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Reality is sinking in that we will be home in just a few days time. While I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends, I'm not looking forward to much else! Ian and I talked about what drives these feelings that we share, and we recalled Ewan MacGregor saying, in Long Way Around, that when you're on the bikes, all you have to think about is riding and you completely look forward to it. When you're not riding, all you have to think about is what you are going to eat and where you are going to sleep. Next day you're back riding again, and on goes the cycle. If only life at home was so simple and uncomplicated.
I don't want to drag my feet getting home or double back on any of the trip, but if there was no reason to come home right away and there was a magic ferry that could drop us and our bikes off in Anchorage, Alaska, I would take it in a heartbeat because it would be the start of a new adventure with something new around every corner. Maybe we could hit the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and
Nunavut to complete our tour of Canada at least.
Being consumed with riding, eating and sleeping each day, we have not taken enough time to fully enjoy and explore each place we've seen. But on the other hand we have still taken something away from every place we have ridden through. You don't zone out like you would when driving a car, and none of your senses are stifled due to being inside a car. On the bike, your awareness levels are always heightened, and because you have full sensory perception you are able to absorb and be deeply impacted by what you see, smell and feel along the way. A perfect example of this difference is when we rode the bus on the wine tour, and we took the same route the next day on our bikes en route to Sacramento. I could not tell where the bus driver had taken us or where he turned off to reach any of the vineyards, or what the roads were like, or how sharp the corners were, or how high up we were at times. The list goes on. How many times we each said "I didn't realize there were
so many houses on this stretch", or "I don't remember passing lanes here" to name a couple. On the bikes, we can remember every small house, intersections, where rivers started and ended, when we crossed a bridge, the colour of the cows in certain areas, the magnificence of a waterfall in full view without the obstruction of a bus' roof.
I realized how much I've missed the west coast. Today was a real wakeup call for the olfactory senses. The smell of the Pacific Ocean, mixed with the clean invigorating scents of the evergreens was refreshing. You realize how much you take in each day that you don't experience in the car. Things like smells, the temperature, feel of the road, visual stimulation in front, behind, to the side, overhead, physical exertion riding tight curves, unending corners, steep inclines and declines. We understand now why there were days at the end of which we were completely spent. Brain overload. People have asked us if we ride with the radio on or headphones in, and for 99% of the trip, the answer is no. It's just too much. Today I actually listened to a classical station for a while and
it was poetic through the forests, but once you're into traffic and over the top scenery, music adds too much and I would turn it off. The only time I listened to tunes for more than an hour was on the Loneliest Road in America where the only visual stimulation was barren desert all around.
The west coast is familiar to us from our previous travels. However, it appears very different because of the unlimited visibility we have on the bikes, plus we pay more attention to our environment as we ride. Like how close we get at times to the little branches and rocks on the corners of some of the switchbacks we've ridden (I don't tend to look too closely at my own position, but we certainly notice each other's either in front or in the mirrors). Or how close you are to the sidelines at times on the same cliffs with no protective barriers and several hundred foot dropoffs. Yet you're not really thinking about riding in itself, because we know how to ride. You are focussing more on what's ahead of you and what's coming towards you, and who's pulling out and who's overtaking you,
and whether the light ahead is red or green, or whether you have to come to a complete stop or can just coast slowly. You're not thinking about each of the motions on the bike, you're just doing it.
Riding 500 kms today to reach Newport, Oregon didn't feel like a long way. What a change from the beginning of this adventure. I haven't gone back and reread any of our blogs yet. I expect I will be surprised by our first few days' memoirs and thoughts. We enjoyed a lovely long stroll down the beach in comfortable 27 degree sunshine, walking barefoot in the warm waves until I realized that what I thought were bubbles on the sand each time a wave ebbed were actually sand lice. Eeeeeeewwwwwww. I'm walking on the dry sand. Ian manned up and stayed in the water! #more redwoods. #small recognizable beach towns. #surfers. #whales.
Other highlights today: Water stop near Sea Lion Caves where we played around with camera at arms length trying to capture a photo of the two of us resting on the bench. We are easily entertained; Rode on grass for the first time, easier than walking the
bike backwards to get out of the parking lot. We are easily entertained!!!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The start of a new adventure
We suspect you are like many of us on Travel blog that have a constant urge for exploration. Your trip has been grand and we've enjoyed reading along. We too, wish you had that magic ferry and could continue on in Alaska. Thanks for sharing.