Another great night’s rest in the hammock, warm and toasty as droplets of rain sporadically peppered the rain fly above. I was up around 7:30am again, as were many of the other campers in the hiker/biker area with me. There were at least a dozen tents setup here, and all of them were bikers.

it was impossible to get all the tents in one picture; my hammock is at the far right

One of the most enjoyable parts of my trip has been meeting and talking with other people touring. There is quite a variety out there. One couple I met the first night at camp in Lincoln City, and we happened to pick the same campsite the next night as well. They were middle aged, the guy having toured pretty much all his life, been through the Alps, etc. Plenty of great conversation.

There were another couple of guys who had met up on the road, one from Mexico (though I’d never guessed from his accent – sounded a bit European) and the other from New Zealand. I’ve enjoyed talking with every Kiwi I’ve met, and this guy was no different – he had hit the road on a whim and didn’t have much more than his bike and a blanket. He’d been living off of Burger King and Starbucks the whole time, and was just picking up gear along the way as he could find it.

Then there were the two dads with their two sons, each around 10 to 12 years of age. Both had two tandem bikes with BOB trailers and were touring with their kids. I can’t wait for Zach to get old enough so I can bring him with me on one of these treks. They said the kids were actually pretty good about pedaling along; they kept the mileage to around 40-50 miles a day. These guys were the polar opposite of the New Zealander – they had a full kitchen setup and were cooking up pancakes and other assorted vittles for breakfast.

one of the dad’s tandem rigs; dad in front, stoker/kid in back

I headed out around 9:30 en route to Florence. The weather was overcast, nice and cool for my ride. I passed through the Cape Creek Tunnel along the way (pretty sure I recorded it, but not turning up the video just yet).

sea lions chilling out by the world’s largest sea cave

looks like I’ve made it to the Oregon Dunes

I stopped at the Fred Meyer in Florence at around 11ish to pick up some more bagels, bananas, and to snack on a pepperoni stick. The snack would prove to be important as lunch was still a few hours away.

As I rolled on I hit this hill that just wouldn’t quit. On and on it went, and Reedsport seemed like it wasn’t getting any closer. The sun started peeking out, the heat started rising, and my kickstand started to come loose, smacking my left heel and crank as I pedaled. tink-tink-tink-tink on each pedal… aggravating. I’d push it back in and a minute later it was tink-tink-tink again. The third day was proving to be as challenging as I predicted.

As I scooted up at 6mph I looked over and saw what looked like raspberries, but growing on what was not a raspberry bush. I stopped and had a closer look, and discovered a berry that some friends of mine were telling me about just the previous weekend – thimbleberries! At least they looked like what they described; I hadn’t actually ever seen one before. They said they looked like half a raspberry, delicate, melts in your mouth… looked like it fit the bill, so I started stuffing my face with as many as I could get my hands on. It was a welcome respite from all the climbing.

 
what is adventure, if not eating berries you’ve never seen before?

Thimbleberries, by the way, are fantastic – my new favorite berry. I ended up stopping a few times up the hill to harvest them along the way, giving me a little something to snack on as my lunch moved further into the afternoon. Some of the most prolific blackberries I’ve ever seen as well… it was as if Mother Nature was throwing her finest at me to try and slow me down. Eventually I moved beyond the never-ending hill and its tantalizing fruit, and made it into Reedsport around 2pm for some McDonalds. (Sometimes you just get that craving for crap food, you know?)

After my lunch I Bing’d for cycle shops in town with my phone, and found one a just a couple blocks away. It wasn’t the type of cycle I was thinking of, though – this was a motorcycle shop in someone’s garage. They didn’t have metric hex wrenches, but did have one close enough to tighten the kickstand bolt down. They thanked me for helping to save the environment with my bike riding; I replied that I’m just having fun. (I also asked if they had a spare engine lying around they could hook to my bike, but no such luck.)

Off I went, destination unknown. I had a friend who was working on a project in Coos Bay, but wasn’t sure if they were around; I left a message as I planned other options, such as Sunset Bay. On the way I broke the 40mph barrier… those flames on the bike aren’t just for show, kids.

Heard back from my friend as I was passing by the Umpqua Lighthouse – I had a place to crash in Coos Bay for the night. I rolled on there, parked at a coffee shop for a while, and ended up getting a flat tire. I filled it up enough to get to my destination, putting off dealing with it until the morning (there wasn’t anything visible puncturing the tire and was leaking slowly.) I got some laundry done and was even treated to a nice seafood dinner in Charleston later in the evening. We drove out to check out Sunset Bay as well, which was an amazing view. An enjoyable close to a productive day.

 like a postcard! Not shown is the sound of hundreds of sea lions going “ARR ARR ARR”; hilariously monotonous

Most Exciting Moment
As I was heading into North Bend, I’d stopped to take a few pictures and was packing my handlebar bag on the side of the road when three cyclists passed me – two girls and one guy. The girl in front said something to the effect of “draft us if you like” and I started to tail them. Man does it make a difference when you have someone pushing the wind out of your way! It was a welcome relief for weary legs after 50+ miles of riding that day. Here’s me riding with them as we crossed the bridge into North Bend and Coos Bay.

Roadkill Report

• two ravens
• a green snake with a black stripe (or perhaps a black snake with two green stripes)

I woke up bright and early with an incredible desire to piss. By the light I assumed it was maybe 5am, 5:30, but it was actually 7:30. My night’s sleep was even better than I thought.

I stopped by the ranger station to ask if there were any AC outlets besides the lone one I saw in the bathroom, and he offered to plug in my plethora of power plugs in his back room, out of mouthwash’s way. I absorbed my bagel and protein shake breakfast while I broke down camp and prepared for the day.

I retrieved my charged (or so I thought…) items, loaded up my bike and headed out for Depoe Bay and Newport beyond. My legs were definitely sore, in particular my knees, as I started turning the cranks. I paced myself as I headed south, and after a little while they started loosening up a bit. There was some great scenery along the way, including some beach areas wiped out from a big tsunami over 300 years ago, filled with skeletons of trees.

One thing I didn’t realize until I started down the highway was that Newport was only about 20 miles away, when in my mind I thought it was more like 30. Last night’s campground was on the south side of Lincoln City, so I’d already done some of that distance yesterday that I was envisioning. I knew I’d be heading beyond Newport, but didn’t know my destination yet… but I wasn’t concerned about that. My mind was on chowder.

Clam chowder. I knew I’d be having some when I made it to Newport, and the cool overcast day multiplied my desire. I rode onward as I licked my chops, soothing my legs with future spoonfuls of creamy seafood bliss.

my appetite has already gone from ravenous to ludicrous

After a lunch like that I wasn’t going to be riding for a while, and I had various electronic chores to take care of anyway, so I headed round the corner to Cafe Stephanie for a mocha and some chair time. They didn’t have WiFi but I found someone else’s within range. I plugged in my devices again and then noticed that they weren’t charging. Apparently there is something funky with my travel power strip that I brought, as neither my laptop nor my GPS unit charged up. (My GPS flashed its low battery warning for the rest of the day but thankfully kept running until I was done travelling. I was not looking forward to manually recreating the GPS log.)

As I was sitting there working away on my netbook, a couple employees from a bike shop up the street were chatting me up about my trip. Turns out this bike shop not only has WiFi, but free showers AND a washer and dryer for people touring just like me. Man did I pick the wrong place to park! (The mocha and Italian soda were excellent, to the cafe’s credit. They also let me stay 45 minutes after closing, which I didn’t realize until I’d looked away from my machine and noticed no one else was around.)

By the time I was back on the road it was 4pm and I was running behind. I was shooting for Carl Washburne State Park another 30-odd miles down the road, but the weather was looking like it wanted to turn worse. I had a closer option for camp but didn’t want to put myself in a hole mileage-wise… I needed to push on and make it to that park.

It rained for about a half hour, not enough to soak me, just to test me. The whole afternoon felt like a test, a challenge to see if I could make it. I knew going in that it wouldn’t be day one that would show me if I could make it or not -- it would be the days following, when my legs feel drained and discouragement awaits with every hill.

As the clock struck five, five-thirty, six, I realized that I was actually feeling pretty good, and I knew I was going to make it to the park. I ended up pulling in at 7:30pm, with just enough time to get my hammock setup and to cook dinner before it got too dark. But it was that moment in the afternoon when I sensed that I could really do this. I’m riding all the way to San Diego.

Most Exciting Moment
I happened to film my fastest speed today, blasting down a nice little hill. (I tried narrating to the camera but it’s practically inaudible… I’m new to this whole self-filming-helmet-cam stuff.)

Roadkill Report

• chipmunk/squirrel hybrid
• porcupine
• a leg, mammalian, species unknown

After presenting Tuesday night at PADNUG (hi gang :), I rode back home and finished packing. I didn’t get to bed until late, and was up early finishing the preparations. I wasn’t expecting to get a whole lot of sleep anyway… I’d been anxious to get going for a while.

For my first day I’d planned on riding from Portland to McMinnville on Highway 99, and then out to Lincoln City on the coast via highway 18. My buddy and fellow Microsoftie Alan Doby came by to give me and my steed a lift to the outskirts of Portland, where the journey would begin. I was glad to skip the ride through Portland, since I’d just ridden Barbur the night before and didn’t want to deal with those hills when I had another 80 miles to go.

Alan rode with me through the first miles up to Dundee, making sure I got off okay. It was great to have some company along as I was just getting started. Things went relatively smooth; my tires were a little low and the front end was shimmying a bit, which was mostly fixed with a dose of air. (Figuring out the bike pump and its Presta valve adapter was another story. :) I’ll repack the bags to lighten up the front when I get to camp.

some video from the helmet cam

I proceeded on my own to McMinnville, where I stopped by the bike shop to pick up some gloves to replace mine that I couldn’t find, and enjoyed a burger at McMenamin’s. Onward through Grand Ronde I started encountering some nasty headwinds for several miles, and the torture that was Murphy Hill. 780 feet of climbing after 60+ miles in the saddle had me at a snail’s pace. Once I was past the hill and it’s little sibling, I was pretty much home free. I rolled into camp in southern Lincoln City at about 6pm, set up camp, and cooked up some eagerly awaited dinner.

my hammock and bike in my spot for the night

cooking up some freeze-dried Santa Fe chicken. 2 servings – ha! For humans maybe.

Most Exciting Moment
On a downhill run where I was up to about 36MPH, the fuel tank for my stove went flying out of its bottle cage on the front rack like a missile, bounced off the road, and crash landed in the ditch. I thought it was awesomely ironic that the most volatile item I’m carrying just happened to be the one to turn into a projectile, though there was unfortunately no massive explosion or footage of me barely making it out with the a mushroom cloud hot on my heels. I now have the tank secured with some bungee cord, although I plan to build a slingshot with it so I can have more launching power for when I get to LA.

a couple of dings, but it no go boom. maybe next time.

Roadkill Report

• Possum
• 2 chipmunks (or squirrels; what’s the difference?)
• Motorola/Verizon cell phone
• DB9 to DB25 serial adapter cable
• Smashed porcelain toilet

Tomorrow it’s onward through Depoe Bay, Newport, and some campground beyond that is unknown to me at the moment. More tomorrow!

Next month we’ll be having a couple MSDN Presents events (formerly known as MSDN Unleashed… but since they’ve already been unleashed, they are just Presents now :) in Portland and Boise. The overall theme is the “next generation client experience” and features sessions on Silverlight 3, Internet Explorer 8, and Windows 7.

In Portland we’ll have Technet in the morning, MSDN in the afternoon. The Technet event will be covering Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. They are happening on September 2nd; head to the links below in order to register.

Technet Presents – PDX | MSDN Presents - PDX

In Boise we’re having it on September 15th. We’re making it a whole day event with the local developer community, similar to what we’ve done there in the past. Planning is going on right now for potential topics – let me know if there is something you’d like to hear besides the three previously mentioned.

MSDN Presents – Boise

Hope to see you at MSDN Presents!

Behold, for my ride to San Diego – it’s my Surly Long Haul Trucker.

The bike is Surly’s LHT Complete model, with a few additions and alterations:

• swapped out the stock saddle for a Selle An-Atomica Titanico. Pre-treated, waterproof leather with no break-in time, and very comfortable. The stock WTB SST saddle is actually pretty good (may put it on my commuter bike) but I wouldn’t want to spend multiple hours on it.
• Surly Nice Racks on front and rear of bike to carry my stuff. (I’m using Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus and Sport Packer Plus panniers along with their handlebar bag.)
• Bipod kickstand (found in stock at Clever Cycles!) so the bike can stand up on its own, which is very handy when loading/unloading gear, changing out a flat, etc.
• Shimano SPD clipless pedals. I’ll be riding with my Keen commuter sandals, which have the cleats and work well enough as off-bike shoes.
• Added a Thorn accessory bar to support my handlebar bag. This keeps it lower and out of the way, and it saves me space on the handlebar to mount other items. This is where I’ve also mounted my bell.
• Cheapo bike computer I picked up as a giveaway at the Urban Assault ride last year. I’ll be using this for basic speed and distance, while my GPS and mobile gizmos do more detailed tracking.
• Busch & Müller 4DToplight Permanent rear taillight. Has 4 LEDs, 260 degree lighting angle, plus it doubles as a reflector. Peter White Cycles sells them as well as single hole bracket in order to mount it to the Surly rack.
• Trek front light that I’ll probably replace before I take off with something mounted to the front rack. I also have a Knog Frog LED light as an emergency backup.
• Reflective flames and Jolly Roger accoutrement.

The Long Haul Trucker is a great bike, and quickly became my favorite shortly after I bought it. (If you’re in Portland, City Bikes sells the complete bike for $1K.) If I could only have one bike, this would be it. It is durable, comfortable to ride with or without a load, and is spec’d out well. It just feels good to ride, period.

One more modification I saved for last, a source of inspiration thanks to Niner Bikes and their YAWYD (You Are What You Drink) Top Cap. It lets you mount the bottle cap of your choice to the top of your stem.

Stone Brewing is in San Diego and are the makers of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Levitation Ale, and other fine brews. Whenever I feel demoralized by a big hill in the distance or my legs start to turn to lead, all I have to do is look down at the gargoyle on the cap and think of the refreshing beer that awaits me at the end of my journey. Onward ho!

Since acquiring my first bike in over a decade last year, I’ve fallen in love with cycling (and more out of favor with driving a car). I put about 20,000 miles on my Mazdaspeed from August 2007 to May 2008 commuting back and forth from Salem to PDX… from May to November I put about 800 miles on it, which was coincidentally about how much I had ridden my bike during that same time. Living near where you work and play – imagine that!

So I like riding my bike… so much that I decided that this summer I’d like to go on a bike tour for my vacation. My original plan was to head over to Astoria and ride down the Oregon coast, make it just enough into California to camp in the redwoods, and then head back through Crater Lake and Bend. The plan was for about three weeks to accomplish it all… and then plans changed.

We have had a team offsite scheduled at work for months, but they ended up having to reschedule at the last minute. Now it was taking up the first week of my vacation that I’d originally planned around the offsite. I thought about postponing the trip for a week, but then I heard WhereCampPDX might be happening during that time. I wanted to present some of the geo stuff I’ll be doing on the trip (more on that in a sec) during the camp. The thought of going through Crater Lake later in the year was not so great either. So, after some deliberation, I decided to take the trip earlier instead of later, which means I’ll be leaving two weeks from today on August 5th.

With the change in schedule I reevaluated my route, and made some changes there as well. Instead of heading back up through Crater Lake, I will be riding south until I hit the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, which is where our team offsite is. Beats flying (in enjoyment factor, not speed :)

The challenge will be making it through the 1300+ miles in three weeks, which works out to an average of 60-something miles a day. I will be a beast by the time I get there, or I will be roadkill. Keep an eye on this web site to see how it turns out, as I will be blogging and tracking the journey as I go.

WIth a minimum of gadgetry (I have to carry everything I need with me on the bike, so weight is a factor), I plan on doing live GPS tracking where possible and geotagging everything I post, whether it be Twitter, photos, blog posts, you name it. Stay tuned for more info about the tech behind the tracking and progress on the trip!

This year I decided to give gardening a try, partly because the house I’m in has a couple of ideal planter boxes, and partly to learn the skills needed to survive armageddon. (Mastering ninjitsu, snorkeling, and basketweaving still awaits me.)

Anyhoo, a few days ago after a routine watering I noticed this on my yellow pepper plant:

Behold, a pepper! Of all the plants I planted, this was the one I expected least to grow anything… but there it is.

This brought me joy for two reasons. First, because as a kid I fantasized about starting a pepperarium (you know, a terrarium for peppers… like duh, get with it man). I don’t know why peppers appeal to me the way they do. I do like spicy food, but not really over the top or anything.

The other joy-bringing aspect of this pepper was realized when I sent this picture to my mom in one of my extremely infrequent family email updates. Her response, and I quote:

Good job, it’s not that easy to get one like that especially since it hasn’t really been hot yet! Maybe you inherited some of my green thumb! I know Emmy didn’t!

The lesser gardener who goes by the name Emmy happens to be my little sister. Despite us being in our 30s now, the taste of victory in our sibling rivalry is just as sweet as it ever was. I would tell you to eat it Emmy but I only have the one pepper and I’m not that generous. Instead I will just say HUZZAH!!! until I can gloat properly with wild gesticulations when next we meet.

Silverlight 3 has hit the web, only 8 months after Silverlight 2. As usual, Tim Heuer has a great write-up about what’s new. The 30-second version: supports out-of-browser apps for RIA goodness, leverages the GPU for hardware acceleration and some nifty graphics effects; new controls, .NET RIA Services, navigation support (for linking, etc), and other goodies.

Head to http://seethelight.com/ for more info and to grab the Expression Blend release candidate, which features SketchFlow, an awesome way to design and prototype your apps. (My biggest disappointment from MIX this year was not being able to play with this after seeing it in the keynote.) There’s also the official Silverlight site at http://silverlight.net/, and don’t miss Erik and Monica Mork’s Silverlight podcast series at http://www.sparklingclient.com/. Enjoy!

Some great news with the announcement that the Community Promise is being applied to C# and the CLI (the Common Language Infrastructure; the underpinnings of the .NET Framework). The official announcement is by Peter Galli, but I’d suggest checking out Mono master Miguel de Icaza’s take on his blog. No license agreement, no paperwork to sign – anyone can go and build their own implementation. Go Mono!

In other Microsoft open source news, The Register reports the Microsoft Public License (MS-PL) is in the top 10 of open source licenses used, less than two years after the OSI gave its stamp of approval. Many of these projects can be found on CodePlex, our open source project hosting site, which recently had its third birthday and now hosts over 10,000 projects. (Speaking of which, I should dust off Imagination…)