Sorry it has been so long since I have written anything. We spent three days in Corvallis, OR with Gail (Hap's sister) and Walt, pretty much doing nothing. And it was GREAT. I think that they were concerned about us getting bored because they kept asking us what we wanted to do. But you have to remember that we have pretty much been "on the go----or is that on the pedal?" since May 6. So these three days were perfect for us. It gave Hap a good chance to go over the bike. He finally changed our front tire. It is amazing to think that we have gotten over 4000 miles from it and only one flat tire. I am sure that is a new world record. At least for Eaton Tandem riding it is. To give you an idea of what I am talking about we typically get about 1200 miles or so on a tire while riding it with all the weight. It's been kindof funny for the last several weeks, anyone who looked at our tire said, "I hope you have a spare tire, it looks like that one is worn out!". He also put a new chain on. The chain was also original from the start of this trip. He also helped Walt work on a wood building project. I am not sure what they were building. But they spent alot of time on something. I on the other hand spent alot of time napping, reading and getting laundry done. We did go swimming at the pool one day. They have a really nice pool in Corvallis. We swam laps and made a trip down the big slide. We decided we didn't want to wait in line for another go round on the slide. The parents of the kids probably would've been upset if the "old" people cut in front of their kids. It sure was great to be in a pool again. At home I typically swim 4 days/week. I have been missing my swimming. Another critical activity that "we" (ok so I was taking a nap and wasn't actually a part of the "we", but I don't think that disqualifies me from the result), cranked some homemade ice cream. The flavor of the day was coffee, with chocolate chunks, kahlua and almonds. Mmmm...goood! As it turns out they had a freezer full of various types of homemade ice cream. Let's see if I can remember all that we sampled! Double strawberry, Creamy strawberry, chocolate and something else that I don't remember. But then when you get right down to it, does it really matter? It was all outstanding! Although I have to say that the little bit of peanut butter that I added to the chocolate made it just that little bit better. Just in case you are wondering they only have healthy ice cream in Oregon or more specifically Corvallis Oregon. This is mainly due to the direction of the sun shining on the cows as they stand in the sun and create the milk that is put in the ice cream. The only occurs on the west coast. So if you want to experience this phenomenom you need to go to Corvallis Oregon. Ok enough about our delicious, healthy ice cream! Gail also fixed us some wonderful meals while we were there. It was so nice to have a homebase for a few days. Thanks Gail and Walt! We stayed at their house until Sunday morning, went to church and then headed south toward Eugene. Our goal for the day was Fern Ridge Resevoir. We rode most of the day on 99W. It had a nice shoulder with a moderate amount of traffic. The riding was pretty flat since we are in the Williamette Valley with lots of farmland. And just the right height of cornfields. If you are a cyclist then you know what I am talking about. Sometimes there is an advantage to being a short cyclist!
We had a few hills to climb up to the resevoir but nothing major. We found the Richardson County Campground and a nice place to camp. As we were setting up the lady from the RV next to us came over and introduced herself. She said she was a cyclist and was from Tucson. She asked if we liked blackberries? Of course! She took me over to where bushes (do blackberries live in bushes???) of blackberries and even helped me pick them. They were great with our spaghetti dinner. Too bad we didn't have some of Gail and Walt's homemade ice cream! She also asked if we needed anything. I said well my husband would probably like a beer. Here she came a few minutes later with a beer. After dinner she invited us over to her RV to sit in REAL chairs and talk for awhile. She and her husband lived in their RV full time. We swapped stories about living on the road. It struck me that there is such a contrast from living on a bicycle and living out of a RV.
The next morning we started riding west again over to the coast. We stopped for breakfast on Rt 26 that went directly west. We talked to one of the locals about the road and riding on it. She said oh it shouldn't be bad today. I wouldn't ride it on the weekend but you should be fine. So off we went. There was a very small berm/shoulder whatever you want to call it. In a few places it disappeared but the good news was that there was some road construction going on. For us that means that the traffic is usually going slower and sometimes we have a lane all to ourselves. When we got to the constuction a flagman stopped us and looked very puzzeled at our bicycle. Hap said is it ok if we just ride up the berm? The guy said, "oh we usually just throw the bikes in the back of the pilot car. Let me ask". We're looking at each other and looking at the little toyota pick up truck and saying I don't think it's gonna fit! When the truck came over, they said "just stay on the berm". Ok........... We stopped at a gingerbread restaurant for .... yes you guessed it...gingerbread. But mostly for a break in the traffic. It was a hot day again and sunny so with the traffic it gets tiring. On Rt 26 there was a tunnel that we had to go through. Tunnels are NOT my favorite. A few years ago, on a tour pulling Kaite the wonder dog in her trailer in Kentucky, we rode through a very narrow (or as they say in Kentucky---narry) tunnel and fell over. It was so dark in it that Hap lost track of where he was a bumped into the side and over we went. When I got a light out of our pack, we looked at Katie and she was still sitting in her trailer (as it lay on it's side) and looked at us as if to say, what happened?? Since then I am alittle leary of tunnels. This tunnel had a button for bikers to push that lit up flashing lights so cars new a cycle was inside. It was also very well lit, so it wasn't a big deal. We got to the coast and arrived in Florence. In Florence we stopped and bought some groceries and road south on Rt 101 to the Honeman Memorial State Park. We found the hiker/biker sites and set up camp. Let me explain the hiker/biker sites. In Oregon and California, the state parks leave a group camp area open to anyone who walks or bikes in. That way you are never turned away from a campground. It 's really hard to go another 10 or 20 miles down the road just because a campground is full. In Oregon they charge us $4/per person and that includes the HOT shower. I don't know what they will charge in California. On our first trip down the coast in 1986 the charge was $2 per person!
We left the next morning on a beautiful sunny hot day (70-80 degrees) with a wonderful wind out of the north. It was great. The biggest problem today was the traffic. Exactly what we had been afraid of. This is our third trip down the coast. The first one in 86 was great. The second in the late 90's wasn't so good, because the traffic was just awful. Well this day it was worse. The state of Oregon goes to alot of trouble sending out information to cyclists (the DOT produces a map of bicycling the Pacific Coast) but I think it is not that safe to ride on. We were hoping that by being so late in the summer and on a weekday it wouldn't be bad. Oh well, hang on and keep you elbows in. I think the biggest problem is that there is no consistent berm. There will be one that is maybe 2-3 ft wide and then if there is a hill there will be a passing lane. Which you think would make it better because now you have 2 lanes of traffic so that cars and trucks can go into the other lane. But the berm disappears and now you have traffic that doesn't move over and is passing by you even closer. I spent the day hanging onto the handlebars so hard that I got cramps in my forearms and almost went blind looking in my mirror at what was coming. I just don't understand what people are thinking. Poor Hap had a heck of a time. But we made it. We also had a couple of "fun" bridges to cross. One at Coos Bay and one at Reedsport. We remembered these bridges very well. The one at Coos Bay cyclists have to walk on a very narrow sidewalk (actually I don't think it really qualifies as a sidewalk). The first time we walked over this bridge, we were about half way across pushing the tandem and we heard a big horn behind us. What's that we wonder?? We turned around and saw a huge oversized something or other coming at us, hanging halfway over our sort of sidewalk, with our big BUS! What! So we both stood against the rail holding the bike and hoping we were all going to fit! Thankfully we did! This time, the traffic wasn't a problem, but the wind was something else. Hap was hanging on to his end (the front) and I was hanging onto my end (the back) while walking on the narrow sidewalk with the wind just whipping (that's a nautical term for very fast) from the side. It was all we could do to hang on. It was a long bridge too! But we made it and then had to "take a break" on the other side. The next bridge was a two lane highway with no berm AND no sidewalk. Mmmm.... remember traffic is lining up behind us. I stopped to make sure no one had drawn a target on my back! Just as we started on the middle of it a big truck came right up behind us. I sat up as tall as I could, put my hand back behind me, looked the driver in the eye and said, hello, we're riding here right now, would you be so kind as to please slow down for about 45 seconds, then we'll be out of your way..............." And he did just that! Surprised us but whatever works. We thanked him as he went by! We arrived in Bandon, our destination for the day and found Mary and Mark's house. It was so good to see them. Mary had grown up next door to Hap's family so they were old friends. They have just a gorgeous house overlooking the water. They also had a jack russell named Laura. She was so cute. Mary fixed us a great dinner of steaks. They have a ranch and raise cattle so go figure!! It was great food. We had gotten to their house a day earlier than expected so we decided to stay over another day. Mary arranged for me to get a massage. My back says thank you very much. Speaking of my back and neck. They are holding in there. I am hoping to make it until we get back to Ohio for a visit in November and then I'll probably have to have more steroid shots. We'll see. So far the TENS unit I am carrying and the occasional massage seems to be helping. Our day off we spent eating, massaging, eating, laundry, eating and sleeping in that order. Oh and Hap got his haircut (I think the one on the left). Bandon is such a nice little town on the coast. It was fun just to walk through all of the little shops. Tomorrow we plan to head south to Gold Beach, Oregon. We are hoping that the traffic will get better after the holiday weekend. Don't worry I'll check my shirt again to make sure I don't wear the one with the target on it.
One more thing! I haven't given a babies report for awhile. Just to let you know. All of our babies, the twins and the other one are doing fine. Both mommies are healthy and I heard from a little birdy that they are getting baby fat. They both sound very good on the phone. The twins were 1.5 and 1.7 pounds and the other was 1.3 pounds I think. ETA is still the same. Twins mid Oct-mid Nov. Baby number three is Dec 10 or so. I asked Tiff to ask the doc if she could give me a more definite date so we could get plane tickets. I guess she thought this was very funny............Doesn't she realize what's at stake here? Those babies need their Grand Aunt Diane to help them be born! What is she thinking?
We had a few hills to climb up to the resevoir but nothing major. We found the Richardson County Campground and a nice place to camp. As we were setting up the lady from the RV next to us came over and introduced herself. She said she was a cyclist and was from Tucson. She asked if we liked blackberries? Of course! She took me over to where bushes (do blackberries live in bushes???) of blackberries and even helped me pick them. They were great with our spaghetti dinner. Too bad we didn't have some of Gail and Walt's homemade ice cream! She also asked if we needed anything. I said well my husband would probably like a beer. Here she came a few minutes later with a beer. After dinner she invited us over to her RV to sit in REAL chairs and talk for awhile. She and her husband lived in their RV full time. We swapped stories about living on the road. It struck me that there is such a contrast from living on a bicycle and living out of a RV.
The next morning we started riding west again over to the coast. We stopped for breakfast on Rt 26 that went directly west. We talked to one of the locals about the road and riding on it. She said oh it shouldn't be bad today. I wouldn't ride it on the weekend but you should be fine. So off we went. There was a very small berm/shoulder whatever you want to call it. In a few places it disappeared but the good news was that there was some road construction going on. For us that means that the traffic is usually going slower and sometimes we have a lane all to ourselves. When we got to the constuction a flagman stopped us and looked very puzzeled at our bicycle. Hap said is it ok if we just ride up the berm? The guy said, "oh we usually just throw the bikes in the back of the pilot car. Let me ask". We're looking at each other and looking at the little toyota pick up truck and saying I don't think it's gonna fit! When the truck came over, they said "just stay on the berm". Ok........... We stopped at a gingerbread restaurant for .... yes you guessed it...gingerbread. But mostly for a break in the traffic. It was a hot day again and sunny so with the traffic it gets tiring. On Rt 26 there was a tunnel that we had to go through. Tunnels are NOT my favorite. A few years ago, on a tour pulling Kaite the wonder dog in her trailer in Kentucky, we rode through a very narrow (or as they say in Kentucky---narry) tunnel and fell over. It was so dark in it that Hap lost track of where he was a bumped into the side and over we went. When I got a light out of our pack, we looked at Katie and she was still sitting in her trailer (as it lay on it's side) and looked at us as if to say, what happened?? Since then I am alittle leary of tunnels. This tunnel had a button for bikers to push that lit up flashing lights so cars new a cycle was inside. It was also very well lit, so it wasn't a big deal. We got to the coast and arrived in Florence. In Florence we stopped and bought some groceries and road south on Rt 101 to the Honeman Memorial State Park. We found the hiker/biker sites and set up camp. Let me explain the hiker/biker sites. In Oregon and California, the state parks leave a group camp area open to anyone who walks or bikes in. That way you are never turned away from a campground. It 's really hard to go another 10 or 20 miles down the road just because a campground is full. In Oregon they charge us $4/per person and that includes the HOT shower. I don't know what they will charge in California. On our first trip down the coast in 1986 the charge was $2 per person!
We left the next morning on a beautiful sunny hot day (70-80 degrees) with a wonderful wind out of the north. It was great. The biggest problem today was the traffic. Exactly what we had been afraid of. This is our third trip down the coast. The first one in 86 was great. The second in the late 90's wasn't so good, because the traffic was just awful. Well this day it was worse. The state of Oregon goes to alot of trouble sending out information to cyclists (the DOT produces a map of bicycling the Pacific Coast) but I think it is not that safe to ride on. We were hoping that by being so late in the summer and on a weekday it wouldn't be bad. Oh well, hang on and keep you elbows in. I think the biggest problem is that there is no consistent berm. There will be one that is maybe 2-3 ft wide and then if there is a hill there will be a passing lane. Which you think would make it better because now you have 2 lanes of traffic so that cars and trucks can go into the other lane. But the berm disappears and now you have traffic that doesn't move over and is passing by you even closer. I spent the day hanging onto the handlebars so hard that I got cramps in my forearms and almost went blind looking in my mirror at what was coming. I just don't understand what people are thinking. Poor Hap had a heck of a time. But we made it. We also had a couple of "fun" bridges to cross. One at Coos Bay and one at Reedsport. We remembered these bridges very well. The one at Coos Bay cyclists have to walk on a very narrow sidewalk (actually I don't think it really qualifies as a sidewalk). The first time we walked over this bridge, we were about half way across pushing the tandem and we heard a big horn behind us. What's that we wonder?? We turned around and saw a huge oversized something or other coming at us, hanging halfway over our sort of sidewalk, with our big BUS! What! So we both stood against the rail holding the bike and hoping we were all going to fit! Thankfully we did! This time, the traffic wasn't a problem, but the wind was something else. Hap was hanging on to his end (the front) and I was hanging onto my end (the back) while walking on the narrow sidewalk with the wind just whipping (that's a nautical term for very fast) from the side. It was all we could do to hang on. It was a long bridge too! But we made it and then had to "take a break" on the other side. The next bridge was a two lane highway with no berm AND no sidewalk. Mmmm.... remember traffic is lining up behind us. I stopped to make sure no one had drawn a target on my back! Just as we started on the middle of it a big truck came right up behind us. I sat up as tall as I could, put my hand back behind me, looked the driver in the eye and said, hello, we're riding here right now, would you be so kind as to please slow down for about 45 seconds, then we'll be out of your way..............." And he did just that! Surprised us but whatever works. We thanked him as he went by! We arrived in Bandon, our destination for the day and found Mary and Mark's house. It was so good to see them. Mary had grown up next door to Hap's family so they were old friends. They have just a gorgeous house overlooking the water. They also had a jack russell named Laura. She was so cute. Mary fixed us a great dinner of steaks. They have a ranch and raise cattle so go figure!! It was great food. We had gotten to their house a day earlier than expected so we decided to stay over another day. Mary arranged for me to get a massage. My back says thank you very much. Speaking of my back and neck. They are holding in there. I am hoping to make it until we get back to Ohio for a visit in November and then I'll probably have to have more steroid shots. We'll see. So far the TENS unit I am carrying and the occasional massage seems to be helping. Our day off we spent eating, massaging, eating, laundry, eating and sleeping in that order. Oh and Hap got his haircut (I think the one on the left). Bandon is such a nice little town on the coast. It was fun just to walk through all of the little shops. Tomorrow we plan to head south to Gold Beach, Oregon. We are hoping that the traffic will get better after the holiday weekend. Don't worry I'll check my shirt again to make sure I don't wear the one with the target on it.
One more thing! I haven't given a babies report for awhile. Just to let you know. All of our babies, the twins and the other one are doing fine. Both mommies are healthy and I heard from a little birdy that they are getting baby fat. They both sound very good on the phone. The twins were 1.5 and 1.7 pounds and the other was 1.3 pounds I think. ETA is still the same. Twins mid Oct-mid Nov. Baby number three is Dec 10 or so. I asked Tiff to ask the doc if she could give me a more definite date so we could get plane tickets. I guess she thought this was very funny............Doesn't she realize what's at stake here? Those babies need their Grand Aunt Diane to help them be born! What is she thinking?
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