Tour de Pacific: some final thoughts

What a great adventure. Two weeks on a bike, camping the whole way… it seems like it went by so quickly.

A big thanks to MJ for being my partner in crime for the time we were together. We sort of stumbled upon cycle touring around the same time, and he’s become a great friend to tour with. More to come for sure.*
I like cycling in temperatures below 80, and colder if possible. I certainly can (and do) rock rides in the 90s, but throw in some hills and direct sunlight, and my ability to hit 50-70 mile days drops a lot.
I miss Oregon, but this trip made me realize more than ever that there are parts that I prefer over others.
I cannot forsee joining a large group ride again. When we found ourselves in small packs of other riders, I got uncomfortable… almost claustrophobic. It’s hard to feel claustrophobic on a bike in the great outdoors, and yet it happened.
Leaving the Hennessey Hammock behind was the smartest thing I did. I like it, but not for long tours. The luxury of my bigger-than-I-need tent made a big difference for very little added weight and bulk.
Slugs are cool.
So are bunnies.
Beer is a great reward at the end of the day, and a neutral to bad idea in the middle of a riding day.
This still does not suck ———————————>
The Goblin is a great bike, and it will come in handy for my next western adventure.
I think this biking thing is going to stick… there are a lot of older dudes that I ran into, and I can’t forsee stopping.
Hills no longer scare me… the uphills are just the price I pay for the joy of bombing downhill at 30+ mph…
I missed my girl and my dog.
San Francisco will always have a hold on me in a way I cannot articulate.

In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, “that’s about it.” Wait, was that Bubba? Whatever…

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*I got a text from MJ today… he was in Fairfax, CA alive and well. He agreed that stars would have had to align just right in order to make it to SF in time for my flight.

August 16, 2012

Memo to my 16-year old self

I probably wouldn’t have listened to a 40-something dude who looked like me, but every once in a while I think about the kind of advice I would give to younger Tim. Periodically I’ll share those here.

Topic 24: Stand up for yourself, stand up for others, but don’t be a jerk.

It’s happened already, 16 year old Tim; you know you’re right, and someone else (likely someone in “authority”) is wrong and insists on their incorrect point of view. Mrs. Gaulin and her insipid stance that the zero year presidential jinx would apply to Jimmy Carter (cough cough… elected in 1976, not 1980… but whatever), and many many others. Sometimes they’re just annoying like that, and sometimes they rise to the level of true lack of fairness. Later in life, you’ll call that gnawing reaction to these as your flaming sword of justice starting to glow.

Yeah, flaming sword. Of justice. Definitely odd. But, really… bear with me…

Sometimes life’s little injustices apply to you, sometimes you’ll see people act unfairly towards others. In many of those cases, even when it’s not you, you’ll feel compelled to say something. That’s good. It’s part of what makes you, well, you.

Given all of the times it’s been necessary to wield the flaming sword of justice, I’ve learned a few things I’d like to share:

– It’s important to stand up for yourself and others when an authority figure or someone with leverage of some form is being demonstrably unfair. When you see someone else put through the wringer for no good reason, it’s ok to stand up for them (the person at the fast food place that lied about the attitude of the order taker in an attempt to get them fired for an honest mistake in the back… please feel free to step in and save that person’s job.).

– Be double sure you’re right. Nothing’s worse than wielding the sword when you’re mistaken. Not that that’s happened, but it almost has.

– It’s super easy to be a righteous a-hole when you respond to life’s little indignities. No yelling. State your case. Cut theirs to pieces. Always be classy, because later on you’ll be way happier if the other person is an irrational screamer, and you’re cool and collected (on the outside).*

– On the other hand… sometimes you’ll be right, others will be wrong, and you need to keep quiet. These times will suck, but other factors dictate silence. More on this later.

So: stand up for yourself, stand up for others, don’t be a jerk. Go get ’em…

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*Examples abound, but not here, and not yet.

August 14, 2012

Day 13: Hello SF… We meet again…

A quick 5 mile ride… An hour of breaking down, boxing, driving and dropping off… The Goblin is on its way back to its resting spot in PDX after a valiant several hundred miles hauling me and 40 lbs of gear to the end of the Avenue of the Giants and back to Eureka.

The drive was odd… Once again I covered the stretch between Eureka and the redwoods albeit a bit faster. I also retraced the Climate Ride route up to the base of Leggett Hill, which was a bit bittersweet… I hope to get back and really kick the hell out of it.

No word yet from MJ but he probably won’t be in cell range til tonight. Looking forward to hearing about the hot climb through Garberville – it was 89 at 11:30am, so I’m guessing it was similarly hot for him.

I’m meeting up with Bay Area friends tonight… A nice reward for a busy 13 days. I’m sure I’ll have a few closing thoughts on the tour after I sit a bit without a bike nearby… Which feels super odd right now.

August 13, 2012

Day 12: Hello I must be going

After a 35 mile ride to Fortuna (felt odd going north) I’m back at Eel River Brewing Company for a lunch stop. Counting Crows’ Long December is playing, which is one of those perfectly melancholy tunes for the last real riding day of my tour. The weather is back to normal, which means a stiff wind from the north… You know, the tailwind I was supposed to have the whole way down. Oh well.

I have some errands in Eureka, including swinging by Henderson Bikes to lay claim to a bike box to ship the Goblin back to the home of yesterday’s pine cone contest winner, Mr. Kevin Mooney.* After that it’s to the KOA to pay an absurd amount for a loud, highway side campsite. After paying five bucks a night to sleep in the redwoods, this seems balancing but at the same time utterly unfair.

Upside is I just saw the brewpub cat I first met at last year’s Climate Ride… Balancing, but good.

August 12, 2012

Days 10-11: I’ll take the zero

In contrast to the go go go of the past 9 days, the last two have been decidedly more contemplative and relaxing. Spending time amongst the trees avoiding decisions other than “what to read next” has been particularly great. I wish I could bottle the aroma of this magnificent forest and pump it into every corner of every place I’ll ever inhabit… But that might be unreasonable.

Day 9 featured a special birthday celebration for Smokey Bear. The slides suggested he was both 68 and 67, so I’m thinking there may be more than container recycling in California State Parks if youknowwhatimean…

(drum fill)

Thank you I’ll be here all night.

The other aspect of the bday bash was a big old fashioned sing along and a campfire started with lighter fluid. The fire was curiously out of control for a fete honoring America’s most anti-fire mammal, and the singing of small children drove me away at great pace… prior to the cake, to my great chagrin. I dislike the sounds of children singing that much… No I’m not proud of that.

Day 11 found me dislodged from Burlington campground thanks to the two day limit. Since I wanted to get on my bike again, and I was totally out of food anyways, I rolled into Myers Flat for a resupply on the way to the next campground down the road. This one is a lot more secluded and features an enormous sequoia underneath which I’m currently tapping this post. I’m drying a few things on a bungee line I set up, and they’re lazily swaying in the summer breeze without a care in the world.

55 miles tomorrow puts me at the formerly maligned Eureka KOA. It’s north of town but puts me within a few miles of the Hertz, the bike shop, and the UPS Store that are going to combine for a busy Tuesday morning before my drive to SF. Hard to believe the end to this adventure is in sight…

MJ Tip of the Day
Since the poor bastard had to ride in 99 degree heat til he climbed Leggett to the coast, I’ll repeat his usual… “I’ll take rain and cold any day over direct sun and heat!” A true Oregonian even if he’s never been one…

~~PS If anyone can come up with the 80s era reference for the title of this post… I’ll send you a pine cone from here. Good luck. Offer ends Monday at 6am PT 😉~~

Offer closed: of course my brother guessed Eddie Murphy with the correct quote within 37 seconds… Delirious, about 10 minutes in.

August 11, 2012

Day 9: Lessons in time-space management

One thing I’ve learned is to plan contingencies for the unexpected: bad weather, mechanical delays, injuries… You just need to have time to cover for them.

On the morning of Day 9, I realized I had zero margin for error to get to San Francisco, including a crazy 40 mile early morning ride the day of my flight back. It’s possible… I could have pushed, but I also knew that south of the redwoods (about 60 miles from Eureka), cell phones stop working for hundreds of miles, wifi is barely there, and my ability to juggle any one of a tour’s possible delays became near impossible.

So, I made the tough decision to pull the chord on the original plan… I’ll now slow way down and tour the Avenue of the Giants and Redwood State Park for a few days, then bike north to Eureka to ship the Goblin back to Portland, and then rent a car to drive to SF. I am doing this all Tuesday so I can get a chance to lift a glass with some Bay Area friends.

I look at my map and realize this has been an amazing adventure, and in some ways getting the chance to slow down and savor a 60 mile area for a few days is downright luxurious. It’s all just a little different than planned, but that’s life.

MJ is pushing on. With no deadlines of his own, he is still planning on heading to the Mexican border with family and friend stops in San Francisco and the L.A. area. It’s been a great trip and I know it’ll be odd to finish things without the mysterious one… but we’ll cycle together again.

A few highlights:

– MJ got his second flat within 2 days. This reinforced the wisdom of my decision… he’s had 2 flats in 3500 miles on this trip and they’ve clustered here. The road detritus in CA includes the sharp wires from radial tires, and they get through our Schwalbe Marathon tires that can stand up to nearly everything else.

– While flat repairs took place, I picked wild blackberries. I haven’t done that since I was a kid and it felt oddly centering. I might be doing more of that this weekend.

– Our campground is amongst enormous sequoias along the famed Avenue of the giants. It’s home for a few days… Not bad!

MJ Tip of the Day
“F*ck it, we’ll do it live!”

August 9, 2012

Day 8: We kick some ass, MJ gets a flat and we dine with the viola player from Titanic

The dawn of day 8 smelled like the smoldering campfire from the night before. Roosevelt Elk slumbered in the meadow next to our tent town of cycle tourists in this remote corner of California. But as with every morning, it was time to move on.

MJ and I set out to hit another 70+ mile day to go beyond what “the book” suggested was the right stop… A KOA in Eureka. Yeah, not going to happen. Instead we decided to take advantage of the relatively tame afternoon portion and push to a campground in Fortuna that we’ve both stayed at… Him on last year’s PDX-SFO tour, me on the Climate RIde.

There’s a brew pub around the corner. No mystery here on why we chose this now.

A cool start, a chocolate milk and some rolling hills of some note got us through the morning. After deciding the book’s scenic route wawasting valuable beer time, we decided to stick with 101 north of Eureka and jammed into town ahead of schedule. A brief break by the side of the rode invited conversation with several passing bikers, including Keith, a SoCal tourist with impeccable and efficient gear. We were 20 miles away, so we pushed on.

Well, I did. MJ… mr. “I never get a flat and I never get rained on” got his first on-tour flat after 16 kajillion* miles. Meanwhile I am dropping the hammer (bike term) in my highest gear, breaking land speed records like a Lance on HGH. Only later do I notice the twin texts from MJ stating he had a flat, and that he had fixed said flat and was on the way. Great support team, eh?

After dropping out of warp 11 and gliding into camp, Keith rolled up as I was checking in. Through a quirk of private RV park math ($22 + $22 +$22 = $33 if three bikers share a tent site rather than share a tent site separately… Seems like string theory or quantum something whatsit to me) we figure Keith would hang with MJ and I. MJ came rolling in about 15 minutes later after getting to warp 76.

Back to Keith:

– plays viola in movies you have absolutely heard of… Titanic, Avatar, etc.

– went to the Eastman School of Music for a grad degree, which makes him an honorary Rochestarian in my mind (despite not knowing Nick Tahou’s – he gets a demerit for that).

– put up with our craziness while eating with us at the brewpub (and incidentally, paid for the whole thing, which was way too kind)

– has never seen The Wire and got an earful on why that needs to change

Eel River Brewery was aces again, but has the least hoppy IPA I have ever had. No complaints, just saying.

Shorter day tomorrow… We need to exorcise a bad day on this portion of MJs route last year. Day after we exorcise mine. Screw you Leggett!

MJ Tip of The Day:
You should always save your most 80s looking shorts for laundry day. Then embrace the look.

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*more than a thousand, less than a babillion

Don’t forget you can track this madness on a real live map at and also on Twitter.

August 9, 2012

Day 7: These hills have hills

We rose with the sun… Then said screw it and slept in a few minutes more. Boiling water the night before allowed for a thermos of hot coffee in the tents… An amazing luxury.

MJ and I got out a full hour earlier than normal, knowing we had a nice easy ride to the border and on to Crescent City, followed by two monster 1000 ‘ + hills standing in the way of our campsite in Humboldt County. Day 7 also featured the longest ride of the trip so far: over 70 miles. Basically, a decent challenge.

After a big forage at the Safeway, we hit the first hill that was the gateway to Redwoods State and National Park. The Goblin groaned a lot as it turned out the hill had 3 peaks. It also featured a crazy pavement project that made one of the upper downhills a little more treacherous than fun. The final downhill felt like flying over the coast as the blue waters of the Pacific lapped at the coastal rocks in the distance.

Some tourist trap in Klamath served as the intermission for hill number 2. Two miles of steep granny gear later and we were rewarded with an epic 5 mile downhill ride through a forest of redwoods that seemed to get progressively larger around every bend.

Day 8 looks to bring me to the same campground where last fall’s Climate Ride began. A fitting way to connect the experiences… And maybe begin exorcising some of the (few) demons of that trip. Look out Leggett…

MJ tip of the day
Use an old, unused phone number for all grocery discount cards… You’ll remember it easily and the marketing people will never be able to contact or find you! Genius! And… mysterious….

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Don’t forget you can track this madness on a real live map at and also on Twitter.

August 7, 2012

Day 6: Best day ever, except when it wasn’t

Day 6 was looking to be the final day of the Oregon ride. A little back of the napkin calculations over dinner the night before had MJ and I determining we were behind on our projected SF arrival target, so Day 6 looked like a good day to make up some miles with a flat 30 miles after Brookings.

Some of the hillier parts of the ride stood in the way before that – Seven Devils (apropos name) from Day 5 notwithstanding. I had a really strong start as the Goblin munched up some decent hills, putting us ahead of the game as we descended into Gold Beach. One of our favorite podcasts offers the phrase “best day ever!” as a rallying cry, and it totally fit.

Snap!*

Two spokes on the rear wheel went all kaplooey (hypertechnical biking term). Spokes are important… when perfectly tensioned they keep your wheel, well… wheel shaped. Miss a few and eventually your wheel will wobble like a kid who sat on the Tilt o’ Whirl one ride too many. A quick google, a quick call, and I knew we were 30 miles and a series of climbs away from a bike shop in Brookings. Oregon would have us for one more day after all.

Turns out the Goblin’s rear wheel had seen its best days… A new wheel (thanks Eric) and we’re ready to rock some California ridin.

Playlist today featured obscure 90s songs including that one by Primitive Radio Gods with the really long title. No, you do know that one. Trust me.

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*Not to be confused with 90s exclamatory favorite, “oh snap!” but I guess it would have worked if I had said that following the spoke incident.
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Don’t forget you can track this madness on a real live map at and also on Twitter.

August 7, 2012

Days 3-5: Dampness, winds and the people you meet

The last three days of the ride have included spectacular vistas, oddly boring stretches, rainy overnights, cool days… and those damn headwinds.

One touring rider we ran into coming from the south is enjoying the hell out of his unexpected luck. Me? I get to pedal down hills so I can avoid being ground to a stop. Someone once called headwinds “invisible hills” and I think this trip has more than proven that.

The weekend included a portion of the southern Oregon coast near some beautiful dunes. Unfortunately the route largely keeps you away from seeing them, but within earshot of the din of ATVs and other dune buggies. It was also Dunes Weekend so traffic was thick with trailers full of sand craft. For the most part the trucks have been respectful of our space, but the traffic noise can get a bit much over time.

Road conditions vary so much it’s almost like an odd obstacle course. Some counties have paved nice smooth asphalt all the way through the edges, while some (cough cough Lane cough County) prefer vintage (degrading) chip seal, making the bike lane impassable at times.

Physically, things are going fine… At this point in my CA ride I was having Achilles problems, but I’m not feeling anything like that. Day 5 and now day 6 feature some steeper climbs than is typical for the Oregon coast, but coffee, calories, low gears, music and patience seem to be the cure for those.

Cell signals are hit or miss. I’m drafting this without one in hopes I can post from one of the upcoming towns. California has longer “dead zones” which feel oddly isolating despite being with MJ and a few others.

The people you meet on the road are often the most interesting part of a ride. Because you tend to ride the same distances, you’ll see many of the same people at the next camp. We’ve spent two nights with a guy who built a surf board rack out of bamboo and a Bob trailer… He’s surfing the coast as he finds good waves. Amazing. The unfortunate thing is these groups don’t last forever, and you often don’t know if someone will go further or take a longer lunch and not get as far as you. Such is life on the bike tour.

Make the most of your day – I’ve got some hills to climb and a moist tent to pack…