cycling
Bike Tour Grub
July 27, 2010 - 4:43pm | CristyOn our bike tour we needed calories and this was a great justification for eating whatever we wanted. Beer. Cinnamon rolls. Beer. Seafood.
We had decided that we would not even attempt to eat our "largely vegan diet" on the road which was smart. There were times when even vegetarian options were few and far between and making do with the vegan options from a convenience store would not have sustained us. I am aware that French Fries can be vegan, but I don't think French Fries and Cokes is the diet recommended by cycling champions. There were a few times that I scoured the menu for a popular item that was ordered a lot--meaning food turnover and freshness in the kitchen-- and hopefully avoiding stuff that had been moldering in the walk-in all week. Just thinking it through to figure what would be least likely to cause food poisoning. In those cases, all dietary restrictions rules are out the window. Safety first, people, safety first.
We started out eating breakfast and lunch in restaurants. But, it took too long, cost too much and was too heavy. It made for stomach aches and leaden legs. So, we started eating smaller meals and snacks all day and then going out to dinner once we stopped for the day and got settled. We started carrying cereal with us and buying milk when we hit town since it seems that even the smallest, saddest motels have refrigerators in the room. We would stop for a second breakfast around 11am and get the gooiest, most decadent pastry we could find. (We really miss being able to eat pastries.) We made sure to always have food with us for those afternoon carb rich snacks like bagels with peanut butter and honey, Lara Bars, raisins and almonds. We would hit town around 4pm, get settled and search out the best dinner option that included beer. After a day on the road, a beer tastes pretty darn good. And, you have totally earned it even accounting for your giant cinnamon roll.
Some culinary highlights: delicious steamed mussels at Toby's Bar in Coupeville, WA; a free potato pancake in Lincoln City, OR; pan fried geoduck in Caste Rock, WA; berry pie after the ferry ride into Oregon; berry pancakes across from the Trees of Mystery in CA; and a berry milkshake in Fort Dick, CA.
Craft twist: you can illustrate any food story with felt/knitted foods. Crazy!
California Dreaming
July 2, 2010 - 10:53pm | Cristy
Dagwood riding through the redwoods.
Riding through the redwoods is fantastic. While there are times when sharing the road is hard simply because there is no shoulder and nowhere to go, there are those peaceful quiet moments where it is just you on your bike. Sunlight coming through the trees, bird song, a cool breeze. Nice.
Cristy in the redwoods
Happy day off at the beach!
Today we took a day or R&R in Westport to enjoy the beach. Yesterday was a tough one-- 54 miles with lots of climbing. We started in the morning at an elevation of about 400 feet and had to get over a pass of 1800 feet. So a day of rolling hills all taking you higher and higher until you reach the final climb over the big pass, followed by another decent hill that totally makes you ready for a beer. But hey, that was the highest elevation we have to get over!
Westport is a quiet town with a funky community market and a kind of fancy-pants hotel/pub. We recommend the Westport Inn which is only 6 rooms, family run and includes a breakfast of coffee, toast and Otto's homemade jams. The jam is great but Otto's hospitality makes the place special. It is really like staying at someone's house and having breakfast in their living room!
Only a few more days of riding and we are in San Francisco! Yippee!
Greetings from the Oregon Coast
June 23, 2010 - 5:02pm | Cristy 
It's not raining and I am starting to get the hang of this!
We are a little more than halfway! I can't believe it. I get up each day and ride down the coast, and am up to 50 mile days. That I can get out there and do the hills and do long days--cool! It feels good to be going along and just ticking off the miles. There are things I like: great views at the top of a hill, fast downhills with a smooth shoulder, some sun/some clouds for the not too hot rides. There are some things that are not as cool: heavy traffic, pot holes and huge bumps, people yelling from pick-up trucks, weird narrow bridges, and tunnels (not a fan!) There are some things that are downright scary: log trucks, passing cars coming at you on narrow roads, ocean cliffs with no guard rails!
I wrestled the camera from Dagwood for a photo of him.
We have not yet seen any whales. Dagwood may demand a rebate of some sort if Oregon fails to produce its highly promoted whales.
Tomorrow we shoot for a 60 mile ride from Bandon to GoldBeach. Pray for tailwinds!
Update from the Road
June 12, 2010 - 11:32pm | Cristy
We are now 332 miles into our tour. I would like to go on and on about something: positive mental attitudes, mastering hill anxiety, how being on the road is liberating, etc. These are all things on my mind but I am tired. This is hard. You really have to keep your focus and keep your mind right. Worrying about hills in advance is counter-productive and really un-Zen. Being in the moment is the best thing to do and the best part of being on the road.
And, June 11th was the 6 month anniversary of my neck dissection and I spent it cycling through Washington catching glimpses of Mt. Rainier and watching a pair of eagles flying together over a meadow.
Biking around Puget Sound
June 7, 2010 - 10:04am | Cristy
We are on the road! Getting out of Canada was not too scenic but biking through the border was interesting. We basically got personal service and did not even have to get in line! We biked through Bellingham but can't prove it as the camera battery was low. Once we left Bellingham and started biking around Puget Sound things have been gorgeous, if a bit rainy. We camped outside of Anacortes with a tame deer that came begging, squirrels that tried to get into the food and loud ravens.
Washington Park in Anacortes
We stopped in Coupeville, second oldest town in Washington, and had fresh mussels at Toby's, an old tavern filled with moose heads, skulls and all sorts of old stuff.
Deception Pass
Biking around Stanley Park
June 1, 2010 - 8:15am | Cristy
photo by Dagwood
After Dagwood put the bikes back together, it seemed that a test ride was in order. Fortunately, our hotel is really close to the seawall and we just rode a few blocks and were down by the water. It was good to be out on the bikes in the sea air. The seawall path is fantastic and soon takes you into Stanley Park. You are right by downtown but riding along beaches full of herons, cormorants, gulls, and ducks. Gorgeous.
I got this blurry action shot of the blue heron. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the racoon that ran out in front of me! A wet, bedraggled racoon jumps up from the beach into the bike path and kind of stops, looks around and then realizes bikes are coming. But he can't decide where to go-- back to the beach, stay in the middle of the bike path? He kind of dances around for a minute but finally makes a break for the opposite side of the path and jumps into the tall grass. I have never seen a racoon at the beach before.
Ready, Set, GO!
May 28, 2010 - 10:12am | Cristy
Downtown Dallas map (no,we are not going to Dallas)
Nervousness is setting in. We are packed and ready to go. This time tomorrow we will be in the air on the way to Vancouver! Whew. Maybe I will need something to occupy my time not spent pedaling, camp cooking, or staring into the beautiful scenery. I was thinking about doing some kind of embroidered piece about the bike tour. It might be like a sampler, kind of a loose collection of things held together by a border or done in some of kind of loose template (like squares). There are a lot of inspiring embroidered maps as well. Hmm. I will pack some fabric and floss and we shall see what happens!
It will most likely not be as detailed as these!
Long Isle Land by H. Adams, 1938 (George Glazer Gallery)
Map Sampler (unfinished), Sarah Ann Drayton, 1805
The bikeses are boxed
May 26, 2010 - 6:29pm | MelvixWell, that wasn't really what I would call easy. Took all day. Blood, sweat and tears (whining, anyway) were involved. No pictures, sorry.
Highlights:
- Getting done.
Lowlights:
- All other phases of the process. Especially the parts where the bikes wouldn't fit into the boxes.
Two Wheel Drive was very helpful and I wish I had gone there initially. I got the boxes at Fat Tire, but the bike-packing widgetry they gave me there was incomplete because I didn't know what to ask for. The guy at Two Wheel just let me dig through their big bucket of widgets and scurry off with what I needed.
I also found these helpful:
and
Boxing Your Bicycle (adventurecycling.org)
and
How to Box a Bike (jimforeman.com)
Now the health and safety of our bikes is in the hands of US Airways. This end up, people. Clearly marked.
Bike tour 2010: a rambling, disjointed prologue
May 25, 2010 - 4:10pm | MelvixCristy and I are getting ready to go on a nice, long bike tour. Vancouver, BC to San Francisco. We're at t-minus three days until liftoff.
Let's see. We're packed, for the most part. We've spent a lot of time packing. A lot. We packed, then repacked, got rid of two bags, repacked, got rid of a few more things. I wouldn't be surprised if we repacked again. We're that thorough. We're also that adverse to extra weight.
We're taking care of little last-minute things now. Making copies of the maps, making sure we have addresses to send postcards, worrying. That sort of thing. The last big thing to be done is packing up the bikes, which I'm planning to do tomorrow. I find this to be the least appealing part of the whole affaor, mainly because I'm afraid that our bicycles will suffer as a result of my ineptitude. But I have lots of tape, if not courage.
This will be my second tour, Cristy's first. We've spent the last 4 months or so training. We're ready.
So the route. It's the first three legs of the standard north-to-south Pacific Coast route, cartogrified and sanctified by the Adventure Cycling Association. Approximately 1200 miles. Some hills. Lots of ocean views, I imagine. I'm pretty excited, but I think Cristy is more excited than I am. In fact I know she is. But she isn't responsible for packing the bikes, so that might have something to do with it.
The plan is to chart our progress here on this venerable blog as we roll along. Will we do this every day, filling you in on the excruciating details of our saddlesores? No, we will not. I promise. Will we post lots of pictures of the ocean? Probably. Will we get lazy and post Youtube videos of sneezing pandas? Possibly. Will we brag about how we've become masters of MSR whisperlite stove operation? Absolutely.
Maybe tomorrow some bike packing photos, if I am not crying too hard to hold the camera steady.
Cycling in the Netherlands...in the 50s
May 17, 2010 - 10:57am | CristyThere is a popular time lapsed video of cycling rush hour in Utrecht, Netherlands circa April 2010. And it is cool to watch and makes you think. However your mind works: carbon footprints, American car culture, let's move to the Netherlands, etc.
This video of cycling in the 1950s is a nice companion to the current bicyle rush hour piece. No doubt in my mind that cycling is an integral part of Dutch society and culture. I loved seeing all the baby baskets, the workmen going about their trades by bike, and cycling in your wooden shoes!
