By Paul Broekman

 

The good……

• Having our son Mark with us as our support for the first week.
• Portland – everything, but particulary the Japanese gardens.
• Meeting up with John and Alison on day 7 and the confirmation we had 4 functioning bikes between us.
• Historic Oregon US30 route, spectacular waterfalls.
• Walla Walla, a town so nice they named it twice!
• Eagles flying above us.
• Cycling in the mornings.
• The Columbia river, always majestic and beautiful.
• Wild flowers along the road sides, we are enjoying our second spring of the year.
• Town drivers are very considerate of us and our bikes.
• The locals: lots of interest in our route and the blog.
• No serious bike issues, although John is 3-0-0-0 ahead on punctures!

 

The bad……

• I30 traffic: its volume, speed and size.
• Wildlife: live snakes on the road, I’m not a fan.
• The sheer volume and variety of debris in the cycle lanes.
• The wind, when its from any direction other than behind.
• 6am alarm calls, I’m not a morning person.
• The amount of single use plastic consumed during a hotel breakfast.
• Cycling in the afternoons – too hot.

 

And the ugly…..

• An upturned car: the driver had been rescued moments before we arrived (thankfully ok), but a sober reminder of the potential dangers faced while cycling.
• Wild fires: a wet spring has fuelled a lot of scrub growth now tinder dry which when combined with the strong winds could be disasterous.
• Wildlife: dead animals in the cycle lanes which usually you can smell before you see.
• Any cycling on gravel, I don’t have the right tyres so its not a pretty sight.
• Farm dogs: so far contained by their owners fences but with potential for things to get ugly the more rural we get..
• Evening card games: we all want to win!