With less than two weeks before I head out to Portland, I received my itinerary for the trip, along with safety information. I’m getting really excited! I went out and bought a lot of the gear I needed for the trip. I’ll post about that soon too.
Here’s what I’ll be doing day by day with the Oregon coastal bike trip. The biking will get harder as the days go by, and there will be some days with a shower, and some without.
monday - 11 miles - out to the coast and then to tour an organic farm.
tuesday - 30 miles - we will visit a land trust, and then bike on to Tillamook, where we will spend the night at a campground. showers may be available.
wednesday - 30 miles - we will bike out to Cape Lookout, which is a stunning campground right on the ocean. showers may be available
thursday - day off at Cape Lookout! - optional kayaking trip (I won’t be doing the kayaking), day hikes
around old growth forests, time to do whatever I want! Showers may be available.
friday - 30 miles
saturday - 50 miles - we will bike back towards Portland
sunday - 60 miles - we return back to Portland. Showers may be available.
With the Oregon Coast bike ride coming up in about a month and a half, I’ve now added a link to the side bar of my blog talking about how others can support me for the ride. I’ll be fundraising for my travel to and from portland, bike rental, and other gear that I’ll need to purchase for the trip. All together, these expenses will be approximately $800.
I won’t be asking for much, and you can get really great gifts from me for donating $10, $25, or $50 for these expenses. I’ll be giving those who donate, pieces of original art in the form of picture postcards from the trip, large photos of the Oregon Coast, and 20-page picture booklets from my own photos of the tour.
Not only will this ride be a physically challenging one for me, but I’m hoping that the people I meet and the places I see will give me many things to bring back to my own community in Minnesota.
I would love your support! I’ve done other fundraising for causes like the Minnesota AIDS Walk in the past, but none that puts me in the middle of something extremely challenging and hopefully - extremely life changing - as this trip promises to be.
If you are interested in supporting me, please visit my fundraising page.
Thank you all for your continuing support!
-Scott
In late February, while sitting at my computer desk at work, I kept coming back to a bookmarked website. It was a website for a bicycle ride down the Oregon coastal region. For about three months I had been daydreaming about taking such a trip, thinking how wonderful it would be, and maybe next year I could do something like this.
My daydreaming began taking over, and I started asking questions, emailing the coordinators.
“Will a guy my age and size be able to handle this ride?”
“Can I really train myself to ride up to 50 miles in a day?”
“What kind of bike would I need?”
And then, I called them one day, and they had cut their price for the week-long tour IN HALF.
I called back and paid my deposit over the phone. I set my intention in motion. No more daydreaming. I guess I’m really doing this. Here I am, 36, somewhat overweight (though still active), and I’ve never done a long bike ride in my life. I had planned on giving away my old bike needed repair and had been sitting in my garage for about 7 months.
But..my heart led me to register, and I’m following it. Over the last year I’ve been wanting to begin radically adjusting my life to a more sustainable way of living. I started taking my car less. I took public transit to work every day. This is the next step for me - to step out further, even beyond some comfort zones.
I’ve always wanted to live to be 100. Middle age is going to have to be 50 for me. At 36, I need to start thinking about longevity, and how sustainability, peace, imagination, and social justice play a part in my life. Now is as good a time as any to begin to change.
Stay tuned for more! Reality is setting in. I’m going on a bike ride down the Oregon Coast on June 29! I’m really going to do it! Wish me luck!
