The Early Bird - Day 24 – 35 miles

I slept a little restlessly. I was camped only a few feet from the beach and the roar of the ocean was incredibly loud. Rather than being the relaxing sound it should have been I kept thinking about what would happen if there were a tsunami. The threat of tsunami is very real on the Oregon coast and they don't let you forget it. There are signs everywhere stressing the fact that tsunamis have hit Oregon in the past and will do so in the future. I didn't let the disturbed night's sleep ruin my resolution to get an early start. I was on my bike by 9.15am. It wasn't that difficult and I didn't wake up any earlier than normal. I just cut out 3 hours of messing about. It was good to be on the road in the morning. There seemed to be far less traffic and the morning sea mist made everything look even more spectacular.

As I climbed a hill I heard the distinctive honking of sea-lions. I hoped at the top of the hill I might get a look over the cliff-edge and perhaps see one. It was better than I'd hoped for. I peered over the cliff-edge to see a colony of hundreds of sea-lions. Some were sunning themselves and making noise on the rocks, whilst others demonstrated their strength as swimmers in the ferocious surf. In the water a sea-lion is a graceful and powerful creature. On land it is like an angry fat man sunbathing.

For a while I've been considering renting a horse for a gallop along the beach. I haven't ridden a horse properly for 20 years but I imagine it's pretty much like riding a bike. I rode past a horse and it whinnied loudly at me as if to say, 'Come ride me!' I stopped at the side of the road and noticed the stables offered beach riding. Kate had expressed interest in riding a horse with me yesterday and I knew she wasn't far behind. I stopped for a couple of minutes and decided that if she appeared on the horizon we would go for a ride. After 2 minutes she didn't appear so I continued on. I don't mind riding my bike alone but I think I would need some moral support in that less familiar of saddles.

30 miles in I reached the town of Florence. I noticed a launderette. I have been in need of laundry services for quite a few days now. My towel smells like somebody has been using it to dry a dog. Inside the launderette I changed from my cycling gear into my jeans and shirt (my least worn items of clothing) and threw everything else in the washer. I felt a bit like that guy from the Levi's commercial back in the eighties. The launderette also had wifi and electricity. I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on some emails and charge my laptop battery. It's not easy to keep all the electrical appliances charged when you are living in the woods.

I reached camp at Jessie M. Honeyman State Park. Elan and Kate were already there. I ate some lunch and went to take a look at the sand-dunes. The dunes were immense. Great mountains of sand. I climbed to the top of the highest peak. It wasn't easy with tired legs. At the top of the dune there was a steep drop off into a forest. The wind was incredibly powerful, it was difficult to face into the wind, the sand would surely blind somebody less spectacled than myself. I stopped to watch a couple sand boarding down one of the dunes. It looked like great fun until you reach the bottom and have to walk all the way to the top again. Once would be enough for me I should think.

Back at camp the place was filling up fast. Many new arrivals, some familiar faces, some I hadn't met before. The Germans were back to my surprise. I assumed with their early starts they would've been in California by now. They also had news of Nick and Callie who are now a couple of days behind me following some serious bike troubles. Another couple arrived who I've met a couple of times before but they've never done anything amusing enough to be mentioned here. They still haven't. 4 others arrived but by this point I had too many people to talk to so have yet to get to know them.

I spent a few minutes replacing my rear brake pads. It was a well overdue bit of maintenance. The old ones were worn right down to the metal. As I threw away the old ones I was pleased to think that I'd be riding tomorrow with about 100 grams less in the bag.

I joined Elan, Kate and Beth for dinner. Kate has been suffering with a bad heel for the past week. It is now quite bad, she's starting to worry whether she can keep up with the group. We're all especially keen to stay together until Tuesday as we want to celebrate Kate's 30th birthday then. Elan had managed to get some ice for Kate's ankle from some 'blue-hairs' (his term for old people) in an RV. It's difficult to know what to do but everyone is rallying around to try and get Kate better again.