Day 15: From Hank's perspective

Day 15: Fort Bragg to Manchester. 42 miles. 

Today Jer (that’s what I like to call him) and I both slept in.  Yesterday’s day off from riding was nice for us.  We both got caught up on some things we needed to get done and Jer even took the time to check me over for loose parts and make sure I was in tip top shape for our next ride.  Jer takes very good care of me.  We have become very close over these first 500+ miles.  We talk about things that I wouldn’t normally talk to other bikes about, let alone other humans!  I really feel like Jer has a deep understanding for what I need to help us both get down the road and up those crazy hills.  We both cheer each other on when we need cheering and we listen to each other when we need an ear or a shoulder to cry on.  I see us carving out a relationship that will last a lifetime.

Jer went and had breakfast this morning and let me sleep a little longer.  When he got back from breakfast he got me all loaded up with all of our gear.  He is getting very good at getting all of our gear loaded in the right panniers and he does it so quickly now! Once we were all loaded up we rode up the street to the Fort Bragg bike shop so we could get a new patch kit for punctured tubes and a new spoke wrench just in case.  After that we hit the road and headed south!

Right away Jer and I were in a great mood because there was at least a 15 mile per hour tail wind.  When the wind is helping us along we don’t have to work nearly as hard as when the wind is in our face.  Sometimes when the wind is in our face Jer gets fooled by the wind slowing us down and thinks I have a flat tire.  I keep telling him I don’t but he always pulls over and checks anyway.  He always says “better safe than sorry Hank!”  I have learned to understand what he means and I just let him bring us to a stop and check out my tires.  That also gives me a great little rest break. 

The first 25 or so miles today were pretty but not nearly as pretty as the last 20 or so from Medocino to Manchester.  That section was even more beautiful that the southern Oregon coast that we both thought was the most beautiful of the trip so far.  Jer kept on saying “Wow Hank!  Would you look at how beautiful this is!  These cliffs are amazing and the ocean is so beautiful!”  He really loves the ocean and I think he would ride next to it for the rest of his life if he could.  But he loves teaching and he misses being in the classroom.  He even talks about it with me sometimes.  He told me not to tell you about that though, so I’d better keep my mouth shut.  There is one thing I’m sure he won’t mind if I share.  Before we left Battle Ground 15 days ago Jer went and had dessert with one of his student’s families.  The student gave him a card that she made.  Inside she had drawn a couple pictures of me!  That was awesome!  But I think the most important thing that Jer got from it were the words she had written because he keeps saying them when the going gets tough or there is a really steep hill.  He says “Just keep pedaling.”  He has said that so many times now that I almost know when he is about to say it, so I give him a little extra boost to help him out.

Today there was one hill in particular that Jer was saying “Just keep pedaling” and everything else he could think of to get us up that hill.  He was even cheering me on!  He does that quite a bit, but today he was actually yelling “LET’S GO HANK!!  LET’S GET UP THERE!  WE GOT THIS HILL!!”  He was pretty pumped up.  It was the steepest hill I’ve ever been on.  I would actually be scared to go down it.  After that hill Jer got really quiet.  We stopped several times after that to eat snacks and rest.  He kept telling me that hill really knocked the energy out of him.  I was glad we were getting close to the campground so we could stop for the day. 

 This is the steepest hill on the entire route and we crushed it today!

When we pulled into the campground I didn’t see any of our friends from the last four or five nights.  I met some really nice bikes and now I missed them!  The funny thing about those other bikes though was that none of them had names.  They wouldn’t tell me why they didn’t have their own name like I do, but they didn’t seem to mind.  I didn’t have a name for a while and I was OK with it, but now that I have a name I feel like I am more a part of this journey than ever before.  I must be the luckiest bike in the world to be able to carry Jer around and have him taking care of me every day.  We have seen some amazing things so far and he keeps telling me we have so much more to see.  I can’t even imagine it!      

Jer was too tired to type this so he let me.  I thought I was too tired too, but now I’m glad I typed it.  This was fun!  Maybe I will do it again sometimes if Jer lets me.  There were a few more pictures from today's ride but Jer wasn't able to email them, so I will remind him tomorrow to post them.