update

Hey everyone, 4 days in and I'm realizing that blogging along the way is much harder than anticipated, but sorry for the lag in communication. I'm in Depoe bay right now, about 7 miles north of Newport. I've Ridden about135 miles so far!ive met some great people, weather has been great, surf unfortunately is a bit too small to surf at every spot, but am having a great time! Because of difficulties in blogging, feel free to shoot me an email at surf95521@gmail.com if you'd like more frequent updates.

Leaving soon

Well, tomorrow I drive down to Vancouver with my room mate Eric. On Saturday morning, I will be teaching him how to surf, something I had promised all year. When finished, Eric will drive me to Astoria, my starting point and I will begin the journey, likely biking down to Seaside, OR. Before leaving however, I packed and repacked all my gear to make sure it fits and to make sure everything I am taking is essential. Here it all is: Gear: Surfing Gear- Board, straps x2, wetsuit, sweet colored wax, wax comb, leash, rash guard, towel Camping- Tent, sleeping bag, sleep pad (yoga mat) Jet boil stove, pots and pan, silverware, spices, cleaning materials, extra fuel, matches/lighter, thermals Clothing- Waterproof pants, wind breaker, thermal pants, board shorts, 2 longsleeve thermals, 2 tshirts, 2 boxers, 1 pair jeans, extra bike short, longsleeve bike jersey, extra bike jersey, 2 extra pairs of socks, microfiber towel. Initial food- Clif bars, Power bars, beef jerky, energy jelly beans, Cereal bars, Oatmeal, assorted nuts, Nuun electrolyte drink mix, and gum Extra- First Aid Kit, Bike repair stuff, tools, tire pump, CO2 cartridges, extra tubes, Ulock, cables and locks, wallet necklace, toiletries, addresses, and map

Updated journey, with notes

Astoria- Cannon Beach (possibly Seaside) (~25 miles)* (Surf seaside, Cannon Beach) Camping?

(Possibly Seaside) Cannon Beach-Nehalam Bay (~21 miles) (Nehalem Bay State park, hiker/biker sites) Surf Oswald State Park

Nehalam Bay-Tillamook/Cape Lookout (~32 miles) (Cape Lookout, hiker/biker sites)

Tillamook-Devils Lake State Park (~37 miles)* (Surf Cape Kiwanda) (Devils lake SP hiker/biker)

(Devils Lake)Lincoln City-Beverly Beach State Park (~20 miles)* Beverly Beach SP hiker/biker) Surf Beverly Beach

Beverly Beach SP- South Beach State Park (Newport) (~11 miles)* Hiker/Biker, Surf Beverly/South Beach

Newport-Beachside State Park (Waldport)  (~17miles)* Hiker/biker, Surf Waldport

Beachside state park-Florence (~30 miles),  Hotel, couch surf, campground

Florence-Umpqua bay lighthouse SP (~28 miles)* Hiker/biker, Surf here

Umpqua Bay SP-Coos Bay Sunset Bay SP (~29 miles) hiker/biker, surf here

Coos Bay-Cape Blanco SP (~50 miles)* Surf Cape Blanco, Hiker/biker

Cape Blanco-Humbug SP (~13 miles)* Surf Port Orford, hiker/biker

Humbug SP-Gold Beach (~23 miles)* Surf Gold Beach, hotel, couch surf, campground

Gold Beach- Harris Beach State Park (~27 miles)* Surf Harris Beach, Hiker/biker

Harris Beach State Park-Crescent City (~28 miles)

new design, new board

I finally worked out the new design of the surfboard rack. It included changing some angles and lowering it. What I found out was that this lower the top heaviness allowing me to have better control. I bought this new board from Craigslist, its pretty banged up, but it was the size and general shape I wanted, for a really good price!

Lake surfing?

So what do you do when the winds are howling from the south, it's pouring down rain, and your stuck in Seattle area???  Well, you go surfing in a lake of course!!!  From the 520 bridge to Juanita Beach park, there is enough of a fetch to create a surfable (choppy and inconsistent-yes) wind wave at the beach.  Rides are short, but water is warm, and it offers a useful training when biking is not a feasible option. Got a little face time, some cross stepping action, and a few wipeouts! Pictures only, however I did get some video last time I attempted this! 

Route plans as of now

Astoria- Cannon Beach (~25 miles)*

Cannon Beach-Tillamook (~40 miles)

Tillamook-Neskowin (~31 miles)*

Nesokwin-Lincoln City (~15 miles)*

Lincoln City- Newport (~23 miles)*

Newport-Florence (~50 miles)*

Florence-Reedsport (~22 miles)

Reedsport-Coos bay (~27 miles)*

Coos Bay-Bandon (~25 miles)

Bandon-Port Orford (~27 miles)*

Port Orford-Gold Beach (~28 miles)*

Gold Beach-Brookings (~28 miles)*

Brookings-Crescent City (~28 miles)*

*Surfing points

Cleanwater classic and trials

This post is long overdue, sorry about that.  I'm working up to creating a more consistent post, so sorry for the delay at the moment.  Back in May I attended the Clean Water Classic, a surf contest in Westport, WA.  I packed my board, my bike, trailer and surf equipment and endured the 2 1/2 hour trek to the coast in my car.

My campsite, hidden amongst the trees was absolutely wonderful except for the monsoon of mosquitoes that had a radar like effect on any piece of exposed skin.   Every walk into a swarm of gnats in a field?  The mosquitoes were like that.  I ate my dinner while walking around and taking movement breaks as I prepared the trailer for tomorrow's introduction at the contest site.

The morning came and I loaded up all my gear, checking the connections one more time making sure that the bamboo was secure.  I loaded my 9'0" performance noserider longboard on the trailer.  I walked to get my straps and CRASH, the whole contraption toppled over.  I learned then that the longboard would be too much for this journey, noting that the top heavy weight was too much for the bike alone.  After repairing the loose bamboo poles and securely strapping the board to the racks (while keeping a hand on the whole time) I mounted and rode off towards Westhaven State park where the contest was held.  It was only a short ride, a few miles, and a good thing because the longboard definitely felt different that the shortboard.  On any movement the board, the rack, the trailer, and the bike would sway.  It was too top heavy.  At one point, it swayed while on a sand drift and the front wheel skidded to the side.  I recovered thankfully and pedaled the rest of the way.  I noted that on this trial, I had the back loaded heavily with no weight on the front which I suspect would help balance out the weight.

At the contest scene I was instantly asked questions about the trailer, journey, and plans.  I received words of advice such as "You should add some hula grass to the bamboo and some Tiki torches." I'll add that to my ideas!  While I enjoyed the attention, I was there to surf as well and headed up over the dune to check out the scene.  Small, semi-glassy conditions.  I came in first in my heat and moved to the semi finals.  I rode back after that to conserve my energy and returned to the campground to ask for a new site, a much more open site with less blood sucking insects.  I was stoked to hear that a friend of mine from Seattle woul dbe joining me to watch the semi finals and finals.

When Jessica arrived, I resorted to the car for the rest of the weekend.  The trailer needed attention.  Due to the weight of the board, it loosened some poles and shifted the distance between each rack.  I'm looking for a board between my shortboard and my longboard.  Ideally a 6'6"-6'8" egg.  If anyone has any leads on such a board, I'd be glad to hear about them.

Jessica and I had a fun time checking out the Westport happenings, cruising downtown, grabbing food at the local restaurants and cafes.  We even found the candy shop to satisfy our sweet tooths.  She accompanied me to the semi finals in which I placed third place and moved to the finals later in the afternoon.  Surf conditions wern't the best and by looking at the flags, you can tell that it got cold and very windy! We found out at the awards ceremony that I place 5th overall in the Men's Longboard Division.  We won some cool raffle prizes-not the surfboard unfortunately, but other neat items.

This trip helped me to think about ways to have a more secure trailer.  I'm thinking of epoxy to help create the rigidity of the racks and then lash around that.  I know that a longboard is not an option for this trip, and while I wasn't planning on that, I was hoping it would at least be more stable.  I learned that even though those Citronella candles really stink, they help the bugs from eating you alive.  I learned that living in Seattle is not close enough to the ocean.  I've also learned that I am getting even more excited for this trip!