Hello Oregon!

What a ride, 85 miles through gorgeous Oregon. Sun shining. Beautiful scenery. And so much more. It was challenging, but really opened up to what this trip is going to be like.

I got up early from Longview to hit the road. I knew it was going to be a long day, and hoped to get in the miles. The day started off unbelievably foggy. When riding over the Columbia River into Oregon, I couldn’t even see the water. Would you believe that? It was also really chilly. However, it quickly warmed up.

My route had me on a single highway for 31 miles. If you’re familiar with Google maps and their bike feature. You realize how they have you turn every few miles, or in many cases blocks. Thus, when you’re on the same road for 31 miles, it’s ess entially a miracle. The miles went by pretty fast, and despite being a heavily traveled road, it had a nice bike lane at all times. That makes me feel a lot safer while biking.

I stopped at a Walgreens to pick up my new best friend. Bengay. Time to treat the muscle aches. Move aside dog. Bengay is man’s new best friend. For the most part, I feel great. Legs are fresh. All except my achilles. First my right achilles, every downward pedal stroke would hurt. It was an agonizing pain, and due to inflammation from overuse. I’m working on treating it right now with ice, stretching, and more. It’s tough. The pain by the end of today’s ride was excruciating. Down right painful, but that comes with the territory. I knew it was going to be hard coming in. It’s gonna take a lot more than just pain to stop me. Onward to San Francisco. I’ll keep updating you on how the achilles feel.

When I turned off of the 31 mile stretch, then came the hill straight from hell. It was vicious. Definitely the toughest climb I’ve ever done. Hands down. In all it was about 2600 feet in just over 3 miles. That’s insane. It was never ending. There would be a curve in the road, and I would swear that this would be the top, only to see another gradual climb for another half mile. This happend over, and over, and over again. It’s devastating. It’s agonizing. It’s hot. It’s tiring. But it does reward you with some pretty cool views. I got a great look of Portland from the hill. Impressive. I highly encourage you to click on the live tracking portion of the website to see the exact details of the ride.

After the excruciating climb. I enjoyed quite the down hill. Absolutely gorgeous riding. Probably the most gorgeous ride, I remember going on. There’s something peaceful, and relaxing about a winding road through the trees of the Pacific Northwest. It’s scenic. It’s nature. It’s biking. It’s serene. After a bit of a down hill, I met up with Hugh and Lynn. A couple from Portland who heard about Biking for Baseball and drove an hour to meet up with me on the route and give me lunch. Unbelievable. It’s this kind of kindness that blows me away. It’s unreal. Everyday, I meet more of these people and are continually impressed by the kindness they present. The world is a good place. Don’t forget it.

As I continued onward, I kept fighting the achilles pain. I’m really hoping that it subsides tomorrow. I got my first flat of the ride. Unfortunately it occurred on a really busy highway. I pulled off to the side, took off my paniers. Took my wheel off and switched out the tire. It went pretty smoothly. However, after about a mile of riding, my pump fell off and messed up my brake cable. I stopped, worked on that for a bit, thought I had fixed it and rode onward. Then in less than half a mile, my brakes started rubbing. Great. I pulled over, and again made some roadside repairs. I think I’ve got it fixed, but it’s tough to have that many breakdowns in such a short amount of time. Worst of all, it allowed my body to tighten up, and made the last 12 mile stretch a heck of a challenge. In the end, I made it to McMinnville, and my hosts place for the night.

I hopped in the shower, and began treating my aching achilles with ointment and ice. For dinner, I gobbled down lasagna. Call me Garfield. Fueling up for tomorrow’s ride. My host, has done a few tours himself so he understands what’s necessary to recover from a long day’s ride. Which is always great. It was a great day, and I’m ready for the ride tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Matt