Only a few days of Oregon left!

As Matt said we're in Bandon, a tidy little community with a working marina. We are going to stay on through tomorrow and try to do some busking here. The campground is just 2 miles away, though there is a narrow (but short) bridge to cross. The ride into town leaves busy hwy 101 and meanders into town, skirting a marsh area. Yesterday we munched on fish and chips and fish tacos right on the water, yum!

We were able to savor the bounty of Oregon's fruit and veggies in Roseburg--we went to a u-pick orchard with dozens of varieties of apples, figs, pears, and prunes. The owner suggested an apple that was green outside but a gorgeous shade of pink on the inside. The tomatoes are just hitting the bountiful stage and we had about the best salsa ever, plus fresh sliced with eggs. We passed so many little farms for sale on the way back to the coast, and had a good time dreaming about owning them. Highway 38 from Reedsport to Elkton has been probably our favorite ride so far.

weighing in

the now finds us in the town of bandon. Back out on the coast after a couple of days in roseburg visiting with terry and simon. They cooked meal after delicious meal for us and we both left their place about 4 lbs. heavier then when we came in. We also weighed the gear we were carrying : mattie was carrying 34 lbs (including the fiddle and case) and G had 30lbs or so (with the banjo-uke). matt's bike weighed 34 lbs as well. The ride up the umpqua river on highway 38 was dreamy. A gorgeous river road with almost no traffic on it (and flat to boot) We also got to hike on some of the upper Umpqua river while we were in roseburg.

ride on

well, here we are a couple of days shy of a month on the bicycle portion of our trip. We have been moving down the oregon coast at a leisurely pace which has been perfect for us. yesterday we crossed the midway line closer to california then washington. We had a great hike up cape perpetua the day before, which was an amazing view of the ocean (let me assure you all), unfortunetly that left us speeding towards a campground 12 miles away as it was about to get dark. We stopped briefly however when a lady informed us that there was "whale activity in the area" And lo and behold we jumped off our bikes and saw whales off the shore blowing and flapping their tales. it was a great sight, and one we hadn't expected. We also unexpectedly saw our friend jay from astoria a couple of days ago(who let us stay on his boat). He had been to a festival in california, and was driving back towards astoria, when he happend to see us riding the other way. we are turning inland after this post to visit gretchen's high school friend terry in roseburg for a couple of days of R&R (and cooking alot of food) should be a good time. oh and matt broke his glasses after visiting the rogue brewery in newport and trying to make their way to the campground through the rain and complete darkness. They went into his pocket o.k., but came out broken in two.

the coast with the most

The most public beach that is. We're back on the Oregon coast and it is beautiful, silky smooth sand and lots of fog. The road here is narrow with very heavy traffic. Boo. The scenery (I hope) will make up for it. Going hwy 18 from Portland was hot (low 90's) and most of the ride was on new blacktop (hotter still) but the sholders were great. Aaah biking. Luckily I picked up some pants (wool) at the goodwill so I'm prepared for our new normal daytime temperature of 58 degrees!

In a few days we'll head back inland to visit a high school friend of mine in the glorious town of Roseburg. And we're gonna visit Crater Lake!

portland, sunny sunny portland.

Hello again! Here's a pic of us playing at the Astoria Farmer's Market.

Our fabulous time in Astoria was capped with a day of ups and downs...downs and ups really, as the day started with M getting a blowout tire on a morning jaunt around town. Fixed that up and got a new tube, while inflating the new tube ANOTHER blowout! So repaired that one, got another spare and off we went to have a sample of beer before heading east to Portland. Drank and ate a little, then we walk out to the bikes...another flat! Totally shredded tube, AGAIN. So, we decide to stay another night in the dreamy sailboat. Well, strolling around town that evening we happen into playing some tunes with a gent, when a bystander asks to listen and then sit in a song. OK we say, sure. After the tune he hand the 3 of us $120! And his pals throw in another $10! Astoria really, really likes us!

So Portland has been a wee bit of a let down in comparison. My ol' college buddy is mucho busy working for SEIU as a union staff director so our time was sweet but short, and not too much else has happened except biking around and drinking coffee, plus some gear repair. Today (Saturday) is our last night so hopefully we'll go out with a bang! Gonna go to a sculpture contest where 18 people use junk to make art. Plus music and general festivities.

Biking here has been a dream--all the cars stop to let us cross the street, and there are lots of paths. Cheers to that!

berries!

In Astoria we munched on some yummy tomatoes and blueberries from the farmer's market--lovely day here, and we finally invested in some sunblock as the rays are getting intense. My nose is quite pink after riding next to the ocean--the reflection doubles the exposure. Our Port Townsend friend took us on an edible berry walk and we have been snacking on the native salal berries that line the roadways. Very high in vitamins and a welcome break from the gas station food. We typically eat a lot of trail mix (nuts and berries and m and m's), apples with peanut butter, bread with meat and cheese, and granola bars for breakfast and lunch. For dinner it's a hot meal cooked on the camp stove, usually soup or a pasta dish. The convience stores have such a terrible selection! We are well fed, though. Every third day or so we eat out.

The sleeping bag situation is all worked out (I know you all were worried!) as we ordered a bag that arrived in Port Angeles. We have experienced a few flat tires, some dramatic blowouts, but overall the bikes are holding up well and spirits are high. It's fun to dismount at a store and get a superhero feeling, like you could leap over the building, all from hours of biking!

planes,trains, & automobiles - bikes buses and boats

This is a picture of us when we first left vashon island where aimee (matt's sister) lives.

well, it's been a week or so since we've been to a computador (it's been great) we left port angeles and made our way down the west coast of the olympic penninsula. We stopped for a day and made our way up into the hoh rain forest. one of the only rainforests in the u.s. It was beautiful. There was free camping on the road to the rainforest. we stopped and pitched our tent and hitched up to the top (the road only goes to the hoh). It was amazing the way things grow in the forest, and by some amazing luck it was the first sunny day that we had had in a while. So we spent a warm sunny day looking at the moss and large trees, then went on our way. We hung out with a cool guy dave who was camping and making his way back to san fran (by truck) the next day we made it to the coast and slept on the south beach campground. I (matt) took a quick dip in the pacific ocean - the first one of the trip. it was chilly chilly. The next days we kept cruising down the coast and starting meeting more bike tourers on the way. We are now in the town of astoria oregon. yep that's right we made it to a new state. We arrived two days ago, and promptly ran into a nice guy who said "if you guys need a palce to stay you can sleep on my sail boat" then he arranged for us to go sailing the next day out into the mouth of the columbia river where the columbia meets the ocean. astoria is the town that the lewis and clark expedition first saw the ocean from. So needless to say we have had a great time here slept on a sail boat in the marina for a couple of days and did some busking in the streets for extra cash. explored the local breweries and the rest of the town. now we'll be turning to the west and following up the columbia river to portland and hanging out there for a little time to rest up and visit some friends (and hopefully play some tunes).