Day 41: August 21, 2010 (Florence, OR to Brookings, OR)

Day 41: August 21, 2010 (Florence, OR to Brookings, OR)

Technical Data:

Distance, miles: 169.05
Ride Time 11:22:52
Work, kJ: 7732
Average Power, watts: 187
Normalized Power, watts: 223
Average Speed, mph 14.71

Forecast: Cloudy and cold to start, NW wind at 10 mph, 65-75 degrees with a cool ocean chill at times.

After spending the last two days resting I was ready to rock this morning! With close to 12 hours of sleep each night prior I was really feeling like today was going to be the day to capture my 200 mile day, however I was happy with ~170 miles! So before I get into the day, the gap in the post is because I took a couple of days off in Florence to visit with a friend on Friday. Delaying the trip to visit with EJ was well worth it! To sum up the day on Friday I would describe it as "Magical!" (I'll ellaborate a little more about my rest days soon, however most of them are just filled with reading and seeing the sights, though there has been some interesting things happen, but if I spent all my time writing I wouldn't be able to have anything to write about. As with photos, some sites are captured, some are for my eyes only!) However, I do wish everyone that reads this could see all what I have seen, heard, smelled, scenced, touched on this journey of mine. However the day with EJ will be treasured for years to come, Thank You so much EJ for taking the time out of your busy busy schedule to spend a few hours with me...

Wanting to get an early start this morning was warranted, however the cold weather wasn't going to allow it! I slept like a champion last night, finally 1 out of 30+ sleeping outside with warmth. EJ bought me a fleece blanket and it make the world of difference vs. the sheet I have been using! Thanks again! I woke refreshed and feeling great, I wanted to start the day off and alert so I took a shower to clear out the cobwebs and I have always enjoyed a hot shower in the morning before starting my day. I hit up some oatmeal and filled my bottles before rolling out of camp. I was training today, the game plan was to hit Brookings before night fall and leaving at 8:30 wasn't helping! I haven't had a huge ride in a while and today was going to be the day!

With so many motivators going through my mind I was ready to ride! The key movitivators this morning was a 100+ day is called for and over due, rested with fresh legs (I could tell I have had a lot of fluid in my legs over the last couple of days and its time to flush that out too). The border of California and Oregon is close to 175 miles form here and I figured if I can get there I can possibly get to San Fransisco by Tuesday or Wednesday which is close to 411 miles from Crescent City, CA. EJ will be there and spending just a few more hours with her on this journey would be so cool...So was I racing today or training! I left the hiker/biker site with a game plan like Ironman!

Pace it, save the power for the last 1/3 of the ride. I paced it out the gate and didn't look down until 50 miles had passed, mentally things were dialed in. Thinking over and over of the motivators kept me going this morning. I bet your can think of the one that really had me driven today! I was having so much fun on the nice black pavement today, not to mention I was running brand new tires and running with new bar tape all thanks to my good friend Julian Joy and coming off an unbelievable day with my new friend EJ things were set up for an "Epic" day!

The weather was pretty much as it has been the last couple of days, wind coming out of the NW in the afternoon and cool and cloudy in the morning! Today however was chilly for most of the day, one of those riding days where your not sure what to wear, long or short sleeves, wind jacket et cetera? I kept with the Ironman mentality of pacing it, stop refill use the facilities and keep it rolling, keep all my stops to a minimum as the terrain was rolling like the rolling terrain of the Ozarks, however a little more scenic!

About 50 miles in I stop at a Diary Queen to grab some water and just keep cruising, however I take a wrong turn down the road fromt he DQ which took me out onto a cape, I was very close to my route however I took a right when I should have gone left. I think my thoughts of sticking to the game plan was a little too focused I failed to read the signs correctly. However, as with many things on this trip it was well worth it and maybe it was Fate! I head down the cape and stop at a lookout to see hundrends of Sea Lions and it was so beautiful! I snapped a few photos, however with this little Blackberry camera I can't get the shots I want, having a love for photography I can't wait to get back to work so I can purchase a new camera! I've had my eyes on this one camera for the last two years and I'll have it one day for sure...

Making the U-Turn off the cape I got kinda down as I wasn't sticking to the plan, then I thought - just motor on! The day is here for you to enjoy, not to get down because you made a mistake. Mistakes are bound to happen, its how we react to them that matters. I just smiled and shook it off and got back to the plan at hand! I make the correct turn this time and hit "The 7 Devils Road" - 7 stands for the seven small steep climbs on this stretch of road. I must have been out of glycogen during this section as I wasn't enjoying myself, or maybe the climbs were just super hard pulling BoB, the quality of roads were not that good either so that could have played with my mental strength. Pulling myself out of the depths of having no fun I get back to my day! Quickly the legs turn around after downing some Gu's and I get back to having a blast...

So many rollers I keep thinking about and how much fun this ride will be without pulling 50lbs of extra weight! Rolling on I keep to the hydrating and nutrition plan and things start to turn around! I keep thinking about trying to get to San Fran. and if she even wants to see me there? I figure I'll be closer to LA and San Diego so whether or not I'm not worried. Matters of the heart control my mind often, however I've learned to allow it too and to pull the reigns back when I have no control. One of the lessons I have learned over time is that I have no control of anything and that I should enjoy every moment, even when my thoughts want to control me. I figure if I get to the LA area by the 29th I might be able to see Tyrone Wells in concert again, I've heard him a couple times and I looked up if he would be playing in the area a couple days ago and sure enough near LA so that would be a bonus on this trip! Sure do wish I could share him with so many as all his songs are so positive!

I hit the 100 mile marker and I'm thinking 70 more is going to be tough, but I have to go for it! Pushing the body to new limits is what I thrive on, the body is so remarkable on how it adapts and this endurance I am building on this trip will stick with me for the rest of my life! Leaving me prepared for the next adventure ahead of me! On this next section I kept thinking about where will I end up after all this is over? Where will I reside, where will I find work? I think Oregon may be tugging at heart for numerous reasons, so who knows!!!

Once to Bandon, OR my heart got lost in the Ocean - the scenie rocks off the coast and numerous beaches was so scenic! I sure do hope that I can tour with the one I love someday to share all these romantic moments, I'm sure the time will come! Passed many cyclist along this stretch but I just stuck to the plan as I wanted the 170 mile day, nothing like pushing the body and if you look at the data this is by far my longest and strongest day with a 233 normalized power, letting me know the terrain was something and there was a lot of climbing! That field test coming up after I get done with this trip is going to be something! Maybe I'll hit the 400's and at 175 lbs I'll be ready to ride that 40K TT for sure...

The day was getting away when I rolled into Gold Beach, I still had 25 miles to go and it was 7PM, with a few good solid climbs ahead of me and no lights I needed to move. I stopped for groceries at Gold Beach and figured I wouldn't be eating until after 9 but my mind was still on the game plan so I new I was mentally alert which was good, 145 miles in and feeling great, just running out of day light. The next section I should have bagged and stopped at the HumBug Mountain Hiker/Biker but I rolled on thinking I need to do this!

This section had all the hills that the topo read it would, but the best thing about this section was the "Sunset" - what an amazing veiw!!! I had to stop and watch even though I was close to 15 miles outside of the camp site. Now in the dark I put my headlamp on backwars, flashing and using the light of the moon I roll on! These hills were not easy and I was starting to feel the pain in the quads from the long day. Thinking I need to get off this highway I rolled on, scared no, worried yes! I roll into the campsite with no problem, stations closed so I'll have to pay in the morning! I set up camp and start dinner that I purchased back in Gold Beach, more pasta with some milk! Nothing like a little recovery protein to top off a 7700+ calorie ride! What a day, I made it and now its time to eat, shower and get some sleep. However, once at camp I check my email and text and EJ has responded to the long email so I have to reply! Up now at 12:30 I decide to call it a night, however the ride still has me a wake so I think I got to sleep close to 1:20AM or so! O' so worth it, I was thinking about all the partiers and how they stay up till 2-3 partying and here I am riding my bike till sunset to start dinner when most people are heading out to party! What a day, what an epic day!!!