BALLE On! The 2007 West Coast Tour

We left Astoria on Day 7 in high spirits, ready to tackle tunnels and hills. What we found were dramatic beaches and delightfully quaint towns by the seaside.

As the day continued, however, the wind picked up and a cold rain seeped into our aching muscles. It was no picnic - nor was there a picnic as crossed wires resulted in a failed meet-up with Derek for lunch.

It was on this seemingly endless afternoon that we had our first flat tire of the trip. None of us could feel our fingers by the end of that fix. We rolled into Bay City Community Park campground as darkness was falling and spent a damp night by the creek.

On Day 8, Lisa, Bryan and Laura headed back out on the road hoping for a drier day, but instead were hammered with drizzle, cold wind and some serious hills.

We once again took the hotel option in Lincoln City (how could we resist the offer of a hottub?). We enjoyed the sound of the rain failing outside.

Laura joined Derek in the car on Day 9 after five days of steady riding, deciding to give her knees a rest from climbing hills in her retro roadbike. Much to everyone's surprise (including her own), she had a new bike with a much lower low-gear by the end of the day.

In the meantime, Derek has been suffering from his crash wounds and picking up the endless administrative tasks of grocery shopping, accommodation hunting, lunch-making, etc. We hope that he will be joining the riders out on the trail again soon!