And then My Legs Died

Seaside - Tillamook
50 miles

Eric took me to Seaside bright and early. I spent 2 hours at the PignPancake sipping on coffee, waiting for the bike shop to open. Once it did I got a new tube and the owner told me I could get Armadillos (a really tough, sturdy tire) in Cannon Beach, 8 miles up the road.

I spent a couple hours in Cannon Beach, getting the tires, putting them on, getting some pizza and going to the bank. The tires were costy but worth it, I don't think I'll have to worry about getting a flat now. I was really edgy the whole time, like I had to get on the road or something. It was weird.

This is where the hills turned into mountains. It's a good thing I couldn't see how big they were, otherwise I might have really despaired. But I just plugged away and it all worked out. But these hills were huge. I think they are suppose to be some of the biggest of the ride. Coming into the towns below "Mt. Neahkahnie", it finally flattened out. And then my legs died. I couldn't even go up a tiny slope w/out aching. Torture.

After some sitting around and drinking water, my legs came back. Then I tried not to push it too hard, I didn't want to lapse back. Then, out of nowhere, I just started going great. I don't know if it was the french bread or the gatorade, but I was cruising. Stopping at the beach to drink up, a guy asked what "I think I can" was suppose to mean. I talked with him and his friend for a good 1/2 hour and made my way back to Tillamook. And my was the cheese factory glorious.

This is where I became homeless. I tried the city park, the police station, and the fire dept. I asked a bunch of people if they knew where a park was, just hoping they'd offer me a spot on their couch. I took on a bitter attitude towards the phrase "good luck". And it was freezing cold out. I bought some pajamas at Fred Myer (they will pack light). That was when I looked homeless.

I finally made my way outside of the town (an officer said there was an $800 fine to camp in town). I got a call and pulled over to talk to my buddy. Three homeless Portland teenagers asked me if there was a campground, and I told them there was an RV park nearby. I knew it was there the whole time, but I was looking for some sort of adventure for the night. Anyways, these kids and I walked to the RV park. They had hitch-hiked, and they had that awful Portland smell to them.

It's funny because right when I was flaming over people saying good luck, I found some kids that were in a worse situation than I was. I tried to help them in any way I could, giving them food and $5 for cigarettes. I took a strengths test the other day and it said one of my 5 strengths was empathy. Maybe I'm just lonely.