Mountain Biking at Cape Mears

Yet another successful mountain biking adventure. This spring we went up to Tillamook and followed Hwy 131 around the cape, starting in Tillamook, then venturing up to the top of the cape, around to Cape Mears Park, in to Ocean City (for a wondering dinner at Roseanne's cafe), and then out to Netarts and around 131 and back in to Tillamook.

This wasn't exactly a "mountain" biking experience, as the road was mostly paved (except for the short diversion out to the end of the spit, which in the early 1900's was destined to be the next Atlantic City, until all of the homes washed out to sea.

We left Monmout at 10:00 and made it in to Tillamook by 12:30 or so, and were on the road by 1:00. With the two side trips, we were still in Ocean City by 5:00, and back to the car parked at the Safeway in Tillamook by 6:30 or so. By 7:00 we were on our way home, with a short detour to the Air Museum, which was closed for the day - the HUGE building (worlds tallest wooden structure) is incredibly impressive, especially against the backdrop of the coastal range and dairy farms. We were home by 9:00. It wasn't nearly the epic journey of June, 2008, but still a great ride. It was nice to have my two oldest daughters and my newphew aloong for the trip.

Happy days!

Shannon

It's a few months down the proverbial road, but I wanted to capture the high points of the mountain biking trip from Lincoln City to Monmouth. We left the house at 7:00, and arrived at the Schooner Creek Rd/Hwy 101 junction at 8:30. After unloading the bikes, we were quickly on the road.

We traveled up Schooner Creek Rd. for several miles until we reached Forest Service Rd. #17. Taking a left would have brought us back on on Highway 22, and a right would have brought us up to the #17 turnoff that drops down into Gravel Creek Rd. We followed 17 to the right, to the top of the grade, and then dropped down into Gravel Creek. We followed Gravel Creek to the intersection of Valsetz Rd, and then headed East on Valsetz Rd, stopping in the abandonded town of Valsetz at about 1:30, where we rested, at the rest of our lunch, and filled up our water bottles from the nearby creek.

At about 2:30 we started out again, and worked our way up the very long grade on Valsetz Rd. to the top of the Cascade Range, heading down in to Falls City. After reaching the top of the grade, the decent down into Falls City was easy and fast. The speed induced rush also induced two flat tires, but luckily we were able to limp into Falls City where the only store in town sold inner tubes. After reaching Falls City at about 6:30, and spending an hour or so grabbing a quick snack and repairing bicycles, we headed out again for the last leg of the journey. We arrived in Monmouth at about 9:30, nearly 13 hours after the start. We were completely and utterly worn out, and destined to be sore for several days afterwards.

However, my two oldest daughters, my oldest son, the daughter's friend and a cousin made it safely home, and enjoyed every moment of the journey!

Unles I post again....

-Shannon

Mountain Biking Falls City to Lincoln City - Take Two

Now that the summer is almost over, another try at the Falls City to Lincoln city route is in order. The trip is planned for 9/27 and 9/28, with an overnight stay in Valsetz. We're trying a different route (further north, past Valsetz) with the help of a forestry expert who knows the area well. We'll also bring along a GPS, AND the map, AND the compass. The good news is that no matter what happens, we will know where East and West are, and with those general coordinates we won't get "lost". The crew configuration will be changing just a bit, as new EDS venturers join us and we lose a cousin to a date with the traffic court.

If anyone reading this blog has a lead on a good GPS, please drop a comment. I've been looking at the more expensive versions (Garmin Oregon 400t and the Nuvi 500). The Nuvi is intended for car use, but could also double as a stoway in a backpack. The nice thing about the Nuvi is that is does speak directions, and it has a nice easy-on-the-eyes screen. I believe that both have topo maps. I could go with a lower-level GPS, that simply displays the longitude and latitude, and then use the coordinates on the topo map to determine exactly where I'm at. At this point I'm just not sure which approach is better. I'd rather not spend the $'s on the nicer unit, but don't want to go "cheap" either and then regret that I didn't spend the extra money to get a unit with the more advanced features. In either case, I believe that I will need to purchase topo maps that are more detailed. They are around $100 for the US.

Anyway, time to close off the blog post. Happy Mountain Biking!

-Shannon

Monmouth to Lincoln City - The Epilogue

At 10:30 on May 24th the iron men of 8 struck out for Lincoln City, from our house in Monmouth. Two dads and their 3 sons, 2 cousins and an co-worker struck out on the first leg of the journey at 10:15 am. It was slightly overcast, and a balmy 70 degrees.

Here's a picture of the team:

Notice the prolific use of helmets! Ah papa san, we are so wise - wax on, wax off.

Notice the quality of the steeds. Fine engineering from China, most likely. Also, notice the chamois - to keep the keester from getting bleestered.

We're a fine looking crew though, aren't we? Just rip roaring and ready to go.

At 11:45 we make it to Falls City, which is the last civilized outpost between us and Lincoln City. In Falls City we ate lunch, performed some minor bicycle repairs, and then hightailed it outta there by about 12:15.

On the way up to Falls City, we posed for several pictures, with the breathtaking scenery as a backdrop.

We arrived in Valsetz at about 3:30 pm, with the my lovely wife having delivered the camping equipment, so that we wouldn't have to lug it up the side of the mountain. Here's a picture of a few of the crew enjoying the time off of the bike seat!

For dinner, we had burnt hot dogs cover in burnt chili - it was delicious. We topped off the meal with chips, grapes, pepperidge farm cookies and Hershey's candy bars. Unbelievably and wonderfully appetizing.

We spent a most of the night sleeping fitfully in the tents, with some of us sleeping under the stars. In the middle of the night it rained hard (Valsetz had the dubious distinction of being the rainiest city in the United State - I think it clocked in at 168 inches per year). It only rained for about an hour, and in the morning, it was another beautiful day.

For breakfast, we had pancakes, sausage, bacon, orange juice, coffee, and all of the fixins. Some of the guys enjoyed spraying whipping cream down their gullets.

At 8:36 we broke camp, headed for Lincoln City. On the way, some of the guys posed at another viewpoint - this one overlooking some falls that we could only hear.

At 10:30 we broke company with one of the father/son duos, and the remaining six of us struck out for Lincoln City. On the way, we found this lake....nicknamed "newt lake". The guys liked to say it fast, and called it "nude lake".

At 12:00 we ate lunch at the tip top of a mountain, and then headed down, for a fast downhill, hoping for a quick run to Lincoln City. After about 1.5 hours, we started to get the feeling that something just wasn't quite right. After another 15 minutes, we found out why, when one of the group stopped on a bridge, looked down and started laughing. "What was so funny", I said. "Well, he said, we were at this bridge 5 hours ago!". After overcoming my state of shock and disbelief, we decided to continue on out to Siletz, where the father/son duo had gone whe we hard parted company several hours before.

At 1:30 we headed down the hill, and arrived in Siletz at 5:30. There we at dinner at a dumpy little restaurant that had awesome burgers. The waitress talked as if she was on the mental edge, and it was entertaining to be waited on by her.

I called my lovely after dinner was over, and she said that she would meet us on our way to Kernville, which is a tiny little town on the Oregon Coast. We all saddled up again (chamois weren't doing much good at this point) and headed off to Kernville. After an hour of hard peddling, we met my lovely, and the father/son duo (and the dad's wife), loaded up the bikes and headed home.

We arrived back in Monmouth by 9:00 pm, and then all hit the sack and slept soundly for a long, long time. Muscles were aching like crazy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. By Thursday, the general consensus was that we were all feeling pretty good.

A fantastic time was had by all, and we can't wait to try it again. Maybe next time we'll do the trip in one day - I think that we can blast through it in a nice long day, for sure!

Ride on!

-Shannon

Falls City to the Coast - Mountain Bike Style

Mountain Bike Riders, Unite!


The Journey

We'll meet at the house at 9:30 on Saturday morning, to put gear in the truck, and make any last-minute preparations for the ride out to Falls City. We will leave my house by 10:00. For the bike ride, you will need to bring the following;

• Sunglasses
• Chap stick
• Sun screen
• Bug repellent
• Something to carry gear in (paniers, handle bar carrying case, case attached to seat post,
• day pack, etc.). Walmart has handlebar-style bags for $10.00
• Cycling gloves (optional, but recommended)
• Small flashlight (probably won't need it for the ride, but better safe than sorry!)
• Pocket knife (see comment about flashlight above)
• Water bottles (64 oz total)
• Compass
• Whistle
• Topo map
• GPS (if you've got one handy)
• Helmet (VERY Important!)
• Bike shorts
• Windbreaker/rain gear (bring at least a light poncho or full bike gear, if you have it)
• Cell phone (reception is spotty/nonexistent in the mountains)
• Small first aid kit and additional band aids (for blisters that you will develop on hands, feet, etc. during the ride)
• Aspirin / Ibuprofen
• Money, for Saturday lunch and Sunday dinner
• Medical instructions, if you have any special medical needs

Bike equipment

• Saddle Bag
  Flat repair kit (spare tube?)
  Pump
  Water bottle + cage (two?)
  Chain tool + extra chain links
  Spoke tool
  Allen wrenches appropriate for your bike (or multi-tool)
  Rear fender? (in case you don't want a stripe up your back)
  Oil (tri-flow?)

I know that the list seems long. Keep the consumables to very small quantities. It should all fit in a fairly small pack that attaches to your bike frame, or fits easily on your back.

Day 1 is not a long bike ride by any means - the first day will be approximately 20 miles from our house to Valsetz. The road is a nice downhill from the house, on to gravel roads, and then surface streets and more gravel roads to Falls City. We should arrive in Falls City at around 12:00, possibly earlier. In Falls City we will eat lunch (either pack your own, or plan on buying food at the Falls City convenience store).

At no later than 1:00 we will strike out for the motherland (Valsetz, anyway). The road runs straight out of the teaming metropolis of Falls City, with about a mile of pavement that quickly turns into a gravel logging road. The first half of Day 1 is going to be a pretty grueling ride with steep climbing in several spots. Be prepared to punish your body. Once we get over the pass, the road meanders down into Valsetz, with mostly downhill or level riding. The elevation of Valsetz is 1500 feet.

I need a volunteer to drive the truck up to meet us in Valsetz, where we will meet up with the truck, unpack our overnight gear, eat and then camp for the night. For dinner on Saturday night we should plan to eat at around 6:30, give or take an hour. Everyone should plan on bringing sleeping gear, including tent, sleeping bag, ground cover, etc. There are wild, scary animals in the wild, so be prepared to fend off a huge mountain lion, or a mother bear that just came out of hibernation. Here is what to bring for the night out in the wild, wild wilderness:

• Tent
• Tarp (ground cover)
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad (optional)
• Warm clothes for sleeping (it may get cold!)
• Fleece liner for inside of sleeping bag (more insurance against the cold)
• Camping eating utensils (plate, fork, spoon, coffee cup)
• Warm hat/gloves
• Ear plugs (for guard against the snoring folks and the large black bears!)
• Toothbrush/toothpaste/toilet paper/wash cloth
• Backpack - if you have one, it is really convenient to be able to pack all of your gear and have it in one self-contained place.

I will bring everything necessary to cook and eat the food. This includes:
Stove

• Cookware
• Plastic forks, knives, spoons, plates and cups
• Matches/Lighter
• Lantern
• Water purification kit (for emergency only)
• Food / Drink (for Saturday snack, dinner, Sunday breakfast, lunch and snack)
• Additional water for dinner/breakfast/refills
• Fuel for stoves

On Sunday morning, we'll wake up (assuming we survive the wild animals) to French toast, bacon, sausage, coffee and eggs. Just the right combination of fiber, fat and cholesterol to keep us going. We'll pack up our day packs for lunch, snacks and money and then pack the overnight gear into the truck. The volunteer driver (plus Paul) will head back down the mountain, leaving the truck and gear at our house.

Our schedule should put us on the road Sunday morning by no later than 8:00 am. I'm gauging that the Day 2 distance is approximately 20 - 25 miles. It starts off level and downhill, and then probably will include some up and down as we move across the coast range and down into Lincoln City.

To start the day, we'll follow Valsetz road down to the T and then follow the Plum Creek operations logging road heading South, following the Siletz River. When we get to the Elk Creek logging road, we'll turn West, and then follow a tangle of logging roads over to Devil's Lake, which is just outside of Lincoln City. Everyone should bring their topo map, a whistle and a compass (see list for more gear to bring). Plan on riding together, so that we can jointly make decisions about which turn to take, so that we don't leave a trail of riders (and tears) strung across the Pacific Coast Range.

My wife (or the volunteer, if one so chooses) will unload the gear out of the truck, and meet us at Devil's lake in the later afternoon/early evening. Along with the truck, we'll need two more drivers to pick up the worn and weary mountain bikers. One way or another we should be able to load all of the bikes into the back of my truck for the 1 hour ride back to my house. Assuming 12 riders, there will be 5 seats in the truck, and we'll need 7 more empty seats (9 total, including drivers) for the trip back.

We will leave Lincoln City at around 7:30 pm, and will be back at my place by 8:30, where we can all grab our bikes, gear and cars, and head on home. Since the 26th is Memorial Day, we'll all have one day to nurse your sore muscles before heading back into work on Tuesday!

Below is the meal plan for the trip:

Saturday Lunch (on your own)

• Either pack a lunch, or plan on spending a few coins at the Falls City convenience store
  

Saturday afternoon snack

• Energy bars
• Nuts
• Fruit
  

Saturday dinner

• Ka-bobs (beef, with vegetables)
• Coffee/Hot Chocolate/Tea
• Dinner rolls
• Potato chips
• Fruit (grapes, watermelon, honeydew, or ???)

Sunday Breakfast

• French Toast w/ jam/whipping cream/butter and/or syrup
• Bacon & Sausage
• Coffee
• Fruit

Sunday Lunch

• Sandwiches
• Nuts
• Chocolate bar
• Fruit

Sunday snack

• Trail mix
• Raisins
• Granola bars

Dinner (on your own)

• Pizza, hamburgers, or whatever is close by
  

That's all for now. Please post comments if there are any questions/comments, and I'll update the body of the post as we get closer to take-off.

Merry Christmas

To my vast worldwide audience,

Good afternoon, and Merry Christmas. We're expriencing another relaxing Christmas, this one being the first in our new home, the first with our puppy dog Chesterton, and a nice snowy Christmas day, to add icing to the proverbial Christmas cake.

Grandpa and Grandma Qualls and the Glasscock family enjoyed a nice relaxing Christmas morning, with stockings opened, crepes eaten, presents opened (a marathon event lasting several hours), and now just a relaxing time for some of us. For Lori and Grandma, it's a friendly time in the kitchen cooking the turkey.

It was a rough start to Christmas morning, when Cameron's ipod turned up missing, and Daniel's camera autofocus lens mechanism got stepped on and broken by the dog. Cameron is already looking forwarding to upgrading to the itouch, and Daniel is looking forward to sending the camera in for repair. The boys actually took it all in stride, and they handled both events with class. After all, it is just technology.

I appreciate the way our family handles Christmas. Lori has done a great job of setting reastic expectations, and as the kids have gotten older, they have quickly transitioned the focus from gift getting to gift giving. We have decreed that E and F can not get any older, at least during Christmas, so that the magic stays - either that or some of the older kids need to get married and start having kids themselves, so that we can keep the magic alive. The latter option is the most realistic, but it looks like there will be a few years in there where the magic is of the more mature christmas participant variety. Regardless, it is nice to be able to give, if even just a little bit.

And as we give, my thoughts turn to all of those in our world that have absolutely nothing to give, and just are just barely managing to make it through life. So little of what we have could mean so much to them.

Dad and I have been busy building a storage shed this last week, as I have been off work, and Dad has been needing something to keep him busy while he is on vacation:-). The process is really slow, with the rain and the short work days, but we're getting closer. The walls are up, the siding is on, and all but one of the trusses are made. With the snow today, I don't think that we'll get that last truss finished - we accidentally threw our motivation away with some of the wrapping. No worries though....Russ, Lisa and their family are coming in this weekend to celebrate the new year, and we should be able to muster the troops to put the trusses up, put the roof sheathing on, then it's just a matter of the tar paper, roofing, and then some finishing trim. After that, the storage shelves will go in, and then the garage tools can make their way out of the 3rd garage bay and into the shed.

After the shed is complete, I need to work on the 4 ceiling high rows of boxes in the garage, that are left over from the last move. It's all junk, just pure junk. Anybody want some? Help yourself. It's the stuff that garage sales are made of, but I just don't have the motivation to put a garage sale together. I'd rather give it away, or haul it to the garbage dump.

As the year comes to a close, it's nice to reflect on all of the past year's events. The last couple of years have been big for us. Moving from California back up to the Pacific Northwest, living in a hotel for 3 months, then a rental for 14 more months, and the finally into our house. It's a beautiful place, and has been well worth the wait. I especially enjoy having things to do outside - not so much to "build value" but just to stay busy, and productive, other than at work.

Allison and Bethany are doing a great job in school at WOU, and Cameron is working hard and also focused on his school work - he just got his PSAT results back, and scored well. Daniel has really enjoyed his camera, and is our budding photographer. Elaina and Faerynn are enjoying sisterhood together.

Well, it's time to wind up the post for now.

Take care,

Shannon

Vacation is over

To my vast worldwide audience,

We just got back from vacation on Tuesday. We had a nice time in Idaho - eating, swimming, visiting with the cousins, neices, nephews and mom and dad. The property is so beautiful and it is relaxing to be out where cell phones do not work and the only phone communication with the outside world is through the satellite dish - which works only inbound with the IP telephone (vonage). It was almost like a mediteranean cruise, with the construction work to keep me busy :-). The boys had a great time with their cousins, and the girls all enjoyed the same with their girl cousins. It was different this year, being surrounded by growing high school boys. They are so weird. I am sure that my brothers and I were never like that! For me, it was just really nice to clear my head of work for a few days.

At the end of June we also celebrated Allisons graduation. Friends and family joined us to wish Allison well as she closes the door to high school and moves on the college life. She is a special girl. Check out her blog.

In the weeks following we had friends in from the Sacramento area. It was great to see them, and we enjoyed time together before and after their vacation to the Oregon coast.

The housing is moving along, with the foundation poured, floor joists in, initial plumbing in and driveway bulldozed. I wish that I had pictures. My wife has some of the latest on her blog.

That's pretty much the news for now. The problem with waiting so long between posts is that so much gets lost in the intervening weeks!