystack rock at Pacific City beach.  You can drive on to this beach.

Surfer at Pacific City beach.

One more view of Pacific City beach.

There are more bunnies at this campground, even more than at the last one.

Our honoree tonight was Dave, one of the riders.  Dave has had Ankylosing spondylitis.  This is another form of arthritis, primarily focused on the spine.  If left untreated, the vertebrae can fuse.

Dave's condition seems to have come on immediately after a skiing accident.  It took years before he was able to get a diagnosis.  Once diagnosed, like the others, he has been on a variety of medications.  He has done well with the biologics, which are delivered as an infusion.

Dave was a rider for the first time last year.  He was convinced to join us by his rheumatologist, Dr. Overman.  In fact, Dr. Overman brought a whole team down from the Seattle area.  He has since retired but is still doing volunteer medical work overseas.

There is a very high percent chance of precipitation tomorrow.  We are not looking forward to that.  If nothing else, I hope to be able to pack the tent before it starts.  Fingers crossed.

Day 4: Stub State Park to Cannon Beach

Today was a rest day.  We rode only about 25 miles and were shuttled the remaining distance to Cannon Beach.  The one direct route by bicycle to Canon Beach from Stub State Park, which I believe is highway 22, is considered somewhat unsafe and definitely unpleasant, such that almost no cyclists that know the area will use it.  There is a roundabout route, but that is 90 miles.

It was sunny and cool when we left camp in the morning.  I dressed in quite a few layers in anticipation of the heavy shade on the trail and that we would be descending.  We returned to the same trail we used yesterday to get to Stub and continued where we left off to Vernonia.

Mary and Nancy getting ready to ride. 

 During the beautiful ride, Mary and I had a nice chat about how she met her husband.  The trail continued on the same fashion, forested and lovely.  It was quite cold.  Steve says the temperature reading on his bike computer was 54 degrees.

In Vernonia, we took a break at the coffee shop and sat in the sun with some warm beverages.  It felt very good to thaw a bit.

Dave, Steve, and Jeff thawing in the morning sun.

We returned through the few blocks that made up downtown Veronia, a small logging town, to the trail and backtracked to Timber Road, which we took to meet the highway.  On the way, there was little traffic, although some were big logging trucks.  The road had rolling hills and quiet farms.  Steve and I had a brief "race" up one of the hills, which I am happy to say that I won!

At the highway we got into a great big van and headed to Cannon Beach.  The drive took about 40 minutes.  While we were traveling, crew member Kim pulled out some chocolate chip cookies she had made that morning.  I'm a pretty snobby cookie judge and hers were great!

We set up camp in the Sea Ranch campground, which has quite a few wild and used-to-be-domesticated bunnies.  Very cute.

Campground bunny.  There were many.

We arrived early enough that Mary had time for a load of laundry and me for a shower and snack before walking into downtown Cannon Beach with Kim, a former resident here.  There are a lot of shops for tourists, including no less than 3 candy shops within about 4 blocks.

Horse back riders heading to Cannon Beach.

Inlet at Cannon Beach.

Haystack rock in Cannon Beach.

We got back too late for the afternoon yoga class taught by our honoree Christina.  I heard it was great.  Jerry said it was the best yoga class he had ever been to, but it is also the only one.

Christina is now in her mid-30s but has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 8 years old.  She's been through a lot of treatments, medications and bad periods.  As a child with juvenile arthritis, she believed that on her 18th birthday she would be cured because then she would be an adult and have outgrown the arthritis.

She is doing fairly well now in a remissive period of the disease.  She credits much of her current wellness with becoming involved with yoga.  She is now a yoga instructor in the area.

Day 3: Champoeg to LL Stub Stewart State Park

As predicted, we woke up to some sun with high wispy clouds.  The day was beautiful with a cool to cold wind.  

I did yoga again this morning to get the muscles moving and then hit then hit the road.

We continued on scenic country and back roads.  There were a lot of rolling hills and wineries along the way.  In fact, our first rest stop was at a winery.  The view from their patio was great.  Not being much of a wine connoisseur and with over 25 miles still to go, I didn't do any tasting.

View from the winery tasting room.

 After the rest stop there were more rolling  hills and then some flat sections through family farms.  The weather got better and better, enough so that I took off the arm and leg warmers.

Deserted farm.

Why doesn't anyone harvest any of these apples?

At rest stop #2, I met Sawyer, our soon-to-be 5-year-old honoree.  He also has juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis.  He's doing well on medication.

Immediately upon leaving the rest stop we entered the Banks Veronia trail all the way to the state park.  It is a rails to trails conversion.  It was a lovely forested paved trail including ferns and moss.

Trail to campground

View from the trail.

Into each life a little rain must fall...and so it did.  Towards the last part of the trail I started feeling drops.  In fact, I had seen menacing clouds even at the rest stop.  The trees were stopping most of it for a while, but when it started to really rain instead of just a few drops, I put it in a high gear and took off to try to be in camp before getting soaked. 

I was one of the first to camp because so many had stopped earlier at a restaurant and lingered.  I got a snack and waited to see what the weather would do before setting up my tent.  It went from light rain to real rain with thunder!  

I decided to take a shower to clean up and warm up.  By the time my shower was done, the sun was out again!  It stayed clear until sunset and is predicted to be lovely tomorrow.

Sawyer and his family joined us for dinner.  His dad told us about their experience as a family with Sawyer's illness.  Fortunately, the medication is working.

Lake along the road.

Day 2: Silver Falls to Champoeg State Park

It got a little damp overnight in Silver Falls, so in the morning I put on items such as my leg warmers that were damper than when I took them off the day before!  It was also fairly cold. I was bundled up to go to breakfast.

I debated for some time about what to wear when riding out of camp.  After a little climbing, we were told that we would have 12 miles down hill.  It sounded good but cold.  On good downhill sections cyclists can reach 30 mph or more, and the wind at that speed can be cold on a cool day.

Before leaving camp we had a yoga session with Chelsea who is a yoga teacher.  It was great to stretch before hitting the road.  

We didn't leave camp until 10:15 or so.  As it turned out, We didn't have 12 miles of down hill.  After a climb out of the campground, we did start to go down, but that was short lived.  Really the terrain was mostly rolling and I was OVER DRESSED.  I was happy to see Darin at about mile 15 and drop off my fleece jacket.

At about mile 21we met at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton for a tour.  It was a nice place, but the weather wasn't that pleasant and our time was some what limited.

We left camp late today and yesterday because the state camp grounds in Oregon don't allow us to check in until 3 or 4 pm, so there is no point in leaving early, hurrying and then arriving before we are allowed to set up.  It has been pretty relaxing with the later leaving time and activities along the way.

After the gardens we left town and went across the Gallon Road covered bridge and then on to the rest stop at Bauman's Farm.  They are known for their apple cider and apple donuts.  Both excellent, as you will see in the picture below.

Mary and Margaret going through the covered bridge.

Honor system fruit stand.

We continued through quiet farm areas, these appeared to be mostly commercial rather than family owned the day before.  Just before the campground we stopped at a winery that hosted our afternoon snack.  Our snack was some excellent cheeses donated by Rogue Creamery with crackers and other small bites.  Some did the wine tasting as well.

Orchard outside on the way to Bauman's Farm.

After that our snack stop at Lady Hill winery, it was at most one mile to our campground and hot showers.

Jay pulling the foil back from the cheese.  The bees here were pretty persistent, so we have to keep things mostly covered.

View of the winery from the tasting area.

The weather never fully cleared and stayed cooler than I was hoping for, but at least no rain!  Day 3 is predicted to be a lovely day.

That's me with a fresh apple donut and glass of cider.  Thanks to Janet for getting those for us.  I love my carbs.

Day 1 Portland to Silver Falls State Park

It threatened rain all day but I never felt more than the slightest drop.  There were quite a few turns and trails on the way out of Portland from Rogues's Green Dragon pub.

Mary's ready to go.

Terry getting ready

Prepping for the start of the ride.

We made our way through the city and along the bank of the Willamette River with a scenic view of downtown Portland, winding our way through the city until the Springwater Corridor. The Springwater Corridor is nestled among multiple wildlife refuges, making for an expansive list of flora and fauna, a former rail corridor. From there we will connected with the Trolley Trail, a six mile trail that stretches from Milwaukie to Gladstone. Built on the former Portland Traction Company Streetcar line, this lovely expanse of trail runs along the banks of the Willamette River again. From the Trolley Trail we will ride through historic Oregon City, home of the beautiful Willamette Falls.

After Oregon City we were on quiet rural roads.  It was incredibly peaceful.  Hardly a car or person in sight.  All the apples are off my tree at home, but there were plenty on the trees on this route.  Often they were so bright and uniformly red that they seemed fake.

At Silverton, our arthritis honoree met us at the rest stop.  Keslynn is nearly 8 years old and has been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis since 2.5 years old.  She's had some tough patches including inflammation in her eyes.  She's doing great now with medication.  She and her family, including her twin sister, joined us for dinner at the state park.

I had lunch in Silverton with a few other veteran tour riders.  After lunch I finally took off my leg warmers in preparation for a 14 mile climb.  As it turned out, there were some rolling hills, plateaus, and a bit of down hill too, so not bad at all.  In fact, I even wished I left the leg warmers on.

I passed this place on the way to the camp ground.

Parked at camp.

Our camp was a YMCA campground.  Lots of rustic cabins.  Mary and I shared a cabin and memories of summer camp as kids.  Ours, like most, had no electricity and bunk beds.  Toilets and sinks down the trail, fortunately with electricity.

Dave and Chelsea by the fire in the dining room.  The fire felt great!

It sure was quiet overnight with just the rushing creek to lull us to sleep.

Day 0

We drove up to Portland yesterday.  It was a long drive, but the weather and traffic were good.  Unfortunately, about 2 hours down the road, I realized that I didn't have my purse.  I called home and John confirmed it was sitting there.  It had all my money, ID, credit card, etc.  John, thankfully was able to send it out right away for next day delivery.

Today, we hoped to do a short ride around Portland to stretch the legs and look around.  And, of course, get the delivery of my purse.  Unfortunately, it was raining when we woke up and continued all day.  I took that as a cue to stay in and rest.

I made some progress on the book I am reading for my book group and I exercised for a half hour in the exercise room at the hotel.  My purse did arrive as promised before noon.

Woo hoo!  Reunited with my purse.

 In the late afternoon we went to the Green Dragon to check in for the ride, meet the other riders, and have dinner.  Thanks to the Green Dragon and Rogue for hosting us.

Margaret at our riders' meeting.

Elliot of Bike Newport talking about route markings.

Mary and I have spent the rest of the evening getting ready for the start of the tour tomorrow.  All our bags and bikes are labeled, we have reorganized our bags to be ready to start camping tomorrow night, and gotten our riding gear out.

We have heard that the rain will be stopping in the morning, perhaps even before we hit the road at about 10 am.  We will be shuttled from the hotel to the Green Dragon again to start from there.

Thanks to everyone at work

Thanks to all those who donated.  There were quite a lot from Berkeley City College where I work, which these represent.  These bike icons were a great visual.  Below is a picture of my cubicle when I left yesterday.

Women's Cycling & Rwanda

If you know me, you know that I don't follow much in the way of professional sports, including cycling (yes, even cycling).  However, I have been interested in Team Africa Rising/Team Rwanda.  I first learned the story of this team through the documentary film "Rising from Ashes" about efforts to building a competitive team following the genocide in Rwanda.  Sports have the potential to change people's lives in serious and significant ways and Team Rwanda was doing just that.  As it says on their foundation website, "the bicycle—and cycling as a pursuit—is widely accessible, easily transportable, rapidly disseminated and a universal engine of both economic and personal empowerment."  NPR has a short article entitled "How Bicycles Are Helping to Heal Rwanda" at
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/05/08/405192878/how-bicycles-are-helping-to-heal-rwanda that is very informative.

Like many sports, cycling, even recreational cycling is male dominated.  It can be hard for a girl to find a role model.  Team Rwanda is no different in that respect, however, they do have a rising female star, Jeanne D'Arc Girubuntu, and a new women's program.  I encourage you to learn more and perhaps sponsor Jeanne or support the team.

https://teamafricarising.org/womens-programme/ 
https://www.thenation.com/article/cycling-redefined-rwandas-joan-of-arc/

Photo is from the article in The Nation.

Meet Cap'n Pete. He's got arthritis and he's riding the tour.

Like Dave Hall, Pete Staylor is a Champion of Yes.

How amazing is Cap'n Pete? He is a veteran of the Arthritis Bike Classic – Oregon AND a 12 time veteran of the California Coast Classic (CCC.) In 2015 Pete rode both the ABC-OR and the CCC just 12 months after a bilateral knee replacement.  That is 888 miles on new knees, raising $10k! 

When Cap'n Pete began his adventure his goal was to find a cure for Arthritis. He wanted his knees back, yet he learned it was about so much more. It was about everyone. As he told Riverside Magazine "I started doing this because it was self-serving. I wanted to find a cure because, God, I wanted my knees back, and that's what I was hoping for. Then when you find out how many people have it and how many kids have it, it's like, 'Oh my God.'" 

Now Cap'n Pete rides with an unrivaled enthusiasm for others, not for himself. For the men, women and children who stare down the great battle of arthritis each and every day. Cap'n Pete is always there at the end of each mile with a smile, a warm hug and an encouraging word. Join Cap'n Pete and every Champion of Yes as we take on Oregon from our bicycles in 2016!

You can read even more about Cap'n Pete in OR Bike at http://orbike.com/rider-profile-pete-staylor/

Meet Dave Hall. He's got arthritis and he's riding the tour.

Those with arthritis who are doing great things despite it are known as "Champions of Yes."  Dave is one of the champions.

Pedaling for a Purpose: How Dave Hall is Saying Yes to Making a Difference

Four years ago, Dave Hall could barely ride a bike. He knew how to ride a bike, and had ridden a bike most of his life, he just wasn’t sure if he could bear the pain at that time. Dave has ankylosing spondylitis and fights severe pain that radiates down his lower back, waist and legs. For someone who has been extremely active for most of his life, living with a chronic illness has been rough. Four years ago, after a medication he had been taking for a decade stopped working, he had to severely alter his activity level due to pain.


In 1994, Dave had just graduated college and was living in upstate New York. During a ski trip to Colorado he fell on the slopes. The next morning, he woke up stiff but brushed it off. As an athlete his entire life, he was used to aches and pains after minor injuries. There was only problem this time: This injury didn’t get better. And as a new graduate, Dave didn’t have a job or health insurance
A few months after his injury, Dave found work with health insurance and went to see a doctor about his pain. Despite x-rays and MRIs, Dave’s pain was misdiagnosed as a sprained muscle for years and he was told he just needed physical therapy and massage. “For someone who had been very active, I played soccer, lacrosse, and skied, feeling that way was a complete 180 from normal life,” says Dave. “Not knowing what was going on was very demoralizing. I didn’t have a sense at the time just how depressed I was.”

In 1998, Dave moved to Seattle. He had worked, and still does, in the healthcare industry with kids who struggle with serious mental health conditions. A colleague knew of Dave’s chronic back pain and suggested he see a sports medicine physician. Finally, Dave was referred to rheumatologist Dr. Steve Overman and given a formal diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. After starting prescription medication, he began to feel better. Dave could play soccer again, he felt like he had a new lease on life.

Dr. Overman was Dave’s rheumatologist until his retirement last year. For Dr. Overman’s retirement, he assembled a group of people to ride in the Arthritis Bike Classic Oregon and Dave joined the team. “It was a precious experience and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show my gratitude for the brilliant and lovely man who diagnosed my condition and took such thoughtful care of me,” says Dave. “I will always be indebted to him.”

Dave went from not knowing if he could stand the pain from riding a bike to cycling over 300 miles last year in the Arthritis Bike Classic Oregon. During the ride, he heard stories from riders and guest speakers about living with arthritis, challenges they had faced. “I had always kept silent about my arthritis experience,” says Dave. “Along the ride, it finally hit me; this is an opportunity to share my story.” He started by telling his fellow riders of his experience with ankylosing spondylitis on one evening during the ride.

Dave has continued sharing his story. He went to a JA camp and shared his story and reached out to the rheumatology department at Seattle Children’s Hospital where he works. Now, Dave wants to share his story to help people understand what it’s like to live with arthritis. “I want people to educate themselves about arthritis, find out how it impacts people in so many different ways,” says Dave. “People don’t know how difficult it is to live with chronic pain that is invisible.”

Dave is riding in the Arthritis Bike Classic Oregon again this year starting on September 17. To learn more about Dave’s experience living with ankylosing spondylitis or support fundraising efforts for the Arthritis Bike Classic Oregon, visit his fundraising page.