Monday October 5th Day 48
We left Seattle, not before getting lots of free Via!(Starbucks instant coffee.) We rode 84 miles to Yelm, or near Yelm to stay with Barb(Spokane)'s sister Jennifer and her kids Emily and Nolan. We almost rode a little in the dark, we rode just about as long as we could have, we cranked out 16 miles an hour for one hour. We had pizza and met all Jennifer's cats, got cozy and warm and she made us little treat bags and PB&J sandwhiches!
Tuesday October 6th Day 49
We rode 75 miles from Yelm to Castlerock. We are following the STP route, thats 'Seattle to Portland', an annual ride. It was an easy enough day, pretty moss covered trees like an enchanted forest. A little cool for my taste I wasnt looking forward to camping. The STP map said there was camping in Castlerock but there must have been during the ride, like a set up at the highschool. At the bar we stopped at for help we met Joe and he sent us to his house to shower and stay in his RV. It had a very comfortable bed, we watched two and a half men with his brother and they had a tiny four week old puppy to play with.
Wednesday October 7th-Saturday October 10th Day 50-53
Wahoo, Portland! Jude, a friend of Matt and Cindy(who we stayed iwth in Seattle) met us about 6 miles out and rode us over to her house. We fot settled in and ate at a vegetarian type resturant. Her roomates Pancho, Heather and Niel were the humans and Iggy dog, and George the cat. They were all fantastic to us for the next few days. We went to Powells which is a five story one city block used and new bookstore which was cool. We did a little clothes shopping, Billy sold his pants and got ones that fit him...hes getting skinny...maybe too skinny. Jude tuned up our bikes, she builds wheels, fixed my wheel, gave us t shirts of her company, Epic Wheel Works and Billy put our new chains on! We ate like a dozen donuts each, while not biking in Portland. Fantastic, sugary donuts. We went to one shop, VooDoo Donuts, which is a punk rock donut shop with vulgar names for their amazing donuts. I got a sticker from the that says 'I GOT VD IN PORTLAND' haha.
Sunday October 11th Day 54
We tried to leave Portland. Before we left Judes house Billy had his first flat tire. We rode over to Dan and Anonas and we were going to just have coffee. We decided to get donuts too. It was already noon and we were leaving their house and Billys tire was flat again. The valve was cracked. So we decided to stay. We went and saw the movie the Invention of Lying. It was awful. Dont ever see it. We watched a bit of the office and ate ice cream.
Monday October 12th Day 55
80 miles today, no rain!!! We were going to go to Buena Vista but when we got there the ferry was closed so we had to go nine miles to Jefferson. We stopped at a cafe and met the owners who were very nice and we had pumpking pie and coffee. The sherriff deputy told us to camp under the bridge so we took our bikes down there and camped under the bridge like trolls! We then realized the other bridge next to our bridge was an active train track, and it was loud.
Tuesday October 13th Day 56
We made it to Cottage Grove! It was 78 miles. It drizzled on and off all day, it was drizzling when we woke up. When I came upon Billy at our rest stop after the first 20 or so miles I found him with a rim in one hand and tire/tube next to him. Another flat? Nope, he mysteriously bent two spokes and had to replace them. We were making great time having a great day but leaving Eugene we got a little lost, or more confused and unsure which was stressful and then it rained, not drizzled. It was another 21 miles to Cottage Grove where we knew a hot meal and warm hotel bed was waiting for us..thank you Bill and Jane! When we arrived(wet) it was great, the place was beautifyl, lots of gardens we even had a little garden patio out our back door. The dinner(which was included) would have cost us $73. WOW! And it was good, so was the buffet breakfast.
Wednesday October 14th Day 57
Rode just 40 miles to Elkton. It rained on and off and we had a bit of a head wind. The ride was pretty, lots of banana slugs on the side of the road, they are the size and girth of my middle finger. We went through a tunnel on hwy 38 where you pressed a button and a sign on top flashed and said bicyclist in tunnel, 30mph and it turned lights on in the tunnel for us. We sat at a cafe and townspeople directed us to Joan and Jeff, Surly(thats the type of bikes we have)fans, bike commuters and tourists who welcomed us into their home. Which is actully three houses, one with a kitchen and living room, one bathroom and one bedroom with a little stone bath in between! They fed us pizza and they even had a bike rack in the front of their house!
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