One of our mascots eagerly awaits our departure as we do the last packing before leaving Seattle and heading for Gig Harbor on the morning of October 10th, 2007
We sure do look ready to go! Of course, it's now 1pm, two hours after we'd hoped to depart.
One last stop by our favorite bicycle shop to have them true and tension Trevor's rear wheel
And...we're off! We finally hit the road around 3pm.
Down the Interurban trail we go.
This is Trev's Asian pose, if you don't understand, you'll have to ask him.
Hey guys, guess what! You can get two tacos for only $0.99!
So tasty, so dirty
We arrived! Shortly before 9pm, with good friends and warm food waiting for us. Thank you Mom and Tom for your amazing food and hospitality!
We were nearly exhausted, but had just enough energy to push out a few three-man push-ups.
During the 70 mile ride to Gig Harbor, we had many opportunities to ponder the weight of our gear, and decided that a serious re-packing was in order.
There was also a good bit of final prep work to be done on the bicycles, so we took a day in Gig Harbor to get it all done.
Mom and Tom, you are amazing conduits of love to me. Thank you for your incredible example.
And...we're off again! A day later and many pounds lighter,
I enjoy my goggles so very much!
Our friends Kelsey and Megan came down to camp with us for our first night, about ten miles south of Matlock, WA. That night, while enjoying the wonderful food that our wonderful friends brought for us, I sliced my thumb with a utility knife. If you´re squeamish, I don't recommend you look closely at the next series of pictures.
I was actually preparing a stick for roasting sausages over the fire, and decided I wanted to put a fork in the end of the stick. Carelessly, I cut toward myself, and as the knife slipped, it slid right through the pad of my thumb.
The doctor was able to completely numb my thumb, which I really appreciated. The injections of anesthetic did hurt, but were well worth it, in my opinion.
Man, I really gashed that thing.
Ready for stitching
There were some fat balls poking out a little, and the doctor was nice enough to push them back in for me. It's precious biking fuel!
Almost there...
Tadaaa!
I give the Aberdeen E.R. two thumbs up!
Thank you, Meg and Kelsey, for coming down and bringing great food and bike supplies, and thank you Kelsey for driving me to the ER! And, a bit after noon...we're off again!
Brandon showed us around Raymond, WA and told us the location of an awesome campsite
A campsite to which we arrived shortly before dark.
Trev journals around the morning fire
Good morning!
If we don't feed the bears, they get grumpy...
Giddy-up, Froggy!
The long, slow stretch toward Seaside
You can see the over three mile long Astoria bridge in the distance
Stretching by the warm fire at Sharon and Dennis' place. Dennis made fried chicken for us that evening, it was amazing. Thanks to both of you for taking us in, and thank you Cindy for asking them for us!
Dennis gave us a lift from Seaside to Tillamook! We regained a day thank to his generosity, and set off with renewed hope and vigor toward Newport, WA.
Froggie poses for the sake of his posterity
James is helping with a little route advice
Sharon and Dennis gave us a much appreciated cannister of pub-mix.
Food can seem scarce on the road. It's amazing how, even among the incredible abundance that we are experiencing, the instinct to hoard and guard food can be so strong.
Hunger and fatigue strike a mere eleven miles from Tillamook
Froggy visits scenic and historic spots on the coast
What happened to froggie?
The coast has been far more beautiful than I imagined. It really is awesome, the things God has made.
Trevor Hendrickson, formerly a QFC employee, and we can't emphasize the formerly enough.
Back on the bikes!
It can be difficult to properly operate a camera while riding a bicycle. Sometimes the mistakes I make are interesting enough to not be deleted.
We failed to capture any pictures of the side-trip we took in search of the pot of gold, but after some brief pouring of rain, the rainbows were beautiful.
Jimmy's fond of candy bars. How else can you get 250 calories for a quarter?
After sheltering under the trees during a brief downpour, inspiration strikes
Time for snacks on the beach
Peanut-butter, the bicicle tourers Ketchup. It goes on everything.
yummy...
When you pack up wet, you've got to let your stuff dry sometime. Trevor's Grandpa had the perfect spot for us.
Yay, I found the way out!
The lovely Carol in her lovely flower shop. The generosity of Carol and her husband was truly amazing. They're the ones who subjected us to the horrors of the hot-tub, along with wonderful pizza and beer. Thank you both, so very much!
We like to pause after a half-hour or so of riding to stretch a bit
And then we ride on, toward Reedsport, OR
Pausing to appreciate the pounding surf
And, of course, show Jimmy around
Hwy 101 follows right along the coast through most of Oregon, and the views are incredible
Night time is food time.
Adventures in camp cookery
and eatery
We were quite happy to have chosen this day-use picnic shelter as our sleeping spot when large branches were being blown down from trees in the morning.
We're sitting on the shore of a lake this night, enjoying spice-tea and Carols brownies
We laugh as Trev ponders the meaning of the comments his outfit inspired the ranger to make
After biking into the wind for 25 miles, we were ready for the warm shelter of a yurt, and boy was it a good idea. The wind and rain came in force that night.
And the next day, we bike on
And on
and up
and all around. What you don't get to see is that 20 minutes after this picture was taken we were descending in a downpour of rain and hail. Later that evening, we saw a sign advertising a spaghetti feed and followed our stomachs to the Langloise Lions Club. They were warm, welcoming, and wildly hospitable. We had more than our fill of spaghetti and pastries. They even let us camp behind their building.
More hail dusts the ground the next morning
Trev masks his pain well. What you don't see, is that he's well into passing a kidney stone, and is unable to partake of maté, scones, or apple pie.
Rain dumping clouds roll through to create dramatic skies as we assess Trev's condition
Assessment complete. Trev didn't want to call 911, so I knocked on some doors. At the second house I tried, a gentlemen named Alfred decided to give us a ride, despite his own ailments and dubious wife. I had a great time hearing about his 35 years of missions work in Japan on the way.
To the ER! Tears were practically streaming down Trevor's face when we arrived, but after some drugs and a CT scan, he was feeling quite a bit better. Alfred wasn't able to stay the entire time, so, on Trev's insistance that he was fine did not want to spend money on a cab, we hitched a ride back to the Lion's club.
While Trev and I were at the hospital, one of the ladies we'd met the previous night, Jean, decided that she wanted to invite us to stay in her home for the evening. She'd heard about Trevor's visit to the hospital and wanted to give him a warm place to recover. Her neighbor Loretta made soup for us, and we had a great time. Fer and I get a little lost riding up the hill to Jean's house, but the sunset was beautiful.
Thank you Jean and Al!
The weather seems to be getting better
Trevor's feeling much better already
Amazingly, the day after Trevor's ER visit we rode over 60mi for the first time since our ride from Seattle to Gig Harbor, and still had time to visit the beach
Tucking our bikes into bed is important, lest they feel neglected
Hello gargantuan trees, big hills, and sunny weather
Big climbs, mean big descents :)
Woohoo!
Look at those beards!
Descending into Elk Prairie Creek Campground, as night falls, with our buddy Dave. We made great mileage with a slight tail-wind and a lack of close campgrounds on our first day biking in California.
Fun with long exposure times and digital imagery!
Elk Prairie Creek lives up to its reputation with abundant deer and elk grazing that morning.
After the fog burns off, it's another day of beautiful riding in northern California
We met Ken in Eureka, and after some shopping, he welcomed us to his home in Fortuna to camp on his lawn.
It was a good evening push, the 15 miles to Fortuna
After a couple of beers, it's time for William to remove his stitches
Careful...
It went well, and was painless. Except for the one stitch which seemed to pass through a nerve.
Ken shared many stories of bicycle adventures both gloriously finished, and gloriously failed. Thank you for the encouragement!
Biking the Avenue of the Giants
I began to appreciate just how much time majesty takes to develop here on Earth.
There's a whole great story between the last picture and this one. Suffice it to say that we're unloading our bikes after having been transported 150mi fro Leggett, CA to Santa Rosa, CA.
We managed to transport our bikes, our gear, ourselves, and even a hitch-hiker and his suitcase in this mini-van
Mike is one of the many cool people we'd met and talked with the night before. He's got a love of Christian apologetics and travelers, and plans to move to India in the next year.
Cruising from Santa Rosa to the coast
It's not as easy as expected
But it is beautiful
We slept on the dock of a kayak and canoe shop that night, the owner was incredibly understanding
Trev journals in the peace and street-light
To San Francisco!
It's a longer day than expected, but through some beautiful terrain
We've made it!
We had a great couple of days exploring San Francisco
Frolicking at the beach
Sprucing ourselves up for the latino ladies
And talking with folks back home. It's been a most excellent first leg of the adventure, and we're excited to fly tomorrow!
