Surprisingly I felt great this morning. I slept in a bit and got on the road around 10am. My morning coffee tasted better than any recent cup I’ve had and the two scones I woofed down provided ample nutrition. It was my first day on the 101 and I don’t know why I thought it would be a soothing experience. The cars and trucks speed past, well exceeding the 55mph speed limit and with the shoulder catching all the debris, you’re essentially walking on nails.

Check out more below!

Ok, I’m going to let these photos speak for themselves. I’m beat and just wanna go to bed! Do check out the journal entry from today though below.

Here’s the route from today. I’m nestled in a nice little beach town just before two big hills. Unlike Monday, I got a later start this morning and as I was rolling through town, the sun was setting so I stopped. The odometer is over 200 miles and I’m stoked! Tomorrow a long, hard road lies ahead of me with some pretty big climbs but the good thing is, I’ve learned to love the hills and climbs. I even took a detour today to get in another 600′.

What did I learn today? Slow the fuck down through the small towns. The cops and troopers are just waiting for you to mess up. Today I was descending through Newport after a long climb and was slowing to about 40 after hitting the town’s limits. I got to a yellow light that seemed to only last a few seconds and I blew through the red just as it turned. Something people do every day. Well today a trooper was behind me and he gave me a ticket. Luckily, he decided not to give me a speeding ticket on top of the red light ticket.

Other things:
-You can eat grains, fruits, dried meat (Tillamook salted jerkey!) and crackers and you’re getting more nutrition than you would with a sandwich.
-Stop at the smaller overlooks, the ones the cars can’t stop at. Not many people get to experience those.
-Look what you’re riding past on the ground.
-Talk to the locals, they’ll have valuable information.
-A good stretch every few hours keeps the blood flowing through the muscles that are chilling as you’re pedaling.
-Spin don’t sprint up hills, you never know how big they’ll be.
-Check your spoke tension every other day.
-Buy from grocery stores, the diners suck.
-When you get to camp, check all the bolts on your bike. Chances are, you’ll be too tired in the morning to do a thorough job.
-Take your bibs off immediately after you’re done. Wash your junk and if you don’t have water, use an alcohol swab and then apply a hefty goop of Bag Balm.