June 29, 2010
Today’s ride was 43 miles, but it was a pretty tough ride. At this point I think my body has become accustomed to riding all day. I get tired, but never exhausted. Even right after an uphill climb, I feel like I can keep going (maybe not quickly, but forward nonetheless). We saw some real nice scenery today, my favorites being the sea stacks around Cannon Beach and the view from the top of Neahkahnie Mountain just a few miles before we reached our camp for the night (Nehalem Bay State Park).
We also did our first tunnel today. Those things are not cool. It was pretty short (.3 or .4 miles), but it has almost no shoulder at all and only one lane for each direction. You hit a button before you go in to alert drivers that there are cyclists in the tunnel, but I don’t think they pay much attention to that. To add to the danger perpetuated by the tunnel, a logging truck went by right as I was about 2/3 of the way through. We’ve had logging trucks going past us on narrow shoulders for the last week, but nothing like the one today; enclosed in a tunnel, the sound of the engine shaking your core. But in the end we made it out without a scratch and the first of two Oregon tunnels is done.
Tomorrow’s ride will be our longest yet, so I’m going to get to bed early tonight to let my body and mind rest. There really is a lot of mental stamina involved with this touring business.
-Chris
BTW, there’s a picture in the gallery below that looks like it’s just a picture of a big white truck. If you zoom in, Taka is right next to that truck.
