Half Way
Day 8
Day off in Newport
15km local cycling
Today was simply another day off to actually enjoy the sights instead of just cycling, eating, sleeping, cycling.
A really cool paved path leads from the South Beach State Park to almost the south end of the bridge leading into Newport. We had donned all our rain gear, including booties since the skies had opened up in some kind of deluge.
Up we went past the Rogue Brewery, resisting the temptation of an early morning tasting spree. First a visit to the historic waterfront was in order since that's where the honking/barking of the sea lions was coming from. We followed the rude sounds in search of the infamous dogs of the sea. My finely honed tracker senses indicated that we needed to head onto the dock to our right. I called out to Patti and went up on the low sidewalk to walk my bike. Then a rather disheartening clatter emanated from behind me. I looked around to see my beloved Patti and her bike in a rather unatractive heap on the ground. Her head was against a wooden post. She had attempted to mount the slippery edge of the sidewalk at too shallow of an angle and went down in one big embarassing pile. Her head hit the wooded post and most likely got saved by the helmet. A quick test of the helmet later we determined that it was damaged and will need to be replaced. Luckily the only thing that was hurt was someone's ego :-)
No sooner did we get off our bikes on the dock did the sun come out. We were now steaming like an overheated sauna inside of our rain gear. Off it all came.
Patti and I decide to split for half the day while I went to the library for some blogging and she went for some bumming around and a nice massage to take care of some stiffness. Some of it a result of a hockey injury several days before we left Victoria.
The smart cookie that I am I had decided to leave my camera's USB cable at home. Why would I need it when computers now had XD and SD card slots anyway? Of course none of the computers I came across had the slots. I guess only my laptop has it ...sheesh. So off I went to Staples to purchase an new cable. I can be a bit devious at times and when I entered Staples I noticed that there were only two staffers who weren't paying any attention to me at all ...Perfect!
I found a computer with an XD slot and promptly inserted my camera's memory card, clutching my USB flash drive in my fist. That's when I discovered that there were no easily accessible USB ports ...sigh! I checked out all the computers and none of the others had an XD slot, but lots of USB ports ...go figure. Now the gig was up anyway since the sales associate had spotted me and came over to see if I needed something. I hastily purchased the $23 USB camera cable and made my way back to the library.
This night was rather unpleasant. South Beach State Park felt more like a huge RV parking lot with some trees thrown in for decorative effect. Behind us were some very noisy yurt people. 3 of the cyclists had gotten together at one of the tables and were being as noisy as can be while the rest of us talked in more considerate and respectful tones. The stress was mounting for both of us and we both agreed that this was not a very restful spot to be right now.
Day off in Newport
15km local cycling
Today was simply another day off to actually enjoy the sights instead of just cycling, eating, sleeping, cycling.
A really cool paved path leads from the South Beach State Park to almost the south end of the bridge leading into Newport. We had donned all our rain gear, including booties since the skies had opened up in some kind of deluge.
Up we went past the Rogue Brewery, resisting the temptation of an early morning tasting spree. First a visit to the historic waterfront was in order since that's where the honking/barking of the sea lions was coming from. We followed the rude sounds in search of the infamous dogs of the sea. My finely honed tracker senses indicated that we needed to head onto the dock to our right. I called out to Patti and went up on the low sidewalk to walk my bike. Then a rather disheartening clatter emanated from behind me. I looked around to see my beloved Patti and her bike in a rather unatractive heap on the ground. Her head was against a wooden post. She had attempted to mount the slippery edge of the sidewalk at too shallow of an angle and went down in one big embarassing pile. Her head hit the wooded post and most likely got saved by the helmet. A quick test of the helmet later we determined that it was damaged and will need to be replaced. Luckily the only thing that was hurt was someone's ego :-)
No sooner did we get off our bikes on the dock did the sun come out. We were now steaming like an overheated sauna inside of our rain gear. Off it all came.
Patti and I decide to split for half the day while I went to the library for some blogging and she went for some bumming around and a nice massage to take care of some stiffness. Some of it a result of a hockey injury several days before we left Victoria.
The smart cookie that I am I had decided to leave my camera's USB cable at home. Why would I need it when computers now had XD and SD card slots anyway? Of course none of the computers I came across had the slots. I guess only my laptop has it ...sheesh. So off I went to Staples to purchase an new cable. I can be a bit devious at times and when I entered Staples I noticed that there were only two staffers who weren't paying any attention to me at all ...Perfect!
I found a computer with an XD slot and promptly inserted my camera's memory card, clutching my USB flash drive in my fist. That's when I discovered that there were no easily accessible USB ports ...sigh! I checked out all the computers and none of the others had an XD slot, but lots of USB ports ...go figure. Now the gig was up anyway since the sales associate had spotted me and came over to see if I needed something. I hastily purchased the $23 USB camera cable and made my way back to the library.
This night was rather unpleasant. South Beach State Park felt more like a huge RV parking lot with some trees thrown in for decorative effect. Behind us were some very noisy yurt people. 3 of the cyclists had gotten together at one of the tables and were being as noisy as can be while the rest of us talked in more considerate and respectful tones. The stress was mounting for both of us and we both agreed that this was not a very restful spot to be right now.
Comments