The Process Begins

Things are starting to happen- the riders are beginning to arrive-in fact, I met several of the folks in the hotel lobby and had some fun getting to know them. They are from all over the U.S.- and I think there are some folks from other countries as well. I went through the registration process and had my bike inspected (a slight glitch was pointed out to me in terms of how I routed the brake cable I discussed earlier- OK, so I'm not perfect. Sheesh.), got my ABB jersey, etc.

Earlier in the day I rode around town a bit, concluded that I had the wrong clothes on for the weather (50's and light rain), went back to the hotel and fixed the wardrobe. I then decided to head down the coast and ended up in a little beach community called Seaside (appropriate enough). Had lunch at a spot near the ocean and then came back to Astoria, logging around 40 miles. The total feet climbed was- get this- around 400 feet. Flat as a pancake. Got a real case of the heebie-jeebies crossing a bridge over the river- really narrow with a wicked cross wind and a ton of traffic. Not for the faint of heart.

The weather man was working OT today- we had overcast skies, light rain and then blue skies. Since then we've had wind and more rain- I'm expecting snow, hail and Vulcan lightning balls by morning. Not really, but the weather really keeps you on your toes here. Could make dressing for the ride a challenge.

While riding to Seaside (I was on Highway 101) I met a guy who, together with his female companion, was riding from Seattle to San Francisco- self supported. Looked like an interesting way to go. There are camp sites everywhere and the weather has to be pretty moderate. Talk about scenery- forget about it! This guy annoyed me somewhat- I passed him while he was on the side of the road doing a wardrobe adjustment. Several miles later he pulled along side of me riding a fully loaded touring bike. Hey man, do you have any idea what that did to my ego. Couldn't you at least have appeared to be winded??