in sleet and snow

Hello!!!

I am so grateful to be sitting at a computer right now, after a long cold night... and a colder morning. But I should backtrack a bit.

I left Portland with a great group of friends by my side. Bria, Steph, Michelle, Eli, Katie and Tara all rolled out with me from Random Order Coffeehouse on Saturday at 11am... Eli stayed with us just a little while, and the rest of the crew stuck around for the long uphill ride heading out of Portland. Talk about breaking me in. I had to start walking my bike up hills by the time we were a block from Cornell, headed up Lovejoy. The rest of the ride was well, harsh! I have so much weight on my bike, and I haven't really been training much.... so this is essentially "pre-season"... as Michelle put it. That thought has helped me a lot actually. I'm imagining myself as a creature in training, and it makes the days seem more reasonable, and more rewarding.

I was going so much slower than everyone, that I let them all go free and say goodbye to me somewhere up in the hills, at what I think was the Audobon Center. A wildlife center, anyways. I got to see the faces of my beautiful friends for one last minute, and then I watched them ride away... heard Michelle hollering and laughing, and then the whole crew was gone from my sight.

I admit, I had a momentary breakdown. A good cry. Partly for seeing my friends go, and partly just letting the enormity of the trip settle in on me. I was scared, and already tired from pushing my bike up into the hills. I filled up my water, got my courage back up, and then got moving again.

There were more hills to come, and more pushing, and then finally, a cozy little diner (Skyline Diner) at the top of a sweet downhill run. I stopped for black coffee and fries, and then went out to check on my bike.

I had been experiencing a pretty nasty wobble downhill on the stretch right before the diner, so I used my Blackberry to look up the possible causes. The site I found said to make sure my heaviest gear was all packed low to the ground, so I took to rearranging. I was not happy with what I discovered... but so glad that this didn't go unnoticed. The wobble was due to the fact that a bolt was entirely MISSING from one fork of my xtracycle... completely detached. I was at the top of quite a hill, and with no way to ride down, I set myself to walking... in the hail... and laughing. Talk about my first day out throwing me through a loop.

Lucky me, someone saw me walking my bike down the hill and gave me a ride, with my gear in his pickup, to the nearest hardware store. It was right on my route, and not far down the road. I didn't get his name, but thanked him several times. He wasn't much for talk, just a kind person willing to go a bit off track for a stranger is distress. The guys at the hardware store were just as helpful, letting me bring my bike inside, and helping me find and install a replacement for the part I had somehow lost.

The rest of the days ride was fairly easy... but I didn't realize how late it was getting until well... too late. I was in Hillsoboro, with no place to camp. I found an AA meeting about four miles behind me, and I knew I was too tired to make it. It was freezing, and still sleeting and snowing in short bursts. I looked at a motel, decided it was too expensive, and then sat at a cafe across the street for awhile. I drank a ton of coffee, and tried to get warm enough, and energized enough to make it back to the meeting and hopefully find a place to crash, but it was hopeless. I was exhausted. I gave in and went back to the hotel... a little sad that I ended up paying for a place to sleep my first night out, but grateful for it, and I was fast asleep by ten o'clock.

....

The next day the riding was hard, not because there were big hills, or even really bad weather. My energy was just a little low. My oatmeal in the mroning had tased horrible for some reason and I couldn't get much down. I managed, anyway, to make it the 20 miles to Yamhill by 3pm.

I found a cafe that let me bring my bike inside, and I parked in the back of the place, near a couple of pinball machines. The town was tiny. I am amazed by towns this small. The arcade games in the back of this place must be the biggest draw in town for local kids when the weather is bad.

I had a burger, decent enough, and some coffee. I havent had cream in my coffee since I left, to keep my lungs clear and healthy. It feels good. Black coffee is just fine when I'm cold and working hard. I usually like cream to cool it off anyways, and in this weather? Hot is good.

I quickly assessed that I wasn't going to find close-in camping in Yamhill... I would have had to go a good 6 miles off course either way... So I headed south into Carlton. I had asked a family in Yamhill about camping and a teenager mentioned that the city park in Carlton was just fine to camp in... not really legal... but no one would bother me.

I found the park without trouble, and talked to some locals about my age about the cops, and camping in park, and they told me about the same thing. They also mentioned that the cops in Carlton make all of their money pulling over drunk drivers on winery tours, and didn't much bother anyone else. It took me awhile to get up the courage, and to find a place that was hidden well enough, but I eventually set up camp, and found myself in bed at 5pm, before the sun could go down and freeze me out.

I love my warm sleeping back. The camping situation wasn't ideal... slightly uneven ground, and I had set up my tent so quickly... It wasn't perfect. I was warm all night though... so imagine my suprise when I woke up at seven am (after waking once at 2am, thinking it was monring) to find that it was snowing.

Yikes.

I broke down my tent quickly in the snow, and asked a local where I could find some hot coffee indoors, and I found myself in a little cafe, only a quarter mile away, owned by Ken and Bobbi... the couple whose home I am sitting in right now, typing this blog.

I had no intention of staying in town today. I figured I would get warm and brave and then head east towards the coast, down the Nescutta River. Two local farmers came in to the cafe and we got to talking... and I discovered that the Nescutta would take me over some serious hills... one of the hardest passes over the hills that separate the inland from the coast. They also worried that the road might be nearly impassble by bike this time of year, with the snow not having been plowed. I realized that I needed to change course.

I decided I would head south to McMinnville Library, about 6 miles from here, and get my couchsurf profile up and running, then head down 18 and camp for the night off a logging road (as recommended be Ken). I was trying to get warm... and brave... watching the snow come down outside... when Ken's wife Bobbi came in and offered me a guest room for the night. Really... I couldn't resist. So I'm losing a day of riding, but I have a computer to research on, and a dog to hang out with. My wet tent, footprint, and rainfly are all hanging to dry in the garage. My sleeping bag is over the banister, getting any dew-dampness out. I am happy and warm, and all right with the time I'm losing. Better to be safe and patient with myself. Tomorrow I will head south to McMinnville, maybe stop at the library, and then start east along highway 18.

That's all for now, my friends. This is a hard adventure already, and I admit that Iam daydreaming about my arrival in San Fransisco to keep my mind off the cold. I know there is a day or two of sunshine coming, and I can't wait.

Sending Love Everywhere,
Malcolm

ps. I'm not posting photos today... to be honest I dont have many yet. Cold fingers, camera... you know. Bria did take a few of the first few miles riding out... Including some of the gigantic bear that Steph put on her bike while we were headed out of Portland (hysterical)... and eventually I'll get them up. For now, I want to use this time on the computer to start my couchsurfing. I want to be warm. Can you blame me?