East to West

Today we hit the road from several days of rest... Well sort of. The several previous days spent in Portland had been hectic to say the least. It felt good to strap in all the packs and saddle bags to Cindy. Her new tires made me confident in the next stretch of curvy HWY 101 road.

First things first, went to see my daughter before I hit the road. She got to meet Cindy for the first time. She happily jumped on and snapped a picture before I headed out, perfect motivation for the road. After that needed to run out to Gresham to line up some work for my relocation back to Portland. Meetings all went well, and it felt like the man upstairs is helping me make it possible to move back and work being a better father. Grabbed some Hawaiian food with a friend to wait out the traffic and then off to my cousins house to see my niece. It's crazy, how we kids have kids now. It's even harder to believe for our parents. "Our little children have little children!" They would think to themselves.

The visit to Portland was very fulfilling. Before when I lived here I had my priorities mixed up and a clouded mind. Coming back with a clear one it will be nice to develop healthy and long lasting relationships and surround myself with people that are on the same path. This weekend was a good start to this. Spent some time with some amazing people and I can't wait to build my new definition of friendship and those that will fills its ranks.

Just outside of Portland is her hilly countryside. I rode through on the way to the beach wishing I could just continuously inhale without having to exhale. The smells where amazing and the fresh air that the lush green environment provides is always there. Landscape farms, U-pick berry farms, vineyards, cow pastures, hay fields, and fruit trees would wiz past me and I would inhale through my nose as much as my lungs would let me.  Portland could not have me leave without raining on me so I had to stop and gear up as some clouds moved in. Eventually the fields gave way to a hill climb and I was on my way over the pass that would eventually lead me to the coast. The smooth bends in the roads were a joy to ride. You get to maintain your speed and lean the bike from left to right at each corner. With every lean building muscle memory and leaning further on the next turn. Before I knew it I was on the 101 but with no ocean in sight. Caught a glimpse of it in the distance between homes and streets but needed to find a view to end the day on. Dusk was approaching and I pressed on to find my trophy for the night. Then I saw it! Pulled over and couldn't wait to pull my ear buds out to hear the crashing waves. The surf was strong and was kicking up a mist that was advancing further and further in from the shore. I needed to take a leak really bad but found myself chained to this place. I could stop listening, smelling, watching all that was happening around me. A massive rock formation that was out in the water 30 or so feet would peak through the water then disappear again and again, making me realize just how big the waves are. I stayed and waited for the night to bully over the day and rode out to find my resting place.

Rode another 20 miles and got to my campsite. Set up camp, started a fire and sat down to let it all soak in. I could hear the constant rumble of the surf just beyond the trees somewhere. This was the most fulfilling miles of the trip I have had thus far. I only rode 120 miles that day but each one had my heart jumping with joy. I cannot wait to call this place home again. I left the cover of my tent off and through the mesh above my head my small fire would flicker just enough light to hint at the massive Douglass Fir trees towering above my head. They stood watch as I began to fade out. That's I remember was the sound of crashing waves, they had snuck their way I to my dreams.