Originally posted at proj: pedal...

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve last posted – I assumed it wouldn’t be next to impossible to come across a library more than once a week, I was wrong. This is the first library I’ve seen in forever that has “normal” hours, the past few days we’ve been desperately trying to post and have come across place after place that didn’t open until noon, or didn’t open at all on sundays & mondays… but here I am – I have 39 minutes remaining – and there is so much to talk about I don’t know where to begin:

I’m at a library in Newport, Oregon at the moment – Amanda and I have been running around all over town trying to find somewhere [that doesn’t charge $16 per CD] to upload or burn our digital camera’s memory card… this apparently is easier said than done.


Last night we spent the night at Devil’s Lake State Park in Lincoln City terrified we were going to be swept away into the ocean by a giant tsunami - every person we passed on the way through downtown stopped to frantically warn us of the massive earthquake off the coast of California… but it turned out to be all hype.

I don’t have my notes or journal [that’s right, I said journal, I’m secure enough to admit it] in front of me and I seem to be drawing a blank as to what to update everyone on… things have been going great so far, our train ride to Seattle was five hours late pulling into the station – we were dropped off around 4 in the morning with our bikes wrapped up in boxes and no place to sleep. Amanda took a nap on the station benches while I rebuilt/ re-packed our bikes.

Then it was all downhill from there – wait, make that all downhill after breakfast at a small diner called Mimi’s [I think] on the corner of Denny and 1st… our pancakes with over-easy eggs, sausage and bacon was heaven on earth – but right after that, that’s when things got crazy. To sum up the experience – Washington is full of jerks who either a) can’t stand sharing their shoulder-less roads, or b) have a natural hatred for bicyclist… it’s a toss up.

But there was John, we met John at a gas station in Federal Way and ended up talking for an hour about more bicycler-friendly routes and the big annual Seattle to Portland ride… John has done it every year for the last ten years – he seemed very dedicated and nice and eager to help us crazy-young-kids.


Well, I’ve got to be going – I know this is short but it’s almost 3 o’clock and I’ve got to get something to eat before hitting the roads again, the last day and half have been fairly easy on us [with the exception of one 752 foot climb we encountered yesterday] but tonight we are in for some much-more challenging hills/ mountains… both our knees have been a bit “creaky”, so hopefully we don’t overdue it.

On a closing note – I’m listening to ‘Good Feeling’ by the Violent Femmes while I’m writing this… it’s been days since I’ve really listened to anything but waves and wind – if you have this song, I highly recommend you put it on, turn it up, lay down and close your eyes… [ahhh] well, “break time” is over for me – wish us luck, “San Francisco here we come”.