Just over 10 miles passed before reaching a rather large bridge. Ever since my terrifying experience back in Astoria, bridges make my stomach do little cartwheels. This bridge had no shoulder so I decided ride on the pavement. Even on the pavement, crossing a high, windy bridge is not a relaxing experience. At the end of the bridge the pavement narrowed to the point where it would've been impossible to get off and push. It was near-impossible to continue on my widely loaded bike too. My only option was to edge along the high pavement on tip-toes, hoping I wouldn't topple into the road.
The next challenge was a detour from the highway on a section known as the Seven Devils. The Devils are hills, 7 in a row. It was some of the steepest riding I'd encountered for a long time. It was manageable though. Some helpful cyclist had spray-painted numbers on each of the devils, it was good to get an idea of how many hill were yet to climb.
I stopped for lunch in a lay-by after devil number 3. I made it half way through my sandwich before a truck pulled up in front of me. 2 guys got out of the truck. It was Chris the surfer and his friend Steve. Chris had been picked up by his friend and they were now travelling south via the best surfing spots in the truck. It was great to see Chris again and catch up, I thought I'd said goodbye for good a few days back. I was a little jealous of Chris' plan. In a few days he would be out on a boat with his marine biologist friend, working with sharks.
At the top of Devil number 7, the message read, 'Let the fun begin.' I got into race position and prepared to enjoy the descent. I noticed a gentle tapping from the rear of my bike. I pulled over to take a look. What I found was far worse than I could have possibly imagined. The rim on my rear wheel had split open on the braking surface. The split was nearly 2 inches long and was causing the tyre to bulge worryingly around it. This was definitely terminal. It was a matter of time before the wheel completely collapsed. I was about 15 miles from the nearest town of Bandon on a very quiet back road. If the wheel became any worse I may have been unable to push the bike. If this happened I had no idea how I would make it to town. Luckily Kate arrived. I asked her to cycle with me to Bandon. If the wheel did give in she could cycle on and send help. It was a very tense ride, with every bump in the road I feared the wheel may give way. Thankfully we eventually made it to the hostel where we would be staying for the next 2 nights.
Once in the hostel I started working on a plan. I had 2 options: find somebody to rebuild my existing wheel with a new rim or buy a replacement wheel. Rebuilding the wheel was the better option but it would take a day or 2, assuming I could find someone who could do it. I had to buy a new wheel. I couldn't afford to waste 2 days with such a strict deadline to reach San Francisco in time to meet my girlfriend off the plane. I knew there were no bike shops in Bandon. I'd seen one 25 miles back in North Bend. On checking some maps I found that the next bike shop I would come to on my route would be in Brookings, 83 miles south. I called Moe's Bikes in North Bend. The shop was closed on Mondays so I would have to call first thing the next morning. I tried not to worry about the wheel. I didn't want it to spoil our time off in the hostel for Kate's birthday.
The hostel was great, more like a guest-house really. We had the loft apartment between the 5 of us. It should have been a little odd to be suddenly co-habiting with a bunch of people I'd only known for a week, but it wasn't. Elon, Kate, Brian and Beth are all such easygoing, great people that we immediately settled into shared living. We had a few beers and chatted. The rain had begun the moment we'd checked-in. It was excellent timing. We all found it smugly enjoyable to listen to the rain from the comfort of our loft apartment.
I didn't sleep too well. I preferred the comfort of my tent and the worry hanging over me about the broken wheel didn't help.
How the hell did it happen? Was it the weight?
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