The Oregon coast by sunset is like taking in a view of forever; what you see looks like it has always been, its beauty as eternal as the soul.
On two days notice I decided to leave Portland and head south to Mexico using a mountain bike as the mode of transportation with an eager Canadian brother and German sister I had met a couple weeks prior. Aside from biking around Portland for the previous few months to get around, I hadn’t had any training, didn’t have any bike equipment, and didn’t even have a bike. What I did have was the energy and nostalgia running through my body and mind that comes from sleeping in a tree house, gardening, and basically engaging in an all out nature love fest during the previous few months, exactly the kind of nostalgia, mixed with a mythical level of synchronicity, that would allow for such a crazy idea to morph and grow into an intention. Of course, like any self proclaimed earth guardian can testify to, everything I needed instantly materialized like elf guided clockwork, and I was off on the most physically challenging adventure I had ever experienced in my life, wearing jeans, with everything I owned strapped to a piece of wood that was bungee chorded to my newly gifted mountain bike (I had everything I needed, not everything I wanted that would make it a comfortable and pleasant cycling journey…).
I only made it about 250 miles about two weeks later, but it was some of the most amazing traveling I had ever, and probably will ever do, in my life. There is nothing like traveling long distance on a bicycle, especially when it involves the Oregon coast, one of the most beautiful coastlines you will ever see. Burning through calories like a machine, legs as sore as can be imagined, and a new respect for those who conquer the road often traveled on their bicycles, I learned for the first time the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that comes from truly putting your body and mind through a physical test of aiming to do something you never thought you would ever do. I have to admit though, beautiful ocean views, amazing companions, and the aid from kindred spirits along the way make it all the more likely you will not only pass the test, but learn and grow enough from the experience to guide others through their own.
