Traveled to Portland to meet up with Randy for the Northwest Bike Tour ("NBT"). It was raining as my flight pulled into the gate. My thought - "better today than tomorrow when we actually start riding."
Caught up with Randy at baggage claim and proceeded to the hotel. I had my bike with me, and started putting it together while Randy took the train over to the Amtrak station to pick up his bike. Miraculously, I was able to assemble the bike efficiently (for me), which made me appreciate the time I took last week to practice. Due to the strong possibility of rain throughout the ride, I asked for fenders for my birthday (thanks George). Practicing beforehand helped me work out any kinks or trepidation I had about installing the fenders for the first time. I also want to thank the guys at REI who packed the bike for travel. Everything was placed to make it as easy as possible for me.
One question I am sometimes asked is how I get the bike to another state to start a ride. There are several options. Randy likes to send his by Amtrak and pick it up. There are several companies that specialize in shipping bicycles, and will come pick them up where you designate and deliver to your destination. These options necessitate sending the bicycle several days in advance so that it is there when you arrive. I chose to check my bicycle as luggage, which meant that I knew it would be there with me when I arrived and I could just go to the hotel and put it together. No matter which method you choose, in my experience it costs around $65 - $75.
After Randy returned from Amtrak, we walked to Elmers for dinner. A basic family dining restaurant. I had a grilled chicken salad with apples, glazed nuts, cranberries and blue cheese crumbles. Thought I would at least give healthy eating a try to begin with. Or at least try to offset the bag of atomic fire balls I ate on the plane to Portland.
Returned to the room around 7:30 pm, and watched a little TV before going to sleep. The time change, coupled with the excitement of the day was exhausting. Tomorrow, the plan is to take the train (MAX) to Gresham, where we will pick up the trail to Estacada and start the Cascading Rivers Scenic Bikeway, a 70 mile trail ending in Detroit. We plan to camp halfway tomorrow, then stay in Detroit on Thursday.
https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/BIKE/docs/CascadingRiversMapandCue.pdf
As I start this new adventure, I am committed as always to "going with the flow" and being open to what each day brings. More and more, I have come to the place in life that I don't always have to know. In that uncertainty, I am freed up to engage in possibilities and experiences I might otherwise miss in the midst of all the planning. I readily confess that I am often afraid and sometimes give in to worry - about whatever. But the big lesson is to just go ahead and "do it afraid", whatever "it" is. The potential payoff is huge.
So I end this day with the words from "Slipping Through My Fist" by David Wilcox:
I have drifted down a ways
along the shoreline,
I just watched these ropes
give way
where they were tied.
I could have reached out quick
when the ropes first slipped, if I had tried,
but I was wondering where the wind was trying to take me overnight,
if I never did resist,
and what strange breezes make a sailor want to come to this,
with the lines untied, slipping through my fist.
It is downhill all the way to the ocean.
So, of course the river wants to flow.
The river's been here longer,
It's older and stronger and knows where to go.
