My iPad, that I bought to blog this trip, is more trouble than joy. It loses things, like draft posts. I write when the chance occurs, which is usually somewhere (like a campground) lacking wifi, and then add photos and upload when passing through a town with good coffee and a hotspot. I had written an update about this ol’ bike of mine and it’s gone, disappeared, vanished…

Those longtime readers of this blog (both of you know who you are) know that I had originally planned to ride a long mountain tour, but learned as soon as I began the cross-Oregon leg that this was a poor idea: this old $150 Craigslist Special, carbon-fiber 1997 Trek was way too flexible to carry bags and weight. I revised the entire trip to a road tour in a more temperate coastal late summer climate, carrying most of the gear weight in the Bob trailer.

The bike had a few other issues as well. Certain gears were worn and noisy, and I soon learned that individual cogs are no longer replaceable; I would pretty much have to replace the entire drivetrain. I determined that what I had is good enough to keep riding, simply avoiding the worn gears and carrying on.

What has happened, to my pleasant surprise, is that as the miles have rolled up, the bike has smoothed out and quieted down, and has been performing admirably. I can even maintain a pretty straight and even line on the old Flexible Flyer.

I rode for a few miles with a couple who had ridden from Alaska  and planned to travel the world by bike for the next two years. They were pulling their three-year-old in a trailer. The woman told me that I bounced as I climbed the hills. True enough – I can’t lock out the rear suspension, but only tighten the spring tension, so I “pogo”a little when pedaling hard. She said I looked like a happy cyclist, bouncing along as I pedaled. She’s right.

Just to update some basic statistics: to date I have traveled about a thousand miles by train, about the same distance by thumb, and about 1,350 miles by bike.

But a couple of days ago something felt wrong. Braking the rear wheel caused a subtle jerk, which I determined was caused by a crack forming in the rear rim. A rim failure would be catastrophic, so suddenly this became a tour-is-on-hold-until-this-is-fixed issue. Also, it’s Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so bike shops are closed for days (or if open, lack the needed repair parts).

I had been camping at Cape Lookout State Park, near Tillamook, Oregon. Today I rode through Tillamook and hitchhiked the 90 or so miles to Portland, where REI has several stores, all open today. $110 later I had a new rear wheel. With a Warmshowers stay tonight, arranged through a Portland cyclist also camping at the State Park, I’ll return tomorrow morning ready to return to the road again.

Beer, especially rich, dark local craft beer, is an essential component of any good bike ride. Here are a couple of relevant photos about the stuff:

I bought local beer to share with fellow cyclists. Kiwanda Cream Ale, by the Pelican Brewing Company of Pacific City

Portland hipsters pedaling the Brewcycle through the hipper-than-thou Pearl District

At the Cape Lookout State Park this weekend, the hiker/biker area was as full as I’d ever seen one; as full as the rangers had known as well, I heard. For Labor Day weekend, a Portland cyclists’ group called Cycle Wild planned a group ride with camping; 70-90 miles each way, depending on the route taken. Thirty or so riders were there, plus the usual coastal travelers such as myself.

Here’s a photo of one setup. This is Dad’s ride, with one child in stoker position and a second in the trail-a-bike. In theory, they all pedal. In truth, dad does most of the work, and has them walk up the hills when they have nothing to contribute. The kids alone weigh 110 pounds; I can only imagine the weight of the entire setup with gear. Mom rides a second tandem, with a third child as stoker.