Season 3 Episode 5 (9/27): The Wet Coast

Season 3 Episode 5 (9/27): The Wet Coast –  

9/27 Lacey to Castle Rock, WA. 72 miles 2149’ climb.

Today was an especially difficult start. It was cold and already raining when we had to leave. It’s one thing to get caught in the rain after a dry start, it’s harder to begin in the rain. (At home, not only do I NOT bike when it’s raining. I don’t go if there is even a 10% chance. Heather does as she’s grittier.) We don’t recall a day on our previous epics when we started in the rain. And this was on top of cumulative days of being wet and cold. And it was doubly hard as we were leaving a cozy home with fantastic hosts Allie and Bryan. Yet off we rode. At least it wasn’t worse as 2 days ago a local asked us if we were prepared with snow tires?

The first 15 miles of wet and cold riding was eased at least by us being on a dedicated cycling path. This allowed us to ride next to one another which we rarely do, and at least we weren’t worried about vehicles or being splashed by them.

The bike path was covered with wet, dead, brown pine needles from the trees. The needles ended up being everywhere on our bikes as they’d stick to our tires and then end up on our frames, chains, pedals, gears, etc. We thought this was trouble and sure to gunk up our moving parts. There were occasional small branches down from the winds and then we encountered a new obstacle.

This tree downed by the storm blocked our path.

There was no way I was going back and doing extra miles today, so I carried the bikes through the debris.

Heather brought the panniers through.

Et voila! Ready to roll again on the other side.

The only issue was even more gunk was now in our moving bike parts. I mentioned to Heather that we should look for anybody with a garden hose so we could clean off our bikes before any damage was done.

And 30 minutes later we came upon the solution. Randy, the car wash attendant, offered me jokingly to go through the drive through with the cars and soap etc. I thought that would be cool.

But I opted for the more practical DIY approach.

Our next hurdle of the day was bound to happen sooner or later. Around our 45 mile mark cycling on Hidden Valley, it was dog chase time!

(As a reminder, and for new readers a recap, back in 2021 my blog chronicled a total of 10 dramatic dog chases with my final record of 9-0-1; and we witnessed a German Shepherd bite another cyclist. I also wrote of the origin of my dog fears from being chased by neighborhood dogs as a kid.)

We had a near incident on the path near the golf course the other day when a lady let her dog run out on an extended leash but pulled him back in time - and she laughed. Today was full on dog vs. cyclist. And this was a nasty looking, big dark black dog. It was on the opposite side of the street so while it ran 30 yards, the length of its owner’s property, I thought I could be safe as it was not likely to cross the traffic lane on their side of the street over to my side of the street. But it did and it was in full chase of me within 3 feet of my rear tire. Heather was about 100 yards (football field length) behind me at this point. I went into overdrive - amazing how when you think you’re already going all out, you dig deeper and find an extra gear! The chase lasted about another long 10 seconds more with me yelling NO! NO! - NO! NO! NO! (It’s pronounced as 2 long drawn out shouts followed by 3 short shouts.) Once safely away, I stopped to recover my breath, calm down and turn back wondering what will happen to Heather.

I hoped I had helped Heather by exhausting the dog. But on the other hand, he was now better situated to trap her as he did not need to run down from the house. And then I heard Heather barking out her NO! NO!…. and she made it safely through.

Once both together, we reviewed the encounter. I asked if she saw my chase. She told me she heard it from 100 yards. And then she admitted at first she was laughing while watching my chase and listening to me yelling. She thought she’d be smarter and just quietly sneak by. So much for her plan and her schadenfreude!

At least, for the last 2 hours of the day it stopped raining. And it warmed up to 63. While wet and cold, at least today I could feel my fingers and had dexterity.

And then at about 65 miles with 7 to go, it hit me. I was drained. It had been so wet and cold that neither of us stopped to even take a sip of water for the first 25 miles. Now at 65 miles, I had barely gone through 2/3 of a water bottle. That insufficient hydration along with the extra energy consumed to stay warm left me low. It was time for some short term glucose in the way of eating bars to help me finish.

We made it at last to our very modest motel room in Castle Rock and were relieved to be dry, warm and safe.

These last 3 days have been a struggle - but joyous nonetheless. We certainly now know why this local new brewing company is aptly named …

© Copyright Mark Segal 2023.