Day 5 and 6 and 7

Day 5 was a beautiful 80.1 miles that took us from Cannon Beach to Pacific City where we camped at Bob Straub State Park. The route we travled took us off of US 101 for a while to follow the "Three Capes Route." We got to see some sweet lighthouses, and climb some massive hills. The largest was towards the end of the day and took us over Cape Lookout. The hill was 2.7 miles long! Holy chowder. Brian and I both were loving every second of it. It was such a great end of the day, because you need to remember, what goes up, must come down. Thus, the coast down the south side of the hill was long and fast. We were loving that part too. We also passed through a town called Tierra del Mar, and I think that is the coolest name of a town as we've seen while we've been out here. Day 5 was also Sunday, and Mother's Day. This being the case, we went to church in a town called Nehalem and made it right in time for the 11:00 service. They had great food afterwards, mostly cake, so we had our fair share. We met a lady named Roselie who was from Kalamazoo, MI, so she knew well of Hope College and the rest of Michigan. We had a good time talking to her, as well as the pastor of the church who had done the same trip we are doing a while back. Another great character from the church was a man named Wally Ummel who was an ex-Marine. Actually, he would be the first to correct you and say, "There is no such thing as an 'ex-Marine.' Once a Marine always a Marine," were his exact words. So it was fun talking with Wally, who was in the Corps for about 10-15 years and got out as a Gunnery Sergeant. Last but certainly not least, Brian and I each called our mom's to tell them that we love them. Heck, none of what we are doing would be possible if it weren't for them. To top it off, we called them from the Tillamook Cheese factory which gives out plenty of free samples. This sufficed for an afternoon snack to hold us over until dinner, which was tortillas and peanut butter.

Day 6 was easily the most challenging of the trip thusfar; it was also the longest. We logged 104.5 miles over some of the most challenging areas of the Oregon Coast. These were also the windiest portions of the coast, and unlike the rest of the days we've been riding, the wind turned on us for the 15 toughest miles. We also hadn't eaten much during the day, so once we got to Florence, Oregon, we had a great stop at Fred Meyer superstore. This had everything that a hungry and tired biker could ask for. We ended the day at Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, which boasts a beautiful display of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It was a great place to say for the night, and we met some other guys who were biking part of the coast as well - Jordan and Noah who were going from Portland to San Francisco. Just before arriving in Florence, we were hoping to see some carnivorous plants at a special wayside. We pulled off the road, but they weren't in bloom yet. What are you going to do?

Now we are at the end of Day 7, and we've traveled 75.7 miles. We are at an internet cafe in Bandon, Oregon, with a great host named Eric who is letting us camp in his back yard for the night. After yesterday's challenges, we thought it'd be good to relax for a little bit in the morning, so we enjoyed the dunes at Honeyman State Park and talked about life and the trip and what we have enjoyed after a week on the road and what could be better. We were on our bikes at about 09:33 and have had a great all around day. We had to get suntan lotion because our faces were getting burnt. We have about 85 miles to the California border so we'll be in the Golden State in a day or two. There it is ladies and gents. We're cruising and loving it.