The Willenberg Wedding and Bike Repairs

Coasting on the Coast

A view from behind Matt as we crest a hill and go around a bend…and a huge rock.

I spoke with my mom tonight and she told me how she just got caught up on reading our stories and viewing our photos after being out of town for the weekend. Her comment, and it wasn’t said critically (I’m still taking it that way) is the stories are getting a little long. That being said, this update is going to be short, sweet and to the point.

We rode down memory lane today through the parts of the Oregon coast we visited four years ago for Paul and Michelle Willenberg’s wedding. We remember the date so well (9/15) because it was our deadline for finishing our PCT hike that year. Julie and I spoke along the ride today as we saw the hotel they had the Sunday brunch at, then the beach park (Fogarty Beach State Park) where they held the wedding and reception, and lastly, Beverly Beach State Park where Julie and I camped. We even remembered the showers and getting ready for a wedding, dressed in a suit for me and dress for Julie in a campground. The memories were vivid and it was neat seeing these places again. We are even staying at the same state park tonight as we did four years ago.

We also had our first bit of real bike repair today. I was heading up a hill and hadn’t shifted to my lowest gear ring quick enough. I tried shifting anyway and my chain simply stopped. It wouldn’t move at all. I got off the bike and realized the chain had actually broken; it was no longer a ring but instead a string. Julie was also ahead at this time and rode away not noticing my dilemma. I took the bike to the side of the road, got the bike maintenance book out along with our tools, and got organized. I quickly figured out that the master link of the chain had somehow come off and I went to look for it. At that time, Julie returned having realized something was up. I found the missing link and together with the help of another long distance cyclist, Craig, we put the chain back together again. We’re not completely sure why it happened but we were quite pleased with the end result.

The trip is going really well. We are both enjoying the freedom of the bicycles, the amazing scenery we are seeing daily, and the time with each other. Julie is presenting some challenges though as she continually stinks up our tent each night. My biggest problem though is that I still can’t get that stupid Katy Perry song out of my head.

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