Next STEP (ie not pedaling)

As I have expressed in past entries... my knee is messed up. I pushed too hard with too much weight over too many hills that I had not prepared for. As a result pedaling is out of the picture. After some thought and reflection it seemed the only option was the throw in the towel and take care of myself by catching the train or a ride to Berkeley, CA where I could set up shop, slow down and really take care of my body for the long haul.

My brother Luke kept suggesting that I check out Rideshare on Craigslist.org. I was a little bit skeptical as I've never done anything like this and didn't know what to expect. So far what I have learned about is that it's like hitchhiking but with a buffer in place. You can get to know the driver/passengers before you agree to drive/ride with them. I think it's brilliant as it takes most of the dangerous elements out of the hitching experience.

So last night I posted: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rid/2511708386.html
"I am a 27 year old Bike tourist who's knee went out when I was on my way south. I need to get to the bay area to heal up and get better. I have my bike and my gear that I need to travel with me. I will pay extra for the extra stuff. Let me know if you can accommodate my needs." I added a few pictures you all have seen and laid my head to rest wondering what the universe would serve up to me in the morning.

Well come morning time I had two condolences and offerings to drive me to the Bay area. One guy from Isreal who has done a bike trip from Helsinki to Milan, and another couple that does trips all the time. Not knowing how to proceed I checked back with craigslist and found a guy who needed someone to drive him and his truck to Humboldt county CA. As I was originally planning on heading through there to visit my cousin and his family and really didn't want to miss out on this I contacted him to figure out some details.

This is the story, with more details to come of course. He has his license suspended in Oregon and thus can't drive his truck. He needs to get back to California with his truck so he can actually get around. He specifically said that he doesn't want any hippies or people looking to transport any illegals he just needs to get back to the other city.

Here are the key particulars for me. A) he has space for my bike B) he is basically taking me to my next stopping point anyway C) I will be driving and can make sure I stay safe along my journey D) If this works out I get to stay and listen to Luke's band play Thursday night.

Once this option started to settle in the more and more I liked it and the less and less I wanted to just head to the bay area. Besides my homeslice Reuben was going to be out of town anyway. So, its ending up either go to Bay area and set up shop alone and sad for the end of my journey or take a truck trip over the mountains to my cousins, continue the journey and enjoy some time with great family. Hmmm... difficult decision i know.

The real test is tomorrow around 12 Im going to meet up with the guy and his truck and do a meet-greet-drive. He wants to make sure I can actually drive the thing and I want to make sure he is legit. If all goes well Friday morning I'm gonna be heading to the Arcata coast in a little truck with a camper on the back. So I will be sure to check back in tomorrow after things get figured out. Other than that it is looking like I have tons of options even if this doesn't work out. From my add requesting rides tons of people are contacting me and offering up space for me to get to the bay area. Pretty solid if you ask me.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I got to "go to the river" yesterday. A day of enjoying the sunshine, rocks, river jumping and generally good people. Solid day if you ask me. Before I even arrived in Portland I kept hearing that "if its a nice day out you should go to the river". Every time I heard this I said to myself "right on, the Columbia river is right there, so there must be tons of spots to chill and enjoy the sunshine." Apparently I was mistaken, for when we journeyed out to the river we drove over the Columbia and just kept right on going. We drove for a good 30 minutes into Washington back country and found this great creek called Rock Creek. It was a little bit of a hike in and off the trail to get to a spot that wasn't over run by people but this ended up being well worth it. We found an outstanding spot that had a great wading pool, spots to jump in, rocks to scramble over and explore.


After a while of jumping and cooling down we set up shop and ate some food, drank some whiskey and basked in the sun. The day couldn't have been more gorgeous. At the start of the day I was worried about how many clouds there were in the sky. However, later on in the day I grew to love those clouds as the sun was pretty strong and they provided needed respite. It was really cool to go out with relative new people and be able to enjoy myself so thoroughly. It was just Dana (Luke's band mate), his girlfriend and two of their friends. Now I've met Dana before and hung out with him a little but nothing to long or in depth. So it was nice to really get a chance to relax joke around and have fun on a day off.


After a while it was time to pack it up and head home. We were all pretty tired from the sun and fun. On our way back we happened upon some salamanders sitting in the warm pools by the creek. They were so cute and very friendly (even though I know as a scientist that you should never ascribe human emotions to animals... very dangerous thing to do indeed). We had fun holding them for a little bit then put them back where they came from and headed on.

I came home, took a nap and made another kick ass dinner. Man do I love my protein. Quinoa, lemon pepper Chicken, and a fresh green salad from the garden. MMM MMM Goodness. I laid low all night and relaxed into my book and my decision to not continue my journey. By this point it almost seemed inevitable that I was gonna swing the non-biking way of things.

So I am now well rested, still injured but excited to have a new step to my journey. To Arcata, CA I go. I still have a little bit more time left here in Portland and want to make sure I get to see and experience as much as possible. It's been great so far and I can only expect that to continue.

Be well.