Eric's blog

Day four found us up at five a.m. and ready to ride. Brett is super quick, all the previous riding and lack of gear make a big difference. Managed to drop my GPS while riding down a hill. The unit met concrete at 25 mph and tumbled. It looked to be working immediately afterwards, but has since stopped receiving a signal. Brett managed to ride about 30 miles with his front skewer loose. Major potential for diaster with that mistake.

Woke up to a dew-covered campground. Quickly discovered giant mosquitos buzzing around everywhere. Managed to tear down camp in a reasonable amount of time and began walking the five miles or so back to a bus stop to Astoria. Cam and I had rolling luggage, making things a bit easier. Brett was forced to carry his multiple backpacks, and Sean tied a belt to his suitcase and dragged it along the road. We attempted to hitch a ride, but no dice. I'm sure we were quite a sight, walking along the road will all our luggage.

After staying at the Ramada Inn last night, we took the shuttle back to the airport. Stored our luggage at some shop for $5 and hopped on the train to downtown. Got to downtown Portland and hit up Vegetarian House for their lunch buffet. After gorging ourselves on chinese food, we wandered around downtown for awhile. Eventually hit up the Art and History Museums, but didn't want to pay for admission. Wandered around some more, saw lots of interesting people, then grabbed a donut from Voodoo Donuts before making our way back to the airport to grab our gear and catch the bus to Astoria.

Still alive and the riding has been great. Taking a rest day in McKenzie Bridge, aka Base Camp One. Tomorrow we will be making the snowy climb over McKenzie Pass.

I'll update the site more when I find a computer, too much to type on my phone. In the mean time, check my Twitter updates on the right or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/ericos.

Made it to Portland. Flights went smoothly and all luggage made it without a hitch. Brett, one of my traveling companions, spent most of the first flight chatting with an awkward 13 year-old sitting behind him. From what I caught, the conversation consisted of Brett explaining his future trip to the Philippines with the Peace Corps. After boasting to the kid about all the important words he had learned (incest being the most important), the young man informed Brett that his brother was in the army and stationed in the Philippines. His advice for Brett?

I am sitting in a Bruegger's trying to finish up this site. Mediacom decided to break our internet today, so I am desperately trying to finish the site up before I leave. My flight to Portland leaves in an hour and I have yet to pack my things.

I hope to update the site when I have a chance. Please let me know of any issues and I'll add them to my list of fixes.