MOMMY, MOMMY, LOOK AT THE BIKES!!!!!!

Imagine a small sleepy town in the middle of nowhere, suddenly 15 riders dressed in red/white/blue lycra screaming through – really flying. This was the first 70 miles of the day; a single line and strained faces, as one after another we try and crack the group. Let there be no doubt that we are not the smartest tools in the box.

Today’s stage rolled south from Astoria to Pacific City, 96 miles with forays in to find the hills. When Carter laid out the routes, I chided him for the flatness, once again showing just how dumb one person can be. The climbs, while not huge, never ended – and there were a lot who paid.

But first the latest report on Carter’s poor body image – I should apologize now to all the weight conscience. Apparently, he is so desperate to keep the Pekinese at bay that he has decided to maintain his now trusted system. He eats breakfast, starts out with the group, rolls along – today to about the 50-mile point, and decides at some moment that he has had too many calories, he says to himself, “do I look fat in these bike shorts?”

He must, because the next thing he does is hurl everything along the side of the road. Why waste time on the South beach Diet, when this seems to work so well – and for the record, he looks FABULOUS!

Back to the train down Oregon’s coast. As I had mentioned, we were pretty much together through the second stop – this after rolling up Jeff and Richie, who had snuck away after our first resupply. Karma, being Karma, their plan fell apart when they proved to be a little directionally challenged. As the main group was rolling along, we looked up the road and saw them riding toward us – the wrong direction. Knowing it was over, Jeff sat up and waited for the catch – but Richie was still game for the fight, “Let’s turn around”, he cried out, “We can still hold them off!”

It was this fighting spirit that would show the only sign of redemption for the San Diego boys, as the second day was playing out a lot like the first. The final stop resulted in the OC rolling away, the hammer down as they built up an insurmountable lead. This time, Richie-Rich was tucked in safe and secure. His bonding with Jeff no doubt the catalyst, but his allegiance was on hold as he took his turn at the front. With the final climb, and the longest of the day still looming ahead – the smart money would have been on another OC sweep. But hail the conquering hero, Richie-the-mountain goat (all 185 lbs with a 3 foot shoulder width) held his own.

SD is still down on points, but tomorrow is another day.

Day 2, Astoria to Pacific City

195.5 miles down, 304.5 to go

3892 feet of altitude climbed