Sept 19th- down day
I woke up early, made the coffee and took off for a walk on the beach. I love mornings on the beach. No one is up yet, the sun desperately trying to peek through the clouds, the wind is low and the sand is flat. No footprints, only my own. The energy in the mornings is wonderful, and clearing for me.
I saw a couple riding their bikes and thought that would be a good idea, so I walked back to camp to get mine. I ate a little breakfast, strapped my yoga mat on the back and took off. At first it was great, but as the morning lingered on the compact sand that made riding possible disappeared so, I hopped off and started walking back. I realized that I had made it pretty far and there weren’t people to be seen. I found a big log to prop my bike on and decided to pop my ear buds in and just move my body. Something I used to regularly do, but now don't seem to have the time or the space to do it. Yoga and dancing are the only times I really get to feel like I am in the “flow state” my body and mind become one. Not thoughts, just movement and breath. As I danced the sun started to break out of the top of the clouds and warm me up. I thought it would be a great, very freeing feeling to go topless. I did. And it was.
I started to see people emerge from the fog and the sun had hidden itself again behind some clouds so I put my layers back on and hit the yoga mat. I was concerned and surprised at how much my knee hurt doing yoga, it was painful to engage my quads and it was painful to even put pressure on it. I modified my movements to alleviate the pain I was feeling and still tried to enjoy that moment in my body.
I packed up and headed back to camp because Josh was supposed to be meeting me fairly soon. I am anxious about seeing him since the boundaries between us are still a bit grey. I hit a quick cold shower and did some writing before he pulled up. He is one of my most favorite people and a man who knows the real me, the good parts and the ugly parts and chooses to love me anyway.
When he arrived we had a lovely embrace, and most of my anxiety about seeing him melted away. We got Rickles and Doodle out of the tent (It had been drizzling on and off all morning) to say hi. Dad said he would hang back with the dogs so Josh and I could spend some time together. (Thank you dad!) We drove to Tillamook and had lunch at a place called Rendezvous Bar and Grill. Our server was a total wreck but the chicken soup and the Sriracha candied bacon were amazing. We caught each other up on life and events that had unfolded since we last saw each other several months ago.
The rain picked up again while we were eating but seemed to stall enough for us to hit a quick hike. We found the trail head after being lost and having to turn around. We went to Munson falls. We got to the point where you could see it, but the sign said “trail closed.” We both knew we were not stopping there and proceed around the sign without missing a step. Shortly after passing the sign we figured out why it was closed. Massive trees had fallen all over the train and into the stream. We proceeded carefully on the slippery old wood. Not careful enough, I slipped and fell hitting my hand and face, landing in an awkward position on my belly. I managed to roll over but was stuck and couldn’t get myself up, partly from laughing and partly from having zero traction. Josh laughed at me, as he should have and helped me out of my precarious position. We went a little further to peek again at the massive falls. We decided it wasn’t worth going much further and the rain was rolling back in so we turned around. We navigated back over the old land slide and back to the trail where we jogged out.
After our hike we decided to drive down to Kiwanda Cape and check out the sand dune. It is a 300ft sand dune that makes the cape. Again the weather broke long enough for us to enjoy our destination. And of course we had to climb it! We raced for about 20 feet, if you have ever ran in soft sand you will understand why. We laughed and poked fun at each other the whole way up. At the last minute before reaching the top, I grabbed his waistband and pulled him back as I ran forward, beating him to the top. The view was stunning, waves crashing, tide pools and crazy sand stone rock sculptures. We wandered around to the different viewpoints and to my anxiety surprise enjoyed each other's company as naturally as ever.
After running down the hill, putting our shoes back on we headed back to the car, just before the rain started. . . again. I needed to get some food for Dad, since that was the deal. He stays with the dogs, and I bring him food. I tried to find him spaghetti because I know he loves it, but didn’t have much luck and opted for pizza instead. We had a beer and more laughs while we waited. Drove back to the campsite and had to sit in the car to wait out the rain. I thought dad would be in the tent, but he was nowhere to be found. He must be at the beach with the dogs. So once the rain stopped, I grabbed my speaker and we went down. He was easy to find. He and both the dogs were soaked. They just waited out the rain on the beach.
Josh and I walked far enough down not to be near anyone, clicked on the speaker and danced zouk as the sun set. It was awkward dancing in sand and in several layers of clothing but it felt so good to dance again. Our first “date” was to a dance class a few years back. It’s fun to see how far we have come, not only as dancers but as friends, lovers and people. He decided that it would be nice to have a fire since everyone was cold and wet. We went on a wild chase for some wood. Everyone sells it on the roadside: you just pull in, take what you want, put money in the pay box and drive off. We finally found a seller a few miles up the road from camp. Being that it had been pouring for the last two days, I questioned how dry it was, even if it was in a little covered hut. Josh loves to build fires, but everything was so wet. We had to use my shoe box and some paper from the car to get anything going. He tried and tried for about an hour and the wood just wouldn’t catch. His pass was only until 10pm and him not being a rule breaker decided it was time to throw in the towel. It was cold so I put on my unicorn onesie and walked him to his car. We kissed good night, had another beautiful embrace, said our “I love yous" and he got in his car and drove away. I walked back to camp dressed as a unicorn feeling a bit sad he was gone with no future plans to see each other anytime soon. But I also felt happy, fulfilled and grateful to have such a wonderful person in my life. And hope, that despite what our futures hold, that he will remain in it.
Sept 20th- Cape Kiwanda to Beverly Hills state park
Dad and I decide to make a few small changes to our itinerary for my body and his sanity. This will require more driving than my ego likes. But will also allow for more down time and exploration. We did our morning coffee on the beach this morning since we don’t have to pack up and rush out of the camp site. We hit a little two mile hike just up the hill from our site called Cape Lookout. I want to go back and hit those trails again. We drove over a massive hill that my knees were not sad about missing, and parked at Cape Kiwanda. I ride again, after a couple of days rest my knee feels much better. I don’t want to push it by riding the 50+ miles so I opt for 25. We set our meeting point and I pedal on, leaving him to explore the sand dune.
Tuesday 21st- Cape Perpetua to Jessie M Honeyman 35ish miles.
Today was supposed to be a 60 mile day. I am not sad about it being only 30. I jumped in the truck with dad and we hit the Yaquina lighthouse for a nice little walk and some silly pictures. We were stoked that the Parks Pass got us for free. After the lighthouse, we hit Cape Perpetua lookout, per Bradley’s suggestion. It was well worth the 2-mile twisty road up the mountain. I am not sure I would have made this one on my bike. The grade was pretty steep. I did want to bomb down it, though. The walk at the top and the views were beautiful.
After our morning walk/adventure I took the bike off the rack and bombed down the hill back to 101. The coastal ride from Yachats to the campground was absolutely stunning. Shoulders dropped off at times and there was a bit of traffic but the views kept my mind happy. I was not impressed with Florence and tried to stop at a bike shop that ended up being “bikes and guitars,” but it was closed.
I pedaled into the site to see dad cooking some noodles and shrimp. I am not much of a Rice-a-Roni fan, but this shit was delicious. He had bought some beer and a few supplies before hitting camp. Which I was stoked on because the last 5 miles of every ride consist of me obsessing over food and beer.
Bradley was supposed to meet up with us earlier in the evening but due to his mothers dryer quitting and a sewage back up, he was running a bit behind. I decided to shower and and as I was changing, I heard a weird noise coming from under my dad's truck. I climbed in to find that he had left the keys turned and now the battery was dead. We opened the hood to investigate the noise still coming from a dead truck to find it was coming from the fuse box. With the key off the noise continues with the key turned it stopped. We figured it was dead already so what difference does it make? But dad does what he does best and went to talk with strangers. The campsite across from us said they would come jump us after they had dinner. Once she was jumped the noise stopped. We hope it does not return.
Bradley and his Mother Kim rolled up about 7:30pm, He unloaded several grocery bags, his gear and his bike. I was super stoked to have some company for the next few days. We put stuff away, set up his tent and had a few beers and a late night of talking.
Sept 22nd- First day with company! Reedsport to Sunset Bay Sate Park
We woke up and made eggs and bacon this morning. Packed up the truck a bit differently since we now had an extra person and gear. He sat up front with Doodle, I squeezed in the back with Liko. We rode about 40 of the 54.9 miles. Dad dropped us off around Reedsport in a parking lot. We unloaded, geared up starting our ride with a nice incline. Today's ride was in and out of cities and towns, it was an ugly ride, relatively speaking, with restless traffic and garbage shoulders. Having someone to watch my bike made it easier to stop off at stores. We were looking for some high-visibility vests, a flashy light and a pair of clear glasses for me to wear on cloudy days since the dust and dirt from passing cars was getting in my eyes without my shades on.
We took about an hour lunch break at the war memorial right before a large bridge. We ate, chatted, peed and laid in the grass the previous late night had caught up with us both. After our long break we pedaled over the bridge into the Bay Area, getting heckled twice to “get the fuck off the road.” Which I thought was odd, A) because I hadn’t really been heckled besides few unwanted honks here and B) the hecklers were on the other side of the road, we weren’t even impeding them. A school bus approached from behind and put on his flashers, making it illegal for motorists to pass, and gave us plenty of room to pedal safely across the length of the bridge. Thank you, school bus driver!
We pulled over so I could snap a picture and we could fill water bottles. As we were loading back up I glanced across the street to see a bike shop. We made our way over, Bradley ogled all the vintage cycles, and I asked about vests and flashy lights. I bought a light and water bottle cage. We went outside and Bradley immediately installed the cage and we clipped the light on the back of my bike. I attached the freshly filled bottle and we were on the road again. We were told to go to Empire Mercantile as they might have vests. We ended up taking a wrong turn but finding a Natural Food store, I wanted some natural pain killer anyway, because I didn’t think the amount of ibuprofen I was consuming was something I should continue. We pedaled up some big hills to put us back on track. We found a hardware store and I got some clear glasses. By chance we found the mercantile, and I bought 2 double X high visibility vests, that was the smallest size they had. We laughed as we put them on because we were both drowning in them.
Once out of Coos Bay, things started to get pretty again. We rolled into camp just as dad was headed out to get some service to call us, we had taken a bit longer with the extra stops and slight side trip. He had made some food which we devoured and immediately started to make more. We had dinner and showers and were all pretty beat, and we headed to bed, only to be woken up by raccoons opening our food bins in the middle of the night. DAMN COONS and their tiny hands!
Sept 23rd- Bandon to Humbug State park
We did the regular morning rituals and got dropped near Face Rock View point. Today's route took us away from the coast and inland a bit. It had its moments of beauty but nothing to write home about. We took a long lunch break: those are also a bit nicer with company.
Once we turned back toward the coast at Port Orford, things got a bit prettier. We stopped at one of the lookouts with some beautiful haystack rocks towering in the water, we read the large standing placard, which pissed me off. The first sentence said “this is dedicated to the indigenous peoples of this land” and then went on to tell the story of, you guessed it, a white male and the murder of those indigenous peoples. They named the haystack rock “Battle Rock,” all of which I found utterly disgusting and white-washed. I rode the rest of the way to the campground thinking of how I could get it changed.
We found dad at camp, sitting in his chair enjoying a patch of sunlight sneaking through the trees.
I was running low on dog food and a few other essentials so we unloaded, drank a beer and got to take the truck into Port Orford, which we had just pedaled through, on the condition we brought something good to eat back for dad. We hit the grocery store, and a liquor store, had to go back to the grocery store for the dog food I had forgotten and then we hit a fish and chips shop for pops. We ordered a beer and chatted like old friends while we waited for the order.
We got back to camp and I started cooking burgers, and Bradley hit the shower. Noah called and we had enough service to FaceTime with the kids. I miss them dearly. They change so much every time I see them. Bradley returned squeaky clean and tagged me out of cooking. We ate our burgers and salad quickly so we could make the walk down to the beach for sunset. My dad had already made the hike down earlier but was stoked to go again, and once we got there I could see why. We passed under a bridge where a freshwater stream met the ocean and the sharp sides of the mountains dove into the sand and rocks around us. There were only a few other people on the beach and the colors were a stunning pastel palette contrasted with dark silhouettes. This was one of my favorite beaches so far. After sunset, I took a lovely hot shower in a clean bathroom and the boys made a fire, which all of us nearly fell asleep by before crawling into our respective dwellings.
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