Ronald Eddy Home Page

Bad news. On my way to breakfast I hurt my leg. It is probibly only a deep muscle bruse, but it will make it impossible for me to keep the pace necessary to complete the trip in the time I have. So, to limit damage done, I am ending the trip.

I am going to catch a bus to a train to another bus to get home.

While day dreaming about smooth, flat roads I found this 4 leaf clover. So, I guess it will be smooth sailing from here on out.

:)

It has been a disaster of a day. It was raining when I got up. It is cold. The wind blew in my face the whole way. There are monster mountians and I was really, really lost. Those are my excuses.

Anyway, I was not the only person to fall for the push your bike up a muddy mountian bike route. I passed a couple doing the same. They somehow were happy to be there and not on the road. I am afraid that they both might have fallen and hit their heads earlier in the day.

So, I just saw a paper that said that San Diego is only about 800 miles away. That is good.

I stopped at a motel tonight and had a great meal then slept... a lot.

Start time 7:30am
End time 5:15pm
Total ride time 5:57:07
Daily distance 53.61
Average Speed 9.0
Total trip distance 975.5

Ok, I don't see a bike path here either. The sign pointed this way about 5 miles back. Looked like a cool path, then things turned ugly. This mud puddle is going straight up a hill. Yes, it has been doing this for a while. I am in the clouds now. The problem is that the 'never turn back Ron' is in contol now and so it is onward and upward for me.
:)

Anyway, why stay on the nice smooth road when you can travel over the tallest mountian you can see on a mud path while dragging your fully loaded road bike? There is just no challange in it.

So, it's 10am and I have gone 15.5 miles today. What progress! 100 mile days here I come!

When I started, I thought today was going to be a break out day for me, but then I skipped breakfast at 25 miles and everything went down hill. I all but limped into town for lunch (56 miles) and never really recovered.

I did ride with some cool people from Tuson, AZ. We met them a while back, they were leaving the Hoh Rainforest when we were going in.

My average speed is continuing to fall. I believe this to be due to muscle fatigue. I also expect that the average will level off and then climb as my legs strengthen.

Start time 7:30am
End time 7:15pm
Actual ride time 9:03:52
Daily distance 107.84
Average speed 11.8
Trip total 921.9

Well I made it to CA!

I think that it is about 364 miles to San Francisco.

Today was an extreamly hard day. It seemed like there were hills the entire way, my legs are dead, and the wind was extreamly confused. However, I did make my mileage goal.

Tonight should be my last night in Oregon. I am about 92 miles from the border.

Ride start time 7:00am
Ride end time 6:30pm
Actual ride time 8:22:44
Average speed 12.6
Daily distance 106.33
Total trip distance 814.0

I started today in Tillamook and ended 3 miles south of Waldport. The scenery changed a lot today. I started dairy country; rolling hills and green pastures. I have crossed what looks to be the worst single mountain on the route. I went through wetlands. I clung to high clifts over the ocean. And, I rode through windswept sand dunes. It has been an interesting day.

Anyway, in an attempt to lower the weight I am carrying on the bike, I got rid of all my paper. So, I have nothing to record my daily stats on. Always the clever guy, I am, and always looking for another use for a computer, I am going to record them here.

Ride start time 12:30pm
Ride end time 8:02pm
Actual ride time 6:27:57
Daily miles 92.53
Average speed 14.3
total trip distance 707.6

Ok, time for another change.

Dani has decided to hop a bus back home. It has been great having her on the ride. She has really improved. If we had more time I am sure we would have made it all the way to Mexico. She is tough and improving everyday. We are just out of time. Maybe next time.

I am going to continue. I have 2 weeks to travel 1400 miles. Yes, it is going to be a race. I am going to be riding long and hard everyday. I think I can make it, but who knows what will happen.

I am excited about the challenge. I will be pushing a lot harder than I have in the past. Last year I was just enjoying the ride. This time it is all about the miles.

I will try to post daily, if nothing else location and miles traveled. I am still taking pictures, but I will have to wait to upload them until I get home.

There have been some changes over the last few days. Dani is not comfortable with the idea of 70 miles a day to get to Mexico. So getting to Mexico this trip is probably out. Our goal now is to go about 50 miles each day and see where we end up. We estimate we will probably make it to San Francisco.

Today was a rest day. We stopped in Horquiam, WA. I think we both needed a day off. Today also happens to be my birthday. So, far it has been a great day. I am excited about riding tomorrow.

Today we camped at Willaby S.P. near Amanda Park, WA. Went about 53 miles today. Willaby is right beside Quinault Rain Forest part of Olympic National Park. Infact, we only went about a quarter of a mile to get there. So, I guess you could say we camped in a rain forest. It was beautiful. Much better that the Hoh rain forest we saw a couple days ago. There will be pictures.

Today we visited the Hoh Rain Forest in the Olympic National Park. It was amazing. There were fir trees that were 550 years old, 273 feet tall, and 12 feet in diameter. The trees were amazing! There was moss on everything. We stopped tonight at Bogachiel S.P.

We stopped in Port Angeles about 30 miles or so for the day. A wire for my cycling computer has developed a fault. So, distances traveled for yesterday are questionable.

This is the last city of any size for a while. We are going to stock up on items we think we will need for about the next week. That also means that daily updates may be hit or miss for a while.

We ran into some nice people that lead back country trips and they let us in on the inside scoop to natural wonder around here. I feel like we really went to the source on this one. The guy we talked to is in a picture on the front of the cycling map we have been using for the last few days.

Anyway, we are still in the rain shadow. So, the weather has been sunny, but cold and windy. I am sure the sun will not last much longer. We should be in the rainforest in the next 3 days or so.

Yesterday, I finally found a library and started uploading some pictures. There are many more to come, I just ran out of time. I hope you enjoy them.

We called a rest day today at about noon. We were planning to rest tomorrow, but after looking at the map we figured that today was the best bet.

We have been climbing mountians and then riding down the other side for about 2 days now. There is no end to mountians for at least the next week. The views have been spectacular, but it is taking a lot out of us. Yesterday, we saw a bald eagle very close to the road. It was as close as I have ever been to one in the wild.

So, we went 26 miles today and rested.

So, we have gone 170 miles so far. That is about 1/10th of the total distance. While I thought it would be raining the entire time, it has only really rained a little one night.

Today, we crossed Puget Sound on a ferry. Tonight, we will stay in Old Fort Townson SP.

So far, we have seen a ton of amazing song birds and insects that I never have seen before. We also saw some buffalo, llamas and a couple kangaroos. They were all just along the road. The vistas are breath taking.

Anyway, in the morning we will continue west between the coast and Olympic Mountian range.

We left late, but rested and ready to go this morning. Took about 15 mins to get to the border where they took the Canadian oranges we just bought. :)

We ended up at Lerrabbe State Park to camp after 49.98 miles. The ride was spectacular. The mountians and trees are wonderful. I am taking pictures, I just haven't found a place to upload them.

Well, Vancouver is a wonderful city and we saw a lot of it. I think that was mostly because we were lost most of the day. I guess that could be bad, but I was having a good time.

When we finally got out of the city, we were greeted by wide open country side and the kind of hospitality that Canada is noted for.

While looking for our campsite a car stopped and asked us if we needed some place to stay the night. Ok, the car didn't ask us anything it was Lauren with her 9 month old Eva. Ean, Lauren, and Eva not only had a place for us to sleep, they also feed us a fantastic pasta meal, and had great stories to tell. Ean once raced competitivly on the national level and had a great Lance Armstrong story. He also works at a bike shop and he tuned up our bikes, nice!

Anyway, we could have been in a tent sleeping on the ground and instead slept in a house and had a delightful evening. Thanks guys!

Today we went 35.6 miles. So, in the morning we head to the border. I think we are just a couple miles away.

The day has come and I am on my way. Dani has decided to join me on the ride. We met in Vancouver.

The bikes seem to have made the trip very well. Only problem now is that one of Dani's bags is not here. Amtrak says that it should arrive later today.

Yesterday, I rode about 11 miles through downtown Vancouver at rush hour. Interesting, Vancouver seems to be extreamly bike friendly.

Now all that remains is a lost bag and then we head South.