Hello friends! Today’s ride was definitely a beautiful and good day to ride, with the small exception of a headwind, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. The sun was shining, the coastal winds were cooling us off, and the climbs were rolling.

We woke up to a delicious breakfast of nearly everything one could ask for: egg casserole, English muffins, muffins, cereal and milk, sausage links, yogurt parfait, fresh fruit, and an assortment of fresh beverages.

Jenna is a happy camper after this morning’s breakfast

With what time I had after breakfast, I went to explore a bit and wandered upon their labyrinth in their back garden. The purpose of this was to walk through and pray/meditate as you journey through to the center bench. It was a nice time to think and pray about my days thus far. Afterwards, we circled up for our ride dedications which our hosts from Florence also joined us in.

Our hosts joining in on our ride dedication circle

After dedications, we started heading out, with a full fire department escort as seen below.

Our fire department escort out of Florence

Biking out of Florence, we got to see some pretty neat things… for example, my family restaurant!

About 10 miles out, we stopped at the local Sea Lions Cave which the hosts in Florence had arranged for us to check out. It was absolutely AMAZING. The weather was sunny, and the animals were just neat (we even got to see a few grey whales as they popped their heads out of the water).

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Riding the sea lions at Sea Lions Cave

Sarah looking off into ocean

Sea lions on the shore

Sea lions inside the cave

Soon, we hopped back on our bikes and headed towards Lincoln city. But before that… this happened:

Joe’s Angels – my buds messing around

No doubt, this was a beautiful day. We got to stop on the beach at one of our rest stops, and just had a great last day biking along the Pacific Coast.

Our view from Hwy 101

Bryn and I held our breaths through this tunnel... it got quite tough.

One of our rest stops was actually on the beach!

Riding down Hwy 101

Last day on the Pacific!

It’s too bad Megan broke her spoke while we crossed one of the bridges. Fortunately, we used our time wisely to take a quick break as we waited for Steven to come by with the trailer to fix her wheel.

When Megan broke her spoke

So long sweet Pacific. You have given us beautiful scenery, cooling breezes, soothing sounds of crashing waves, and the smell of sweet ocean air. Tomorrow we venture onwards more inland to Portland. I’ll be sagging tomorrow, but am excited nonetheless.

Coastal Oregon

On a final note! Tonight, Zaid, Richard, Sarah, and I went to see the midnight premiere of Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince. We left the church at about 11:00pm and got to the local cinema to wait in line. We then realized that everyone in line had already bought their ticket (we couldn’t purchase them online). I went to talk to the assistant manager, and she replied that there were no more tickets being sold. I reported the bad news to the other three, and Zaid determined to get us in, approached her with all sincerity (and desperation) and explained our story—how we biked from Austin, TX, will be in Lincoln City for only one night, and biked all day today. After hearing about our cause and journey, she ended up letting us in for free—and no doubt, we were among the most excited muggles in that theater—if only I had brought my camera, I could show you all the cool costumes some people wore. The movie itself was much better than the previous ones… I won’t spoil anything, but it was definitely a fun film and excursion to have gone on. We ended up getting back to the church at about 2:00am. Sarah is the only one of us who is riding tomorrow, so I wish her all the best on her ride! Wish I could be riding alongside her. Until tomorrow!