Broken Truck

We said our goodbyes to the tribe this morning and sent them off for a long day of riding. We loaded up and headed home, or tried to. As soon as Jack started the truck we knew there was a problem. Why, on the last day of a long run of bike tours does the truck have to break? Couldn't it wait one day until we got home? No, it had to break on the day I want to be home. We were able to limp it into Eugene and fortunately were able to get it into Penske to be fixed. Set us back 5 hours, guess it could have been worse! We did make it home and it feels good to be here!

A note of congratulations to Pete for a great tour! This was the first one that he led and he did a great job! We hope that you do this again next year! And, we hope to see all of you tribe members on a tour this next season, if not on Farm Fresh! I WILL let you know what's for dinner in the Napa Valley....if you're there I hope we can share a great bottle of wine.

Trading Up!

Trading with the tribe: Devil's Cove

The "off day" today was a ton of fun for all of the tribe. The kayaking was awesome, hiking the dunes more difficult than imagined. Our fearless leader had a great ride and watched a baby black bear run across the road in front of them! The town of Florence was invaded by the tribe: great restaurants and shopping! Mo's has pretty good chowder, they claim it is world famous!

I spent the day nursing my wounds and whining. Jack has the patience of a saint to put up with me! We did go into town for lunch and shopping, then spent the afternoon getting ready for dinner. RIB NIGHT! BBQ chicken and ribs, green salad, potatoes, cowboy beans, and dessert assortment, (all that is left in the truck!). The tribe did an amazing job of eating tonight!

A special thank you to Kent for interrupting his dinner to doctor my finger. Well, for looking at my finger and telling me that I'm having an allergic reaction to the bee sting, and yes, I'm being a baby. Waaa. It's taking my attention away from my burned foot!

The tribe had a final camp fire tonight, complete with smores! The pow wow was joined just after dinner by two really cute young men. They approached the tribe with a jar of spaghetti sauce and a mischievous grin. They explained that they were going through camp "trading up". They started with a small bag of chocolate and wanted to see what they could end up with if they traded their way through the camp ground. I was more than happy to participate: I traded a large jar of peanut butter for their sauce. I wonder what they ended up with! What fun.

Tomorrow is a long ride back to the start for this roaming tribe. It was the first ACA tour for many and we hope we will see them again! On that note: NEXT YEARS TOURS HAVE BEEN POSTED!!! The first three supported tours and the van supported tours. Time to start planning for you next ride! Of course there is still space on Farm Fresh this fall! First on the calendar is what is now being billed as the California Kick Off, formerly Winter Warmer. It is a great ride early in the season. The first day is a long climb, but three days in Borrego Springs makes it worth it! You can go back to my first blogs and see what you don't want to miss. Next on the roster is Southern Arizona. There will be some changes in the overnights that will make this fabulous tour even better. Follow this ride with the Hill Country in Texas. A favorite to say the least. So keep on peddling this winter and join us early next year! Jack has signed up for the "border to border" ride in September. Van supported Canadian border to Mexican border along the west coast! There will be more tours to come.....can't wait!

We will be heading home for 4 weeks off. I don't look forward to unloading the truck, but am looking forward to some time at home. Aaron will be heading out next week to ride the coast to meet up with us in California for Farm Fresh. What a great experience for him!

I would love some feed back from our tribes: if you have any ideas for new menu items, if there was something you really loved or even really didn't like! Email me and let me know....and I promise to post the peanut yam recipe this week!

Salmon Burgers

Riding along the coast...sunset on the beach.

I have stumbled upon a new tribe favorite. Salmon Burgers! (This tribe is showing their true ability to consume mass quantities of food: they shall be renamed the flock, seagulls and vultures to be precise!) SALMON BURGERS! I made them from scratch and they loved them. Tonight's dinner was Nana's BBQ beef, salmon burgers, broccoli salad, cucumber and tomato salad and steamed potatoes. The tribe had a stressful day of riding; maybe that's what contributed to the mass consumption that took place.

The scenery along the coast is breath taking to say the least. But for those on bikes it comes with a catch. Narrow shoulders and really big RV's. Many of which are piloted by really inconsiderate drivers. The theme for the day was, let's not be patient with the bicycles. Those tribe members that aren't really comfortable with tight spaces had a rough time. There were no crashes, thankfully, just some stressed out riders. It's a good idea when you do this ride to get out and ride with traffic for awhile and you'll feel much more at ease. Fortunately tomorrow is an off day with an optional ride.

Many riders stopped at the Sea Lion Caves, and most all went into old town Florence for some great clam chowder! After dinner was camp fires and plans for tomorrow. A big group is kayaking the river. Many are heading into town and a few are going to ride. The park we are at is at the edge of the sand dunes. A few brave warriors are going to "hike" the dunes.

Me? I was going to ride. A big, mean, nasty yellow jacket put an end to that. He wanted into my salmon burgers and fought for his space. A really painful sting to my left middle finger was a warning to leave him alone. It has swollen up three times its normal size and hurts like heck. I can't bend it to brake or shift on the bike. :( I'm really grumpy too. We'll see how it is tomorrow.

I See All!!!!

By the sea.....LUNCH!

Ok vegetarians. You should know that I am watching you. You all have your individual special needs and I truly do try to accommodate them. I have learned how to prepare vegan, keep the cheese out of your salad, which ones of you will eat eggs, who won't eat pork or beef but chicken and fish is ok(???), actually not cringed, visibly, when all you want for lunch is peanut butter and cheese sandwiches......I have seen it all. I also see when you "CHEAT!!!!" You thought I wasn't looking when you slipped that bacon on your plate. Eating chicken salad for lunch, you feigned innocence : of course you thought it was the best tuna you ever ate. I have had more than one of you, on steak night, give in to the temptation of red meat. "I haven't eaten a steak in 7 years!".

Yeah, right. Kevin, it is a known fact you enjoy a steak a year. But that's ok! It keeps my job interesting and gives me something to laugh about!

Today was a fabulous ride day. 46 miles of up and down along the sea shore. Through Depoe Bay, the smallest harbor in the world, a stop at Devil's Punch Bowl, a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and onto Beachside State Park. The tribe road around the town of Newport, but Jack and I had to stop in at the Newport Cafe for his birthday breakfast. They are open 24 hours and serve a mean seafood omelet.

One our tribe from the East Coast was overheard on his cell phone today: "the ride was fabulous, but they've got hills on this coast!" Yes, it is a roller coaster. All the more fun.

Tonight was fish tacos and shrimp quessadilas with mango salsa. It was if a flock of seagulls converged on the dinner table! They weren't shy about consuming two sheet cakes, either.

Tomorrow is another day along the coast. The breeze at their back, the sound of pounding surf, the sweet ocean air..... Does it get any better than this?

Over to Lincoln city

Good morning Isabel!! The table at Corvalis. Squash chickens...aren't they cute???

So....I was a little bored!! The pasta dinner last night fueled the tribe over the hill and onto the coast. The ride was tough on a few of the tribe members...73.2 miles with quite a bit of climb: all the way up to almost 800 feet in elevation! What a switch from Colorado. The tribe encountered a pretty good headwind and lots of traffic once they got onto Hwy 101. There was about a mile of gravel at the beginning of the descent. We did have one rider go down in the gravel but no serious injuries. Many comments on the gorgeous country: So many Christmas trees!

Jack and I drove around and stopped for lunch at McMinniman's in Lincoln City. Great brews, good halibut and chips: a little pricey. (Note to Aaron: when you're rind the coast in two weeks you'll want to stop!) There is also a restaurant that we ate at last year at the North end of Lincoln City: Szabo's. It has great nightly specials: Tuesday night is New York steak & potatoes for $9.95. (Another note to Aaron if you're staying in Lincoln City!)

We stayed the night at Devils Lake State Park. The parks in Oregon are really nice: lush camp sights, good restrooms and showers and yurts if you please! Dinner tonight was Asian noodle salad with curried chicken and peanut yam tofu. The tribe is looking forward to some beautiful riding tomorrow: down 101 to Beachside State Park just South of Waldport.

Tomorrow is Jack's birthday. I won't tell how many, but I will need to find a cake!

Oregon and OUCH!!

New yard art for the tent: covered bridge in Corvallis: the new fearless leader, Pete, and his tribe.

The first night of Oregon Coastal Odyssey kicked off fairly uneventful. The tribe members arrived at Richardson County Park just west of Eugene, registered, set up tents and gathered for the map meeting. A great many repeat riders that we have not seen for a couple of years, and many first timers. We'll break them in!

Jack and I set up the kitchen and prepared a dinner of Apple and Cabbage slaw, spiced pork chops, Indian vegetable stew, Russian Fingerling potatoes & cappuccino nanaimo bars for dessert. All went well until I poured boiling potato water on my foot. OWEEEE! I am missing a few layers of skin. Jack doctored it with saline solution and covered it with tagaderm. It's kind of like a second skin; stops the hurt and keeps the burn sterile.

This is not the first burned foot to happen on the tours. 3 years ago I did the same thing on the Oregon Gorge tour. The burn was worse than this one. Jack was mechanic on the tour and fixed that one too. About nine years ago my BF Susan was filling in for me on Cycle Washington. Once again, potato water on the ankle and foot. She experienced a pretty major burn. I burned my hand on Cycle Washington one year. By the time we got to Montana Divide it looked like an alien was going to hatch. That's what I told the ER doc was wrong with me. He said it was the second alien that day. One of the job hazards that I would like to avoid!

The tribe was up and on the road this morning to cover 42 miles of rolling hills heading towards the Coastal Range of mountains. Local agriculture includes acres of Christmas trees, hazelnut orchards, corn fields and wineries. Oregon produces some great wines! Water stop was set up at a great little bakery, The Sweet Spot, in Monroe. The tribe munched down on Pecan Caramel rolls and chocolate eclairs. It's a must stop when you are headed this way! Wildlife spotting today included wild turkeys AND their babies, a flock of vultures and a grey squirrel.. Don't think we'll find any moose here.

Tonight we are camped at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis. The picnic table that we are eating at is made from a single tree: it is about 64 feet long! Just across the road a bit is the covered bridge pictured above. Oregon has, if I remember correctly from last year, about 13 covered bridges in this area. We will get to see a couple of them. We were able to ride for about an hour: my foot is a little too tender for much more right now. Tonight is pasta night to fuel up for a long 73 miles tomorrow. It will be worth every crank of the pedal: we will be on the coast in Lincoln City.

I am working on the menu for Farm Fresh you guys! It's going to be great.........

On to Oregon

Fresh zucchini and crook neck squash for the tribe from Mom's garden! Jack and a gorgeous Dungeness Crab fresh from Washington waters! (Sorry tribe, not for you!)

Pheww....5 days off and it's time to head out again. We had just enough time to offload, gear up, spend some time with the boys, go crabbing with my dad, do laundry and get ready to go again!

Oregon Coastal Odyssey begins tomorrow: a full crew of 64 riders. The weather is scheduled to be great and the ride is going to be awesome. If you are looking for a new ride to do next year, I would recommend this one! So...I will fill you in on the ride as we go this next week. Then it's 4 weeks off until Farm Fresh. If you are looking for a final ride this season: Farm Fresh is for you! It's a great ride and the food is so good: a completely different menu featuring the best that we can find in the Napa Valley. We will also be suggesting wines as we go.......no shortage of wines there! Follow us in Oregon and hopefully join us in California!