Day 9: Port Orford,OR to Crescent City,CA

Miles on the Speedway: 84

Weather: Dreadful, punishing, and miserable. 50 degrees, strong crosswinds, and rain. And it was cold rain for almost the entire ride. But how could I possibly complain? I'm on the coast of Oregon. It's not like I want to be in the sauna-like conditions of Memphis,TN right now. :)

Terrain: Hilly. We had one climb of appr. 800 ft over 2.5 miles. That's what I like to call a quad-killer, especially when the wind is coming at you like a Lee Smith fastball.

# of times that I couldn't feel my feet. 3 or 4

Songs stuck in my head: "Bittersweet Symphony" -The Verve "California Love" -Tupac

# of times that I wanted my blankey today: 19 or 20

Here's some highlights of today.....
We had some absolutely gargantuan pancakes at this Ma & Pa type diner this morning in Port Orford,OR. (see pic) You'd think with the amount of calories that I'm burning on a daily basis that I'd be able to pound a couple of those flapjacks.....but that wasn't the case.
Incidently, I had to deal with an "ant" in my coffee at that same diner. I was reluctant to partake in breakfast after that special find, but I went on ahead anyways. It's 8pm right now, so it looks like I'm clear. :)
Cool thing that happened today....we had a deer run along side of us on the other side of the road for about 75 meters or so.
That was cool. Something small that was really cool in the moment.
And going over Oregon's tallest bridge was a thrill. We did get off of our bikes and look over the edge. Man, for a guy who hates heights (ME) that definitely adds hair to my chest and probably takes a few years from my life. Yikes!
I was reminded of one of my favorite passages of scripture last night, Heb 11:16. It says, "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."
I love Heb 11..aka "The Hall of Faith." Verse 13 is cool too "All these dies in faith, without receiving the promises"
Those individuals talked about in Heb 11 are Heroes of the Faith for one reason....they had great confidence in the character of God. They knew Him so well, and were so fixed on the eternal that, at one level, human life was an overrated commodity. That's radical.

TOMORROW'S RIDE
Crescent City,CA to Fortuna,CA--appr. 95 miles on the road

SHOUTS OUTS.....
Thanks Jack at the Comfort Inn of Crescent City for the discounted rooms! Preciate' you man!

Day 8: Florence,OR to Port Orford,OR

Miles on the Road: 100

Weather: mid 50's....this is getting offly redundant. But today is was actually clear skies and SUNNY! Giddy Up!

Wind: Fairly decent TAILWIND the entire way!

# of times I got whacked in the face by some sort of insect: 3
# of time that it hurt: 1

The two worst words on the entire planet for a cyclist: "OVERSIZED LOAD" referring to the oversized trucks that
occasionally drive by us on 101. Basically, when you see the smaller pick-up truck with the flashing lights that say these two words, your behavior is similar to that of an ant just prior to a rainstorm. First you panic, then you ask yourself how this can be happening. Then, you try to get to the edge of that road shoulder asap, if not completely off the road. You then hope and pray you don't get side-checked into the bushes or rocks by whatever oversized item is on that truck. Today, we avoided a bulldozer.

Summary of Day 8........
Great ride today, great ride. If it's possible to ride 100 miles on a bike and it be "easy," than today was that day.
We had a great tailwind, superb temperatures, and the terrain was on our side as well. We did have two substantial climbs today, but after that we really had some nice rolling hills.

What made the ride today, however, without question, was our encounter with "Glenn," the man with dressed in the orange vest riding the three wheeled bicycle. (see pic above) Before I say anything else, let me just go ahead and say this: I hope that when I'm 80 years old that I'm like Glenn. It's true to say that he probably "isn't all there," but what made Glenn special is that he had a love for life, and a love for the road. Everyday he rides his three-wheeled bike down highway 101. And here's the best part, he waves to EVERY SINGLE CAR THAT PASSES.....on both sides of the road. No joke. We saw him do this. He's got a mirror so he can see the cars that are behind him. The guy is enthusiastic. He said that once he road too far down highway 101 and someone from the senior center got mad at him. How cool is that!

Ok, so that adventure of this trip is that sometimes we stay in 1400 sq ft captain's suites for free, and other times we pay big $$$ just for tiny pad with a bed and a futon to sleep on. Tonight was the latter. (see pic above)
Too say that our accommodations this evening are "cozy" might be somewhat of an understatement. But hey, you gotta love the town of Port Orford (pop. 1,190)

I'll sign off tonight with a poem that was found in the bathroom of a shell gas station here on the coast of Oregon.
I guess it's ok for me to post this because my family has always been into "poddy" humor. Well, at least my Dad and I have.
My three older sisters have always tolerated it I suppose.

Title: "A Toilet Poem"

You were driving down the road,
and you felt you had a load,

You saw our big Shell sign,
And you pulled in just in time,

We gave you what you need,
Now we ask this tip you heed;

Like any other pot,
This one can't hold a lot.

So as you're fillin' up the can
Reach back with your right hand,

And flush while you're still goin
To get the mess a-flowin'

You'll see when you're all done,
Two flushes are better than one.

SHOUT OUTS.......
* JoLynn Sirak......we are so so grateful for your continued assistance and persistence with our accommodations.
You Rock! Thank you.

Day 7: Tillamook,OR to Florence,OR

Miles on the asphalt: 51

Weather: Partly cloudy with temps in the mid 50's....again. Not bad for riding though.

Wind: Out of the North at 4-5 mph.

Condition of the Road Shoulder: The shoulder was narrow at times...and often it was covered in dirt, glass, and all sorts of debree. TommyNoLIkey.

Songs stuck in my head: "The Rescue Blues" -Ryan Adams

The Craziest Thing that happened today: We didn't stop for lunch!

Coolest Thing that we didn't actually get to see today: The Sea Lions at the Sea Lion Caves
(I saw them last year)

Tomorrow's Ride: Florence,OR to Port Orford,OR--100 miles
Saturday's Ride: Port Orford,OR to Crescent City,CA--82 miles

SUMMARY OF DAY 7.......
Well, I'm not going to lie to you, we seriously considered staying another night, and perhaps the rest of the summer, in our 1400 sq ft palace (aka the Captain's Suite) at the Shilo Inn in Newsport,OR. Who wouldn't be tempted and potentially lured away from a room, or shall I say a house, that has two decks with an oceanfront view, a 42 inch flat screen, large comfy couches, a full kitchen, not mention fresh baked cookies available upon our request at any time of the day, as well as all-you-can-eat popcorn. While one might say I'm an easy-to-please kind of guy, you've still got to admit that for a bike trip like this, we were hooked up in a major way. That was big-time. However, we did put these amenities aside in order to mount our bikes once again, pedaling another mile down the coast and closer to the U.S./ Mexican border.
At 51 miles on the road, today was definitely a walk in the park compared to other days on the trip. It was much needed though as everyday this next week we are pedaling 80 miles or more, including three back-to-back centuries.

SHOUT OUTS....
*The Old Town Inn of Florence,OR. Thanks for the room and the conditioning shampoo that makes my hair smell so fresh and so clean clean.

Day 6: Tillamook,OR to Newport,OR

Miles on the cold blacktop: 70

Weather: It was rainy for the first 20 miles, then partly cloudy and cool. Temperatures were again in the mid 50's. Burrrr!

Wind: Out of the West/Southwest.....so it was a crosswind/headwind for most of the day. Hey Adventure Cycling....what's up wit dat??? You told me to ride North to South because of the tailwinds.....and I ain't been seein' no tailwinds......what's the deal, yo?

Songs stuck in my head: "Mrs. Potters Lullaby" -Counting Crows

# of miles travled so far: 465.54

# of flat tires on this trip: 0 (Cross your fingers that I didn't just jinx us!)

Length of our longest climb today: 820 feet.....We went from sea level to just over 800 feet in appr. 2 miles or so.

# of sq feet in the Shilo Inn Suite (donated) that we're staying in tonight: appr. 1400......ridiculous!

# of feet that I am from the ocean right now: 400 or so

How spoiled do I feel right now on a scale from 1-10: 1,000,000

The main thing that I thought about on the road today: How I need to shave my legs again


SUMMARY OF DAY 6........
Man, the 2007 Hunger Ride is almost a third done, how can this be? Time sure is flying. I guess that's because we're having so much fun! After enjoying a delicious and satisfying Deluxe Breakfast at Mcdonald's this morning, Stephen and I said goodbye to his father, Billly, who is headed back to Memphis. Thanks again Billy for all the good times! We then welcomed my parents, Roger & Rose (who, incidently, are still trying to figure out how to post comments on my blog! :) ) to their first day of sagwagoning on the trip. Good times, good times.

The ride today went well. I've always wondered why I seem to feel closest to God and connect with Him when I'm backbacking, running, or cycling.....basically when I'm spending concentrated time outside in nature. Well, related to this point, a good friend of mine named Michael Warden (www.michaelwarden.com) passed something along to me a few months ago that had a huge impact on my life. I had one of those Ah-Ha moments so to speak.
I'll pass the link along to y'all. It's a test that John Ortberg (former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community and well known auther) called the Spiritual Pathways Assesment. A spiritual pathway is the way we most naturally connect with God and grow spiritually.If you're a follower of Christ, than I highly encourage you to take the 10-15 minutes to go through this. It was so insightful for me. In short, the cycling portion (as well as last year's trip) has been a great spiritual re-charge for me in so many ways.

http://www.willowcreek.org/pdfs/Spiritual%20Pathway%20Assessment.pdf

TOMORROW'S RIDE......
Newport,OR to Florence,OR.....appr. 50 miles.

SHOUT OUTS.......
*Karen Anderson, GM of the Shilo Inn of Newport,OR. This place we're staying in is ridunkulous.

Day 5: Seaside,OR to Tillamook,OR

Miles on the Road: 48

Weather: High 50's, slightly breezy at times, partly cloudly.

Terrain: Rolling hills with a few big climbs in the mix

# of killer views: 20+

Road Taken: Hwy 101 South

# of fights that I almost had to breakup: 1
(A hostess and a server at the PigN Pancake this morning in Seaside were fighting over the distance between Astoria,OR and Seaside,OR. The actual distance is 16 miles. The hostess thought it was 26. It was pretty funny event because it did, ridiculously enough, get a little heated. But me, desiring to see those two co-workers learn to work together on the same PigNPancake team........threatened them by showing them a picture of my "Daniel Laruso" on the Astoria Bridge yesterday......and they shut that nonsense talk down real fast.


Hilarious e-mail of the Day: Ok, if you like the band Pearl Jam, and you know the song "Yellow Ledbetter"
then I encourage you to click on this link.....it's pretty funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLd22ha_-VU
It really has nothing to do with this blog whatsoever, but it was sent to me this evening courtesy of "Slappy."

What do you eat on a typical day? Well, it really can vary a good deal from day to day, but here is what today looked like.
Breakfast:
3 pancakes
Scrambled Eggs with Ham
2 cups of coffee

Mid-Morning Snack:
2 Fruit n' Nut granola bars
water

Lunch:
Half of a mushroom swiss burger
cup of clam chowder soup
water

Snack:
Twizzlers--I ate so many pieces I stopped counting
PUll N Peel Twizzlers: 2 or 3 pieces
3 cookies
Water

Dinner:
Rueben sandwich w/ french fries
Diet Dr Pepper
A bunch of my Mom's french fries that I stole

Dessert:
You guessed it....more Twizzlers.

MY QUICK TAKE ON TODAY.....
It was bittersweet leaving Seaside,OR today. Not to sound cheesy, but Seaside really will always have a special
place in my heart because it was the last stop on the 2006 Hunger Ride. (Charleston,SC to Seaside,OR)
I really do love that place.....and I kind of got a little misty eyed riding away this morning......
But, like Bon Jovi, you have to "Never say goodbye" (Slippery When Wet, 1984)

THE HUNGER RIDE SAYS GOODBYE TO......
Mr. Billy Douglas (Stephen's Dad). He's done a heck of a job with the van support this past week.
Thanks, Mr. Douglas. We appreciate you. Safe travels back to Memphis!

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES.......
The one, the only, the greatest and famous.....Roger and Rose Rand. (my parents)
They have made the trip all the way out from Waukesha,WI to be apart of the Hunger Ride again.
They have tough shoes to fill, but they've got a great deal of experience from the 2006 Hunger Ride, so I
think they are up to the challenge.

SHOUT OUTS......
* Dave at the Shilo Inn of Tillamook for the two rooms. Thanks, Dave.

Day 4: South Bend,WA to Seaside,OR

Miles on the road: 63

Wind: fierce headwind much of the trek....10-20 mph.....crazy wind action today.

Terrain: mostly flat with a few smaller hills

Weather: cold and rainy....temps in the mid 50's.....and it was really windy. Did I mention that?

# of times that I wanted my blankey: 4 or 5

# of ounces of a dirt/oil/rain mix (from the splash of the trucks) that I swallowed today: about a half gallon (64 oz)


WHAT LIFE ON THE ROAD CAN BE LIKE.........

I'd like to make you aware of a typical conversation that I probably have on a daily basis.....usually with an individual(s) 55 or older.......oftentimes these conversations will take place in a restuarant, gas station, motel lobby, or if I'm passing them in their car on my bike.

**Note, if you are older than 55 (like my wonderful parents) please do not take offense at this. I'm simply making
one aware of what life on the road is like. To be honest, I actually enjoy talking with the seniorworld. :)

Older Person: Where are you going?

Macho Man Randy Rand: I'm traveling from _____________ (wherever I started on that particular day) to ______________ (wherever I'll finish that day)

OP: Oooooh...aah....my oh my. (There is oftentimes a pause, or a puzzled look) and then they might blurt out something like this----"Ha! I have a hard time walking across the street sometimes".....OR....."25 years ago, I once rode a bike across the __________(whatever town they are from) and thought I was going pass out" OR "I think sometimes I'd get tired making that trip in my car"
Usually, the person will then laugh hysterically at themselves....as if they had just said something really really funny. If someone is with them, they will laugh too.

MMRR: At this point, I just try and give my best courtesy/fake laugh.....which, I've gotten pretty good at......because I have no idea how to respond to any of those comments.

OP: Where are you going to go when you reach __________(whatever destination that I mentioned)

MMRR: I'll talk about the entire ride......I'll tell them that I'm riding from Canada to Mexico......it's a Hunger Ride, etc...

OP: There is now a LONG pause. There is tension in the air. It's as if something is not right. Their wheels are definitely
turning inside their head....then I'll hear something like: "Boy, have you lost you mind?"
What follows this comment is a list of 60-65 questions that they ask in about 25-30 seconds.

MMRR: Well, um, (I bring out my fake laugh again) Yeah, it's definitely an adventure. I smile and nod.


SUMMARY OF DAY 4:

Unbelievable! There was so much excitement surrounding this day because today was the that we got to ride over the great Astoria bridge.......the LONGEST bridge in the United States at 4.2 miles. Yeah, how crazy is that?!? A bridge that is 4.2 miles long. That's crazy. That's madness. That absolutely insane. So, it's no understatement to say that when I woke up this morning I was like a little kid with his allowance, primed and ready to go to the candy store. I was ecstatic.
And, the mighty Astoria did not disappoint. It was amazing.....breathtaking. It is kind of hard to describe though. Pics don't do justice. I might say it was magnificently frightening? or something like that. While I was way exctied to go over the bridge......I was admittedly scared about the whole thing...... kind of like the first time that I went on a roller coaster......or the first time that I kissed a girl. It's cool, but there is definitley an element of fear involved. What made the Astoria crazy on this day is that we were fighting a 10-20 mph head/crosswind that was blowing us into traffic. Also, the speed limit is 55mph and we had several logging, dump, and semi trucks that we had to negotiate the small amount of shoulder space with. The bridge is a beast not doubt.......but on this day we conquered the beast by the grace of God.

**The clear picture of the Astoria bridge is courtesy of Paul While, aka "Slappy"

A SUPER BIG THANKS........
to my friends, the Sirak's (Jolynn, Savannah, Andrew) who made the trip out from Beaverton to see us in Seaside.
They are dear friends, and we had such a blast hanging out at FUnland and eating pizza at the Pizza Harbor. Unfortunately, MMRR gifts and talents in the ring did not translate into victory in a game of hoops. The first time that we played, Andrew (2nd grade) and Savannah (4th grade) took me down. Nice job guys! I'll have to practice up for a rematch when I see you guys in Southern Cal.

SHOUT OUTS.....
* Shawn Wagner of the SHilo Inn for donating an oceanfront room here at the Shilo Inn.
* Hey.....to the guy who painted "ROSE RANCH" on the barn just outside South Bend,WA......it was suppose to say "ROSE RAND" ----the name of the greatest Mom in the world......my Mommy.

Day 3: Bremerton,WA to South Bend,WA

Miles on the Road: 100 (although, I will admit, at the end of today's ride I did do circles on my bike in the motel parking lot for about 2 1/2 minutes just to get in the century.....the people in this town must think I'm crazy......but that's good that they know.....because I am crazy.)

Weather: mostly cloudy, temps in the 60's and 70's.....and prob. 50's near the end of the ride......a little nippy for MMRR as I had to put on my "sleeves"

Terrain: Hills, hills, and more hills. We got pounded.

Wind: We faced a very stiff headwind for good chunks of the ride today. Man, that was tough. It got me thinking about songs
that have to do with "wind"......you know, like "Wind of Change" -by the Scorpions and then there's "Against the Wind"
by Bob Seger and also, one of my favorites....."Come Sail Away" -Styx

Roadkill: We saw several deer and a few birds.

# of times that I wanted to "clothesline" (Macho Man Randy Rand style) a few car drivers that were traveling to fast today: 6

# of cars/drivers that I actually chased down and did this too: 2

# of times my Sensae told me to sweep the leg: 1

# of times that I obeyed: 1

# of times the great outdoors was a restroom for me today: 2
(ok, I apologize, that's probably TMI for some of you.....however, there have been MANY that have asked)

What my fortune cookie from Chen's Chinese restaurant read:
"A shooting star tonight will bring you good luck tomorrow."

SUMMARY OF TODAY'S RIDE.........
Well, we ended up riding a century today. It wasn't on the schedule, but here we are anyways in the "Oyster Capital of the World".....South Bend, WA. We logged in a few extra miles because of the incoming rain that is suppose to hit the coast tomorrow. So, now we're looking at closer to 60 miles tomorrow instead of 90. Hopefully we'll miss most of the precipitation.

Quick summary of the ride: Day 3 was definitely the most difficult so far. My legs feel more tired right now than they do sore.
Last night I went to sleep still feeling like I was on a bike. I did become slightly dehydrated by the end of the ride (even with the cool temps) but was able to make it to the end. It's so important to stay fueled, but such an easy thing to overlook.

HEY WASHINGTON STATE.....IT'S BEEN REAL FUN.........
but we've gotta go. Tomorrow's ride is from South Bend,WA to Seaside,OR.....straight down Highway 101. Appr. 62 miles on the bike.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO.......
is seeing my friends, The Siraks, and my friend, Mike Coberly, tomorrow in Seaside,OR. Mike and The Sirak's live in Portland and they are making the drive out to Seaside to eat dinner with us after we ride tomorrow. Many of you will recall that last summer Jolynn Sirak had a HUGE garage sale and raised over $1,000 for Ethiopia/Hunger Ride. Well, what you probably don't know is that she did the same thing again this year and raised about the same amount! How cool is that?!? You know what, I'm not sure that can fit on the coolness/radness scale. Off the charts for sure.