Sunday, June 18, 2017 Day 0 Across America North
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Hello from beautiful Astoria, OR! Happy Father's Day and welcome to a 50-day cycling trip across the northern United States. We will have many adventures between here and Portsmouth, NH as we cycle an average of 80 miles per day to reach our destination on 7 August 2017.
Today was exceedingly non-standard as this group of 50+ riders descended on the Holiday Inn Express, adjacent to the Columbia River and literally within feet of the Astoria-Megler Bridge that connects Oregon to Washington. Stunning view as seen above!
Since some folks arrived and checked in yesterday and had their bikes inspected, they rode to the Pacific shore at around 9 am, the same time I arrived from Vancouver, Washington along with some of my buddies that are also doing this ride. While the first group pushed toward the Pacific, the rest of us in-processed with the America By Bicycle (ABB) staff that now numbers 6--a ride leader, three assistants and two mechanics. These folks rapidly got us through the line, handed us some colorful ABB gear and did a thorough check of our bikes to make sure we were ready for a 3650 journey across 10 states. With a sound safety check under our belts, about 6 of us headed to the beach!
The ride out to the Pacific was short, sweet, and full of the freshest air I've tasted in some time! Although it had rained most of the morning and the marine fog layer was still on the banks of the Columbia on the Washington side, the weather gradually cleared up with light winds and temps about 65 degrees for the 26-mile round trip. I must admit I did not see a lot along the way as I was watching my new cycling friends closely and paying even closer attention to the traffic and new surroundings. I've said many times that "everything can change in one second on a bicycle," and I was thinking exactly that on this shakedown cruise before the real ride starts tomorrow. Even with that mentality, there were still about three ". . . easy does it there Pilgrim" moments (did John Wayne really ever say that?). Anyway, it felt great to get this party started!
After arriving at the dark brown, sandy beach, a couple of the folks decided they would merely stand on the bank and call it "good." However, I made the trip to dip my rear wheel in the Pacific and tomorrow I'll get the photos from my buddies to prove it. Stay tuned! My friends Greg and Theresa Pryor did the same as I did and the photo above captures their walk back to turn toward home.
As I told many of my friends, I like to see if I can make one or two of our readers smile, so I thought the marquee featured above would be a fitting start for Father's Day. I really can't believe my kids went out of their way to put this message right before me on this special occasion! Adam, Sara and DA, thanks for thinking of me!
Tomorrow will begin with breakfast at 0600, bag loading at 0700, team photo at 0715, and then it's off for 69 miles to St. Helens . . . yes, THAT town just down the road from the famous volcano that startled the northwest on 18 May 1980.
Two last things to wrap this up: 1) Thank you to all my friends and supporters at home in Solivita that helped me prepare for this trip of a lifetime. The Solivita cyclists rock and are darn good Dragon boat paddlers too! 2) While I pedal and you enjoy a few vicarious laughs over the next 50 days, I would respectfully ask you to consider supporting the Christian Activity Center (CAC) kids of East St. Louis, IL with a donation at the link below. I love these kids and know that lending a hand with a few dollars can ensure the nurturing, learning and loving environment continues.
Click below to support the CAC mission and make a tax deductible donation!
I promise to make tomorrow's blog shorter, funnier and faster!
Stay healthy,
Steve
posted by Steve King at 10:02 PM
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