And in due time, I've come to a decision for how best to replace the dearly departed Schwinn (stolen in San Jose, you'll recall): it's a Trek Pilot 1.0, an entry-level road bike with some nice improvements over the old Schwinn. It's a good bit lighter, for instance - and not just because it's not wearing 30 pounds of camping gear and clothing! Took it for the inaugural ride this afternoon, and it's as nimble as it is pretty.

Labels: biking

And now, after bringing me to San Jose, it looks like it's gone. I rode my bike to the convention center for registration and the first delegate session yesterday; I locked it in a rack in front of the convention center for the afternoon and evening. But when I headed back to my hotel late last night, it was gone, lock and luggage racks and all. I've just finished filing the police report; I think my renter's insurance will give me some coverage. At least I won't have to deal with the complications of putting on my flight home anymore!

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Well, as I said earlier, I'm done with my bicycling journey. Yesterday morning I took the train from San Francisco to San Jose, and I've already been to my first delegate meeting. But more about that later. I've got ten days of biking to report on! Let's take it day by day:

Thursday, 21 June

Dave and I were supposed to leave the Willamette Valley bright and early this morning, after meeting in Portland, OR and spending the night at the home of Josh Miller, a mutual friend from EMU days. Then, getting into Portland on the 20th, I got a call from Dave - he'd had a flight delay break up his travel from Washington, DC to Portland, and he'd be a whole day late. Fortunately, Josh was good enough not only to put up with me for an extra night, but to show me around Portland all day, including its fantastic Japanese Garden. Dave didn't arrive till 0300 the next morning!

Friday, 22 June

We slept in late (or I did; Dave had jetlag to work out) and Josh drove us down to the coast, cutting off the day's travel we no longer had time for. Leaving a bit after noon from Lincoln City, OR, we biked the first 71.7km (44.5mi) to Beachside State Park, where we spent the night. Good news: many Oregon (and California) state parks have campsites reserved for cyclists and hikers, available at a much lower rate.

Saturday, 23 June

Our first full day: 123.0km (76.4mi) south on U.S. 101 to the Bluebill campground in Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The scenery was spectacular - we saw sea lions and Brandt's Cormorants at a series of caves along the coast. I was soon tired of being passed by the endless line of RV's that filled the highway, though. We met up with two girls who were also on a long ride, theirs from Seattle to San Francisco, and ended up splitting the more pricey U.S. Forest Service campsite with them.

Sunday, 24 June

Kind of a rough start to the day; we woke up to the tail end of a light rain shower, and then, not three miles into the ride, my rear tire went flat. We made 122.5km (76.1mi) to Humbug Mountain State Park, where a dinner of fresh shrimp and scallops we found in the nearby town of Port Orford went a long way to making things better.

Monday, 25 June

We made poorer progress today; while coasting down a hill a little north of Brookings, OR, I paid for abusing my brakes with a major blowout in my front tire. Till Dave hitchhiked to the nearest bike shop for a replacement tire and we got back on the road, we'd lost almost half a day. The sunset at Harris State Park, where we finished the 82.8km (51.4mi) ride, was pretty spectacular.

Tuesday, 26 June

The day started cold and misty, and mostly stayed that way. We crossed the border into California early in the morning, and by early afternoon were off the 101 on a scenic alternative route through Redwood State/National Park. It's been more than a year since I'd last seen Sequoia sepervirens, and it was powerfully refreshing to coast through cool avenues of giant trees. We finished at Patrick's Point State Park, 134.4km (83.5mi) from our start.

Wednesday, 27 June

From the start of the trip I'd said to Dave that I wanted to try and bike 100 miles, a century, at least one day of the trip. This day we woke up early and Dave made me put my bike where my mouth was. We split from the 101 again and followed the road inland through dairy country, then up into the mountains and onto Avenue of the Giants, which runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and emerged, almost at sunset, at a park in Benbow, CA. Although I was definitely at my limit, we'd ridden 188.6 kilometers - 117.2 miles!

Thursday, 28 June

After the long day, we took a shorter one, which was fortunate, since the route took us away from the 101 for good, and onto California Route 1, which wound up over the highest climb of the trip and back down to the coast. It was slow going, but it felt great to end the day in the little beach-access town of Cleone, where MacKerricher State Park is. Total distance: 99.5km (62.0mi).

Friday, 29 June

A longer day through easy-riding country (rolling hills, farmland, and little coastal towns) took us to Salt Point State Park, an area of dwarfed conifer forest right on the coast. Four days after my blowout, my new tires still hadn't had a flat. Distance: 131.1km (81.5mi).

Saturday, 30 June

And now we had only a short day's ride down the last stretch of coast before San Francisco. A quick 110.0km (68.4mi) took us through Bodega Bay and past Point Reyes National Seashore to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, in the distant suburbs of San Francisco.

Sunday, 1 July

Journey's end, just about. A short morning ride of 54.8km (34.0mi) took us through the northern suburbs of San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We made it to First Mennonite Church of San Francisco only by the end of the Sunday service, but in plenty of time to sing Old Number 606 as a benediction and join the welcoming congregation for a potluck fellowship meal. We spent the day seeing the city, and slept at the San Francisco MVS house.

The next morning, I took the train to San Jose (Dave got up earlier to bike it), registered at the convention center, and attended my first delegate meeting in sweaty track pants and my only clean shirt, the San Jose 2007 t-shirt I got when I registered. My luggage arrived after the delegate session.

Which brings us to today, the first full day of the convention. It's just starting, and I need breakfast. More later!

Labels: biking, photo, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

And showered, and well fed after a fellowship meal with the friendly folks at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco. Dave and I camped north of town last night, and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge about 0930 this morning. Photos and news of the bike trip will be here as soon as I re-connect with my laptop at San Jose, maybe sometime tomorrow.

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Bicycle touring forces you to adhere to the spirit, if not the letter, of Mark 6:8. Dave and I have to pedal everything we take uphill and down ourselves, so we've got to make sure we only take what we absolutely need. That means, until I get to San Jose and meet up with the luggage I'll send ahead with a contact from Portland, I've only got four t-shirts and two pairs of cycling shorts to wear, plus layers to thermoregulate if it's cool and a rain jacket/wind breaker. It means I'll trade in my Chacos and their oh-so-comfortable but oh-so-weighty footbeds for a lightweight pair of cheap flip-flops. It means I'll just take a Lexan spoon and some disposable plastic bowls for tableware. Actually, there's probably still somewhere I can cut weight. I leave at noon tomorrow. Gotta go!

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Next Wednesday I leave for Portland, where I'll meet up with Dave at the airport - and we hit the road the next morning! And I guess I'm ready.

Saturday I drove up to the REIoutlet in Spokane and bought myself a rear rack and some panniers, the last equipment I needed to buy for the trip. Tomorrow I've an appointment at the local bike shop for a final pre-tour tuneup and inspection. And I'm keeping up with my training commitment, riding at least 100 miles a week. Over this weekend, I'll have a go at one last long ride of 50 miles or more. And I'll have to start thinking about packing.

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Today, on the road to San Jose 2007, I saw a moose. And a yellow-headed blackbird. And a peregrine falcon. And two great blue herons. I only got a photo of the moose.

I'll be biking into San Jose (where I'll be serving as a congregational delegate representing Landisville) with Dave Landis, and I need training. So I spent much of today cycling on the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes, a rails-to-trails route that runs almost across the Idaho panhandle, from Plummer to Mullan. It was hot today, but it was a beautiful ride, with lots of scenery and wildlife to take my mind off my aching legs.

Total, I rode about 47 miles; the goal was to make it from Plummer to Smelterville, which is a bit over 51 miles, but I had a spectacular blowout just before the Enaville trailhead (conveniently), and had to call my ride to come get me there, instead. I'd been warned I needed new tires pretty soon; looks like I'm getting them tomorrow.

I'm also starting on non-athletic preparations for the conference; Saturday's mail included my copy of the Delegate Assembly Workbook. Right inside the front cover is a copy of a last-minute addition - a nonbinding statement asking that Mennonite Church USA take action to "end the practice of disciplining or expelling congregations based on differing interpretations of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. It's for "discussion only," as an attached note from the Executive Board says, but this is still a striking statement. Mennonite history could be cynically characterized as a long list of splitting events - could we come around to the idea that we should remain in communion with people who hold opposing views?

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Biking the Oregon Coast with Dave Landis, that's what. We'll aim to get to San Jose in time for the 2007 Mennonite Church USA conference (though I have not decided whether to attend yet). I'm really excited. Presently the only thing I need to work on is my bike - do I take it as is, upgrade it to a more typical road/touring configuration, or try to buy a more suitable one used?

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel