Day 1 Pedaling from the Pacific; Newport-Corvallis, OR 64 miles

In my daydreams I thought it was a long way across the country. I didn’t dream it would take so long to get here. Weather delays caused me to miss my Charlotte-Portland flight on Friday, so I returned to New Bern, only to attempt the same thing yesterday. Fortunately I saw only a couple of familiar faces back in Carteret, so the explanation time was kept to a minimum. The second time in Charlotte, I made it on the crossing flight to Portland. The air turbulence was the most severe I have seen – beverages hit the ceiling of the plane!

I felt a little like a tape-less horse in the 5 hour plane ride Saturday. The air cleared enough on the flight to see the Green River gorge and Yellowstone Lake, among other places I recognized. The snow clings to the north slopes of some of the mountains in Wyoming. I hope that the day delay won’t negate my chance to get to Yellowstone Park, which I haven’t seen from the ground in 15 years. If you like wildlife, Yellowstone is one of the premier places for wildlife viewing in the continent.

On the long flight yesterday I couldn’t help but think – over and over again – how far across west-to-east the country is. I kept reminding myself of a couple little quotes I taped to the underside of my bike. I hope in the toughest moments they will help push me through. If I am lucky enough to pedal past the flag in Fort Macon, you can read them for yourself.

It was good to start pedaling. I felt some of the nervous energy depart today. Thirty days is a lot of time, but not a lot of time to cross the country on a bike. Today I transmitted a sense of urgency into pedaling east. The goal is to keep riding on roads that say east and south. Simple enough, no GPS required.

This morning I took a commuter plane from Portland to Newport, where the bike was waiting for me at a local shop. I was interviewed by a local paper, ate fish and chips, and then started pedaling. I captured a vial of sand at the Newport beach (to be donated to the Atlantic Beach re-nourishment project), had a ceremonial photo snapped, and started off through the coastal clouds. The last whiff of salt air left my nose for at least a month. When the ocean becomes part of one’s life like it has mine, that is a big deal. This cloud cover kept temps much cooler than the rest of Oregon is experiencing. Made pretty good time enroute to Corvallis. Within about 15 miles of town, I caught a sweet tailwind that had me pedaling 20 miles per hour for that stretch. That’s unusual when you are carting 50 pounds of gear with you, but I will take tailwind like that anytime. It’s a big departure from the 13 mph I’ll average throughout the trip.

The bike feels awkward. I tried to trim as much weight as possible, and will probably ship some more gear back after the Rockies are done. This might save 5 pounds, which is better than adding that amount of weight.

The scenery today was very pretty. Coastal Oregon is home to many species of conifers. These species are marketed for a variety of building purposes. In Philamath I passed a cedar mill. The sweet smell had me instantly hinking of cedar shakes on a classic Cape Code home. Oregon is also home to some incredible wildlife. Unfortunately I did not have much time to spend at the coast, but managed to see several groups of sea lions. I also saw many species of ducks, a multitude of great blue herons, ospreys, bald eagles, a pleated woodpecker, and several species of warblers. I am still amazed how many of these bird species we have on both sides of the continent.

Monday promises to be a grueling day eastward over the Cascades but the scenery should be spectacular. Oregon is a big state but I will see its full variety.