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FDOC Day 11-A Day Without Forward Progress

Super Biker Woman's Bike Touring — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:01:16 GMT

We have enjoyed our day off. It was nice to sleep a bit later this morning, especially since it was still raining.

I made a delicious breakfast of sautéed apples over a bed of oats, chia, and hemp cooked cereal, and some hot cocoa.

We sat around chatting, then noticed it was already after 1:00. We got our acts together, and rode out to Cape Arago. We stopped first at Simpson Reef.

Sea Lions barking.

One of these things is not like the others.

Then we rode out to the Cape.

The view from the Cape.

The ocean was quite spectacular!

Can you see the three pelicans?

Riding back, we stopped at Shore Acres. Again, the waves were really crashing.

We took a walkthrough the botanical garden.

A little fountain action.

Bottlebrush

A late bloomer.

After riding back to the campground, we walked down to the beach.

Finally some full sun!

Sun going down.

When we got back to the campsite, we had company! Kate is from England, and has been riding for several months (the last 5 being in South America). I very much enjoyed talking to her. She'll probably be also going to Humbug Mtn. tomorrow too, so we'll hopefully see her again. She's thinking of going back to South America after she finishes in the U.S. I told her I was going to Chile in November. Maybe she'll also do the Caraterra?

We just have a couple of days left until we reach Brookings. We'll tag the border, then head home.

FDOC-Day 10-The Not Much to Look At Day

Super Biker Woman's Bike Touring — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:01:16 GMT

I can't remember if I mentioned the two British women who were also at Honeyman last night. This morning, I asked their names...Olivia and Felicity. Perhaps we will see them again as we are taking a day off tomorrow, and they were doing a short day today.

Last night at around 10:15 I heard a snarling sound. It woke me up from a sound sleep. I have no idea what it was, but suspect the ever present trash panda...aka raccoon. Anyway, I only heard it once before going back to sleep. We've been putting our food in the lockers. Maybe it was mad because we didn't leave anything out???

This morning, I was ready to go at 8:00 on the nose. Matt still had a few things to do. Per our usual plan, I headed out. I knew today was a more inland day without much scenery or things to stop and see.

Just following these signs today.

I figured Matt would catch me around Gardiner. I stopped here and there, mostly to pee, because I had drank a lot this morning.

The route climbs quite a bit up to a ridge where it then goes along for a bit before descending off of it.

That could be ocean way off in the distance.

I rolled through Gardiner. Still no Matt. I stopped after crossing the Smith River (named after Jedediah Smith who explored around here from when he was 19 until his death at age 32) to have a snack, upload last night's blog post, and do my Spanish.

I continued on to Reedsport. I rolled through, briefly stopping to get some cash from an ATM, but it was out of service. Still no Matt.

Three or so miles south I came to Winchester Bay. The last time I came this far south, Oregon had rerouted the bike route to just stay on 101, instead of going along the bay, then up to the Umpqua Lighthouse before returning to 101. I had told Matt to watch for the bike route sign to stay on 101. Well, since the last time I did this in 2019, they have gone back to the original route of going along the bay and up to the lighthouse. But, while the sign said to go right, after that sign, there were no more signs. No problem for me as I have gone this way before (in 2009 with Julie). But, I thought Matt might have trouble. So, I stopped and texted him about the return to the original route, and to follow the Bay around and up to the lighthouse. He said he was in Reedsport. In hindsight, I should have just waited for him to get to Winchester Bay.

I continued around the Bay to the sign for the turn to the lighthouse. There was no Oregon Coast Bike Route sign, so when I got up to the lighthouse, I texted Matt again to follow the signs to the lighthouse.

Umpqua Lighthouse

The dunes at Winchester Bay (lots of ATVing happens here.

At some point, Matt texted that he couldn't figure out how to get to the road around the Bay. Later, he said it took him 45 minutes riding around until he found the road.

After the lighthouse, the road descends quick and steep, only to then go right back up, just as steeply. While you would miss the lighthouse, I think it's easier just staying on 101 (and I should have just told Matt to stay on 101...would have saved him a whole lotta time and trouble).

I finally popped back out on 101. After several more miles of boring riding, except for this somewhat funny sign...

"Leven No Trace"

I came to the dreadful bridge into North Bend.

Even though there is a button for cyclists to push that activates flashing lights alerting drivers that there is a bicycle on the bridge (and the speed limit becomes 30 mph), I always get yelled at going across this bridge. Today it was a asshole truck driver. I just kept pedaling. He was able to easily pass me as there are traffic lights at both ends of the bridge, so breaks in the traffic.

I pulled off at the little park on the other side of the bridge. I looked on my phone to see if there was a bakery on the route. I found one called Espresso Mill and Bakery. I texted Matt to tell him that's where I would wait for him.

I got to the place at 3:00 (48.6 miles in for the day). I got a text from Matt asking if it wasn't a steep hill (there were a number of steep hills). I told him it was on a slight downhill and described what he would see (black trailer, fake grass, Tilmann parked by the grass).

I the meantime, I ordered a cinnamon roll and a peach smoothie. I had a lovely conversation with Phil, the owner's dad. He was covering for his son today.

Eventually, Matt made it. Poor guy had not been having a great day, navigation wise. However, he had a good crossing of the bridge, so that was something. He ordered food and coffee. I looked to see how much further we had to go. It was 6.9 miles.

Once we headed out again, it started raining again (it had rained a bit before the bridge). As we were going up a hill, Matt passed me. Not too much further (because I was still relatively close behind him), he very suddenly, went down. One moment he was riding, the next moment he was down...no wobble or anything, just bam! He was okay, got the bike back up and off the road so he could get the left front and rear panniers back on all the way. He said he thinks he hit, then slipped on the edge of the white line. Just icing on the cake of a somewhat shitty day for him. He's a trooper though. We made it to Sunset Bay State Park (or in today's case, No Sunset Bay SP) around 4:30 or so. The booth was closed, and there were no pay envelopes. I told Matt we'd just pay the host, but then I saw a Ranger, and he said to just pay in the morning when the booth was open. No problem as we are taking a day off here tomorrow (weather is supposed to be better) so we can go out to Cape Arago (and a rest day will be nice after today). Oh, and it turns out Matt left Honeyman nearly an hour after me. That didn't help his ability to catch up to me either.

By the time I can upload this post (and tomorrow's), we'll be nearly done. There is no service here.

2023 Huckleberry 250 Recap: Fire Towers and Foggy Mountains

BIKEPACKING.COM — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:01:03 GMT

The Huckleberry 250 is a demanding bikepacking loop that starts and ends in the quiet town of Andrews, North Carolina, and packs in nearly 30,000 feet of climbing in 250 miles. Find a recap from this year's first finisher, Graham Grant, and a collection of photos from various riders here...

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The New Bookman Volume Bike Lights Turn up to 11

BIKEPACKING.COM — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:01:03 GMT

Released yesterday, the new Bookman Volume bike lights from Sweden are available in 800 and 1,500-lumen models that feature a USB-C rechargeable and replaceable battery, a unique power wheel inspired by the Hi-Fi audio world, and an elliptical beam that they say eliminates dark spots. Learn more here...

The post The New Bookman Volume Bike Lights Turn up to 11 appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

What's wrong with pro cycling?

CycleItalia — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 08:01:05 GMT

What's wrong with pro cycling?

What are we discussing? Zio notes the frenzied speculation going on (which of course by the time you read this could be nothing) about the merger of two top pro cycling teams - Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-Quickstep.

How does this make any sense? Zio guesses it started with talk of the Jumbo supermarket chain ending their sponsorship of what's kind of like the New York Yankees of cycling. While some financial chicanery regarding the Jumbo company has been in the news, it mostly seemed an advertising/sponsorship deal had simply run its course.

Rumors started about the Saudi's throwing up to 100 million into the team, joining neighbors UAE and Bahrain in what many see as a sportwashing enterprise. Zio wonders why they don't just buy the entire sport as they seem to be doing with golf, but just as quickly talk of Saudi involvement ended.

No new sponsor appeared on the scene, leading to speculation on the merger scheme. THIS is what's wrong with pro cycling! In what other sport would a team that won all three grand tours, finished 1-2-3 in more than a few stages and so far in 2023 has 62 race wins...end up flailing around to find a replacement sponsor or worse, merging with another team?

Many will scream about "pro cycling's broken business model" while calling for a North American style franchise team system. The group known as Velon whines about this constantly, but they seem concerned only with the capitalist side of the idea - they say nothing about the socialist ideas of salary-caps and a draft system to more fairly distribute new talent.

That's not Zio's argument. What he doesn't understand is why few are interested in having their company name on the jersey of the "New York Yankees of cycling"? Pro cycling sponsorship can take many forms, whether it's a bicycle company, supermarket chain or just a company owned by a cycling fan who figures he's gotta put his advertising money somewhere so why not into something he enjoys watching?

Back-in-the-day, pro cycling was on broadcast TV so a company who liked cycling could advertise their mattresses, TV sets, face cream or whatever and find an audience in the housewives who had the TV going during the day. Think of all those consumer products that used to sponsor cycling teams vs today. Where are they now?

The most recent Grand Tours were rather dull, so how many tuned-in on broadcast TV or streamed the video each day? Supermarket chain LIDL has recently taken a bigger role in the sport but don't forget they used to sponsor one of the teams rumored to be merging.

Zio wonders if pro cycling has become uninteresting to the general public? Racing more and more controlled via radio earpiece using exotic bicycles that cost as much as a cheap automobile and get replaced multiple times during a daily stage might be turning the public off. Same for dominating performances like we saw in La Vuelta 2023. Is there a scent that some might not be following the rules?

Meanwhile, last Sunday almost 10 thousand people coughed up some real money to ride old-time steel bicycles around the roads (paved and unpaved) of Tuscany at L'Eroica. Could all the modern technology and radio-controlled racing be turning people away from pro cycling? Or has the ever-increasing cost to bankroll a competitive, top-tier team (thanks in large part to the silly Pro/World Tour concept) simply priced too many potential sponsors out of the sport?

Zio's guess is it's some of both but one has to admit something's very, very wrong when it seems the "New York Yankees" have to merge with another team simply to survive.

Bikepacking Collective Discount: 40% off Revel Wayward Frames!

BIKEPACKING.COM — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 08:01:02 GMT

As we enter the final two weeks of our fall member support drive, we're excited to announce another exclusive Bikepacking Collective discount. Courtesy of Revel Bikes in Colorado, all members will have access to a 40% discount on Wayward frames. Click here to learn more...

The post Bikepacking Collective Discount: 40% off Revel Wayward Frames! appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The Gringo Primer: Pointers for Bikepacking Latin America

BIKEPACKING.COM — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 06:01:04 GMT

Following a three-year trip from Mexico to Argentina with his Salvadoran partner, Jake Dacks put together this concise guide to help folks fill in some cultural and historical gaps before traveling through Latin America. Beyond the nuts and bolts of bikes and gear, these insights aim to help bikepackers have a more immersive experience in the diverse region. Find the guide and further resources here...

The post The Gringo Primer: Pointers for Bikepacking Latin America appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

A Fond Farewell to the Surly Cross-Check (RIP)

BIKEPACKING.COM — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:01:04 GMT

We recently got word that the beloved Surly Cross-Check is no longer in production, and it was quietly removed from Surly's website. We're mourning the loss of a dependable and affordable steel frameset that endured a couple of decades of change. Learn more and share your Cross-Check tributes here...

The post A Fond Farewell to the Surly Cross-Check (RIP) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The Veloci Cycles Rack Wednesday has 18 Threaded Bosses and Packs Flat!

BIKEPACKING.COM — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:01:04 GMT

The new Veloci Cycles Rack Wednesday has a unique three-piece design made from 4130 chromoly steel tubing and is covered in threaded bosses for cargo cages, bottles, and bolt-on bags. Check it out here...

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Collective Reward #164: Grab Bag 6

BIKEPACKING.COM — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:01:05 GMT

For Collective Reward #164, we're giving one lucky Bikepacking Collective member a grab bag filled with an unique collection of gear that includes the new Revelate Designs Sandur frame bag, two intriguing books by Jan Heine and James Robertson, a pair of Ergon grips, Voile Rack Straps, a tool roll, socks, and more. Find details here...

The post Collective Reward #164: Grab Bag 6 appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.