Via Byway, My Way.

Well, here I am back in Portland for my last weekend, which will be spent at a friend’s wedding and then a Sunday Father’s Day.  Then, Monday…. and the start of the two-wheel test of seeing how far my bicycle can go south via the Pacific Coast highway.

I’ve had somewhat a change of plans, as I just learned that another friend will be getting married in early August, and thus I’ll need to be home sooner than expected.  So, instead of starting my bike ride in Vancouver, BC and riding around to Victoria, I’ll be getting a ride to Anacortes, WA (just north of Seattle) and then catching the ferry to Victoria.  This will shave off about one week of my time. 

From Victoria, my route will follow the Washington Coast, across the Astoria bridge to Oregon, down 101 to California, and then hopefully all the way to Tijuana, Mexico where I hope to be able to say one or two phrases in Spanish, unless I’ve forgotten everything I learned by that time.

So, what exactly will I be riding?  Here are the pics!

1987 Open Road 12-speed road bike, purchased on sale from Montgomery Wards almost 20 years ago for $129.

I peeled off the stickers when I got it so that it wouldn’t look like a cheap store-bought bike.  I’ve replaced the seat, the rims and tires, added foot clips and a rear rack.

Last year I replaced the front brakes, and just yesterday added a front rack to hang 2 front panniers.

I’ll have 2 panniers (bike bags) in the front, 2 in the back, and on the back rack I hope to carry my sleeping bag and tent.  I’ll be camping at state parks for most of my ride, with a splurge at a motel in real inclement (think RAIN) weather, and will spend a few days at the half way point in San Francisco to recoup at my friends.

That is, if my bike even makes it.  I’ll be biking solo, averaging about 50-60 miles a day, and though I have a guidebook that basically traces the entire route, I have allowed 5-6 flex days where I can rest or modify my schedule to fit the weather patterns or whatever. 

So that’s it in a nutshell, nothing too exciting, but it will be nice to be on the open road once again.  It was only 15 years ago almost to the day that I biked the Oregon Coast with a group of high school students, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Well, make that part 2. 

Before I head off, here’s a shout out to all my friends that I was able to see during my short time here, and if I didn’t see you, I’ll be back in less than 2 months so I’ll see you then!  Oh, and sorry I kicked your ass so bad at basketball last night Mike and Jonas 😀

This entry was posted on Friday, June 16th, 2006 at 9:47 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.