Bike Across America – Day One

Monday, June 19, 2017

Start: Astoria, Oregon
End: St. Helens, Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 68.3/94.8
Elevation Ascended: 3,388
Weather: Marine layer, 56° at start; sunny, 83° at finish
3D Video (click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride)

Today they said “Go East, Old People!” and so we did.  We said goodbye to the Oregon coast and headed toward New Hampshire. This was a day of firsts for us – the first official day of riding, our first “morning routine”, and our first flat tire.

Today’s  route was very straightforward – turn left out of the hotel in Astoria, ride 68 miles on US 30, turn right into the destination hotel. Even I couldn’t get lost today and some of my Tennessee cycling friends will appreciate the humor in that.  Be sure to check out the 3D video of our route each day. It takes about a 60-90 seconds and gives you a flyover view of where we rode. The link is always in the stats section above. Note that the elevation total on the video will vary from the official ABB numbers and we consider the ride organizers’ stats to be the final word.

The road was in generally good condition with a decent shoulder.  The only potential hazard was logging trucks zooming by and the debris that lands in the shoulder (tree bark, etc). The thrill of descending a 7% grade on two wheels at 30 mph and catching the draft of a logging truck will send your heart racing and make you yell woohoo! The scenery quickly changed from coastal grasses to tall timberlands  and the sun felt wonderful when it broke through around mile 15. Another highlight of the day was a full view of Mt. St. Helens as we descended to our second rest stop at mile 47. It was spectacular, even with a huge portion of its top blown off! We weren’t able to safely pull over to get a photo but one of our new friends was able to get one and was kind enough to share it with us.

As for Team Pea, our only hiccup was a flat tire at mile 40. Bev caught some debris that cut the sidewall on her front tire. We tried the old trick of “booting” the tire with a dollar bill (to temporarily patch the small cut in the tire) and putting in a new tube but it didn’t hold and we had to call the ABB maintenance van for a new tire. The logistical and mechanical support from ABB has been remarkable so far. Jim, the head mechanic was so happy to replace Bev’s tire because he was getting a little bored!

There are a few riders from Alabama on this trip and they like us mostly because we understand them when they speak. One of them is 69-year old Clarence, who has three sisters, two who are still alive and one, the oldest, who passed away last year. Here’s the odd thing – his two surviving sisters live in our hometown of Farragut, Tennessee and as he described where each of them live, we knew the exact streets. As if the odds of that weren’t long enough, the recently deceased sister, Margaret, also lived in Farragut and the family dedicated a bench in her name on a greenway that we’ve run on. We know the exact location of Margaret’s bench. Clarence gently asked us to  “have a sit down on her bench and enjoy a moment of peace” when we get back home. We promised to honor his request and send him a photo of us enjoying that special bench. It really is a very small world.

And in case any of you are wondering, the massive consumption of food has begun. More on that in a later post but today’s intake included oatmeal, bagel, cheese omelette, three pancakes, too many Oreo cookies and fig newtons to count, a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. And that’s just me. And dinner isn’t for another hour.  (Update: dinner was lasagna, pizza, breadsticks, salad, and lemon bars.  I may need to dial it back a bit….)

Not many photos today due to lack of safe turnouts and rolling through logging country. Tomorrow we head to Welches, Oregon and are hoping for more clear skies and great views of Mt. Hood!