H2Ocean
suzettessalononline.com generic cialis online Another day through the Pacific Northwest. The clouds settled back in during today’s ride, and remained a bit chilly throughout the ride. Nothing unbearable, but I still haven’t been able to break out the full B4B kit on my rides. It’s pretty sweet. I’ll be sure to show some pictures once it’s finally warm enough. It’s a great design.
Today’s ride was rather short. It took me from McMinnville to Lincoln City on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been eagerly anticipating arriving at the coast for the past few days. The ride along the coastline to San Francisco is going to be one of the most scenic of the entire trip. Thus, I’m ready to enjoy it. The morning started off rather simply. I made a few adjustments to help cope with the dreadful achilles pain I’ve been experiencing. I moved my cleats backward on my shoe, which should hopefully alleviate some of the stress. It seems to have worked, as they weren’t as bad as yesterday. However, they still slowed me down, and the pain was definitely noticeable. I did a lot of training for this trip, and I mean a lot. However, it can only prepare you so much for the real thing. There’s going to be pain, going to be setbacks, and going to be frustration. However, I will not let that prevent me from completing the trip. Sure, I might go a little bit slower. I’m not the hare. I’m the tortoise. If this was a race to all 30 ballparks, I’d undoubtedly lose. I’m really hoping to knock out this pain soon. I realize that it won’t do any further damage other than soreness. However, mentally overcoming the agonizing pain every single pedal stroke isn’t fun. It’s challenging. Here’s to tomorrow being an even better ride.
Once again, the Pacific Northwest inspired me with its scenery. Rolling hills, smooth roads, and magnificent moss covered trees. It’s really a great part of the country, if you’ve never been I’d highly encourage you to make a trip out there. As I previously mentioned the roads are great. As a bicyclist you notice the little things when riding. For instance, when I cross a river, more often than not, a bit of an uphill exists after. Also, you know what kind of pavements are the best. I slight rough pavement can really make pedaling a lot more difficult. The roads here in Oregon are smooth, well maintained, and great for riding.
Today’s ride had a few good climbs. Nothing to incredibly difficult compared to what I endured yesterday, but enough to utter a few curse words. With the big hills it’s just important to keep moving. Throw Benny The Jet Rodriguez (my bike) into a low gear, and crawl up the hill. Eventually I make it up. After yesterday, and the climb I endured, I’m a lot more confident on being able to handle any other climb that is thrown my way. It can’t be much tougher than that.
After those last few climbs it was a lot of downhill riding towards the coast. Unfortunately, I had a significant headwind, which was a nagging problem. Only to be worse once I hit the coast, as it was coming from the south. Hopefully tomorrow it shifts a bit, because riding 75 miles down the coast into the wind will be a challenging and daunting task.
Tonight I’m staying with Lyndsey and Rhonda in Lincoln City. They’re an incredibly nice couple who are huge kite enthusiasts. Yes, kites. It’s pretty incredible. Together, they’ve traveled the world for different kite festivals. In fact, they often run a tent teaching kids how to build their own kites. Teaching them the basics. Just like B4B! It seems like quite the community. A huge shoutout to Hugh and Lyn who helped set up this lodging, and of course Pete up in Seattle who is continuously working to find my next night’s lodging. This kind of support is so incredible!
Tomorrow should be a longer ride. Definitely challenging but not impossible. I’m going to bed, with an icepack around my achilles. Hopefully it’ll be smooth sailing beyond that. It’s another day, and about 10 more days of riding before I make it to San Francisco. This is one of the longest stretches between ballparks, and it’s also quite challenging with the high number of hills. I’ll keep on pedaling!
Matt