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| View spot where I found my wallet missing |
The day very nearly started with disaster, I left around 10 cycled 2 km's all uphill got to a viewpoint stopped took a couple of pics. Then decided to put on suntan lotion, put everything back in my top box and noticed my wallet wasn't there. I almost had a bowel collapse, I quickly cycled back to the Inn. I asked if I could get a card for my room saying that I may have left my wallet in the room. The receptionist asked me my last name I told her, and she promptly pulled my wallet out from under the desk someone had found it lying on the ground and handed it in. Thank you honest America!!!! I had been nervous of loosing my wallet, and already had put a couple of credit cards separately in the pocket of my toiletries, I decided that I would add some emergency cash to that.
After wasting an hour I got back on the road, this was definitely the most scenic day I had done by far, lots of hills to start with getting closer to the mountains. I reached a tunnel and was a bit apprehensive about the idea of riding through a narrow uphill tunnel with cars passing me at 50 miles an hour. I was impressed the tunnel had a button for cyclists to press, warning lights then flashed and changed the speed limit to 30 miles per hour and warning of cyclists in the tunnel. It reminded me of a tunnel in Italy. I have a bit of a misty recollection of a one way tunnel, we had to wait for the cars to go then ride like hell, pull off half way and wait for the next set of cars going our direction then ride like hell again.
After the tunnel was a huge uphill climb, down and then back up again the 2nd big uphill had lots of view points
With lots of view points and stops I was putting on very little mileage. At about 3, I was getting very hungry had only had a couple of protein bars all day I came to Kelly's Marina, I decided to stop for a bite. Most American restaurants are quite stereotyped, but this definitely broke the mould, they had a total of 3 things on the menu: Crab, Oyster and Clams, these were served on their own with no supplements such as chips etc. They had Oyster (small/medium, large, extra large and Jumbo), I decided I would order 2 jumbo's and said I would have them raw, she kind of made me nervous with her response that 'people don't normally have the Jumbos raw', so I changed my order to 2 and a crab. Bit gross the crabs are live and you see them putting them into these huge pots. The Jumbo oysters are not like anything I have ever seen before about 800 grams in the shell I estimate there was about 100 grams of meat in each oyster, the first oyster I tried to do like any other oyster just slug it down, didn't work so well, the second oyster I used a knife and fork and cut it into pieces. It was a great experience but smaller oysters are definitely tastier. The owner obviously has them raw himself but made a big deal of someone eating them raw and took photos but I had a great time and left about 2 hours later with a very full stomach.
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| Rockaway Beach |
Now a very full stomach I cycled another about 8 km's, and stopped for the night at Rockaway Beach. The motel had a gas braai so I went and bought a rib eye steak which I had for dinner.
It was all in all a great day, will be one of the most memorable days of the trip.
Day 21
I packed up checked out then went across the road for a quick breakfast, they were very full and service was incredibly slow, took a not very quick 90 minutes. I was now late and planning to do 60 km's so it was going to be a long day. 2 km's up the road I had a puncture on my back tyre, I found a small piece of steel in the tyre. Changed the tube started riding and the bike felt weird rode about 60 metres and stopped. The tyre had a bulge on the one side, finally decided to redo the process, which I did and everything seamed a bit better, but now I was very late. I had noticed my back tyre was smooth way back in Canada already but then I had done only a few hundred km's on the tyre, but they had very little thread to start with, kind of slick tyres I thought.
The start their were quite a few view points slowing progress. We went inland a bit it was flat with a tail wind which made for a bit of catch up, 2 km's before the end I got another puncture on the back, that's when I noticed the tyre was absolutely thread bare, I urgently needed a new tyre, or I would be getting a lot more punctures.
Leaving all thought of my tyre behind me, I found a stunning inn, with views over the ocean, bit more expensive than normal, but worth it. The lady at reception saw I was from South Africa, she was traveling to Tanzania for holiday the end of the year, and had an extra week and was asking if I had some suggestions, I spent about 20 minutes talking to her, spoke about the Gorillas, she had done that in Rwanda just after the genocide, she had been there on relief work, I discussed Vic Falls, Zanzibar, Cape Town, Okavango delta (Bit early end December as there not likely tab be enough water and Namibia.
I then went to the pub across the road had a couple of beers and dinner, met an Aussie who stayed just North of Sydney had a really good evening left fairly early I had paid for a room with a view and wanted to watch the sun set from my balcony. Also there was a loud drunk American trying not very successfully to persuade us that America had failed and that Trump was the salvation.
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| Sunset Pacific City |
Day 22
I had checked for bicycle shops the night before and worked out I had 2 options go back 40 km's to Tillamook or Newport which was 100 km's along my way. I was not going to make 100 km's so I would try and catch a taxi back to Tillamook and get a new tyre. I phoned the bicycle shop at Tillamook as soon as they opened at 9.30 to check if they had the right size tyre available and they did.
Her son arrived 5 minutes later, great guy a few years younger than me, he had done exchange at school and spent a year in New Zealand and loved rugby. He said his wife wanted to do a marathon in all continents and still needed to do one in Africa, I suggested the two oceans and he questioned wasn't there another famous one, I worked out that he was referring to the comrades marathon. We parted and I said if you come to SA to do a marathon give me a call. I tried to give him some money not very successfully finally he accepted 20 dollars for gas. Sometimes I am blown away by people wow. I have definitely met a mixed bunch on this trip but its great when you are blown away.
By the time I got going it was after 1 so I cycled to Lincoln City 42 km's and booked into a motel 6 cheap and clean as there moto goes. It had definitely been an eventful 3 days.
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