The Tailwinds are Here!!

Day 9
South Beach (Newport) to Carl Washburne State Park.
57km by bike

The kickass winds have finally arrived. Blowing us along the way from behind. The shoreline was simply stunning. Wide sandy beaches, high rocky headlands with roads clinging to their sides and relatively low volumes of traffic. The hills were become somewhat easier for me now that my legs were starting to remember how to ride. At one point the tailwind was so strong that I had to brake on a slight uphill in order to come to a full stop.

We enjoyed a nice little blowhole along the way. It reminded me of a whale spouting away. I half jokingly tried to convince Patti to continue all the way to the California border. "I signed up for Astoria to Coos Bay" she firmly retorted.

By now we were feeling quite dirty, smelly and a bit weary of camp food, dirty sleep wear and damp tents. I took a whiff of the tights I was using for sleeping and immediately agreed with Patti's earlier comments regarding foul smells. Off to the shower with laundry bundle in hand. There's no place like a free hot shower in a State Park to also do one's laundry. I didn't dare ask about Patti's habit of doing the dishes in the shower stall next to me.

This night was much more relaxing. There were no noisy bikers around and the hike/bike site was quite separate from the regular sites.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yaviza, Panama and Homeward Bound

Image
Day 44 to Day 49 Wednesday, April 21st to Monday, April 26th, 2010 Panama City to Yaviza to Meteti Meteti to Panama City Causeway Panama City Causeway to Guadalupe, Panama Highlands Guadalupe to Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica Playa Hermosa to San Jorge, Nicaragua San Jorge to Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua Lago Bayano on the way to Yaviza The rains seem to have come early and I'm planning on riding early in the morning to get to whatever destination ahead of the daily afternoon deluges. The ride down to Yaviza is along a very good paved road along farms and deforested former jungle. It did not feel very wild like I was expecting. There was about a total of 200 metres of dirt/gravel in construction zones and everything else was paved. After one immigration check and 2 military checkpoints I was in Meteti, the last town before heading to Yaviza at the end of the road. The checkpoints were all routine, with the usual "where are you going?", "where are you from?", "how lon...
Read more

Grinding Along to El Cardonal

Image
Thursday, January 31, 2008 La Ventana to El Cardonal 55km's by bicycle. Mostly on dirt and sand. Today I had vowed to leave town by 9:00am. Much to my shock and surprise, I actually did. And that was after having a really good breakfast of Huevos Rancheros, orange juice and coffee. As I was getting ready to leave, a gringa turista walked up to the restaurant, took a look at my bike and me, and started quietly laughing uncontrolably. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, so I hopped on the bike and pedalled off while hung over windsurfer dude types starting piling into the restaurant. I already knew today would be tough, even though the book promised it would only be about 36km's to El Cardonal. As usual, "the book" was inaccurate. It was closer to 45km's. That may not seem like much, but it's a world of difference on a fully loaded bike after having to push the damn thing for 2km's due to too much sand on the road. I was downright elated to be on a...
Read more

The "Law" Got Me in The End - San Juan Del Sur, Panama City, Panama

Image
Day 37 to Day 43 Wednesday, April 14th to Tuesday, April 20th Las Penitas to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua San Juan Del Sur to Arenal, Costa Rica Arenal Day Arenal to San Vito, Costa Rica San Vito to Panama City, Panama Two Panama City days Darn those corrupt cops!!! OK, Yesterday I had a kind middle aged gentleman on some tiny old motorbike lead me out of Leon to make sure I found the road to Las Penitas. Today and the next day are going to be my worst days of the trip so far. Don't get me wrong, the trip is absolutely fantastic. But I suppose negative things have to happen so we can realize how good life really is. Compared to what's happened to a few others this is nothing, but a bit infuriating nonetheless. Las Penitas, Nicaragua So there I was minding my own business and safely riding down the road about an hour north of the Costa Rica border. I had been pulled over by the National Police earlier for a passport and import permit check for my bike. All routine stuff. The spee...
Read more