Day 67 Corvallis, OR to Tillamook, OR

A 4AM wake up greeted us this morning, as we headed out for what we knew would be a difficult day.  Not because of climbing, not because it was particularly long or hot, but because we knew the roads would be very dangerous today.  We had talked to several bike shops in the area as well as Pastor Jerry from tonight's host in Tillamook, and it seemed like while we were taking the safest road possible, even that road wasn't so great.  A lot of blind turns covered up by trees with trucks moving up and down the eastern coast of Oregon.

Elevation Profile for today... looks a lot tougher than it actually is (see scale to the left)

My riding group was moving relatively slowly, but after the first water stop we were fortunate enough to have a bike path, even if only for five or six miles.  Compared to riding on a busy highway, riding on bike paths is such a different experience and much more enjoyable.

Speaking of avoiding highways, my group also managed to avoid some parts of a busy highway by taking a parallel back road, and it's actually remarkable how different the landscape can look when you're on a smaller road.  The highways are often built on the flatter parts of the land, so when you ride on them you don't get to see much besides the road and trees.  When you're on back roads that are built over the land rather than through it, you feel the contour of the land so much more and it's so much more picturesque and beautiful.

View from back road.  NOT pictured, view from highway (because it wasn't worth it)

Our second water stop was at a winery actually... where we obviously sampled amazing Oregon chardonnays and pignot noirs before heading back on the road.

Ok just kidding, no wine during the ride.  No Tour de Franzia

I actually had my first real crash from a bicycle today.  Fortunately everything turned out just fine (just a minor cut on my hand), but it could have been very dangerous.  As we approached a narrow bridge, it looked like there was a small ramp that we could take onto the sidewalk that crossed the bridge.  Since there was no shoulder, I thought that would be the safest option.  I approached the bridge pretty quickly, but once I was within two feet or so of the bridge (i.e. too late to stop), I realized that the so called ramp actually had a really big lip... oops.  Since I couldn't stop, and I was afraid of going onto the road (didn't have time to check for cars and there was zero shoulder), I brilliantly decided to bunny hop it.  Because I'm such a great rider I cleared the lip by an entire foot... just kidding, I clipped the lip and crashed into the guard rail.  Fortunately, I somehow managed to catch myself on the guard rail and landed entirely in the sidewalk.  My bike fell about a foot into the road, but thankfully nothing came of it.  I knew I was fine the second I fell, but I think my teammates (who didn't know exactly what had happened obviously) were quite startled (reasonably so).  My bike did have the saddle twisted, the stem twisted, and handlebar bent, but even though all of those problems sound so serious and so bad, they are actually all minor issues that I fixed as soon as we crossed walking over the bridge.

A bit embarrassing but I suppose everyone needs one good fall story and now I have mine...  My only regret is that we have no video or photos of the event *sigh*...

Unfortunately soon after the crash, we received a team message saying that we would pull off the road and shuttle for the rest of the day, because the roads were so dangerous up ahead.  After being picked up by the water van we drove up the road we would have biked on, and it wasn't hard at all to see why.  The roads had no shoulder at all, but plenty of blind turns covered by trees and a lot of logging trucks... which are scary when you're in a car, but terrifying when you're on a bicycle.

Despite the disappointment that we would have to shuttle yet again, we were all in pretty good spirits because we knew that the hosts in Tillamook, the St. Albans Episcopal Church, would be great (this is the host of the mythical Pastor Jerry).  Once we got there, it wasn't hard to see why so many 4K Alums love Tillamook.  Actually, there was something on the wall in the church basement that seemed to say it all:

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.

That short verse seems to capture at least a part of what 4K has shown me, that there are so many people out there who are willing to take in strangers and show them kindness.

Aside from the lovely quote, there was also freshly brewed beer and root beer and a ton of snacks, which helped us quickly forget the fact that we had to shuttle.

Also waiting for us at the church was a ton of mail, including perhaps most importantly, a replacement back rim for Jamie's bike!  Jamie's dad, Bob Roberts, is planning on riding her bike with us tomorrow to the ocean, and Bradley Allen the great alum / bike guru from Boulder was kind enough to purchase one himself and donate it to us.

Mmm... Shimano rim... *drooling*... thanks Bradley 

Ok so we technically bike all the way to Tillamook, but after we shuttled we went back out to the sign for pics

During a great dinner of so many delicious dishes that the church put on, we had the nice surprise of Brock Yetso (CEO of Ulman) show up with a delivery of bikes for the Jamie's family (who will be biking with us tomorrow), as well as Joanna's hand cycle (she broke her angle.... remember?).

Tonight we are being hosted by Mike Randall and his sister Nancy Randall, as we have homestays.  Actually Mike offered to take me and Brady to see the Pacific ocean, but let's just say we politely declined (as much as possible), only because we want to save seeing the ocean until tomorrow, when we will be dipping our front tires into the Pacific.

After talking to Mike and Nancy about our ride and just the amazing adventures we had, I have to say one of the highlights of this recent leg, of the whole trip, was trying Mike's very very ripe and just off the vine cherry tomatoes.  I don't think I've ever had tomatoes that sweet... there was actually a bowl of candy next to the tomatoes and I ended up eating just the tomatoes because they were so good.  Fortunately for me, Brady doesn't like tomatoes so more for me... Thanks to Mike and Nancy for welcoming us into their homes!  Also the tomatoes... so good...