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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