This would prove to be the worse day of the whole trip. I got up hoping to catch an early bus down I-5, back to Eugene, but I ran into problems as soon as I got up. As I was trying to tear down my bike to fit it into the bike box for shipping I realized that my pedals simply weren't going to come off, at least not with the tools I had. I actually broke a crescent wrench trying to get them loose. So I came to the conclusion that I had to walk it down to a bike shop so they could help me. Now Justin lives on Capital hill in Seattle, which is hella steep. So here is me walking a bike, with a flat tire, loaded down with about 40 lbs of gear, with one eye blinking like mad, a right knee that is basically locked up, trying to steer with one hand and carry a giant bike box with the other, while going down a hill that is probably 30 degrees!! F********K
It wasn't pretty. Though it was probably pretty funny to the people who saw me.
I finally make to to the bike shop about an hour later (it was only a few blocks away but as you can imagine, I wasn't going fast). And they basically tell me that they can't help me, they are too busy (the shop is empty). This pisses me off something fierce. All I wanted was for them to brake the pedals loose for me with a pedal wrench. After a few minutes of begging and then near threatening, the guy concedes and tears himself away from his conversation with a fellow employee to help me for 2 seconds. After the pedals are loose I break the bike down the rest of the way, put it in the box, tape it up, walk the rest of the way to the Grey Hound station and get my ticket. I check the bike with them, throw my panniers over my shoulder, and walk a few blocks over to a deli for a sandwich while I wait. As I'm eating my sandwich I realize that I can't find my ticket. The ticket is completely AWOL. I back track and find the sleeve and reciept laying in the middle of the street, but the actual ticket is still missing. I swepted a 3 or 4 block radius but still couldn't find the ticket. So I go back to the Grey Hound station and explain what happened, but they basically call me an idiot and say that all I can do is buy another ticket. So I do. As soon as I left with my NEW ticket I see a piece of paper under a car ticket and guess what it is? My old ticket. SO I go back in AGAIN and they give me a partial refund. After that I was just done; I just wanted to be home. I walked over to a book store a few blocks away and sat and read a Kurt Vonnegut book until the bus was supposed to leave.
Of course the bus riding was effing miserable, Grey Hound rides always are, but I ended up making it home to Eugene in the wee hours of the morning. And just to make things a little more aggravating, when I got off the bus in Eugene they DIDN'T have my bike. There had be a fire in the station in Eugene a few days prior and no one said anything about that to me (they weren't accepting freight and my bike was considered freight). So I had to stress and worry until 3 days later when my bike magically showed up with no explanation as to where it had been the whole time.
But after I got home and relaxed and started reflecting on my trip as a whole I was pretty pleased. I get a lot of crazy ideas about things I want to do, but I rarely go through with them. This time I actually did. I was really proud of myself for making it. Overall it was an amazing adventure.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The Canadian Job - Day Huit
I woke up with something in my right eye. It was really painful and I could not get it out. Whatever it was it ended up staying in my eye for a few days. And on top of that my right knee started hurting the night before as well. By the time I woke up it was hurting really bad and I had quite a limp going on.
Nonetheless, I made it down for breakfast and sat with my 3 Canuck friends from the night before. We all chatted about the universe and U.S. vs Canadian health care. Breakfast was amazing: a bowl of fresh fruit, O.J., coffee, eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. Delicious.
After breakfast I decided that I just wasn't in good enough shape to ride around the islands like I had wanted to, so I just decided to walk around the city all day then take a ferry into Seattle and stay the night with my friend Justin (I can be bad at inviting myself sometimes, he didn't seem to mind too much though). Anyway the day was beautiful so I took my bike down and checked it at the ferry station, then just walked around exploring and taking pictures. My eye and knee were bothering me a lot but I was determined to still have a good time.
I'll just let the pictures do the talking:
At the end of the day I got on the boat to Seattle and sat with this nice couple from the south. They were there on their honeymoon and were all lovey dovey. It was cute. The ride from Victoria to Seattle felt like it took forever but I was pretty entertained watching the little blinking light that represented our progress on the overhead monitor by my seat. And I kept going back and forth to the back to hangout with the smokers and check out the scenery. There was an awesome sunset that night.
After actually getting into Seattle it took forever to actually get off the boat, then they made us wait in line for like 45 minutes, then they started taking us through customs at about 15 people at a time. Getting into the U.S. was much more painful than getting into Canada. Apparently they aren't disturbingly paranoid about terrorist attacks in Canada. Go figure. I was just waiting for the guy to make me empty my bags but he didn't. He was still a dick though.
After I got out of the station. I realized that I had a flat tire, but it didn't really matter though because its all uphill to Justin's house from the waterfront and I wasn't in any condition to ride. So I called him up, we met up, got a bike box from the Grey Hound station, dropped off everything at his house, and then went and found a restaurant that was open at 1 am. Now by this point my knee is hurting so bad I can hardly walk but I still had to trek through a few miles worth of downtown Seattle. It would be weeks before I could walk right again, let alone ride.
Nonetheless, I made it down for breakfast and sat with my 3 Canuck friends from the night before. We all chatted about the universe and U.S. vs Canadian health care. Breakfast was amazing: a bowl of fresh fruit, O.J., coffee, eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. Delicious.
After breakfast I decided that I just wasn't in good enough shape to ride around the islands like I had wanted to, so I just decided to walk around the city all day then take a ferry into Seattle and stay the night with my friend Justin (I can be bad at inviting myself sometimes, he didn't seem to mind too much though). Anyway the day was beautiful so I took my bike down and checked it at the ferry station, then just walked around exploring and taking pictures. My eye and knee were bothering me a lot but I was determined to still have a good time.
I'll just let the pictures do the talking:
At the end of the day I got on the boat to Seattle and sat with this nice couple from the south. They were there on their honeymoon and were all lovey dovey. It was cute. The ride from Victoria to Seattle felt like it took forever but I was pretty entertained watching the little blinking light that represented our progress on the overhead monitor by my seat. And I kept going back and forth to the back to hangout with the smokers and check out the scenery. There was an awesome sunset that night.After actually getting into Seattle it took forever to actually get off the boat, then they made us wait in line for like 45 minutes, then they started taking us through customs at about 15 people at a time. Getting into the U.S. was much more painful than getting into Canada. Apparently they aren't disturbingly paranoid about terrorist attacks in Canada. Go figure. I was just waiting for the guy to make me empty my bags but he didn't. He was still a dick though.
After I got out of the station. I realized that I had a flat tire, but it didn't really matter though because its all uphill to Justin's house from the waterfront and I wasn't in any condition to ride. So I called him up, we met up, got a bike box from the Grey Hound station, dropped off everything at his house, and then went and found a restaurant that was open at 1 am. Now by this point my knee is hurting so bad I can hardly walk but I still had to trek through a few miles worth of downtown Seattle. It would be weeks before I could walk right again, let alone ride.
The Canadian Job - Day Sept
I started off the day by saying good-bye to my comrade Paul. We shared some breakfast and then I was off not too long after sunrise.
The weather wasn't bad when I got up, but as soon I got into the little town of Sequim, literally 15 or 20 miles short my destination of Port Angeles, it started POURING rain.....and it was freezing. I pulled over and put on my track jacket and put the rain covers on my panniers, but they did little good, everything ended up getting soaked anyway. Those last 15 miles were the most grueling, painful, trying miles of my life. I was shivering so bad that I could hardly steer in a straight line. It got to the point where I was looking forward to riding uphill because it warmed me up a little. The cold wind on my soaking wet body was cutting (again all I had was a spandex cycling shorts, a thin jersey, and my track jacket, all of which were drenched). By the time I actually got to the ferry terminal in Port Angeles I think I had a mild case of hypothermia and was sort of disoriented, but never the less I was stoked to finally be there.
A train trestle that had been converted into a bike path between Sequim and Port Angeles
After getting into the ferry station and drying off as much as I could with paper towels and the hand dryer in the bathroom, I sat down and tried to warm up. I ended up having to sit there a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I got to chatting with this guy from North Carolina. He was touring the U.S. in his Jeep and camping along the way (he was just making a day trip to Victoria). I sat by him on the ferry too because this weird old guy kept talking to me and he was creeping me out, so I didn't want him sitting by me.
The actually ferry ride was really fast (only like 30 minutes) and I spent most of the time trying to dry out my socks out on the baseboard heaters....didn't work well. I think the donut and hot coffee brought up my spirits quite a bit though.
The first thing I noticed in Victoria was a MASSIVE cruise ship. I had never seen a cruise ship in person before and I swear this thing was taller than most of the buildings on the skyline.
Customs was unexpectedly easy. I was in and out in literally a couple minutes. They basically just asked what I was there for, then sent me through. The cat from North Carolina who I was talking to, he got searched.
The first thing I did was find the information center that I had been told was on the waterfront. The girl there (who was really cute) set me up with a bed and breakfast by Craigdarroch Castle (pronounce Craig-Derrick I think) because it was cheaper than any hotel room and I wanted my own room to leave my bike in, so a hostel was out. As she was calling and setting it up for me this HOT eastern European girl came up to me and was like "I stay at Hostel. Very cheap. You stay too?" And of course I was like ".....I.....uh.....uh....." Which didn't go over so well. I eventually was able to form words and explained to her that I was needed an actual room so that I could explore the city and leave my bike behind. I know....I'm an idiot.
Victoria's Inner Harbour (as I got off the boat)
After I made it to the castle (I was walking my bike by that point; I was a hurting unit) I was blown away by its beauty. The castle (and by castle I mean honest-to-goodness stone "knights of the round table" kind of castle) was literally in the backyard of the house I was staying at. But after I got there the proprietors weren't there, or at least they weren't answering the door, so I was left standing, freezing on the porch for like an hour waiting for them. Eventually he did answer though. The guy showed me up to my room and after he left I proceeded to tear my clothes off like they were on fire and jump into the shower. Much to my chagrin the hot water didn't work!! I was so pissed I was about ready to scream, but then I realized that it was just hooked up backwards and the hot side was actually cold and vice versa. After I got it going....oh my God, that was my first shower in about a week, and probably the most satisfying one of my life. I stood there for what seemed like forever just soaking in the heat.
After the shower of a lifetime I came to the conclusion that my clothes were still wet and dirty, and besides that they weren't exactly 'nightlife' clothes. So I made my way down to the local Value Village second hand store (which was in a really, really bad part of the city) and bought me some new threads. I ended up getting a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie, a beanie, an umbrella, and a little satchel to carry my old clothes in, all for about $30. Not bad at all. And in case you were curious the Canadian dollar is worth the same as the U.S. dollar at this point; most places there would take either because they are basically worth the same amount.
After Value Village I found a public bathroom to change in and wandered around the city until it got dark. Eventually had a slice of pizza for dinner, got some advice from a local on a good pub and went and had a couple pints.
By the time I got back to the B&B I could barely keep my eyes open but for some reason I decided that it was necessary to go take pictures of the castle at night. I was probably looking kind of suspicious, walking around taking pictures at like 2 in the morning, because the security guard stopped me and wanted to know what I was doing. But after I convinced the guy that I wasn't casing the place we got to talking and he invited me up onto the porch (for lack of a better word) of the castle and he proceeded to tell me the whole story of the place. It turns out it was built by a coal baron back in the 1890s, has 39 rooms, 20k square feet, and something like a dozen fire places. The guard was a really nice guy but he seemed a little off; said something about being in a mining accident when he was younger. He seemed really lonely there and didn't want me to leave but I explained to him the incredibly long day I'd had, and that I had to get to bed.
After getting back to the house, again, I ran into some of my fellow bed and breakfasteers who were all in the living room chatting. There was a middle aged couple from mainland Canada, who struck me as quintessential Canadian folks, and an older guy named Peter who was from Victoria, yet had what sounded like a thick aristocratic type English accent. They all seemed like good people though, and I got them to teach me about Canada. It turns out there dollar coin is affectionately called the "loony." Who know.
The weather wasn't bad when I got up, but as soon I got into the little town of Sequim, literally 15 or 20 miles short my destination of Port Angeles, it started POURING rain.....and it was freezing. I pulled over and put on my track jacket and put the rain covers on my panniers, but they did little good, everything ended up getting soaked anyway. Those last 15 miles were the most grueling, painful, trying miles of my life. I was shivering so bad that I could hardly steer in a straight line. It got to the point where I was looking forward to riding uphill because it warmed me up a little. The cold wind on my soaking wet body was cutting (again all I had was a spandex cycling shorts, a thin jersey, and my track jacket, all of which were drenched). By the time I actually got to the ferry terminal in Port Angeles I think I had a mild case of hypothermia and was sort of disoriented, but never the less I was stoked to finally be there.
A train trestle that had been converted into a bike path between Sequim and Port AngelesAfter getting into the ferry station and drying off as much as I could with paper towels and the hand dryer in the bathroom, I sat down and tried to warm up. I ended up having to sit there a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I got to chatting with this guy from North Carolina. He was touring the U.S. in his Jeep and camping along the way (he was just making a day trip to Victoria). I sat by him on the ferry too because this weird old guy kept talking to me and he was creeping me out, so I didn't want him sitting by me.
The actually ferry ride was really fast (only like 30 minutes) and I spent most of the time trying to dry out my socks out on the baseboard heaters....didn't work well. I think the donut and hot coffee brought up my spirits quite a bit though.
The first thing I noticed in Victoria was a MASSIVE cruise ship. I had never seen a cruise ship in person before and I swear this thing was taller than most of the buildings on the skyline.
Customs was unexpectedly easy. I was in and out in literally a couple minutes. They basically just asked what I was there for, then sent me through. The cat from North Carolina who I was talking to, he got searched.
The first thing I did was find the information center that I had been told was on the waterfront. The girl there (who was really cute) set me up with a bed and breakfast by Craigdarroch Castle (pronounce Craig-Derrick I think) because it was cheaper than any hotel room and I wanted my own room to leave my bike in, so a hostel was out. As she was calling and setting it up for me this HOT eastern European girl came up to me and was like "I stay at Hostel. Very cheap. You stay too?" And of course I was like ".....I.....uh.....uh....." Which didn't go over so well. I eventually was able to form words and explained to her that I was needed an actual room so that I could explore the city and leave my bike behind. I know....I'm an idiot.
Victoria's Inner Harbour (as I got off the boat)After I made it to the castle (I was walking my bike by that point; I was a hurting unit) I was blown away by its beauty. The castle (and by castle I mean honest-to-goodness stone "knights of the round table" kind of castle) was literally in the backyard of the house I was staying at. But after I got there the proprietors weren't there, or at least they weren't answering the door, so I was left standing, freezing on the porch for like an hour waiting for them. Eventually he did answer though. The guy showed me up to my room and after he left I proceeded to tear my clothes off like they were on fire and jump into the shower. Much to my chagrin the hot water didn't work!! I was so pissed I was about ready to scream, but then I realized that it was just hooked up backwards and the hot side was actually cold and vice versa. After I got it going....oh my God, that was my first shower in about a week, and probably the most satisfying one of my life. I stood there for what seemed like forever just soaking in the heat.
After the shower of a lifetime I came to the conclusion that my clothes were still wet and dirty, and besides that they weren't exactly 'nightlife' clothes. So I made my way down to the local Value Village second hand store (which was in a really, really bad part of the city) and bought me some new threads. I ended up getting a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie, a beanie, an umbrella, and a little satchel to carry my old clothes in, all for about $30. Not bad at all. And in case you were curious the Canadian dollar is worth the same as the U.S. dollar at this point; most places there would take either because they are basically worth the same amount.
After Value Village I found a public bathroom to change in and wandered around the city until it got dark. Eventually had a slice of pizza for dinner, got some advice from a local on a good pub and went and had a couple pints.
By the time I got back to the B&B I could barely keep my eyes open but for some reason I decided that it was necessary to go take pictures of the castle at night. I was probably looking kind of suspicious, walking around taking pictures at like 2 in the morning, because the security guard stopped me and wanted to know what I was doing. But after I convinced the guy that I wasn't casing the place we got to talking and he invited me up onto the porch (for lack of a better word) of the castle and he proceeded to tell me the whole story of the place. It turns out it was built by a coal baron back in the 1890s, has 39 rooms, 20k square feet, and something like a dozen fire places. The guard was a really nice guy but he seemed a little off; said something about being in a mining accident when he was younger. He seemed really lonely there and didn't want me to leave but I explained to him the incredibly long day I'd had, and that I had to get to bed.
After getting back to the house, again, I ran into some of my fellow bed and breakfasteers who were all in the living room chatting. There was a middle aged couple from mainland Canada, who struck me as quintessential Canadian folks, and an older guy named Peter who was from Victoria, yet had what sounded like a thick aristocratic type English accent. They all seemed like good people though, and I got them to teach me about Canada. It turns out there dollar coin is affectionately called the "loony." Who know.
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