Pedaling Pilgrim Blog Home

Again… when one witnesses and wonders on many things through the course of a day, one forgets to include things in a blog… yesterday we witnessed the eminence of Mount Hood across the splendor of wheat fields – it was 70+ miles away! We left Newport with headlines saying Portland joined the top 10 list in worst air quality. When we left Corvallis it was to clear blue skies. Today it looks like God has granted us pristine air quality to Portland… maybe all the way to Chicago. With our Newport-to-Newport route, I was hoping to get a big tobacco sponsorship, but we’ve been hesitant to start smoking Newports with the threat of poor air quality. Now we can start up our pack-a-day influencer attempt (anyone have a phone number for R. J. Reynolds’s?)

We envisioned an easy day today, so we thought a lie-in to maximize some muscle recovery was the best approach this morning, though we were up shortly after 6 with our first campsite coffee in hand around 7. (Thanks Chad for the Jetboil recommendation 3 years ago when my original stove and French press were stolen by the Brainerd Bandit – makes great quick coffee!) After coffee and a morning stretch, I had to wait for a free bathroom stall because some teenage kid was in there catching up on his TikTok (new parents: you should have a “no phone to the throne” policy). But, my aggravation was quickly expelled when I saw a rock on my way back from the bathroom that read: “Let’s be awesome today!” I thought: “Yes! Let’s!”

We decided last night to stop for breakfast early in the day. After 5 miles on a trail following the Willamette River, we stopped at the Butteville General Store. They made a great breakfast and some staff and patrons were excited to hear about our journey. Thinking of my daughter Caroline (who eats a lot of avocado toast) I had the best breakfast I can remember. Though I later thought maybe I could’ve done better when I saw what looked to be a 6-year-old girl and her younger brother leaving with ice cream cones. I guess this is not just a feature in Hollywood screenplays; apparently ice cream for breakfast happens in the real world in rural Oregon.

Our nightly ritual is for me to send the Strava map for the next day to my partners so we can review and mentally prepare for the day. Last night I discovered that I failed to save a Day 3 map. So, I asked Strava for a map from Champoeg State Park to the neighborhood in eastern Portland where Jonathan lives. (Note: we learned today that Champoeg is pronounced “shampoo-we, which is fun.) Anyway, the map came up 5 miles shorter than we expected from my previously curated map that I didn’t save. This was good news as we looked forward to an easy day. 5 miles after breakfast we discovered the difference as Strava instructed us to make a left for the on-ramp to Interstate 5. I’ve already ranted about Strava, but I was gobsmacked to find the first suggested route was the least desirous imaginable. We abandoned Strava and followed Apple Maps the rest of the day.

What we expected to be an easy day was surprisingly challenging: less than 40 miles, but we faced several significant climbs in quick succession. We had a subsequent exhilarating descent back down to the Willamette in Oregon City, but I’m not sure if the downhill juice was worth the uphill squeeze on what should’ve been a parade day.

When we got into greater Portland we had two missions: The first was to find a bike shop to get Geeto and Lecy some proper rear view mirrors. With help from Pete at the Trek store (though really more credit to my engineering mind) we outfitted their bikes with some great backwards looking capability. Though we discussed: this was only going to create more anxiety for Lecy as he now had one more thing to worry about instead of being blissfully ignorant. In fact, we’re concerned tomorrow he’ll choose to launch himself into the Columbia River Gorge for fear of being struck by the approaching 18-wheeler. But, what’s done is done. I did get a chuckle the rest of the day as the two of them seemed to be in competition to see who could call out approaching cars quicker. “Car back!”

The second mission was to redress Velomanati Rule #47. Next door to the Trek store we had a round of proper local brews that were not made with rice and were free from a citrus fruit garnish. It was a nice little celebration to get us back on the right biking track before we finished our final few miles.

When we reached the home of our friend Jonathan and his wife Gui, we were greeted with a pitcher of water, wet towels and fresh cut watermelon. We didn’t recall paying for this resort service, but it really was a wonderful reception after a surprisingly challenging and warm day. Somehow our conversation dwelt a while on health, aging and death. Meningitis, diabetes, MRSA, cancer… we’ve each had personal experiences to share. Now nearing (or for one of us reaching) 60, mortality seems fairly certain. As a paramedic and firefighter, Geeto has seen a lot of death and mortality challenges first hand; he reminded us that no matter how old we are, we all age at the same rate. You run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking and racing around to come up behind you again. This wasn’t a depressing conversation, and I was glad to know my friends think of these things and don’t want to take any remaining days for granted.

After recovering, we showered and had a lovely Korean dinner of cold noodles and beef brisket.

I think tonight I’m reminded again how blessed I am to have this experience, to have these friends, to touch some lives along the way… I’m sure there’s plenty of “life gratitude” songs out there, but this is the first appropriate one that came to my mind. After “learning to live together until we die” last night, how about we truly live before we die: Live / Die

I nearly forgot… tomorrow we ride nearly 80 miles to and through the Columbia River Gorge. It should be epic if the sky is clear all the way. 20 miles in we start a 6 mile climb. Eek. Strava folks, here’s our planned day: Day 4: Portland to Lyle, WA