Wednesday, June 30 to Fort Bragg

The ride South along the Oregon coast took me through more and more groves of redwood trees.
It was difficult to ride with my full face helmet because the play of shadows and patches of sunlight coming through the trees was blinding me.
I changed to the red helmet which has a sun visor and hat worked well.



This time my lunch on the beach was accompanied by an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir, Erath 2008.

However, it made me a little sleepy, so I found a nice spot in a redwood grove and took a nap.

It was spectacular to lie down in the forest and look up at the majestic trees. One could easily imagine how the Indians stalked silently through the woods in search for food.

The silence is complete, only broken by the buzzing of an occasional insect.

At Crescent City I stopped a the Visitor Center and go maps of California and the Redwood National Parks.

The 101 veered away from the coast and the ride became slow and very curvy.

I decided to cut back to the coast at Leggett and ride through a famous tree there. I never found it, but a lady on the same road showed me the pictures she took.

The road back to the coast was etremely diffiult and it was getting dark. I could not go faster than 15 to 25 miles and reached the coast just before sunset.

Crossing into California I stated seeing the famous wine estates in the Mendocino valley. The tasting rooms were closed when I passed, so maybe tomorow I will have more luck.

After taking these pictures the sun set and the temperture dropped steeply into the 50.

I was time to find a hotel, which I did at Fort Bragg.

I had dinner at a local restaurant, but the beef Stroganoff was not very good. The hotel was very expensive but disappointing too, there was not even a room for breakfast.

So now I am in California, land of 5$ gas and million dollar egos!Let's see what happens!

Tuesday, June 29 to Bandon

From McMinnville the road to the coast was very nice. I had gotten an early start and the sun was behind me.
When I started seeing very tall trees I did not yet ealize I was entering the area of the Pacific redwoods. They were impessive because of their size, growing straight up to almost 100 ft.

At Lincoln City, I finally reached the Pacific Ocean. It was a moment to remember, I had come all the way to the end of the ride across America. No further to go! From now on, I would go South along the coast.

I got on to the coastal road 101 which I would be following through Oregon all the way to California. It is a great road, winding along the coast, going up and down over the rugged coastal landscape and presenting continuous spectacular views of the Pacific.
Many pople travel this road by bicycle, motorbike, ar and even on foot, from the Canadian border to San Diego. I spoke with several travelers who were doing just that on bicycles and it was quite a challenge!

At Newport in Yaquina Bay, there is a plaque commemorating the first landfall of Captain Cook. There is also a historic lighthouse at this place.


In 1778, when the United States was declaring its independence, no visitors had recorded contact with what is now the central Oregon coast. Captain James Cook passed by the southern coast, naming Cape Perpetua, and then landed at Yaquina Bay.

He continued north, naming Cape Foulweather, reflecting the rough weather he encountered. Through the mid-1800s trappers ventured south from the Hudson Bay Company, headquartered at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River.

The history of the central coast was changed forever in 1855 when the United States established a 1.3 million-acre Reservation. More than 4,000 people from 20 different tribes were resettled on this Reservation. Though the government deemed the area unfit for farming and inaccessible, there were other resources.

In 1861, two events again changed the course of history. A sea captain was shown beds of rare, delicate oysters in Yaquina Bay. Companies from San Francisco came to harvest the oysters, creating conflicts with payment to Reservation Indians and depleting the supply within a few years.

I continued down the coast until I reachd the town of Bandon. The ride was slow, because of the winding road and the fequent stops I made to take pictures.
At Bandon, I decided to try the famous crab cakes made of Dungeness crabs at the Sportmen's Cannery in the little harbor. They were delicious!

It was very cold, low 60s and it was getting late. So I decided to stay in Bandon and found a small hotel overlooking the harbor. But first I walked along the old fishing boats, smelling the salt air and the typical tar smell of old boats.

When I turned my computer on, it did not boot. I tried everything I could but nothing worked. A lady gave me directions of a computer repair shop, which I will try tomorrow.

THE NEW COMPUTER WORKS DIFFERENTLY THAN MY OLD ONE. I AM UNABLE TO REARRANGE THE PICTURES ACCORDING TO THE TEXT, SO FOR THE TIME BEING I WILL HAVE TO POST IN THIS ORDER.

SORRY FOR THAT

The blog continues....

Hi all!

There was no way my computer could be fixed, I had to buy a new one. I still hope to be able to get my data out, but that will have to wait until I am home again.

I am in Las Vegas now, a change of plan from the original destination. I have added another 1,000 miles to the trip and will continue through Nevada, Arizona and finish the ride in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I will start preparing the missing blog pages now and post them in their correct order.

I hope you will continue to enjoy my blog.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

More computer trouble

Hi everybody,

This is a quick message to all to tell you I am well but that I have not been able to blog as usual. My computer hung up and I am unable to use it. Also I cannot upload pictures nor do anything else. The problem cannot be fixed here, so I am considering buying another computer to continue the blog.
In any case, the ride is going well. after Seattle I rode down the Oregon coast, which is rugged and beautiful, passed through many redwood groves, the wine country of California, San Francisco , the Golden gate and Fisherman's wharf. I am now in Monterey getting ready to ride East to Yosemite and then on down to Los Angeles.
I hope to be able to blog again soon.
See you soon!

Jean

Monday, June 28 to the wine country of Oregon

Jeff and Rosario waved goodbye when I pulled out of their parking on lakeside Avenue. I took a last look at the nice neighborhood and the lake and rode up the hill towards I-5.

The GPS had reset itself and I rode out of Seattle without a problem. The streets and the freeway were very busy, and I had to get accustomed again to a big city after the towns of the Rocky Mountains. I had not seen such traffic since Chicago.

Jeff had recommended to stop at Portland and we had discussed making a detour to Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier. I chose St. Helens because I wanted to know more about the eruption of 1980, which I had seen on TV.

I got off at Castle Rock and followed the signs to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, 46 miles from the freeway.

At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

The observatory offers a great view of the mountains, a documentary about the eruption with a computer generated movie of the eruption itself, and exhibits of massive trees that were broken like matchsticks, 14 miles from the eruption.

The most interesting (for me ) exhibit shows identical deposits from the landslide in Mount St. Helens and from a site in Guatemala near Antigua, indicating that both deposits were created by the same geological event. That must have been a big one!

A ranger explained the process of the eruption in detail and showed pictures of the volcano before its collapse.

It is also clear that these events will continue, because Mt. St. Helens has already self destructed and rebuilt itself seven times.

I reached Portland by 6pm and went straight to the residential area on top of a hill which houses the experimental Rose Garden. Here new varieties are tested and developed. The park was full of flower fans, many of them Asians. The variety of roses is staggering and some are very beautiful.

In the rose garden, I found a small bronze plaque, with the following inscription:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams,

Live the life you have imagined!

Henry David Thoreau

I have always admired Henry David Thoreau who spent two years in a log cabin at Walden Pond, Mass. from July 1845 to September 1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment.

Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, unencumbered by the demands of modern civilization.

At 7 pm I got underway to the wine country and by 8 pm I was having dinner in the Dundee Bistro, pappardelle with mushrooms, accompanied by a half bottle of 2007 Panther creek, a tasty Pinot Noir, produced by Panther Creek Cellars in McMinnville. It is medium heavy with a nice aroma and goes well with pasta. The desert, a lavender creme brulee, was also very good.

For now, I have stopped the beer tasting and will try the wines of Oregon and California.

I am staying the night in McMinnville and tomorrow I will reach the Pacific coast at Lincoln City. From there I will follow the 101 coastal road all the way to California.

By now I have logged almost 5,000 miles, considerably more than the original plan of 3,500. I believe the total ride will reach 6,000 miles.

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.


YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!

The target of the ride is to raise $10.00 for each mile of the ride.

I you decide to support this ride, you may:

1. Buy miles: Buy one or more miles at $10.00 per mile. There are 3,500 miles to be sold.
2. Sponsor a local event when I am in your area (a ride, a barbecue) for a $200.00 minimum.
3. Become a Student Sponsor at Ak´Tenamit for $30.00 (one month) or $360.00 per year
4. Become a Health Care Partner for $10.00 or $120.00 per year.

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Sunday, June 27 a day in Seattle

Jeff and Rosario were doing a remodel of one of their apartments and had been camping amidst all the furniture they had taken out of it.

A neighbor, Sheri, had graciously offered another apartment on the ground floor for me to stay.

The sun coming in the window woke me up early and I took advantage of this to write a few chapters of the blog, that had been delayed since West Yellowstone.

Rosario had prepared some very, very strong coffee, presumably to make sure everybody was wide awake and ready to go sightseeing.

We were planning to drive around the city and take some pictures, but today happened to be the annual gay parade, a hilarious affair with thousands of participants and spectators.

Even the trees were decorated!

The center was completely blocked, and we lost quite some time before we reached Jeff’s Golf Club, where another event was taking place, with golfers dressing up like in the 20s.

We managed to visit an Apple store and admired the Ipad. Definitely useful in Guatemala to download books that otherwise cannot be acquired.

Sheri was waiting for us in the club and we sat down to a light lunch in the lounge. We had a great time talking about the different countries we had visited and the ride.

I was impressed by the club which was built in the 20s. It has a beautiful design and is very well kept. Contrary to Guatemala, many golfers walk the course and caddies are seldom used.

After lunch we returned home and I wrote some more in the blog.

Jeff had made reservations at Nishino, an upscale but casual sushi place in town.

We shared a number of different plates, kaiseki style, one more delicious than the other and had a great time. The food was just as fresh as in Japan and we remembered the good times we had in that country.

Thanks to my friends, my stay in Seattle was wonderful. The view over the lake from their building is exquisite and the neighborhood very beautiful.

Thank you, Rosario, Sheri and Jeff, you made the day very special!

Saturday, June 26, I MADE IT TO SEATTLE,

Tom had marked my map of Washington state with a scenic route. I was to leave Spokane and head to the Coulee Dam and from there go over the North Cascade mountain range, which is a national park, and then head South on to the I-5 towards Seattle.

The ride would take around 8 hours.

We had an early breakfast. Wende still gave me a bag of fruit and snacks, I packed my bike and left in sunny weather, around 65 F.

I think the area of Spokane has a very high quality of life. The town is well planned, the river runs right through it, there are many parks and nice residential areas. The humidity is low and and there is very little rainfall. In winter , there are ski areas very close, lakes are everywhere for boating enthousiasts and the hunters can bag elk, deer and even bear, like the fur that was gracing the floor in my room.

The ride to the Coulee Dam took me through rolling field where wheat and alfalfa coloured the landscape vividly green.

Then I passed a stretch of wilderness which Tom had explained as part of the Great American Desert and approached the Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the USA.

There is a good tour about all the technical aspects of the dam. What impressed me was that everything that gets trapped in the trash racks (wooden logs, garbage ) is totally pulverized by the force of the water.

It is a big dam, but its volume is one sixth of the volume of the Three Gorges in China, a monster dam we visited a few years ago.

I met a family that I had also sen in the Yellowstone park. They were also on their way west.

When i got ready to leave, my GPS hung up. There was no way to get it working again. I spent half an hour on this, but it was no use.

So I rode on without GPS and promptly lost my way. Deep in the Colville reservation I realized my mistake and returned. It was very difficult to find my way on the map because I confused the Columbia river with the Banks lake.

I was started worrying about the duration of the ride, because it was close to noon and someone told me that trip would take another 7 hours.

The best thing would be to shorten the ride and take the southern route, along the Columbia river to Wenatchee, and then take the 97 over the Blewitt Pass to reach the I-90 to Seattle.

But how to find my way in Seattle without GPS?

In Bridgeport I went to the municipal library to see if I could download and reinstall the GPS software, but no luck. The TomTom remained static. So I got on Google Maps and printed out the directions to Jeff and Rosario’s house. It really seemed quite straightforward, so I rode on.

In Orondo, I had a salad in a Subway stop, together with Mexican farm workers who were picking cherries. I enjoyed speaking Spanish with them.

It was a nice ride West , but the temperature soon reached the 90 F and the sun bothered me. So off came the full face helmet and on went the other with the newly repaired visor. It worked like a charm, I could see very well. I wish had done this before.

The road along the Columbia river offers great views of the river and the valleys. There is important agriculture along the river, mainly fruit trees, cherry and berry farms, as well as large trout packing plants.

As I neared the Wenatchee mountains, I began to realize I would soon reach Seattle and with that have completed the Trans America ride. I felt really good about it.

After riding in the Rocky Mountains so long, I was now nearing the last mountain pass I had to traverse to reach the Pacific. I would had crossed America from coast to coast!

And there it was, the Blewitt Pass, 4100 ft. I stopped and took pictures of myself and the bike. It would have been better with champagne, but I did not even have a beer on me.

Then it was all downhill towards the I-90.

The weather became cooler as I neared Seattle and finally I was on Lake Sammamish and into Seattle.

I got off at Exit 3-B, as indicated on the map, and worked my way Northeast. suddenly I was on Lk Washington Blvd and I knew i was close. I called Jeff who directed me to turn around and after 500 yards I saw him waving.

We parked the bike and greeted Rosario. It was so good to see them again!

Before I knew it, Jeff had the beers out, this time beers from Asia, to commemorate our time in Japan!

I had a Singha and then a Thai beer, Chang which I did not know until then. Excellent, because the hot ride had made me very thirsty.

They had prepared a dinner table in the garden outside their condo, which has direct access to the lake and its own dock. A gorgeous setting indeed, and the setting sun gave a very special ambiance. We took my picture in front of Mount Rainier to prove that I was there and ate an excellent wild Alaskan salmon. We chatted about the ride, Guatemala, Japan and our families. It felt so good to be with friends again.

I had completed the TRANS AMERICA RIDE !

I had ridden 22 days and logged 4564 miles from Washington, DC to Seattle, Washington.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman