Our Correspondent in the Field

Postcards sent to "The Crazy Bikers" from Miss Kristina's Class

This past summer I ran a daycare class with twelve students between the ages of five to twelve. I spent eight hours every day tricking them into doing academics while they thought they were doing fun summer projects. The most successful of these projects was the letter writing we did with “Miss Kristina’s crazy biker friends.” When my kids heard about the Co-ops plan to ride their bicycles from Vancouver to Mexico they were flabbergasted. “That’s crazy, no one can do that,” they exclaimed. They did not believe someone could ride all that way. This question presented the first learning opportunity, “how many miles is that?” Ah ha! I had them. We used maps, learned a little geography, learned about scale and how to calculate distance all in the name of answering a question posed by the students themselves. The next questions, “What do they do for food?” “Do they get tired?” “What if their bike breaks?” I probably could have answered myself, but I saw an opportunity. I pulled out blank index cards and each student wrote a decorated postcard to the Co-op. This was a great activity, because they were practicing their writing, and they were excited about it. They weren’t answering a boring prompt, they were asking questions of some crazy guys they wanted to get to know.

Postcards from Miss Kristina's class, one addressed to the "crazy bikers"

I sent the postcards out, and about a week and a half later we not only had updates, but personal answers to each of the postcards my students sent. The kids were unbelievably excited to get letters written and addressed to them personally. Honestly, if I had known they would get this excited about getting mail I would have used an activity like this long ago. The great thing about writing to the “crazy biker guys” was that they were not only practicing writing, or learning how to write a letter, they were learning about a way to vacation that didn’t include driving hundreds of miles, or getting on an airplane. Bike touring is such a low impact way to see the country, and get in touch with nature, and they had never heard of it. It was no longer some abstract thing that no one in their right mind could do, it was an achievable adventure. They had direct interactions, through writing and a visit at the end of the summer, with people that had actually done it. I loved that my students were writing without me pulling their teeth to do it, but I also love that they learned about a different way to experience the outside. Someday they might have the opportunity to go on a bike tour, and they are much more likely to say “yes!” instead of “that’s crazy!”

(Miss Kristina)

Pannier Pork

Daniel and Kai keep an eye on the pork.

Pannier pork is one of the most delicious meals I've ever had. Kai and Hunter originated this recipe, but I love it's simplicity and great taste. As a warning, those with an aversion to leaving meat unrefrigerated* for several hours should give this one a pass.

Ingredients:
Meat, either pork or beef has worked fine. Haven't tried chicken.
A marinade, preferably already prepared. Anything by Soy Vay is a good call.
At least two plastic bags.

Go to the nearest store on that day's rout. You want at least a few hours of riding between when you pick up the meat and when you cook it, so that it can warm up, jostle around, and get properly marinated.

Once you have the meat, unpack it and put it into the first plastic bag. Dump all the marinade in on top, press the air out of the bag and tie it closed. Now bag it again with the second plastic bag, and toss it into a pannier.

This brings the meat to room temperature which allows it to take up the marinade faster. Being in the pannier acts as a tenderizer as it bounces around. This results in a very flavorful, tender meat by the end of the ride. Grill it up as appropriate to the type and cut of meat you have, and enjoy!

*I think that the increased risk of food-borne illness is low, as the meat will be thoroughly cooked.

(Robert)

Coop Cabbage

No image, ate it all.

Cabbage is nutrient poor, bulky, and generally unappetizing. Why eat cabbage? It has fiber, it's cheap, and readily available. This recipe makes even this awkward vegetable a tasty treat. By cooking it slowly, the starch in the cabbages breaks down, making it sweeter, and everything tastes better with a liberal dose of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Ingredients:
Cabbage. You'll have to cover these with a fire, so keep that in mind. You don't necessarily want to have to make a roaring bonfire just to cook some cabbages.
Tinfoil.
Olive oil.
Salt.
Pepper.
Sriracha, or other awesome hot sauce.

Take a cabbage, rub it liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap in tinfoil, preferably several layers as it will be rolled around in a fire, which tends to cause the outer layer to become punctured. Place into the fire, ideally covering the entire cabbage with hot coals. Let it sit until soft to the poke.

Remove from the fire, quarter and eat. Add hot sauce to taste, and more salt and pepper if needed.
(Robert)

Route Notes: Out of Tillamook

View Larger Map

Follow the 131 out of Tillamook (In the city it is Third Street, turn right onto it if you are heading south on hwy 101.) "Cycling the Pacific Coast" wants you to take the long way around, but unless you really want to see the lighthouses, stay on 131 until you get to Whiskey Creek Road. Follow Whiskey Creek Road to Netarts Bay Rd. This puts you back on the book route.

Upsides: shorter, very scenic.
Downsides: potentially more climbing (all very easy grades), no lighthouses.


(Robert)

Crossing Paths

View from the beach at Nehalem Bay. We rode over the cliff earlier in the day.

7-10 was bright and clear, but due to a laundry stop (Steve took care of this for all of us) we didn't break camp until about 2pm. Ride was good, fast for about the first 15 miles, then hilly with a tunnel. The tunnel was far less scary than the Astoria Bridge. At the Nehalem Bay campsite we met two women walking the Oregon coast. Their trip is also expected to take about 30 days, and they left 8 days ago from Portland. Eden and Kendra were really welcome company after 14 days on the road with the same 6-8 guys. Eden does biochem, which is right up John and Daniels' alley. I didn't catch Kendra's interests, but she broke out some marshmallows which was nice.

Sadly, we won't be seeing them again, as we cover about three times the distance per day that they can, and they aren't hiking along the freeway. They did leave a charming note, so we'll have to get in contact after our respective tours are over to see how each fared.

Today, 7-11, we're looking to hit Tillamook and visit the cheese factory there. Should be excting, I've been there before, but I hope that it lives up to the memories and the hype I've been telling the rest of the dudes.

Another interesting note: Dried sweat will bleach out bamboo shirts (and wool jerseys) fairly quickly. Rinse them nightly to prevent this.
(Robert)

Tour Delirium

After riding all day, eating dinner, and perhaps drinking a little, you may suddenly find everything absolutely hilarious. Likewise, lounging about in a park, eating cold cuts you may be struck by a case of the giggles. This is nothing to be alarmed by, it is simply a common side effect of touring known as "Tour Delirium." The combination of good food with vigorous exercise leads to this condition, and experts generally agree that it is not life threatening, or (unfortunately) a permanent condition.

Further research has shown that this effect is generally achieved with a group of 6 or fewer, but more than two.

(Robert)