nehalem-bay-2, originally uploaded by globalagent007.
The entry below was written yesterday by Sonia Paul, one of the Riding to Break the Cycle 2008 team members!
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Today we woke up and THE SUN WAS SHINING!!! If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know exactly how much rain we have been going through and finally, for the first time since we started out in Vancouver, we were able to wear shorts right from the start in the morning.
The day started off with breakfast at the campsite in Newport, provided to us by wonderful hosts and consisting of cereal, bagels, strawberries and bananas. The sun put us all in a very good mood, and we were quickly on the road and taking in deep sighs of breath as we passed the Pacific Ocean on our right. The Oregon coastline is just incredible. I can’t believe I’ve never been here before and only live a one day car ride away! Every view is worth taking a picture of – our pod stopped in Yachats for about three hours and just hung out, had a great lunch of sandwiches with guacamole dip and fresh mozzarella, and just soaked in the sunshine and the beautiful coast. We then proceeded to complete the rest of the ride and it was funny when we said, oh, just another 25 miles to go, piece of cake! I used to think that was an enormous distance just a couple of weeks ago.
We got into Florence to one too many amazing surprises. First, right before we reached the church we are staying at, we ran into some incredible sand dunes. So much fun, and in the middle of nowhere! I just can’t comprehend the sudden change in landscape from rainforest fauna, the endless ocean to these enormous sand dunes, but they were so much fun. We tried sliding down them with sleds, but that didn’t work to well, so we ended up rolling down the hills and jumping around instead. Second, when we finally did reach our destination for the night, we were amazed to discover a hearty Oriental style meal cooked by a chef in training, complete with chopsticks. After having camped for the last four days and eaten camp food, we were just so grateful for this change. Just imagine, 25 ravenous riders, sitting at proper tables and chairs, enjoying a full course meal complete with apple crisp dessert. It was incredible! Our hosts here in Florence from the Community Baptist Church are so welcoming and have made our day just brilliant.
Not only did our hosts provide us with the food, showers and laundry, but they went above and beyond to give each of us a gift of a handmade wooden pen, each unique pen made from the local scotch broom plant. The moment was just such an inspiration. It’s heartwarming to discover the number of people along this coast who are cheering us on and looking out for us!
2008 RTBTC Rider- Sonia Paul
day-6-oregon-beach, originally uploaded by globalagent007.
So I’ve found internet in the parking lot of the Tillamook cheese factory. At first I was sitting in the van, typing among bagels, peanut butter (generously donated to us by the Youth Center in Seaside!) cream cheese, bananas, and hungry riders, but unfortunately a large RV parked itself between me and the connection so I am sitting outside on the curb. It’s chilly. But not raining!!! Finally, it’s amazing how much everyone’s spirits lift when the sun comes out. Not that I’d call this sunny, just a nice lack of water pouring down.
This morning we began our day by being treated to a yummy, big and warm breakfast by Father Paul of Nehalem Bay (pronounced Nah-Hay-Lem). With unlimited coffee! Warm drinks, especially with a caffeine lift in them are so appreciated after going to bed exhausted and waking up to another day of cycling. I have become a coffee addict – I thought it would never happen, but now as I realize the change that comes over me when I have a mug of it. I feel like it’s just the best thing to do for the team. Like showering, or wearing clean clothing…
Oregon is beautiful! Spectacular, fabulous, stupendously incredible, wonderfully gorgeous. We stop at every lookout point to oggle at the view. Wow, it makes me ever more grateful to be on this adventure.
Something else that makes me ever grateful is the kindness of our mom and support driver Karin. She’s always looking out for the team and happy to see us! Go Karin!
We’ll be putting up some more pictures soon. Tonight is the second of three nights of camping in a row, so there isnt much around but when we have internet again we’ll send something more out to you all. It’s great to be able to receive the blog comments as well. It is something that certainly warms our hearts to know that people are courious about our journey. I am glad to tell you that everyone is safe and sound despite ridiculous logging trucks, rain, and unpredictable weather. The plastic grocery bags we at first refused to use have become our best friends as they keep our toes dry.
Thank you for listening!
sincerely Emma – 2008 Ride Leader
We filled ourselves with bananas for breakfast in a Safeway parking lot. We had to eat up all the fruits we had before crossing the U.S. border (Ben ate 8 bananas for the cause!). The border was a breeze. It was the first time I’ve crossed an international border by bike, I think that’s why it hasn’t hit me, or many of the riders that we are no longer in Canada! The ride was great, Kamila and I were sweepers (we stay at the end of the pack, making sure that no one gets left behind.
The 50 km ride was even cheered on by a herd of cows who seemed to be gathering by a fence, all their heads raised as we passed by.
We arrived at the Community Bike Shop in South Bellingham to find a small one-storey building, which seemed to be full of hidden corners. The place was littered with used bikes. All of them donated. They get repaired here, then are sold off. It’s a pretty sweet place! Complete with a “suicide machine” (a kind of homemade unicycle that many of the riders tried to balance on), and a barbecue (where our wonderful cooks made beans, potatoes, salad).
We showered at a nearby YMCA, used their sauna and steam room! So good! We found ourselves a documentary-guitarist-song-writer dude who came and interviewed some of us! Keep your eyes peeled for a mini-documentary on YouTube!
Although, South Bellingham seemed pretty slow on a Sunday night, our team got the party started. We hooked up some speakers to a laptop, got some bike lights (our strobe lights) and created our own club in one of the rooms in the bike shop! Dancing the night away, everyone was busting out some pretty sweet moves! Definite good times (hopefully we can link up some footage from it!)! We even turned many cycling terms into crazy dance moves! No need to look for a party, the Global AFC team is ALWAYS a party!
-Phillipe Murphy, 2008 Rider
Riding to Break the Cycle is an annual cycling trip from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico, bringing 25 incredible young people together each year in a mobile youth leadership camp. Riders raise $3000 each in support of microcredit initiatives in the developing world, and spread awareness about global issues all the way down the Pacific Coast.
Stay posted here to get updates, pics and videos from the ride!
This epic 7 week journey departed May 31st, 2008 and we will be on the road for most of the next SEVEN WEEKS. Stay tuned for updates to come,
Shawn – Global Agents for Change