It's official - I finished the Big Ride Pacific Coast on Saturday in San Francisco with no knee injuries, only a couple of scrapes from falling off my bike at a standstill (thanks Susan), no major mechanical problems, no broken spokes and only five flats.

Something is a little odd about those flats because I had two on the first day and the last three occurred on the final day in the duration of two hours. After I flatted the third time with only five miles remaining, I started to doubt whether if I would ever make it to the Golden Gate bridge. Thankfully, with the positive encouragement and pump from my riding "buddy" Robert (who also had three flats that morning), we made it just in time.  

I have to say that this is one of the best trips that I have taken in my life so far. The scenery was always gorgeous, even on the overcast and cloudy days. It did not rain on us while we were riding. We covered a whole spectrum of riding conditions from the long and hilly roads along the Oregon coast; spinning up some steep and long hills with the names of the "Seven Devils" and "Leggett Hill"; speeding down Highway 101 at 25-30 mph with a strong tailwind at our backs; feeling the pain in our legs climbing the never ending rollers on Highway One in Sonoma and Marin counties; and lastly, the knarly bridge crossings where we rode on the roadway or on elevated sidewalks with no left-hand siderail. In spite of daydreaming of a world of no monster trucks or semis, I only had a couple of close calls with crazy drivers.

Here's a summary of my favorite moments on this trip:
- Riding my bike everyday. I know most people find this an odd way to spend a vacation but it was awesome. I am sure you could cover more ground in a car but you don't get the same feeling descending downhill or breathing in the ocean air spinning uphill. When I get back to Maine, I will seriously miss riding my bike in the west.   
- Eat all you want, even if it's ice cream and beef jerky. I think I lost weight on this trip since it's hard to replenish the 7,000 plus calories burned per day. I probably ate more red meat in September than I do in a year.
- Hot chocolates. I am not a coffee drinker and everywhere I stopped, the hot chocolates were absolutely delightful. Why can't New England produce a decent cup of hot chocolate and a delicious bear claw?
- Camping along the ocean with the perpetual sound of the ocean surf lulling me to sleep at night.
- Riding through the sequoia and redwood forests. Taking in the magnificent beauty of these trees truly makes you treasure the natural world even more.  
- The beautiful Pacific coast that was always on our right. The blue hues of the ocean changed colors depending on the location and weather conditions.   
- My favorite places along the way were Manzanita Beach, Oregon, Mendocino, Tomales and Point Reyes Station, California.
- "End of Passing Lane" road sign = hill is most likely over with a nice descent to follow but this is not true 100% all the time. On one long day, I think we had what felt like seven or more long hills in the last 10 miles before camp. That's when I found myself continuously looking at my odometer every minute or so.  
- Getting off the bike at the end of the day. Yes, I do enjoy riding my bike for long distances but after many hours of wearing lycra shorts and a tightly fitted jersey, it's like heaven to be off the bike and to wear normal clothes after a hot shower.
- Lastly, all the great people and the crew on this trip. There were a whole lot of people who made me laugh and were an absolute joy to ride with every day. Although we were forewarned about the about the 46,000 feet of climbing, everyone was enthusiastic about riding, even if certain days were quite long and hilly. The crew members were always helpful and supportive while having fun.    

This trip exceeded all my expectations and I think I will go through cycling withdrawal when I return to Maine for the fall and forthcoming winter. It was epic, it was fun, I loved climbing the hills and I am still in disbelief that I finished it. In the two weeks, I got used to the grind of getting up in the morning, putting away camp, riding 75 plus miles, setting up camp and sleeping. When we were two days away from San Francisco, it was hard to believe that we were so close to our goal. In the end, it was well worth the effort.  

This is it for now and this will be my last blog entry. I will be posting photos soon when I get back to Maine and I will include a link to them on this blog. I want to say thank you to everyone who sponsored me and to inform you that the American Lung Association of Washington and I truly appreciate your support. Your money is going to a great cause. Also, I thank everyone who has posted comments to this blog and who has sent me words of encouragement over the last year.  

Sayonora for now.

Mark

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It's Wednesday and we're decompressing in Fort Bragg, CA for a much needed rest day after riding for six days straight. At this point, I really don't know the total amount of miles we've covered in those six days but the minimum  mileage was 70 miles and the maximum was 95. All I know is that we've covered a lot of ground since we left Lincoln City, Oregon last Wednesday. I could look at the route itinerary I created but I am somewhat tired. If it weren't for spell check, there would be a ton of typos.

This ride has been really beautiful. The Oregon coast was absolutely grand and truly spectacular. My absolute favorite morning was leaving Bandon and riding along the coast with the early morning light illuminating the beaches and rocks in the distance. I took a ton of photos that day and was a little concerned that I would not finish the ride that day. The other grand part of this ride has been riding through sequoia forests. One day after a long climb, we had a gentle descent through what seemed to be thousands of sequoias. Even at 20 mph, it was a wonderful and surreal experience gliding through the base of these magnificent trees. In some sections, pine needles rained down on us like snow.

Yesterday, after a couple of big climbs on Highway One, we rode on an absolutely beautiful section of Highway One called Shoreline Highway that overlooked miles and miles of the Pacific coast. The first ten miles was spectacular riding but then we headed inland for some serious hill rollers and at the point my legs were starting to get sore with 15 miles to go. I think this is what we will be doing for the next three days all the way to San Francisco but after 80 miles of riding tomorrow, we will have relatively short rides for the next two days. I am really looking forward riding through Mendocino tomorrow and through Marin county. It will be like the old days for me.       

I have come to realize that riding by bike on the coast is really the best way to go. You get to see more than you would ever in a car and you can stop anywhere to take in the scenery. Granted, you have to get used to the constant traffic of camper vans, cars and logging trucks but for the most part everyone is fairly nice and considerate. 

This is probably my last post until the weekend. I will have my wonderful correspondent Emily posts anything new in the following days.  

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(apologies from Emily for not getting this out sooner....)

Today we rode from Bandon, OR   (really spectacular)  to Griffin, OR . It was a total of  86 miles.  One of the hilliest days we've had but we had spectacular scenery of the sea stacks (??) on the ocean (rocks out in the Pacific Ocean). Really Beautiful.

Great day today. Supposed to be cloudy but it was a crystal clear blue sky which was perfect for sight-seeing and  taking photos.  It was really wonderful to because the fog (?) was coming off the ocean. It was just a wonderful day today.

Just really hilly.

On Friday we pedaled from edge of OR Dunes. They are 47(?) miles long from all the sand in the ocean going up into the forest. It was just spectacular. Had some really great sight seeing. Tons of climbing. A little chilly.

That's the thing about riding here. In the morning it's so cold.  You warm up going up hills but you freeze going downhills. So I always keep my jacket on.

And it's supposed to get even cooler as we head enter the Redwoods tomorrow (big smile in his voice.)

So tomorrow, on Sunday, we cross over the border into CA and start our trek to San Francisco. We start through the Redwoods of Northern California and then down to Arcada, and then other towns down there. Really looking forward to that.

Even if it is sunny it will be hiding behind the redwood trees. It is supposed to rain in OR, but hopefully that won't go down in to CA.

That's it for now.  Have a great weekend.

(from Emily.... there is still time to give if you haven't given yet. 

The best way to make a donation at this point is online with a credit
card. You can do this at
http://www.cleanairadventures.org/big_ride_pacific_coast. Click on the
link "Sponsor a Big Rider 2007" and enter Mark's name to begin the sponsoring
process.)

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from  Devil's Lake SP, Lincoln City to Honeyman SP, Florence

(Hi All. Friend Emily here, transcribing (as best as I can) a vmail from Mark.)

"I have no exact idea which day or which day of the month it is.  We don't really have any sense what day it is or what is going on in the outside world.

We pretty much get up in the morning and eat, and bike, and eat, camp, then repeat the process.

Today we rode 80 miles. It was a really great day. It started off cool with ocean mists. There were a lot of great ocean outlooks and I took a loads of photos. It was a nice relaxing day.

We've had a couple of bridges that have been pretty gnarly to cross and will have a couple more of those tomorrow.

I've been riding strong. No major problems. A little cold. Some strong winds."

(Emily back. If you haven't checked out the route maps to the left side of the page, check them out. You can even change from map to satellite to get a better picture of where Mark is each day.  Mark sounds incredibly relaxed and content in his voice message.)

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I am currently on a rest day in Lincoln City, Oregon. It was great to be able to sleep in for a change, especially after a really long day yesterday that included three long climbs and 93 miles of riding. Granted, if I did not get lost or back track, the official mileage would be 86 miles. The total trip mileage will be 960 miles but I think I will easily break a 1,000 miles by the end of the ride.

I really loved all three climbs. Two of them were in the Three Capes scenic route. It reminded me a lot of the climbs I used to do in the Bay Area through the redwoods with bone chilling descents (it was cold). The scenery was wonderful but the road was very rough with some serious holes in it - much like Maine's roads. The last climb was a very doable grade and I was able to fly up the first part of it in the big chain ring at 15-19 mph. The descent was pure heaven with switchback turns and a smooth surface. I ate so much yesterday but it was probably a good thing. I decided not to bring my heart rate monitor on this trip but another rider mentioned he burnt over 5,000 calories.  

After I wrote my last blog post Monday, we had a couple of long climbs, including one through a tunnel with a narrow margin for bicycles. The only safety reassurance you had was to push a button that would flash a sign at the top of the tunnel entrance to instruct traffic to slow down to 30 mph due to bicyclists on the road. Carol and I just got out of the tunnel right before a semi bolted out the opening. It was probably the second knarly part of the day but a great adventure. Once we got to the top of the last hill, it was one of the best rewards ever. The sky was crystal clear blue  and the Pacific was a bright and inviting blue. You could see for miles down the Oregon coast. Then we descended the hill and the Pacific was on our right, as if we were riding right on top of the ocean. It was a perfect day. Yet we haven't seen the sun since.

I am hoping for sunshine tomorrow and so far, there' no rain in the forecast. I am off to eat some more now.

Take care.

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It's day three of the Big Ride Pacific Coast and after today is done, we will have logged over 200 miles. It's been great riding. The first day I had two flats, though I suspect the first flat occurred before we started riding. The second one I must have hit a pot hole while riding at 28 mph. By the way, chipseal is the worse riding surface ever to ride on for 10 pluus miles. You could literrally feel your teeth shaking out of your mouth. Of course, I could always slow down.   

So far, no rain and hopefully it will stay this way. It's been very nice weather, though on the warm side. That's okay except for the times when there's no shade or wind and you can feel the heat rising from the blacktop. That's killer.

I am slowly getting used to camp life. The first night was the toughest and I did not sleep well at all. Last night we were at Cape Disappointment SP and the ocean waves crashing lulled me quickly to sleep. I hope we have that every night.

I think we will be riding on the coast for the most of way now. We finished riding through the interior of south western Washington yesterday. This morning we crossed the Columbia river to Astoria, ORE on a three mile long bridge whose name I totally forgetting. It was totally knarly. There were semis, camper trailers and cars passing us all the time. The last part we had to ride a mile up a steep incline while trying to avoid broken glass and other things that makes a bicycle tire go "pop". Today will be an easy ride to Cannon Beach.    

Take care and I hope everyone is doing well.

BTW, I am writing this post from "Internet Coffee" in Seaside, Oregon.

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Wow, I have 14 hours to go before I have to meet the gear truck on Pier 62 in downtown Seattle. I picked up my bike yesterday from the bike shop near Pike's Place and rode it back to my sister's house in NW Seattle. I was supposed to go around Queen Anne Hill but somehow lost my way and climbed up several steep grades. It was really good training and truly reminded me of the hills of San Francisco. As I was trying to figure out my way with a map, I noticed a straight line indicating that I could go straight down one street onto the Fremont Bridge. What I didn't know until I descended one section of the steep hill was that I would have to go "straight down" through a busy intersection and down another hill that I could not even see the end of. So I backtracked up a road aptly named "Nob Hill Street" and found a safer way down.  

I believe I am all ready to go. My bags are all packed. I have outfitted my bike with a bag, light and the chain is all lubed. If I have forgotten something, I will have to improvise along the way. I will have to get up early tomorrow to meet the gear truck at the waterfront before 6:30 a.m. We begin the Big Ride by catching the 7:35 ferry to Bremerton where we start the first day of riding to Lake Sylvia SP, in Montesano for a total of 77 miles. Despite having to wake up early in the morning, I am really looking forward to tomorrow. It will be nice to do some serious riding again and I want to personally see what these hills are really like. I have heard people say they're easy to climb while others have warned me with a serious look on their faces.  

I am having my friend Emily posts updates for me every couple of days. I am sure there are internet cafes on the Pacific Coast but I am on vacation and need a break. I promise you I will not go into withdrawal. This is the last post that I will be writing for another two weeks. 

Have fun and don't miss me too much.

P.S. By the way, I am composing this post in the modernistic Seattle library, designed by the dutch architect Rem Koolhaas . It's pretty darn cool. Not at all New Enlglandish.

P.P.S. You can check out the trip itinerary here: http://www.manakamu.com/brpc/itinerary.html

Sayonora for now.

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This is what I had to eat in San Jose today:

Lunch: Super Burrito at Super Taqueria. This was quite tasty. Lots of protein.
Drink: Strawberries Wild smoothie at Jamba Juice. Hit the right mark for a warm afternoon.
Dinner: King Arthur's Supreme pizza at Round Table Pizza. One of my favorite pizzas. Would have gone to Amici's but did not feel like driving to Mountain View.

I hope this is not overly excessive carbo-loading but I have to remember that I will be climbing a total of 42,000 feet in the course of 13 days.

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I arrived early in San Jose last night. Thankfully, all my flights were on time and the flight to SJC was not jam packed to the gils. Both my bags arrived safely and it appears that nothing was broken. Slept almost until noon . . . east coast time since I went to bed at shortly before midnight, pacific coast time.  

As the plane was making its final approach to the San Jose airport, the guy next to me pointed out the window. There was a wildfire burning in the hills east of Morgan Hill and the reddish orange glow could be seen for miles. Hopefully the firefighter can contain it but the fire is in a remote area and could burn up to 30,000 acres.

I am off to go eat and see the sights. Gotta carbo load for all the riding I will be doing starting this Saturday.

Hasta la Vista.

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Orr's Island, Maine

I am off to California tomorrow. Still have plenty of packing to do and a ton of things to do. This is a photo I took on Orr's Island on Saturday. It was nice and calm on the eastern side of the island but very windy and wavy on the west side, where the family sailboat is moored. Unfortunately, it was too rough to go out for one last summer sail. 

In four days I will be in Seattle overlooking Puget Sound. Woo-hoo! 

Despite the fact that I am all stressed out at the moment, I have been thinking a lot about where to eat in San Jose. All I can think of eating are burritos and sushi. I am lucky where I live in Maine because I can get good Thai/Japanese food or when I have a craving for Mexican, there's a couple of decent places. When I lived in central New York, there was a sushi place in Hamilton but it was very americanized (think fried everything). I truly miss the sushi that literally melts in your mouth and burritos that are so tasty and savory.

Well, I gotta get back to packing. Stay tuned.  

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